Free Republic

The contents of the Israeli Association of Rape Crisis Center’s paper alleging “systematic” Hamas rape derive largely from discredited second-hand testimonies and debunked media reports. Among its most heavily cited sources is a dubious NY Times article that triggered a staff revolt at the paper. Despite the AP’s acknowledgment that the report “did not specify the number of cases it had documented or identify any victims, even anonymously” and that its authors “declined to say whether they had spoken to victims,” dozens of mainstream outlets have presented its findings as incontrovertible fact.

For reasons perhaps only psychiatrists understand, Democratic presidents seek, at last, finally and forever, to "solve" the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Maybe it's something akin to discovering that ultimate, clean-burning, renewable source of energy. Then when the talks collapse, an inevitability as long as one side refuses to accept Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, Israel gets blamed. Secretary of State John Kerry, weeks ago, boldly announced his trip to the Middle East where he would shuttle between the parties, applying his decades of foreign policy experience and skill to at last resolve the conflict. Then came the reality check....

Tiago Zarco lies alone, in a dark cell, licking rainwater off the walls for a taste of freedom.It is a compelling opening to a compelling novel -- Guardian of the Dawn, by Richard Zimler. This is the third instalment of the author's 'Sephardic cycle' (following the best-selling Last Kabbalist of Lisbon and Hunting Midnight), tracing Jewish experiences of persecution through generations of one family. What makes it special for us is the setting: Sixteenth century Goa.Guardian of the Dawn deserves to be read because it focuses on a period in history few of us are familiar with -- the Inquisition...

First of all I wish to commend Michael Medved who has been very diplomatic in his defence of the Israeli pullout of Gaza. He has, as mentioned on his program Friday, gone against the beliefs of other members of his family and some hard feelings may have resulted. I wish him the best in this matter. The sad fact is that Israel took the high road, but in dealing with a group of people who want to end your very existence on earth, it is only perceived as a stepping stone toward their ultimate goal. While the original wisdom of...

Hamas: Disengagement is Proof That Zionism Can Be Defeated Monday, August 15, 2005 / 10 Av 5765 (IsraelNN.com) A Hamas spokesman from northern Samaria told Al-Jazeera web site that the organized celebrations - said to cost $10 million - of Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gush Katif and northern Samaria were not a waste of resources, but reinforce the message that Zionism can be defeated. The Hamas spokesman, Muhammad Ghazal, told Aljazeera.net, "Arabs and Muslims worldwide must realize the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is not an act of Zionist magnanimity, but rather the result of sustained resistance and heroic...

'US lied about deaths of journalists in the Palestine Hotel' By Kim Sengupta 16 January 2004 The shelling of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad by an American tank, which killed two journalists and injured two others, was an act of "criminal negligence", said a report by an international media watchdog. Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) accused US authorities of concocting lies to hide what had happened on 8 April last year, and a subsequent official "investigation" was nothing more than a whitewash. They said the Bush administration must bear some responsibilities for the deaths as US forces entered the Iraqi capital,...