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Amid an active war, Pope Leo XIV has bestowed the Vatican's highest diplomatic honor on the Islamic Republic's envoy. Critics say it validates a regime that murders Christians, kills protesters by the thousands, and fires missiles at Western allies. In a move that has ignited controversy across religious, political, and human rights circles, Pope Leo XIV has decorated Iran's ambassador to the Vatican with the most prestigious diplomatic honor the Holy See can confer. Pope Leo XIV has awarded the Grand Cross of the Pontifical Order of Pius IX, the highest active diplomatic distinction of the Vatican, to the ambassador...

Saudi fighter jets carried out airstrikes on Iran-linked Shi’ite militia targets inside Iraq during the Iran war, while retaliatory strikes were also launched from Kuwait into Iraqi territory, Reuters reported citing multiple sources familiar with the matter. Sources cited by Reuters included three Iraqi military and security officials, a Western official and two people briefed on the matter, including one in the United States. According to one Western official and another source familiar with the operations, Saudi air force fighter jets targeted Iran-backed militia positions near the kingdom’s northern border with Iraq. The Western official said some of the Saudi...

Like many leftists living in social media bubbles, New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof is obsessed with Israel. And because he has a risible understanding of the Middle East, he’s also highly susceptible to believing unhinged conspiracies aimed at the country. This week, however, in a pseudo-journalistic piece headlined “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians,” the columnist excavates conspiracies so unhinged that no marginally reputable media outlet has ever touched them. Even the New York Times relegates it to its op-ed section, since the piece breaks every rule of objective journalism. But even columnists have an obligation...

Almost three years after October 7, a new 300-page report lays out evidence of systematic sexual violence by Hamas. Women were brutalized Watch this episode with no interruptions. More than two and a half years after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, a specially appointed Civil Commission on Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children published on Tuesday the most comprehensive report to date documenting the terror group’s systematic use of sexual violence, rape, and “kinocide” during the assault. Among the key findings of the 300-page report are examples of gang-rape, sexual violence to terrorize families, and even some cases...

Wait until you read about the things Muslim jihadis have done throughout history! Full depravity of Hamas during October 7 revealed for the first time: New report details how terrorists performed almost unimaginable horrors upon Israeli families https://t.co/14KfEBq7jV— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) May 12, 2026The report from the Israel's Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children, led by Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, compiles new details about the terror attack carried out by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023. The report outlines how systematic rape, gang rape, genital mutilation, and family-targeted sexual violence were deliberate strategies employed by...

Asked during a wide-ranging interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” how it is that all those who were in charge of security during the attack have quit or been fired except him, Netanyahu claimed some departed because their terms were up, and only one or two “claimed they took responsibility, but it’s not clear what — what does that mean, you know? What is their responsibility?” The remarks were made in an off-mic section of the interview that wasn’t aired on Sunday, and only appeared in CBS’s full transcript. “Let’s look at the political echelon, military echelon, the security echelon. Let’s...

Israel's Conduct in Gaza Does Not Resemble Genocide. David Bernstein | 5.11.2026. Frankly, I find the charge of genocide against Israel to be obviously absurd, one of those claims that true believers insist upon precisely because the claim is so implausible that promoting it is valuable to show you are a true believer. Hence the pressure by anti-Israel activists for everyone who purports to be "pro-Palestinian" to accept the genocide claim, or be excluded from the club. Nevertheless, because the genocide lie is so common in public discourse over Gaza, I thought it would be useful to write a piece...

President Donald Trump has been compared to many historical figures, by opponents (who claim he’s another Adolf Hitler) and by boosters (who cite Andrew Jackson or Teddy Roosevelt). With his blockade of Iran, though, maybe we should start comparing him to Gen. Winfield Scott. In the mid-19th century, Scott was America’s preeminent military mind, the architect of victory in the Mexican War and the “Grand Old Man of the Army.” As the Civil War loomed, he developed a plan to defeat the Confederacy with the smallest number of casualties possible. He called it the Anaconda Plan — and like its...

0:00: There's a fascinating news item that um that was released in Israel just yesterday and it came out on Khan News 0:088 seconds: in Hebrew. Khan News is one of the major mainstream news outlets in Israel. And I want to read this to you. It I only saw 0:1717 seconds: it in Hebrew, so I translated it into English. And I want to read it to you in full and talk about the implications of this and what I think of this news story 0:2525 seconds: because I think it has huge implications if it's true for not...

There are moments in American foreign policy when the warning signs are flashing so brightly that failing to act becomes its own form of negligence. This is one of those moments. Senator Ted Cruz and his fellow sponsors of S. 4063 are not engaging in political theater. They are responding to a gathering national security threat that too many in Washington have either underestimated or deliberately ignored for years: the growing cooperation between the Polisario Front and Iranian-backed terrorist networks operating across North Africa and beyond. The Senate should move quickly to advance this legislation. Not because it is politically...

