Free Republic

Israel’s defenses took a giant leap forward this week when — for the first time ever — it used a laser beam to shoot down an incoming rocket fired by terrorists in Gaza. This isn’t science fiction, but the product of years of research and experimentation. The US military is doing its own laser-beam or “directed energy” research, and Israel and the United States cooperate. Lockheed Martin and Israel’s Rafael are developing Iron Beam, and ultimately it can mean not only ground-based laser defenses but lasers to mount on ships and planes as well. Israel fielded the weapon for the...

Gigi Hadid, an outspoken advocate for the Palestinians, admitted to spreading misinformation about Israel to her nearly 80 million Instagram followers. “As someone of Palestinian descent, the endless heartbreaking news and imagery coming out of Gaza has been painful and often overwhelming,” the model, 28, began a lengthy post Tuesday. “It is important to me to share the real stories about the hardships that Palestinians have endured and continue to endure, but this weekend I shared something that I did not fact check or deeply think about prior to posting.” The since-deleted post claimed Israel was the “only country in...

Gigi Hadid faced a fresh round of backlash online after falsely claiming that Israel was “the only country in the world that keeps children as prisoners of war” — and also accusing the Jewish state of a series of heinous crimes against Palestinians. The Palestinian American supermodel’s Instagram post, which was later deleted, accused Israel of “abduction, rape, humiliation, torture, murder of Palestinians years and years before Oct. 7, 2023.” Hadid’s post to her 79.1 million followers also featured a photo of Palestinian terrorist Ahmed Mansara, who she claimed was “abducted” by Israeli authorities at the age of 12 and...

A 10-month-old Israeli boy – the youngest hostage captured by Hamas – and his family have been handed off to another Palestinian terror group in what one relative decried as “just more psychological torture.” Arabic spokesman for the IDF Avichay Adraee revealed Monday night that the Bibas family – including infant Kfir, his 4-year-old brother Ariel, and their parents – were being held captive in the southern city of Khan Younis following the disturbing move. “In Hamas prison, infants under one-year-old who have not seen the light of day for more than 50 days are detained,” Adraee wrote in a...

American Jews Who Worked for a Secular America Made a Fatal Error By Dennis Prager Published November 28, 2023 Since World War II, most American Jews have believed that the more secular American society is, the more secure their status.This has been, as I have argued all of my life, a colossal error. Indeed, it may turn out to be a fatal error. With the outburst of unprecedented levels of antisemitism, American Jews are living the famous warning: "Beware what you wish for; you just may get it."The primary reason American Jews have lived in the most Jew-friendly, even Jew-honoring,...

Here are two things I’m very, very tired of: Hearing how deadly important it is that we send billions more taxpayer dollars to fix the problems of other countries and watching my own country degrade and decay while being told everything is fine.The federal government is allegedly in some sort of high-stakes standoff between House Republicans, Senate Democrats, and the White House over yet another request from Joe Biden to send tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine and Israel. Politico on Monday summarized the supposed conflict, writing that “the White House is insisting that its multifaceted funding request move...

Sure, the Israel-Gaza situation is bad right now. But that is no reason to make it worse.“Ultimately,” contends Sen. Chris Murphy, the next Israeli government “is going to have to put us back on a path to have a Palestinian state. That’s not easy, but it is the only way forward for Israel, is the only way forward for long-term peace.”Well, it’s not the only way forward, right? Israel could clamp down on Palestinian autonomy until the violence against innocent Jewish civilians stops, and residents start living peacefully with their neighbors and begin accepting history’s outcomes. That’s another option.While the...

The Palestinian son of a Hamas co-founder — who later converted to Christianity — warned the world that if Israel does not succeed in eliminating Hamas “all of us will be next.” Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, spoke this week flanked by Israeli flags. Referring to the Hamas massacre and atrocities committed against Israel on October 7, he stated, “This crime cannot be forgiven. None of us should forgive this crime.” Speaking of the Israeli attack on Hamas in Gaza, he explained how those people killed in Gaza by Israel were part of Hamas’ plan...

All throughout the modern history of Israel – the hand of God in rescuing the remnant from the gas chambers and the death camps in Europe; the hand of God in bringing them back to a land that once was a barren wasteland and now is one of the most fertile grounds in the world; the hand of God in reviving the old forgotten Hebrew language as the only means of communication between people that come from more than 80 different diasporas; the hand of God in making sure that the efforts to destroy the newborn state will fail. God’s...

