Free Republic

Nakba Day By Ari Bussel One lesson from the 9/11 attacks on the United States is that we did not have human intelligence in the Muslim community. Developing such assets requires time. In the military one plans for the unexpected, often training for worse case scenarios. Readiness is priceless, although the hope among civilized nations is never to need to resort to war. To these two seemingly very simple processes, intelligence gathering and preparedness, allow me to add implementing lessons learned. In the military, one debriefs after operations (both successful and failures), derives lessons and implements them. There is quite...

A man accused of being “a Hamas operative” based in London is a key figure behind Greta Thunberg’s Gaza-bound aid boat, it emerged on Monday. Zaher Birawi, who was described in Parliament as a person with links to Hamas, called himself a “founding member” of the Freedom Flotilla International Coalition, which arranged the voyage by the aid boat Madleen. Israeli forces boarded and seized the boat on Sunday, detaining the 12 pro-Palestinian activists it was carrying, including Ms Thunberg, as it attempted to bring a “symbolic” amount of aid to Gaza in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade. Mr Birawi,...

Greta Thunberg and her posse of international activists will be forced to watch footage of the Oct. 7 terror attack after Israeli forces intercepted their Gaza-bound “selfie yacht,” Israel’s defense minister revealed Monday. Israel Defense Forces captured and boarded the Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, after the Swedish activist and the others on board tried to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip — just hours after Israeli officials demanded they call off the stunt. ... “I congratulate the IDF for the quick and safe takeover of the ‘Madleen’ flotilla to prevent them from breaking the blockade...

Israel has warned its military will "take whatever measures are necessary" to prevent a boat carrying pro-Palestinian activists and humanitarian aid reaching Gaza. ... Katz said the blockade's purpose was to "prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas" and was essential to Israel's security as it seeks to destroy the Palestinian armed group Hamas. He warned in a post on X on Sunday: "I have instructed the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] to act to prevent the 'Madeleine' [sic] hate flotilla from reaching the shores of Gaza - and to take whatever measures are necessary to that end." Addressing the crew...

Report: Iran ordered materials from China to produce hundreds of ballistic missiles Iran has ordered thousands of tons of ballistic missile components from China, with the aim of rebuilding its military power, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the details of the deal between the two countries. The same sources said that in the coming months, shipments of the compound ammonium perchlorate are expected to arrive in Iran, which, when combined with fuel, can propel hundreds of ballistic missiles. According to one source, some of the materials may even be sent to pro-Iranian militias, including the Houthi...

A brief note on everybody’s least favorite hectoring eco-scold: I regret to inform you that Greta Thunberg is in the news again. It barely matters why, really — more nonsense about Gaza and “genocide.” We’ll get to that in a moment, but that’s not really why we’re here. ... It must have been an amazing high for Thunberg to be the center of so much adulation. I suspect this because she has been chasing that high ever since, long after the media gaze moved on. In the Biden era, the media were no longer interested in highlighting the urgency of...

Israel warned Wednesday that it is “prepared” to “act accordingly” to stop Greta Thunberg’s so-called Freedom Flotilla Coalition from reaching Gaza — as the eco-activist frolicked and filmed smiling social media content on the Mediterranean Sea. Thunberg, 22, set sail Sunday to bring milk and protein bars to Gaza — with the Swedish campaigner posting images of her glamming it up onboard in a keffiyeh and holding a Palestinian flag. Some of the 11 other protesters onboard soon reported the boat being followed by drones, which appeared to actually be Greek coast guard devices. However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)...

Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and other activists will set sail Sunday for Gaza on a humanitarian ship aimed at protesting Israel's war on the territory, a French-Palestinian lawmaker said. The trip is organised by the Freedom Flotilla, a coalition of groups opposed to the blockade on humanitarian aid for Gaza that Israel imposed on March 2 and has only recently begun lifting. Rima Hassan, a European Parliament member also taking part in the trip, said the operation had "several aims: to condemn the humanitarian blockade and ongoing genocide, the impunity granted to the state of Israel and raise international awareness."...

A ship carrying humanitarian aid and activists bound for Gaza was bombed by drones while in international waters off Malta overnight Thursday-Friday, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a pro-Palestinian activist group, said. The Saudi Al Arabiya news channel, citing a Western security source, reported that the convoy was organized by Hamas and that those onboard planned to engage with IDF troops as they approached the Gaza shore. The group uploaded video footage on social media ostensibly showing a fire on one of its ships. The footage could not be independently verified. A ship carrying humanitarian aid and activists bound for Gaza...

...The IDF asked the Defense Minister for instructions for handling the [expected] protest ships. In response, Katz instructed the IDF to allow the flotillas to arrive in Gaza, for the protesters to disembark in the strip, and then to seize the ships and take them to the port of Ashdod. According to him, the move will allow for the ships to be used to evacuate the residents of Gaza who wish to leave...

