Free Republic

Thanks to the relentless political targeting of President Trump, there’s been a spotlight on the use of “hush money” and secret funds to sweep indiscretions under the rug in politics. This shouldn’t come as a shock to many, given the nature of fame and power, but where do we draw the line? When is it acceptable for politicians to dip into taxpayer-funded slush funds to settle their sexual indiscretions privately, and without fanfare, and when is it deemed unacceptable for a private political candidate to do the same with personal funds? Here’s the thing that’s got everyone scratching their heads:...

It is not Israel's settlement blocks but rather the Palestinian ideological blockade that constitutes the biggest barrier to peaceful arrangements . The Jew-hatred in this region must no longer be played down as a kind of local custom

In response to the murderous terrorist attacks in Jerusalem, the Security Cabinet decided unanimously to authorize nine communities in Judea and Samaria. These communities have existed for many years; some have existed for decades. Following consultations by the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, Finance Minister, National Security Minister, and Strategic Affairs Minister, it was agreed to authorize the following communities: 1. Avigil 2. Bet Hogla 3. Givat Harel / Haroeh 4. Givat Arnon 5. Mitzpe Yehuda 6. Malachei Hashalom 7. Ashael 8. Sde Boaz 9. Shaharit The Civil Administration Higher Planning Committee will be convened in the coming days to approve...

The State of Israel presents: Discrimination of Jews in the Galilee settlements The planning institutions allow the marketing of land to the Arab sector at low prices compared to land in Jewish settlements - Also, these settlements do not even receive areas for expansion • The head of the Misgav Council: "The state is expelling us" Idan Avni, Israel Hayom, January 5, 2023. While the Arab sector claims discrimination between the Jewish and Arab communities, the data in the Galilee region show that the state actually works in the opposite way. In the last 15 years, there has been a...

For three weeks already, US President Joe Biden has not answered Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's request for a phone conversation on the issue of Iran's nuclear program, Channel 13 News reported. The disagreements are believed to stem from a recent conversation between Bennett and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken touched on the issue of construction in Judea and Samaria. During that conversation, Bennett made definite statements regarding Israel's right to expand Jewish towns in the area. On Tuesday evening, a delegation of senior American officials, headed by the US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, landed in Israel. The...

Elliott Abrams is a senior fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. This piece is reprinted with permission and can be found on Abrams' blog "Pressure Points" here. The New York Times, whose hostility to Israel is visible in both its news and its editorial ‎pages, was at it again this week. In an editorial (about the symbolic vote in the U.K. ‎parliament backing Palestinian statehood) titled "A British Message to Israel," The ‎Times's editorial board unloaded yet again with a barrage of advice, opinion -- and untruths.‎ Here are some of the key words:‎ "The...

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pushed back Monday against congressional Democrats who demanded that the Trump administration retract its declaration last month that it views Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria as legal under international law. In a letter..., the Secretary of State called Democrats’ positions against Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria “foolish”, Israel Hayom reported Monday night. Last month, Pompeo announced that the State Department did not view Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria as being inherently illegal under international law, reversing the policy set down late in the Obama administration, mirroring the position adopted by the Carter...

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Jason Greenblatt, the former US Representative for International Negotiations on Tuesday denounced the ruling by the European Court of Justice that all EU member states must label products from Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as ones manufactured in an Israeli “settlement”. “A hypocritical/political decision! So-called ‘settlements’ are actually cities & neighborhoods; nonsense to pretend otherwise. Peace will only come-if at all-via direct negotiations. This decision harms prospects for peace & ultimately hurts Palestinians,” said Greenblatt. Israel’s foreign ministry said earlier it “strongly rejects” the EU court’s ruling, decrying a "double standard". The secretary general of the...

The European Union’s top court ruled Tuesday that EU countries must identify products made in Israeli settlements on their labels, in a decision welcomed by rights groups but likely to spark anger in Israel. The European Court of Justice said that “foodstuffs originating in the territories occupied by the State of Israel must bear the indication of their territory of origin.” The Luxembourg-based court said when products come from an Israeli settlement, their labeling must provide an “indication of that provenance” so that consumers can make “informed choices” when they shop. The EU has consistently spoken out against Israeli settlement...

