Free Republic

Interview with Netanel S.: "When I came into class, some of the students made hissing noises, imitating the gas of the Nazi extermination camps." “My parents raised me as a Christian, yet already as a child I had developed an interest in Judaism. When I decided to convert later on, my mother surprisingly revealed to me that her mother told her that she had a Jewish background. There was no proof of this, however. “In 2005 while vacationing in Israel, I fell ill and was treated by a doctor in an Orthodox school – the Diaspora Yeshiva. Afterwards I decided...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Dutch voters picked a new parliament Wednesday in an election that could determine whether the country's tight immigration rules get even tougher or follow what the opposition calls a more humane path. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende is facing a strong challenge from Wouter Bos, the opposition leader who has hammered the conservatives for what he calls a heartless social policy. Opinion polls swerved wildly in the weeks before the election, making it difficult to predict the outcome. Bos says the first thing he would do if he becomes prime minister is grant citizenship to thousands...

"THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - An explosion during a police raid on a house in The Hague early Wednesday wounded three police officers, while Dutch authorities closed the air space over the city as part of the operation. Authorities would not confirm whether the raid was connected to an investigation into possible terrorist suspects, and it was not immediately clear why air space over the city - which has no major airports - had been closed. Several city blocks were cordoned off in a mostly immigrant neighborhood near The Hague's Holland Spoor train station, and police demanded identification from anyone...

Dutch authorities have destroyed a piece of public art meant to memorialize slain filmmaker Theo van Gogh because it included the phrase "Thou shalt not kill." According to Radio Netherlands, the Volkskrant newspaper reported a Dutch artist in Rotterdam wanted to express his emotions over the murder of van Gogh, who was allegedly killed by a Muslim extremist last week due to his criticism of Islam. The artist's painting on a wall in his neighborhood included an ascending angel with the date and the familiar commandment from the Old Testament inscribed. Authorities were not impressed. "In the year 2004, this...