Free Republic

Last week, the Georgian parliament, led by the Georgian Dream (GD) party, advanced new legislation that would label civil society and media organizations that receive at least 20 percent of their funding from foreign entities as foreign agents. In addition to the stigma of such a label, the government would be able to conduct investigations, access personal data, demand detailed reporting, and levy restrictions, fines, and prison sentences on media and civic groups deemed to be non-compliant. The legislation closely resembles the Russian Foreign Agents Act, which the European Court of Human Rights found violated freedom of association and assembly...

"The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on 10 February issued a temporary waiver for Caesar Act sanctions imposed on Syria to allow earthquake relief funds to reach the country, following days of hindered humanitarian efforts."

A new community planned for the Golan Heights in honor of US President Donald Trump will be named Ramat Trump, literally translatable as “Trump Heights,” and will be approved at the next cabinet meeting on Sunday. The cabinet secretary on Thursday sent to ministers details of the cabinet resolution for approving Ramat Trump, stating that the community will be located close to the existing village of Kela Alon and will be under the jurisdiction of the Golan Regional Council. “In recognition of the work of the 45th President of the United States, President Donald Trump, on behalf of the State...

The Elusive Peace by Ari Bussel “The folks who yell the loudest about the … long failure to fix this problem are some of the same folks standing in the way of good faith efforts to fix it.” President Obama “The only path to ensure Israel’s future as a secure and democratic Jewish state is through a negotiated two state solution and a comprehensive regional peace. … It is always easier to defer or criticize tough decisions than to make them. It is always easier to sit on the sidelines than to roll up your sleeves. It is always easier...

(IsraelNN.com) The issue of "Arab refugees" has long been a matter of widespread consensus in Israel, with even left-wing parties declaring that allowing them into Israel would endanger its very existence as a Jewish state. Nevertheless, the subject does not appear to be going away. Reports are that Prime Minister Olmert has now agreed to allow 50,000 Arabs who left Israel in 1948 - or are descendants of those who did - to enter and live in Israel. Channel Ten reported Thursday night that in a private meeting between Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen, the two agreed that...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush, hardening his tone towards Israel on Thursday, urged an end to "the occupation" of the West Bank and pushed for a peace treaty to be signed within a year to create a Palestinian state. ADVERTISEMENT The United States rarely uses the politically charged word "occupation" to describe Israel's hold on lands captured in a 1967 war. It is a term Palestinians seeking a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip employ frequently to describe their plight. "The establishment of the state of Palestine is long overdue. The Palestinian people deserve it,"...

It's that time of year again. Summer is here, the temperature outside is rising, and Israel's irresponsible critics are busy turning up the heat. Deploying a potent mix of selective amnesia combined with some good ol' fashioned obfuscation, these "amnesiacs," as I call them, would have us all believe that nothing good ever came from the 1967 Six Day War. Seizing upon this month's 40th anniversary of that heroic triumph, they are trying to rewrite the historical narrative, injecting as much gloom and doom as possible in order to push Israel into making still more concessions to the Arabs. Occupation,...

Why is Israel viewed so differently in Europe than in the United States? To argue as the title of this article does, that Europe has abandoned Israel, is to suggest that it was once in its corner. And in fact, this is true. Prior to the Six Day War in 1967, it was France which was Israel's primary military supplier, not the United States. In the War of Independence in 1948-49, it was arms smuggled from Czechoslovakia that enabled the Zionists to fight on. Most European nations, including some Soviet satellites, supported the partition resolution in the General Assembly in...

Iraq Study Group finds solution to the Jewish prob—I Mean, the Iraq problem. After several weeks, the much talked-about Iraq Study Group--tasked with finding a solution to the Iraq problem--announced its proposal, conceived mainly by former Secretary of State James Baker: The way to fix Iraq is for Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and Golan Heights. The proposal is titled “F--k the Jews. They don’t vote for us anyway.”Jimmy Carter was seen slapping his forehead and saying, “D’oh! Why didn’t I hire that guy?!”Even as I’ve kvelled over the past six years of the Bush administration’s almost unprecedented...

LOS ANGELES - More than 1 million mostly Hispanic immigrants and their supporters skipped work and took to the streets Monday, flexing their economic muscle in a nationwide boycott that succeeded in slowing or shutting many farms, factories, markets and restaurants. From Los Angeles to Chicago, Houston to Miami, the "Day Without Immigrants" attracted widespread participation despite divisions among activists over whether a boycott would send the right message to Washington lawmakers considering sweeping immigration reform. "We are the backbone of what America is, legal or illegal, it doesn't matter," said Melanie Lugo, who with her husband and their third-grade...