Free Republic

The Hizbullah and Hamas provocations against Israel once again demonstrate how terrorists exploit human rights and the media in their attacks on democracies. By hiding behind their own civilians the Islamic radicals issue a challenge to democracies: Either violate your own morality by coming after us and inevitably killing some innocent civilians, or maintain your morality and leave us with a free hand to target your innocent civilians. This challenge presents democracies such as Israel with a lose-lose option, and the terrorists with a win-win option. There is one variable that could change this dynamic and present democracies with a...

The week before Hizbullah launched its war against Israel in the country's north, Ha'aretz's chief diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote an ode to Hizbullah. Entitled, "We need a Nasrallah," Benn romanticized the terror master writing, "Nasrallah hates Israel and Zionism no less than do the Hamas leaders, [kidnapped IDF Cpl. Gilad] Shalit's kidnappers and the Qassam [rocket] squads. But as opposed to them -- he has authority and responsibility, and therefore his behavior is rational and reasonably predictable." Benn continued, "The moment Hizbullah took control over… south [Lebanon] and armed itself with thousands of Katyushas and other rockets, a stable...

On Sunday, as Cpl. Gilad Shalit's terrorist captors in Gaza prepared their ultimatum, in Jerusalem, at the Mt. Herzl military cemetery a crowd stood quietly around a grave, bowed their heads and remembered one of the greatest heroes the State of Israel has produced. The 30th memorial ceremony for Lt.-Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, who was killed on July 4, 1976 while commanding the raid that freed more than 100 hostages held in Entebbe by Palestinian and German terrorists, could not have come at a more significant moment. For Israel's Arab enemies, who today hold Cpl. Shalit, no doubt the decision to...

An e-mail written by Supreme Court President Aharon Barak made justifiable waves last week - but for the wrong reason. What grabbed headlines was Barak's citation of Justice Minister Haim Ramon's prediction that were the Knesset to extend the current Citizenship Law unchanged, the High Court of Justice would overturn it. That, however, was hardly news to anyone who read last week's 6-5 ruling upholding the law, since one of the majority justices stated explicitly that he considered the law unconstitutional, and refrained from striking it down only because it expires in two months anyway. What was truly noteworthy about...

Wednesday Canada's National Post published an error correction. Last Friday, the newspaper's lead story reported that the Iranian parliament had approved legislation that would compel Jews to wear a yellow strip, Christians to wear a red strip and Zoroastrians to wear a blue strip on their clothes. The story fomented an international storm. Yet it turned out that the story was untrue - or jumped the gun. The Iranian parliament did pass legislation expressing its intention to install a compulsory Islamic dress code for the country's subjects, but it did not characterize the required attire. On its Web site last...

If all goes as planned, as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert meets today with US President George W. Bush in the White House, several thousand protesters from around the US and Canada will be across the Mall by the US Senate protesting Olmert's visit. These will not be the standard Israel haters from the Left or the Islamist crowd. They will be neither neo-Nazis nor Communists. Rather the planned protest is being organized by Israel's staunchest Jewish and Christian supporters. The people getting on buses to travel to Washington to protest Olmert's visit believe that Olmert's planned withdrawal from some 95...

You have to give them credit. The Palestinians outdid themselves this week. In the framework of the maelstrom over the presumed financial crisis of the Hamas-led PA, the supposedly "moderate" Fatah organization, led by supposedly "moderate" PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, decided to threaten America and Europe. In a leaflet published by Fatah's Aksa Martyrs Brigades in Gaza, the group announced, "We won't remain idle in the face of the siege imposed on the Palestinian people by Israel, the US and other countries." They went on to threaten, "We will strike at the economic and civilian interests of these countries, here...

Three years ago, in the weeks before the invasion of Iraq, it fell to the then prime minister of Canada to make the most witless public statement on the subject by any G7 leader. "Your president has won," Jean Chretien told ABC News in early March 2003. So there was no need to have a big ol' war because, with 250,000 American and British troops on his borders, Saddam was "in a box." "He won," said Mr. Chretien of Bush. "He has created a situation where Saddam cannot do anything anymore. He has troops at the door and inspectors on...

The miracle of Purim owes much to a superficial, womanizing male who set about dating as many women as possible to find the one that was the most beautiful. Ahasuerus is like so many shallow men today who reduce women to nothing but a slim figure and a pretty face. But in the end, the story of Esther makes it clear that the secretly Jewish queen was chosen not for her looks, but because she "found grace and favor" in the eyes of all who beheld her. There was a womanly dignity, a sublime feminine majesty, to Esther that the...

A US Congressional committee approved Wednesday a new bill which is intended to toughen the sanctions against Iran and target international firms that invest in the Iran energy industry. The Iran Freedom Support Act was approved in the House International Relations Committee by a 37 to 3 majority, but despite the overwhelming support it gained, it is not yet clear when it will be brought to the House floor for a vote, mainly due to the administration's opposition to the new legislation. The proposed legislation, sponsored by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Howard Berman (D-CA) has 347 co-sponsors. It calls for...

