Free Republic

Kamala Harris has said she is prepared to meet with activists to discuss an arms embargo on Israel, according to reports. The Uncommitted National Movement – a pro-Palestinian, anti-war organization – said its founders spoke with the vice president and Governor Tim Walz at their campaign rally in Detroit on Wednesday... "The Vice President shared her sympathies and expressed an openness to a meeting with the Uncommitted leaders to discuss an arms embargo," the organization said in a statement.... A Harris campaign spokesman told the New York Times that the conversation was a "brief engagement" and "reaffirmed that her campaign...

Middle East update on the Third World War, currently in progress ... three upstart powers — Communist China, Nationalist Russia, and Radical Islam* — who mean to reshape the global order to suit their interests and aren't shy about using any means at their disposal (including violence) to achieve that end. ... The members of this new Axis also make fantastic allies of convenience, if not ideology. A bit like Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia allying for the brief and brutal business of carving up Poland ... China wants the western Pacific (that's everything on the other side of Hawaii)...

An Israeli delegation has been banned from a youth ultimate frisbee competition in Belgium after they were targeted by anti-Israel protests and vandalism. According to the ultimate frisbee site Ultiworld, the Israeli delegation to the U-17 European Youth Ultimate Championships in Ghent, Belgium, consisted of two teams, competing in the open and mixed divisions. From the get-go, the organizers of the competition were met with heavy pressure due to the Israeli participation. Shortly before the competition was set to begin, the Ghent city council and police decided to ban the Israeli teams from playing in the city due to a...

Organizers are predicting “tens of thousands” of marchers. They say it will be family friendly and safe. ome critics of Israeli actions in Gaza are worried about a pro-Palestinian march planned for the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this month, saying a large protest could play into former President Donald Trump’s hands. The critics say the protest could lead to clashes with police or counter protesters that would allow Republicans to blame the chaos on Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and paint the GOP as the party of law and order.

Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee by default, did what her predecessor President Joe Biden only dreamed of when she chose Governor Mike Walz (D-MN) to be her running mate: she got Republicans and the far-Left anti-Israel “Squad” to agree on something. In the hours after media began reporting that Walz was Harris’ final choice — despite some rumblings that she might choose critical swing-state Governor Josh Shapiro (D-PA) — liberal “Squad” members cheered the addition to the party’s ticket, and Republicans cheered what they viewed as an unforced error that could make the path...

Far-left Democrat Cori Bush appears to have lost her bid for re-election in Missouri’s First Congressional district by a landslide. While full results from the race are yet to be counted, it is already clear that Bush will not be returning to Congress next year. Cori Bush has LOST her primary in St. Louis. She is officially a LOSER! pic.twitter.com/DDjPedBfOe — Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) August 7, 2024 With almost 20% report, incumbent Squad member Cori Bush is down more than 30% in her primary against pro-Israel Democrat Wesley Bell. Bush would join Jamaal Bowman as incumbents from The Squad to...

The Egyptian Foreign Minister, Badr Abdel-Aty, addressed a press conference with his Lebanese counterpart on Tuesday, regarding the tensions in the northern sector. According to Abdel-Aty, the only way to stop the escalation in the region is to reach an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, stop "Israel's unjust aggression and ensure access to humanitarian aid for the local residents." At a press conference at the end of a meeting with his Lebanese counterpart, Abdel-Aty emphasized the need to continue intensive contacts to curb the security escalation and prevent a regional war. He noted that efforts to reach a ceasefire...

Hamas on Tuesday named Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza who masterminded the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, as its new leader in a dramatic sign of the power of the Palestinian militant group’s hardline wing after his predecessor was killed in a presumed Israeli strike in Iran. The selection of Sinwar, a secretive figure close to Iran who worked for years to build up Hamas’ military strength, was a defiant signal that the group is prepared to keep fighting after 10 months of destruction from Israel’s campaign in Gaza and after the assassination of Sinwar’s predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh....

Salemi) Officials in the US-led multinational coalition that is reportedly preparing to assist in repelling an expected Iranian attack have preemptively warned Israel not to respond too strongly to such an assault, according to a Tuesday report. “Don’t push it,” the unnamed officials told Jerusalem, according to Kan news. “Think carefully before you attack in return. The goal at the end of the day is not to lead to an all-out war.” In April, a massive drone and missile attack from Iran was foiled by a coalition that reportedly comprised Israel, the United States, Britain, France, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi...

A potential Iranian attack could be larger in scope and more complex, including deeper use of multiple proxies, than what Israel experienced in April. Despite international pressure, there appears to be no stopping an expected attack by Iran and its proxies on Israel that could come within hours. Iran has promised to retaliate against Israel for the assassination in Tehran last week of Ismail Haniyeh, the top political leader of Hamas. Facing a potentially massive missile and drone barrage that could cause a large number of casualties, Israel meanwhile is mulling over the idea of a preemptive strike against Iran,...

