Free Republic

Margarita “Rita” Gusak, 21, of Gan Yavne, was murdered by Hamas terrorists while fleeing the Supernova music festival on October 7. She attended the rave with her boyfriend, Simon Vigdergaus, who was also murdered that day. Her mother told the Telegraph that after the rocket sirens sounded, Rita texted her to say that they were planning on leaving via car. That was the last they heard from her. Her family waited desperately for news for a week until they were informed that her body had been identified. She was buried on October 15 in Givat Brenner. She is survived by...

Six members of the Washington Post's foreign desk previously wrote for Al Jazeera.. The Washington Post is in turmoil—old editor out, new editor in, and a new publisher under siege from a hostile and beleaguered staff. One of the criticisms the paper has weathered as it has bled money and subscribers is that, since Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, its coverage of the war in the Middle East has been shoddy, inaccurate, and implacably hostile to Israel. Days after the Israel Defence Forces rescued four hostages from a Palestinian refugee camp, for example, a Post headline blared: "More...

The United Nations Human Rights Council is holding a discussion today (Wednesday) on a report accusing both Israel and Hamas of war crimes. Professor Anne Bayefsky, the Director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and President of Human Rights Voices, spoke at the hearing and accused the council of engaging in antisemitism in its report by creating a moral parity between Israel and Hamas though the downplaying of Hamas's atrocities and the demonization of Israel. "The Inquiry report is a case-study in antisemitism," Professor Bayefsky said. "Antisemites deny Jews the right of self-defense. Your report never...

An illegal alien from Mexico, deported 16 times from the United States, is accused of killing a 64-year-old man from Bailey, Colorado, in a vehicle crash. Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza, a 47-year-old illegal alien, has been arrested and charged with vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, reckless driving, and driving without a commercial driver’s license in connection to the death of 64-year-old Scott Miller. According to the Colorado State Patrol, Cruz-Mendoza was driving a semi-truck for the Indio, California-based Monique Trucking company on Highway 285 near Conifer, Colorado, when the vehicle veered off the road, causing the pipe and angle iron he was carrying...

Some 9,000 troops from 20 NATO countries have been participating this month in military exercises in the Baltic Sea region, which has become strategically sensitive following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sweden, which had joined the drills in the past, took part in the Baltops exercises for the first time in June as a full NATO member after joining the trans-Atlantic military alliance earlier this year. The weeks of training include sea mine sweeps, submarine detection and landings. The exercises by navy, air force and ground troops are being held on the Baltic Sea, as well as in Sweden and its...

Shortly after Oct. 7, the president of the Ford Foundation, Darren Walker, issued a statement on the foundation’s behalf. Walker, who has been lauded by Laurene Powell Jobs as an "optimist," a "realist," and a "prophet who speaks truth to our world’s most troubling demons," announced that the Ford Foundation would bankroll "immediate humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza and the Middle East." "Administered by our colleagues in the Middle East and North Africa regional office," Walker said, "the resources will go to partners in the region to provide life-saving support and other essential needs to the affected Palestinian civilians in...

Russia and Ukraine are set to remain locked in battle for the foreseeable future after an international gathering billed as a first step toward peace delivered no eye-catching diplomatic breakthrough that might suggest a coming end to Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II. The absence of Russia and China from the two-day conference in Switzerland on the weekend and the decision by some key countries — including India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Mexico — not to sign the meeting’s final document Sunday meant that the gathering had little to show beyond some goodwill and pledges to keep working...

Western leaders rejected Vladimir Putin’s framework for a ceasefire while backing Ukraine’s demands that Russia return all occupied territories as the basis for any potential peace agreement. The “first annual Global Peace Summit” held in the luxury Swiss resort of Burgenstock, which did not include any representatives from Moscow, concluded with the status quo essentially remaining the same, with Ukraine continuing to demand that Russia cede territory in the East and Crimea as a prerequisite for actual peace talks to begin, a likely non-starter for Vladimir Putin.

Leaders of the G7 countries on Friday issued a statement in which they declared their support for the ceasefire and hostage release deal which was recently outlined by US President Joe Biden. The lengthy statement also reiterated the countries’ support for a “two-state solution” and also called on all sides to refrain from unilateral steps that undermine that solution, “including Israeli expansion of settlements”. The G7 also criticized Iran for its April drone and missile attack on Israel and reaffirmed their commitment to Israel’s security. Finally, the statement also expressed concern over the recent escalation between Israel and Hezbollah. “We...

Support for Hamas also coincides with the Biden administration's and some European nations' ongoing promotion of creating a Palestinian state right next to Israel. This move would not only open the door for more atrocities against Israelis, but would also put Israel in grave danger because the Palestinian state, even under the supposedly watchful eye of a chaperone, would essentially be ruled by the same murderers and rapists who took part in the October 7 carnage. These European nations — Ireland, Norway, and Spain — have sent a message to the Palestinians that the only way they can get international...

