Free Republic

It was a clear moment of satisfaction for US Attorney General Eric Holder. Holder has in the past been accused of weakness and ineffectiveness in the fight against Islamic terror, but now he could announce the foiling of an Iranian plot to assassinate foreign diplomats in Washington. The news that the Iranians had tried to work through a Mexican drug cartel only confirms the testimony before congressional committees that Iran is active in Latin America and uses the drug trade to facilitate and fund terrorism. The United States is committed to holding Iran accountable for its actions” and would take...

Gilad Shalit and a World Full of Crazy By Norma Zager “We are especially not going to tolerate these attacks from outlaw states run by the strangest collection of misfits, Looney Tunes and squalid criminals since the advent of the Third Reich.” President Ronald Reagan Opportunity knocks. At times it is at a moment when it can be used for great advantage. The release of Gilad Shalit is one such moment. What most fail to realize is there are two great lessons to be learned from this so-called exchange of prisoners. First and foremost the Gazans wouldn’t dare show the...

It is a Very Sad Day By Ari Bussel “Those released will return to armed struggle. It is a great national achievement.” Khaled Mashal, Chairman, Hamas Political Bureau, Damascus, Syria “The Nation of Israel is a unique people. We are all mutually responsible for each other, as our Sages said: ‘He who saves one soul, it is as though he saved an entire world.’ Tonight, I bring the Government a proposal to save Gilad Shalit, to finally bring him home to Israel after five years.” Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister, Jerusalem, Israel The family of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier that...

JERUSALEM/GAZA (Reuters) - Israel and Gaza's Hamas Islamist rulers agreed on Tuesday to swap more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for Israeli captive soldier Gilad Shalit, resolving one of the most emotive and intractable issues between them. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, asking his cabinet to approve the lopsided swap and under constant public pressure to bring Shalit home, said the soldier would be reunited with his family "in the coming days." Palestinians in the Gaza Strip greeted the agreement, brokered by Egypt and a German mediator, with celebratory gunfire. Hamas confirmed that it only remained to conclude technical arrangements for...

Prime Minister Netanyahu's Remarks 26 June 2011 Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser June 25th, 2011, was the fifth anniversary of Gilad ShalitÂ’s Abduction. He is being held by a brutal enemy, Hamas, which refuses to uphold either the minimal demands of the international treaties or humanitarian conditions. It has refused to allow him even one visit by the International Committee of the Red Cross. It is holding him in harsh conditions and we know how his family is suffering. I think that the entire nation and all fair and just people in the world are incensed at what...

A Heavenly Promise – Thy Children Shall Come Back to Their Own Border By Ari Bussel and Norma Zager 2,700 hundred years ago, the Prophet Jeremiah described a mother, lamenting her sons, for they were gone, and with them she had no hope for the future, for her end of days, for continuation. It was a time of deep sorrow and mourning, describes the Prophet and says that God will turn it into immense joy and jubilation. He promised that the mother’s sons would return to their borders from enemy land. This can be the cruelest torture of a parent,...

Marking the 5th anniversary of Gilad Shalit’s capture by Hamas, the International Red Cross (ICRC) has now, for the first time, called on Hamas to prove that he is still alive. Shalit was 19 when he was captured on June 25, 2006 by Hamas terrorists, only a few months after he began his three-year compulsory IDF service. He was serving at the time on Israel’s border with Gaza, when several terrorists tunneled under the border, killed two soldiers, and abducted Shalit into Gaza. His whereabouts have been unknown ever since. “Because no sign of life has been had from Shalit...

The London-based Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported Friday that Hamas's military wing vetoed a 'good deal' offered by Israel. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Friday for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. Schalit has been held by Hamas for five years without visits from international bodies such as the Red Cross. Sources from Merkel's office said a draft of a final agreement for Shalit's release prompted the joint statement. German mediators in the Shalit deal reportedly visited Gaza two months ago. According to the sources a thousand Palestinian prisoners would be handed over in exchange for...

The parents of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit have change tactics and plan to file a suit in a Paris court regarding his being held as hostage. They say he may have “suffered acts of torture or of barbarism.” Gilad Shalit is a French citizen, whose French-born parents Noam and Aviva live in northern Israel. He was kidnapped by Hamas, Army of Islam and allied terrorists five years ago this month when they attacked Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint adjacent to the Gaza region, killing two of Shalit’s comrades. The family told the French news agency AFP it will file the...

Thousands of residents of southern Israel spent Shabbat in bomb shelters, as Hamas terrorists from Gaza continued firing rockets at Israeli targets in the Negev. Since Thursday, Arab terrorists have fired over 100 mortar shells and Kassam rockets at Israeli targets, with fifty fired since early Saturday. The rockets hit not only areas near the border, but areas further inside Israel, including the Ashkelon area. Four Grad-style Katyusha rockets hit areas near the city, but there were no injuries or damage reported. However, several people were hospitalized for shock, and as of Saturday night, three were still in the hospital....