The United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) on Monday published the results of its investigation into reports that 19 UNRWA employees participated in the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023. The OIOS investigation found that it had obtained no evidence regarding one of the UNRWA employees, insufficient evidence regarding nine of the employees, enough evidence to say that nine UNRWA employees "may" have participated in the massacre. The employment of the nine employees has been terminated "in the interest of the agency." UNRWA, the United Nations agency dedicated to the descendants of the Arab refugees from Israel's War...

An anti-Israel group that scorned Joe Biden's reelection bid over the president's response to the Jewish state's war on Hamas is now embracing Vice President Kamala Harris, saying she is more likely to push for a permanent ceasefire that would embolden Hamas.The Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund endorsed Harris on Thursday, according to NBC News, making it the first Muslim group to back Harris that previously declared itself "uncommitted" toward Biden...The Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund's endorsement comes as anti-Israel radicals express hope that Harris will adopt more hardline policies toward the Jewish state. Activists who resigned their government posts...

President Biden and Vice President Harris will meet with national security officials in the White House Situation Room on Monday, as Iran reiterates its intention to punish Israel for the apparent assassination of top Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. The meeting will focus on developments in the Middle East, the White House said. Concerns about a wider regional conflict have escalated with the assassination of Haniyeh. While Israel has not acknowledged the strike in Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to seek revenge against Israel after Haniyeh’s death. Attacks by Iran and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group...

DUBAI, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Iran is not looking to escalate regional tensions but believes it needs to punish Israel to prevent further instability, the foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week. "Iran seeks to establish stability in the region, but this will only come with punishing the aggressor and creating deterrence against the adventurism of the Zionist regime (Israel)," Nasser Kanaani said, adding that action from Tehran was inevitable. Kanaani called on the United States to stop supporting Israel, saying the international community had failed in its duty...

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander General Michael Kurilla is in Israel Monday on a pre-planned visit that would not have happened had President Donald Trump not made the decision to include Israel in CENTCOM. The U.S. divides military policy geographically, with different countries assigned to different areas based on their location. But Israel, while in the Middle East, had long been included in U.S. European Command (EUCOM), in deference to Arab hostility towards the Jewish state. Pro-Israel groups had argued that being in EUCOM put Israel at a disadvantage, because U.S. military officials in the Middle East had closer ties...

A statue of Anne Frank, famous for her diary account of hiding from the Nazis during World War II, has been covered with pro-Palestinian Arab graffiti, AFP reported on Sunday. According to images published on X, the base of the statue was spray-painted with the slogan "Free Gaza", while the girl's hands were painted with the same blood-red color. Police have opened an investigation into the defacement, which likely occurred in the night from Saturday to Sunday, an Amsterdam police spokesman told AFP, adding that no suspect had yet been identified. This marks the second time in a month that...

An underground bunker in Jerusalem where senior leaders can remain for an extended period during a war has been prepared by the Shin Bet security service and is fully operational, the Walla news site reported on Sunday, amid fear of attacks on Israel from Hezbollah and Iran. The bunker, reportedly built almost 20 years ago, can sustain hits from a range of existing weaponry, has command and control capabilities, and is connected to the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, the report said. The bunker, which is also known as the National Management Center, has not been used in the...

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Saturday that revenge will be “severe and at an appropriate time, place, and manner,” blaming the “terrorist Zionist regime” for Haniyeh’s death. The Iranian attack on Israel in response to the assassination of Hamas political bureau leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran last week is expected to come as early as Monday, three US and Israeli officials told Axios reporter Barak Ravid on Sunday. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of US Central Command, arrived in the Middle East early Sunday morning amid Hezbollah and Iran's threats against Israel, Walla reported on Sunday, citing two senior...

The PLO’s money arm was the largest foreign principal for his law firm. “Will Doug Emhoff’s Legal Career Be an Issue for the Biden-Harris Ticket?” the New York Times asked four years ago.The newspaper noted that Emhoff, the husband of Kamala Harris, was a partner at DLA Piper whose “lobbying clients” had included the governments of Afghanistan and Bahrain, as well as the Qatari government-funded Al Jazeera Network and the Palestine Monetary Authority.DLA Piper was good to the Emhoff-Harris family with the family taking home $2.7 million in 2019 and $1.2 million in 2020. “To aspire to create wealth is...

US President Joe Biden on Saturday expressed hope Iran would stand down despite its threat to avenge the elimination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Reuters reported. Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s killing, though Israel has not claimed or denied responsibility. They, together with Hezbollah, have vowed revenge for both Haniyeh’s elimination as well as for the elimination of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. Asked by reporters whether Iran would stand down, Biden said in response, "I hope so. I don't know." On Friday, the Pentagon announced it would move a fighter jet squadron to...