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to return to Israel this week amid hopes for an extended cease-fire. The trip will mark his third visit to the region since the war between Israel and militant group Hamas broke out last month. During the visit, Blinken will “discuss Israel’s right to defend itself consistent with international humanitarian law, as well as continued efforts to secure the release of remaining hostages, protect civilian life during Israel’s operations in Gaza, and accelerate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,” the State Department said in a statement

Pray For The Peace of JerusalemActs 18In Corinth 18 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to...

The October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel exposed the shocking level of anti-Semitism that still exists in the United States and other parts of the civilized world. You would think that the Holocaust and all of the stuff that's happened to Israel since then would have helped to eradicate hatred for this particular group of people, especially since so many cultures and societies claim to be "progressive" and focused on getting rid of racism and discrimination. Turns out that's not true at all. There are plenty of examples to illustrate this reality, but the latest comes from the University...

Elon Musk told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that he wants to help rebuild Gaza after the end of the Israel-Hamas war.Why it matters: Musk is in Israel to meet with officials and see sites that Hamas targeted in its Oct. 7 attack. The trip comes as he faces fallout for backing an antisemitic post on X earlier this month, resulting in an exodus of major advertisers."We have to demilitarize Gaza after the destruction of Hamas, and we have to deradicalize Gaza ... and then we have to also rebuild Gaza," Netanyahu said in a live chat with...

We've seen a lot of evil as an outgrowth of the attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, including the kidnapping of hostages by the terrorist group. There have now been four hostage releases, with 11 more people released on Monday. So far, the only American released has been four-year-old Avigail Idan, in the third group on Sunday. It is not clear what the status of the other Americans being held is. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that "other groups" might be holding them.One hostage whose fate has concerned many is that of the youngest Israeli, the...

US House Speaker Mike Johnson expecting approval of funding for Ukraine... There's new political polling in Germany that puts the Alternative for Germany at 26 percent of the popular vote... Poland's Conservative President swore in a conservative-nationalist government today even though the liberal-secularists won... A former adviser to the jailed ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan says he was the victim of an acid attack... British politics the latest opinion poll from "Redfield and Wilson" showing the Labor Party at 45 percent, the Conservative Party at 25 percent and the Reform Party at 10 percent... "No choice but to kill...

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said Monday to CBS News that Israel did not have a right “to kill 12,000 people in six, seven weeks” in response to the October 7 terror attack. Sanders said, “Well, this was how I respond. Look, Israel was attacked in an absolutely horrific way by Hamas, 1,300 innocent people were slaughtered. Israel has a right to defend itself, but what Israel does not have a right to do, in my view, is to kill 12,000 people in six, seven weeks, two-thirds of whom are women and children. That they don’t have right to do, that’s...

Opinion Vivek Ramaswamy’s political narrative revolves around his aspiration for the American Presidency. Advocating anti-woke sentiments, he challenges the prevailing elitist culture, distinguishing himself as an entrepreneurial outsider. His stance on issues like immigration, Ukraine, and the Israel-Palestine conflict showcases a pragmatic approach, emphasising the need for strategic balance and national interest. If all the scenarios align favorably for him, it can be supposed, in the context of the US elections, that individuals like Vivek Ramaswamy should be elected as the most powerful person on Earth-namely, to the American Presidency. He is young, energetic, and an Ivy League product, with...

As we watch the news from half a world away, we suffer the usual dearth of information where sensitive negotiations are concerned: We want to know which of the hostages is finally being set free, almost 7 months past October 7, and we want to know what kind of criminals Israel has to release in order to win their freedom. Euphemisms play a role in this coverage, as we need to read between the lines, and remember the cultural differences between the rose-colored-glasses view of the world that we Americans often adopt in foreign policy, and the reality of a...

Syria's ally Russia on Monday (Nov 27) condemned Israeli air strikes on Damascus International Airport, describing them as provocative and dangerous. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Sunday's strikes could aggravate tensions in the region, already inflamed by the Gaza war. "We strongly condemn Israel’s latest provocative attack on an important Syrian civilian infrastructure facility," Zakharova said in a statement. "We are convinced that such a vicious practice is fraught with extremely dangerous consequences, especially in the context of a sharp aggravation of the situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the resulting increase in regional tension."...

Tens of thousands of people including former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson gathered in London on Sunday for a march against antisemitism, a day after large crowds turned out for a pro-Palestinian rally. Johnson was joined by U.K. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and other senior government officials at the march to express solidarity with the Jewish community. Organizers billed it as the largest gathering against antisemitism in London for almost a century. Marchers waved Israeli flags and Union Jacks, and held placards reading “Never Again Is Now” and “Zero Tolerance for Antisemites.” Sunday’s march was organized amid concerns about rising...