Free Republic

Israel announced Wednesday the operational deployment of the Iron Beam, the world’s first high-energy laser defense system ready for combat, a breakthrough officials hailed as a strategic game-changer in modern warfare. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Defense, confirmed completion of final development trials for the Iron Beam 450, demonstrating the ability to intercept rockets, mortars, and drones “with unmatched speed, precision, and near-zero cost per engagement.” Defense sources emphasized that the system’s speed-of-light engagement means Israelis may no longer need to run to shelters in most attacks, as projectiles can be destroyed almost immediately after...

“I was shocked and sickened by the reaction of– the ghoulish and really repulsive reaction of the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, to Charlie’s death,” said Carlson on The Tucker Carlson Show. “Basically made it all about him and all about his country, immediately trying to take the energy, the sadness, the grief that people felt over Charlie’s murder and redirect it towards support for whatever project he’s involved in.”He continued, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything lower than his attempt to hijack Charlie’s memory and use it for his own political ends, particularly because what he said...

A Louisiana immigration judge ordered Columbia University student protest leader Mahmoud Khalil to be deported to Algeria or Syria on Friday, according to documents published by the American Civil Liberties Union, leading his legal team to appeal on Wednesday to the New Jersey federal court overseeing his civil rights case. The Columbia University Apartheid Divest leader, who was detained on March 8 and had his green card revoked over his role in belligerent activism on campus, was on September 12 denied a twelve day time extension, a change of venue to New York, and a waiver for removability.

At a Dearborn City Council meeting last week, Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud told local resident Edward “Ted” Barham, a Christian, that he was “not welcome” in the city after Barham raised concerns about new street signs honoring Arab American News publisher Osama Siblani. FOX 2 Detroit reported that the signs honoring Siblani were placed at intersections on Warren Avenue by Wayne County, not the City of Dearborn. But the mayor escalated the debate, telling Barham, “Although you live here, you are not welcome here.” Barham introduced himself as “Ted Barham, Dearborn resident,” and objected to two intersections being renamed after...

The U.S. relationship with Qatar was a function of Washington’s post-9/11 delirium. Yesterday’s strike was about finally undoing it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says that Tuesday’s attack on Hamas leadership in Qatar “was a wholly independent Israeli operation.” That’s only partly true, though—because there’s no way Israeli Air Force jets fired missiles at Qatar, home of the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East, without a green light from the White House. President Donald Trump says he feels “very badly” about the location of the attack. But if he didn’t want to give the impression that Israel...

The Senate and House are on a collision course over whether to repeal comprehensive sanctions on Syria, a rare area where there are bipartisan coalitions on both sides of the debate. Discussion centers on whether to completely repeal the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, a severe sanctions mechanism that blocked nearly all U.S. and international cooperation or engagement with the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. Legislation to repeal Caesar is included in the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2026. But an amendment to the House version of the NDAA to repeal Caesar...

On the Emmys red carpet, the 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story' actor addressed the active warfare between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.Javier Bardem took a moment on the 2025 Emmys red carpet to call on “Israel to stop this genocide” in Palestine. While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the 77th Emmy Awards ceremony, the actor didn’t want to talk about Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story but rather the ongoing active warfare between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “At the end of August, the IAGS, the International Association of Genocide Scholars...

“Hacks” star Hannah Einbinder is under fire for turning her Emmy acceptance speech into a crude, political soapbox in which she said, “F—k ICE and free Palestine.”The actress’ controversial remarks went viral after she won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the hit HBO show during Sunday night’s live ceremony. ”Go Birds, f—k ICE and free Palestine,” the 30-year-old actress, who is Jewish and a lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fan, said at the conclusion of her emotional speech to cheers as she exited the stage. *** “I feel like it is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish...

Summary. While Israel has historically been regarded as a close ally of the United States—sharing democratic values, intelligence cooperation, and defense partnerships—certain individuals of Arab "Palestinian" origin or ideological affiliation have been involved in acts of violence against Americans. This article provides a factual overview of documented incidents that have shaped this complex relationship. 1. Sirhan Sirhan and the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy (1968)Background: Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, a Palestinian IslamoChristian born in Jerusalem in 1944, moved with his family to the United States in 1956.[1]Defense : The ex Grand Mufti of Jerusalem dispatched two Arab lawyers to defend Sirhan....

The International Committee of the Red Cross chose a wing in Al-Shifa hospital "adjacent to the [Hamas] movement offices,” according to documents found by the IDF in Gaza and recently declassified. Two Hamas documents found by Israeli forces in Gaza indicate that international organizations such as the Red Cross and Doctors without Borders are well aware of the presence of Hamas in the Gaza Strip’s medical facilities despite obfuscating or outright denying it publicly, NGO Monitor revealed on Wednesday. The internal Hamas memos were among a cache of documents declassified by the Israel Defense Forces. NGO Monitor translated the Arabic-language...