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? [taken from October 2010 articles/blog posts]NASA's Islam Outreach Minister Charles BoldenGOP lawmakers are critical of Charles Bolden for leaving last week on a trip to China just as the agency he leads begins pursuing an ambitious new agenda. It is the latest in a series of controversial moves that some speculate could result in Bolden's ouster. A law signed a week ago gives NASA four months or less to develop a dozen different plans for the future, including a detailed report on how it would replace the retiring space shuttle.It's an ambitious schedule, one that NASA...

As the Shalit family sets out on a major public campaign, Israel debates whether to meet Hamas' painful price for the kidnapped soldier's freedom.....

TEL AVIV // A mysterious arrest carried out recently by Israel’s security services has renewed condemnation from human rights groups about the country’s treatment of prisoners and its possible infringement of press freedoms. A report last week on the website of Israel’s biggest newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, said that a so-called “Mr X” is being held in complete seclusion at the maximum-security Ayalon prison, and his identity is being kept so closely under wraps that it is not even known to his prison guards or fellow inmates. The report cited an unidentified official at Israel’s penitentiary service as saying: “I don’t...

Thank you for that welcome. It is wonderful to be back at AIPAC and back with so many good friends. I want to thank Lee Rosenberg for that introduction — and congratulations, Rosy, you're going to be a terrific president. I also want to thank David Victor, Howard Kohr, Lonny Kaplan, JB Pritzker and all of AIPAC's directors and staff for your leadership and hard work. I'm also pleased that my friend Congressman Jim Langevin, a great champion for Israel, is here. To all of AIPAC's members, thank you for your example of citizen activism. Petitioning your government, expressing your...

Just for a lark, I decided to google “international condemnations of Hamas” this morning. You can guess what came up, right? Naturally, searching for condemnations of Hamas, one finds only international condemnations of Israel. An Australian report noted that the “British Foreign Secretary David Miliband is calling for an urgent ceasefire, while Russia’s Foreign Minister says he’s told his Israeli counterpart to urgently halt the military action.” The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, “strongly condemned Israel’s disproportionate use of force,” as did Brazil. Indonesia called on all countries to “sever all forms of diplomatic and business...

Palestinian sources reported that a prisoner swap deal between Israel and the Palestinian organizations will start to be carried out secretly in Amman, Jordan within the next day. This was reported by Saudi newspaper, Okaz. As of now, there is no authorization of this report from any other body. According to the report, Israel will release the Hamas minister and parliament members detained in Israel within the next day. Simultaneously, the release of kidnapped soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit will be announced Sunday. In the next stage, according to the report, Israel is expected to release 740 Palestinian prisoners in two...

18th Israel Maccabiah Opening Ceremony Celebrates Life, Welcomes Jewish Athletes Home By Joel Leyden Israel News Agency Jerusalem, Israel ---- July 14, 2009 ...... There is no greater event that unites the world Jewish community than the Maccabiah Games. Yes, in times of war, Jews in the Diaspora provide both financial and physical aid. They donate money to Israel for emergency causes which pay for meals for the impoverished, cultural centers and even bullet proof vests for many of our soldiers and police. But perhaps for the Jews of the US, the UK, France, Brazil, Canada and Argentina the greatest...

From: JERNY Subject: Background on Flotilla Incident To: moshekosha@yahoo.com Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2010, 7:58 AM An Educational Service of Jewish Educational Resources of New York www.JERNY.org JERNY Request: The IDF (Israeli Defense Force or Israeli Army) has a video on U Tube explaining what's going on but U Tube wants to remove it by using the excuse as not too many people are logging in. Please forward this email, so many people will log in and the IDF will be able to have its voice heard. Thanks http://www.youtube.com/user/idfnadesk Compiled by UJC (United Jewish Communities), parent organization of the Jewish...

A Well-coordinated Attack by Ari Bussel "The armada of hate and violence in support of Hamas terror organization was a premeditated and outrageous provocation.” Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon I am reminded of a press conference with then Israeli Head of Opposition Netanyahu. The foreign press was invited to tour two cities along the Mediterranean, the Port City of Ashdod and the city of Ashkelon, 30-seconds and 15-seconds from launch of rockets from Gaza. In each city, we were met with falling rockets announcing our arrival. It was during Operation Cast Lead. At one stop, a BBC reporter asked about...

We commemorate the memory of thousands of terror victims murdered in attacks against Israel," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday at the opening of a Memorial Day ceremony in Jerusalem dedicated to the memory of victims of terror attacks. "The only sin committed by these victims, was that they lived in Israel, or visited Israel. But they weren't sticklers ? they killed Israelis outside of Israel too. The murderers slaughtered them only because of their identity." The prime minister also remarked on captive Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, who was captured by Hamas in 2006, saying that "we won't...