As Hezbollah’s grip weakens and war fatigue deepens, a growing number of Lebanese are beginning to see peace with Israel not as betrayal but as necessity For Hanin Ghaddar, returning to Lebanon would mean more than just going home. It would signal that something once unthinkable may finally be within reach: a country loosening itself from Iran’s grip and edging, however cautiously, toward peace with Israel. A veteran Lebanese journalist from a Shi’ite family in a village in southern Lebanon, Ghaddar was targeted by Hezbollah and forced to leave her homeland in 2016. And despite growing up with her country...

The man who ran security at 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the 1996 Atlanta Games — where a bomber killed two and wounded more than 100 — warns that Iranian “sleeper cells” are likely plotting attacks during next month’s World Cup, as federal officials race to secure the 39-day competition. “I’m fairly confident there are Iranian sleeper cells or surrogate sleeper cells, and this would be an incredible opportunity for sleeper cells to attack,” Former LAPD Deputy Chief Bill Rathburn told The Post. His comments came after the feds warned about Iranian “prepositioned sleeper assets” in the US while the...

.......That would be Warren Kinsella, a native Canadian with an impressive résumé and a long list of accomplishments. In this riveting interview, featured on Israpundit.org, he relates how in his experience in running political campaigns — and being the campaign manager for Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (1993–2003) — he instantly recognized that the virtual explosion of worldwide anti-Semitism after October 7, 2023 was significantly similar to...yes, political campaigns, in which those who run them are primarily concerned with (1) Volunteers, (2) Leadership, (3) Messaging, (4) Money, (5) Advertising, and (6) Social Media. The campaign against Israel, Mr. Kinsella said, was...

Townhall.com - Leading conservative site covering news, politics, and culture with analysis and commentary. A Federal Court Just Handed Gov. Greg Abbott a Win in His Fight Against CAIR. A Federal Court Just Handed Gov. Greg Abbott a Win in His Fight Against CAIR. Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced late last year that he was designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist groups. Such a move would ban them from "buying or acquiring land in Texas and authorizes the Attorney General to sue to shut them down," Abbott said at the time. Abbott...

Dubai: Defying international law governing global waterways, Iran is trying to force shippers to comply with a new protocol for transiting the Strait of Hormuz — or risk attack. According to a document seen by CNN, Tehran has introduced new rules for vessels seeking passage through the strategic waterway, pressing ahead with efforts to formalise control over Hormuz despite repeated US and regional warnings. The document, titled “Vessel Information Declaration,” was issued by Iran’s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA). It requires vessels transiting Hormuz to submit detailed information, including ownership, crew nationalities, cargo details and voyage plans, before...

A pro-Palestinian professor charged with killing a 69-year-old Jewish dad during an anti-Israel protest in southern California in 2023 will not stand trial after he plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter. The 54-year-old Moorpark resident Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji pleaded guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter and felony battery causing serious bodily injury related to the death of Paul Kessler, the Ventura County District Attorney’s office said in a press release on Tuesday. Alnaji-who teaches computer science at Moorpark College-and Kessler were both protesting the Israel-Hamas war during dueling pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrations in Thousand Oaks in 2023 when Alnaji struck the...

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) presents itself as an innocuous Muslim civil rights group—a reputation it reinforces with litigation and claims of anti-Muslim bigotry. But the group finds itself under increasing scrutiny for alleged connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoot, Hamas. Last November, Texas Governor Greg Abbott designated CAIR a terrorist organization. The following month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis followed suit, citing CAIR’s being listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in a major terrorism financing case. But as other states move to sideline CAIR, California is embracing this alleged terror front. CAIR-CA, the organization’s largest statewide affiliate, is...

More information has become available about what led to Loay Alnaji's surprise guilty plea on Tuesday morning and a potential sentence, but that information leads to additional questions we're still running down answers for. Alnaji, readers will recall, is the pro-Hamas agitator and community college professor who killed a Jewish man, Paul Kessler, when the two were attending dueling protests on November 5, 2023. Alnaji crossed two eight-lane streets to confront Kessler, who was waving an Israeli flag on the corner of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Westlake Boulevard in Ventura County, CA. During that confrontation, Alnaji bashed Kessler's head with...

A California college professor who scuffled with pro-Israel demonstrators has pleaded guilty in the death of a Jewish man who was fatally injured during the clash. According to the New York Post, Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji, 54, admitted on Tuesday to felony involuntary manslaughter and felony battery causing serious bodily injury in connection with the 2023 death of Paul Kessler, a 69-year-old pro-Israel demonstrator from Southern California. The incident unfolded during rival demonstrations in Thousand Oaks, where anti-Israel activists and Israel supporters gathered amid escalating tensions following the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks and the following war in Gaza....

I begin by singing the same song I have been crooning since President Trump announced the ceasefire and naval blockade in mid-April. The war is over. If this were a novel, we’d be in epilogue territory where we tie up some loose threads in the plot and learn about the fates of various characters.