ARIEL, West Bank—When the Jewish settlers who founded this town scouted the land in 1978, they chose a rocky outcrop where Palestinian villagers warned nothing would grow. It was called the Mountain of Death. “They thought we were crazy,” said Dorith Nachman, 70 years old, recalling the reaction when she, her husband and other Jewish Israelis erected tents on the hillside. Ariel’s founders used to administer a psychological questionnaire to incoming families to ensure they could tough it out. It wasn’t just the natural environment that was harsh. By establishing Jewish communities on land Palestinians claim as their own, the...

Dive Brief: Six more contractors and designers have settled lawsuits for undisclosed amounts with victims' families and the survivors of the March 15, 2018, pedestrian bridge collapse at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, the Miami Herald reported. Among the companies that settled is FIGG Bridge Group, which designed the pedestrian span. The other five companies are Bolton Perez & Associates; Corradino Group; A&P Consulting Transportation Engineers Corp.; RLT Engineering Services LLC; and Gerdau Ameristeel US Inc. There are more than 20 defendants being sued in civil lawsuits in Miami-Dade Circuit Court for their alleged roles in the collapse. The...

When travelers shop at dozens of duty free stores at airports worldwide, they may be paying for more than a bottle of vodka or a box of chocolates. The Falic family of Florida, owners of the ubiquitous chain of Duty Free Americas shops, funds a generous and sometimes controversial philanthropic empire in Israel that runs through the corridors of power and stretches deep into the occupied West Bank.

Clergy sex abuse of children has rocked the Catholic Church not only in terms of trust and reputation, but also financially, to the tune of more than $3 billion, according to National Public Radio. The multibillion-dollar expense has gone to settlements in response to lawsuits filed by people abused by clergy, reports NPR. Nearly 20 Catholic dioceses and religious orders have filed for bankruptcy because of the scandals. An attorney whose firm represented abuse victims said that the money the church has paid because of the crisis is part of justice for those who suffered, though it hardly compensates for...

Airbnb has said it will remove from its website all properties in Israeli settlements built on the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank, after years of accusations that the company was benefitting from rentals in the illegal outposts.

Just as the Senate is about to begin President Clinton's impeachment trial in earnest, Mr. Clinton sent $850,000 to Paula Corbin Jones today to settle the sexual misconduct lawsuit that started it all. Clinton Administration officials said a check for $850,000, the amount agreed to in November to settle the case, was being sent by overnight mail to Ms. Jones and her lawyers.

The hearing would be the former Trump national security adviser's first court appearance since pleading guilty more than seven months ago. A pair of legal filings suggesting that special counsel Robert Mueller's office is almost-but-not-quite ready to set a sentencing date for former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn have prompted a federal judge to order Flynn and lawyers for both sides to make an unexpected trip to court next week. than seven months ago. The hearing set for next Tuesday would be the first court appearance for Flynn since last December, when the former Defense Intelligence Agency chief appeared...

Elder Patriot – Attorney General Jeff Sessions has finally announced an investigation into the use of federal money to fund radical leftwing advocacy groups. In making the announcement Sessions cited that at least six billion dollars was funneled into what was essentially a slush fund for Obama’s army of street activists. It’s almost a certainty that that amount is going grow significantly. The groups receiving the money included La Raza (now UnidosUS), NeighborWorks America, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Operation Hope, Black Lives Matter, and a spin-off of Acorn The Mutual Housing Association of New York, among numerous other extremist groups....

In remarks made before New York City’s Temple Emanu-El on Jan. 24, 2018, former President Barack Obama defended his administration’s decision not to veto United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSC) 2334, which asserted that Israeli settlements have “no legal validity,” violate “international law” and are a “major obstacle” to achieving a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Obama told the audience that he allowed UNSC 2334 to pass because “the pace of [Israeli] settlement construction skyrocketed making it almost impossible to make any kind of Palestinian state.”To be “a true friend of Israel, it is important to be honest about it, and the politics...

The entire Middle East is torn by sectarian animosity and violence, yet the relatively calm territorial dispute with the Palestinians is made into a key issue. ‘Welcome to a settlement,” I announced, at an elevated observation point in the redroofed community of Tzufim. Having left Route 6, one of Israel’s major highways, only minutes earlier, and having crossed no physical barrier, this came as a surprise. “I thought settlements were shabby caravans in remote, illegal outposts,” someone commented. The term “settlement” is commonly used to describe Jewish presence in what the international community considers “occupied” territories. Scores of neighborhoods, villages...