A GRACIOUS CORRECTION OF THE JERUSALEM POST By Jerry Falwell March 1, 2006 Earlier today, reports began circulating across the globe that I have recently stated that Jews can go to heaven without being converted to Jesus Christ. This is categorically untrue. These false reports originated from a March 1 Jerusalem Post front page column which said: “An evangelical pastor and an Orthodox rabbi, both from Texas, have apparently persuaded leading Baptist preacher Jerry Falwell that Jews can get to heaven without being converted to Christianity. Televangelist John Hagee and Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg, whose Cornerstone Church and Rodfei Sholom congregations...

The Jerusalem Post today became the first Israeli newspaper to publish the controversial Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad that have sparked furore across the Muslim world. A facsimile of the original page from the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten, in which all twelve cartoons were published, on September 30, is featured in today's edition of the paper. The image is one column wide and about two-and-a-half inches high, on page six of today's paper, in an article about the weekend protests against the cartoons across the Islamic world. It is also available on the Jerusalem Post digital edition, available to paying...

Sunday, January 01, 2006 An Attack on Iran? Yesterday the online edition of The Jerusalem Post, Israel's English language daily newspaper, lead with the headline US planning strike against Iran. The story, which actually quotes the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, claims that NATO, rather than the United States alone, are examining prospects for such a strike. It goes on to say: According to the report, CIA Director Porter Goss, in his last visit to Turkey on December 12, requested Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to provide military bases to the United States in 2006 from where they would be able...

Aug. 3, 2004 21:09 Polish leader: France sees us as threat By ETGAR LEFKOVITS Poland's recent entry into the European Union is viewed by France as a threat to its domination over Europe, and relations between the two countries are likely to remain sour for years, the Polish opposition leader said. "France does not believe it is one of the centers of Europe. They believe that they are the leaders of Europe and that everybody should recognize this," the head of the Polish center-right Civic Platform Party, Jan Rokita, said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post in his office...

NEW YORK Printer Friendly E-mail This Article Sign up for SMS alerts Subscribe More News A-G clears way for plea bargain with Tannenbaum US rights report accuses IDF of 'excessive force' Analysis - Tale of a money trail Truck driver says was kidnapped by Palestinians US Supreme Court takes up WWII-era art dispute more » Editorial Vanunu's freedom Ministerial mischief Appetite for destruction Features Trouble in the air Katsav builds French aviation ties George Costanza says peace is attainable Business News Two-thirds of suspected welfare cheats found guilty Unemployment rises to record 287,000 Shamoon, Gaon buy 35% of Middle East...

Jerusalem Post military correspondent Erik Schechter suffered moderate wounds in Thursday morning's suicide bombing, having boarded the No. 19 bus just moments before the explosion. In Schechter's case, "moderate" wounds are a broken left knee and a severed vein in the calf below it; puncture wounds in his right leg and back, from slices of metal packed into the explosives; a broken shoulder suffered on impact when the blast threw him from one part of the bus to another; lungs and spleen contused by the force of the explosion; and singed eyebrows from the blistering heat. After patching together his...

The 20-day ground offensive that ended with the fall of Baghdad April 9th to US forces was characterized as much by the level-headed courage of the men who fought it as by its speed and brilliance of execution. Its signature finish - the felling of Saddam Hussein's statue in downtown Baghdad - was celebrated in the streets of the city by thousands of Iraqis who drew that day the first breaths of freedom they had breathed in three decades. Yet, for those standing in the streets of the city that bright April day, it was clear that the war...

What is the significance of the Geneva Accord, just signed by self-appointed Israeli and Palestinian negotiators? According to some Palestinians, it is a betrayal of their most cherished national aspiration, which is to return by the millions to their ancestral villages and orchards and houses in Israel. According to some Israelis, it is a piece of reckless freelance diplomacy that creates dangerous expectations about what Israel can realistically give away in any genuine negotiation. But according to the editorial board of The New York Times, the Accord is a "courageous feat" that defies "the usual extremists" on both sides to...

Blackout - Bret Stephens Admits Paper is not Real By Sara Leibovich-Dar "Conrad Black, the owner of the Jerusalem Post who had fired and laid off hundreds of reporters while embezzling millions of dollars, was more concerned with his grand lifestyle rather than seeing the Post expand and prosper," wrote a biographer. "I give priority to commentary and analysis," - Jerusalem Post Editor Bret Stephens. At a Hollinger International shareholders meeting in New York in May, Conrad Black was very upbeat. Black, the CEO, chairman and major shareholder, arrived with his wife, journalist Barbara Amiel, blew kisses to Donald Trump...

JERUSALEM POST OWNERS RESIGN; FACE CORRUPTION CHARGES Post To Be Sold, Management Reshuffled Jerusalem Post Publisher Tom Rose, Editor Bret Stephens To Be Replaced By SETH SUTEL, AP Business Writer New York-----November 17........ Under heavy pressure from investors, Conrad Black will step down as chief executive of Hollinger International Inc., publisher of the Jerusalem Post and Chicago Sun-Times, and the company may be sold after an internal investigation found that fees had been improperly paid to Black and other senior executives. Several other executives are also leaving Hollinger as part of a management shakeup the company announced early Monday. David...