The very fighters Beijing cites as justification for its hardline policies in Xinjiang – the Uyghurs of the Turkestan Islamic Party – have now been folded into Syria’s military establishment.Syrian Free Army soldiers and Coalition Forces assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, Task Force Armadillo provide security after departing a CH-47 Chinook during cold and hot load air assault training at Al-Tanf Garrison, Syria, on Feb. 23, 2025. When Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorial regime collapsed in late 2024, Beijing lost a familiar ally in Damascus. For more than a decade, China had backed Assad under the banner of sovereignty and...

Pope Leo XIV met Sept. 4 with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, calling for swift action to end hostilities in Gaza and ensure urgent humanitarian access to the most afflicted areas. According to the Holy See Press Office, the meeting — held at the Vatican Apostolic Palace — addressed escalating tensions in the Middle East and reinforced the Vatican’s long-standing support for peace built on justice and dialogue. The statement described the discussions as “cordial” and noted they focused on the broader political and social instability across the region, “with particular attention to the tragic situation in Gaza.”The Holy See emphasized...

Israeli defense minister Israel Katz issued an ultimatum to Hamas: surrender, release all hostages, and disarm, or see Gaza City — the group’s last stronghold — destroyed. Katz’s statement came in apparently response to a statement by Hamas that it would be willing to release all of the hostages in return for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza — which would leave the group armed and in charge, ready to prepare for war again. The Times of Israel reported: “Defense Minister Israel Katz warns that Hamas will soon face a stark choice: either accept Israel’s conditions to end the war — including...

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) closed out the radical “People’s Conference for Palestine” in Detroit Sunday by boasting of her congressional power and Palestinian resilience, telling cheering attendees, “Now we’re in Congress, and we’re in every corner of the United States. We aren’t going anywhere. We are just getting started,” and declaring that their grassroots activism is winning against the “decaying halls of the empire in Washington, DC.” The weekend-long conference, organized by a coalition of radical pro-Palestinian groups, drew scrutiny for featuring extremist voices alongside Tlaib, including convicted terrorists and anti-American activists who openly called for dismantling U.S. institutions. One...

Former Gaza hostage Ilana Gritzewsky recalled in a Wednesday UN Security Council meeting that during her captivity, when she was moved locations, she was forced to walk hand in hand with a terrorist as if she were his wife, so nobody would notice she was a hostage. “They grabbed me by the hair, hit me in the stomach, causing me to lose my breath. They dragged me across the floor, lifted me, and threw me against the wall. They pointed guns at me, hit me, and tried to film me with my phone. "I raised my hands, told them I...

President Donald Trump is reportedly reviewing a proposal to offer Gaza residents $5,000 each to voluntarily leave the region, as part of a larger plan to redevelop Gaza into a tech and trade hub backed by Israeli and Gulf investment. The 38-page plan, reported by The Washington Post, outlines a temporary relocation of Gaza’s two million residents, either to other countries or into secure zones within Gaza during reconstruction. Those who own land would be compensated with digital tokens that could be used to finance relocation or redeemed for housing in newly built “smart cities.”The proposal, known as the GREAT...

The White House is reportedly considering a plan to pay Palestinians $5,000 to relocate for 10 years while the Gaza Strip is transformed into the “Riviera of the Middle East” envisioned by President Trump. The Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation (GREAT) proposal would establish a trusteeship for control of the 25-mile-long strip of land that would be administered by the US for at least 10 years, while reconstruction – financed by billions of dollars in public and private-sector investments – takes place, according to the Washington Post. Gaza’s entire 2 million population would need to be temporarily relocated for...

In the Muslim Middle East, plotting revenge is a way of life, so it is not surprising that the Islamic Republic of Iran is seeking to avenge the humiliating defeat inflicted by the United States and Israel this past June. Although Israel is the main focus of Iran’s revenge, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are also targets for the ayatollahs. With Hezb’allah demobilized as the executive arm of Iran, and Assad’s Syrian territory is no longer available to transport arms to Hezb’allah, the entire Shiite crescent has been disrupted and is now close to elimination. Only...

The Israeli military on Friday ended its policy of pausing daytime operations in Gaza City, intended to ease aid delivery, in the latest indication that the military was moving toward a full-scale invasion of the area. In a statement, the military said the “local tactical pause in military activity” would not apply to the city as of 10 a.m. on Friday, describing the area as a “dangerous combat zone.” The Israeli military said in late July that it started instituting pauses of operations between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. in several parts of the Gaza Strip. It made the move...

Rep. Rashida Tlaib will headline a Detroit pro-Palestinian conference featuring ex-prisoners, extremistsA controversial pro-Palestinian gathering in Detroit is drawing scrutiny for featuring speakers with extremist views—including two former Israeli prisoners released in a Hamas deal—alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a prominent anti-Israel congresswoman. The second annual "People's Conference for Palestine" conference, which is being organized by a dozen different pro-Palestinian groups, will begin Friday afternoon and will end on Sunday. Rep. Tlaib will speak alongside several individuals accused of espousing antisemitic rhetoric, including a professor who has compared Jews to Nazis, a journalist who quipped about Hamas kidnapping "several...