Obama's good pal Rashid Khalidi raised money for the venture. In 2008 The LA Times withheld a video that contained footage of Barack Obama celebrating with a group of Palestinians who were openly hostile towards Israel. Barack Obama reportedly even gave a toast to a former PLO operative, Rashid Khalidi, at this celebration. This was something the LA Times hid from the American public before the election. The media refused to release the video. Terrorist Bill Ayers, Barack Obama and his good friend Jew-hater Rashid Khalidi There were also reports that terrorists Bill Ayers and his wife Bernadine Dohrn were...

Approximately 1,000 boats will gather in Turkey on Wednesday before heading toward Gaza in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade and disrupt maritime trade coming into Israel during the war with Hamas, in an apparent repeat of similar attempts from over a decade ago. In an interview with Turkish news website Haber7, Volkan Okçu, one of the organizers of the protest, indicated the boats will carry 4,500 people from 40 countries, “including anti-Zionist Jews.” Among the 1,000 vessels would be 313 boats filled with Russian activists, and 104 filled with Spanish activists, he said. Only 12 Turkish vessels will...

A flotilla of flimsy boats, crowded with migrants and launched from Tunisia, overwhelmed a tiny southern Italian island on Wednesday, taxing the coast guard’s capability to intercept the smugglers’ vessels and testing Premier Giorgia Meloni’s pledge to thwart irregular migration. Compounding the political pressure on Italy’s first post-war far-right leader were vows by France and Germany to rebuff migrants who arrive by sea on Italian shores, and, in defiance of European Union asylum system rules, head northward to try to find jobs or relatives. Starting early Tuesday, the unseaworthy, overcrowded iron boats, came one after the other in what appeared...

The Japanese government has lashed out at Beijing, condemning an incident wherein a flotilla of Chinese government vessels breached Japan-claimed waters around the around the disputed Senkaku islands in the East China Sea.Tokyo has lodged a formal diplomatic complaint after a Japanese-registered private vessel operating within Japanese-controlled waters was approached by four Chinese Coast Guard ships in the early morning hours of Monday. Tokyo says its coast guard patrols forced the Chinese ships to depart the area.Illustrative file image, via Kyodo NewsThe encounter was tense, based on the description given to US military news outlet Stars & Stripes, which recounted...

At a time when the mere thought of Russian vodka or caviar, let alone oil or gas, prompts uncontrollable shaking and revulsion, Reuters reports that no less than 12 tankers carrying Russia-linked cargoes of crude and refined products were approaching the United States on Wednesday, as suppliers rushed to deliver ahead of the U.S. government’s deadline to wind down Russian energy purchases, data from traders and Refinitiv Eikon showed. While the US recently banned Russian energy product imports due to the invasion of Ukraine, Washington’s ban gives importers a 45-day window until April 22 to discharge cargoes moving under pre-ban...

Terrorist lawyer Huwaida Arraf in campaign launch An anti-Israel activist who helped organize the 2010 flotilla of ships to the Gaza Strip and was the lawyer for a Palestinian terrorist who killed two Jewish college students is running for Congress as a Democrat in Michigan. Huwaida Arraf, who this week launched her campaign based on her record of "fighting injustice" on the world stage, is an activist lawyer who cofounded the International Solidarity Movement, which encourages anti-Israel activists to take "direct action" to force confrontations with Israeli forces. Arraf has used her status as an American citizen to protect Palestinian...

Australian Federal Police arrest Ahmed Talib in Melbourne, March 25, 2021. (Australia Federal Police) Australian who worked with Al Qaeda was also involved with Islamic extremists in the violent 2010 Gaza flotilla incident. By World Israel News Staff A Melbourne man arrested for allegedly recruiting jihadist terrorists and who was involved in the violent Mavi Marmara incident is on the U.S. terror watch list, the Australia/Israel Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) reported on its website. Australia citizens Ahmed Luqman Talib and Gabriel Crazzi were arrested by Australia Federal Police and face numerous charges related to recruiting people and trying to send...

I am trying to find out if anyone is organizing a Trump car parade somewhere in the Southeast, USA near my hometown of Atlanta, GA. Is there a URL somewhere that lists upcoming planned parades? Car and/or boats?

The Florida campaign brain trust for President Donald Trump‘s reelection bid say they’re seeing supporters’ enthusiasm riding high, as reflected in crowds, canvassing efforts, volunteers, turnouts, and even in boat parades. Susie Wiles, Florida senior adviser to the campaign and a longtime go-to for Republicans’ Sunshine State must-win efforts, says she’s perhaps seeing more enthusiasm than in 2016 when tens of thousands of volunteers, all zealous to help, turned out to drive Trump’s surprise victory. “It could be a bigger number than in 2016. That was the most I had ever seen, but it is more than it was then,”...

Carlos Gavidia, who earned national attention for his "Trumptilla" boat parades, is expected to be charged with sending a threatening text, a felony, to a resident of his former Jupiter country club community after they clashed over politics, his attorney told The Palm Beach Post on Monday. Gavidia will surrender at the Palm Beach County Jail on Tuesday morning, said attorney Stuart Kaplan. The criminal charge would come just days after Gavidia attended President Trump’s Republican National Convention speech on the White House lawn Thursday night. Gavidia organized the boat parades with his vessel as the centerpiece. He renamed his...