Free Republic

Nationalist Knesset Members expressed outrage on Monday night over Egypt’s proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, which the Cabinet is to vote on early Tuesday morning. Diplomatic officials said that the Egyptian proposal would return the situation on the ground to the state it was before Operation Protective Edge, but with a Hamas that is much weaker than before. Officials close to Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett said he would vote against the ceasefire. Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) told Channel 2 News that the ceasefire proposal is “very bad. I hope the reports are not correct and if...

When the story recently broke that Chiappa Firearms was going to start installing RFID chips in all their guns, I had deep misgivings. When I read the PR broadside from their publicists at MKS, I cringed. Like most shooters, I donÂ’t want anyone to have even the theoretical technical ability to point a Tricorder or an RF scanner at me and know exactly what IÂ’m packing, where it was made, and how much I paid for it. I didnÂ’t think any gunmaker would be so foolish as to set me up like Will SmithÂ’s character in Enemy Of The State,...

Remember my emails to MKS Supply and Hi-Point regarding the press release flap? This morning I received an email response from the president of MKS Supply, Charles Brown. Here is a copy-and-paste quote of the entire email (except for my full name and private information), with no editing. I appreciate your response to the barcode chip Release that was sent out last week, I am handling each one of the few responses we received individually, I feel if you took the time to contact me and express yourself I should extend the courtesy of responding to you. I agree 100%...

The IDF barred Knesset Members and rabbis of yeshivas from entering Kever Yosef (Joseph’s Tomb) in Shechem Sunday evening, on the anniversary of the death of the Biblical Yosef. Police arrested more than 40 people who tried to enter without permits. The military and police allowed only 12 buses to enter the holy site after having originally allowed 20 busloads to enter. The last-minute restrictions on the number of participants, and the ban on public figures, caused Samaria (Shomron) Regional Council Chairman Gershon Mesika and leading ZIonist rabbi Rav Elyakim Levanon to boycott the event. Kever Yosef has been the...

(IsraelNN.com) Members of Knesset and ministers slammed Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe on Thursday following Wolpe’s harsh criticism of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during an “SOS Israel” session on Tuesday. During the session Rabbi Wolpe called Olmert a traitor, and accused Olmert his helpers of aiding the “Nazi” terrorists by giving them weapons and releasing terrorist killers from prison. According to Israeli law, he said, Olmert, Vice Premier Chaim Ramon, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and others should be hung for granting assistance to Nazis. MK Chaim Oron (Meretz) called on the government to ban Chabad activities on IDF bases, while minister...

Before seeking out Dr. Richard Burt of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Kathy Hammons could barely care for her children as a result of the effects of lupus, an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks itself. She had been on oxygen for two years, was constantly fatigued, and was overweight from the steroids used to control her disease. "I would say before this option, they [lupus patients] hit a brick wall," Burt said. "They had nothing more, no further treatments." Burt's pioneering research, however, offered a new option. His breakthrough procedure uses a patient's stem cells to treat extremely severe cases...

Excerpt - Exit polls released as polls closed at 10 P.M. Tuesday showed Kadima gaining from 29 to 32 seats, Labor from 20-22, and the Likud 11-12. ~ snip ~

Arab Knesset members’ surprise opposition to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Gaza Withdrawal plan reduces support in the Knesset for his disengagement. Arab Knesset members’ surprise opposition to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan reduces his support to 67 MKs, only seven more than a majority of the parliament’s 120 members. The three Arab-Israeli parties have eight seats in the Knesset. The three-member Hadash-Ta’Al party, headed by Ahmed Tibi, said it is opposed to the plan because it would ”deepen Israeli occupation in the West Bank” and does not include a total withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the Gaza Strip....

85 candidates to vie for Labor seats in Knesset By GIL HOFFMAN Eight-five candidates registered on Monday to run for a spot on the Labor party list to the next Knesset, including all of the party's 25 MKs, except for Dalia Rabin-Pelosoff, who is quitting politics. The newcomers who signed up included former cabinet secretary Yitzhak Herzog, former foreign-ministry director-general Alon Liel, former absorption minister Yael (Yuli) Tamir, former Mossad chief Danny Yatom, Labor activist Orna Angel, and author Eli Amir. Several public figures rejected invitations to run, including former Shin-Bet chief Ami Ayalon, businessmen Dov Lautman and Benny Gaon,...