End the ceasefire talk and let Israel defeat Hamas. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's eighth trip to the Middle East since the terrorist atrocities of October 7, 2023, has gone about as well as the previous seven. That is to say: Not well at all. Blinken went to the region to pressure Israel and Hamas into accepting Biden's latest ceasefire proposal for the war in Gaza. Biden released the plan on May 31. It would proceed in three stages. First, there would be a six-week truce during which Hamas would release some hostages in exchange for terrorists held in Israel,...

NATO aircraft were scrambled Thursday overnight as Russian drones and missiles again struck targets inside Ukraine, reaching as far west as the Khmelnytskyi region less than 200 miles from the Polish border. "Polish and allied aircraft" took to the skies above southeastern Poland as Russian ballistic missiles and Shahed attack drones targeted Ukrainian cities, per a report by Warsaw's Armed Forces Operational Command. "This is another very busy night for the entire air defense system in Poland due to the observed activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation carrying out strikes using cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles of...

And so . . . 16-year-old Thomas Perotto was stabbed in the heart and the throat, and died Young French farmers from the villages of Saint-Marcellin and Pont-en-Royans organized a “farmers’ ball” on Saturday evening, May 24, held at the Murinais ballroom. It was to have been a night of innocent fun. They had not counted on Muslim immigrants from Saint-Marcellin showing up with mayhem on their minds. Six Muslims came to the hall, and waited outside. When two farmers left the ball, the Muslims attacked them and. began to beat them up. At that point, other farmers streamed out...

Having laid relatively low in recent weeks, America's pro-terrorism contingent is back with a vengeance -- seemingly energized in opposition to Israel's successful hostage rescue mission over the weekend. Perhaps that timing is a coincidence, but I doubt it. The Hamas mob's political allies and apologists often insist that it's unfair to frame their words, chants and actions as pro-Jew-murder, or even as expressions of anti-Semitism. Well, let's check in on what just happened in New York City, where Hamas supporters protested an exhibit dedicated to the victims of the Nova music festival, where terrorists from Gaza slaughtered hundreds of...

New York “Squad” Rep. Jamaal Bowman is being accused of lying about his positions on Israel — publicly suggesting one thing and then allegedly flopping while privately groveling to a radical socialist group. Bowman — who is in the fight of his political life against Democratic Party challenger George Latimer — previously publicly condemned a heinous anti-Israel protest supported by the Democratic Socialists of America “in the strongest possible terms.’’ He seized on the moment to crow that he had let his DSA membership lapse after a previous falling out with the group for visiting Israel and voting for defense...

The doctor overseeing the recovery of four Israeli hostages rescued from the Gaza Strip said Monday that they were beaten regularly during their captivity by the Hamas terror group. Dr. Itai Pessach of Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv told CNN that the hostages suffered almost daily abuse and that their time in captivity was “a harsh, harsh experience.” “Every hour, both physical, mental, and other types, and that is something that is beyond comprehension,” Pessach said. Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan, and Andrey Kozlov were rescued on Saturday from eight months of Hamas captivity in Gaza in...

The United States has lifted restrictions on providing weapons and training for the high-profile Ukrainian military unit the Azov Brigade. The U.S. State Department confirmed Monday that the unit, which has played a significant role in Ukraine's effort to repel the ongoing invasion launched by Russia in February 2022, could now be trained by U.S. military personnel and use U.S.-provided weapons. The State Department's move reversed a decade-old prohibition imposed on the Azov forces under the Leahy Law, which prohibits the U.S. from supplying weapons or financial assistance "to units of foreign security forces where there is credible information implicating...

Noa Argamani in her father's embrace after Israeli security forces rescued her from Gaza The IDF has now confirmed that three freed Israeli hostages, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv, were held captive in the family home of Gazan "civilians," a report said on Sunday. Rami Abdul, the chairman of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, said that the organization's initial evidence showed the Israeli special forces used a ladder to enter the home of Dr. Ahmed Al-Jamal and his family. Several of the family members were killed during the operation including 36-year-old journalist Abdullah Al-Jamal. According to the...

Minister Benny Gantz (National Unity) announced on Sunday that he, together with his party, would be leaving the emergency government which he joined at the onset of the war. "Months after the October tragedy, the situation in the country and in the room of the decision-makers has changed. Netanyahu and his partners have turned unity into a moving call, without real-world action. Fateful strategic decisions are met with hesitancy and procrastination due to political considerations," Gantz stated in an address announcing his decision. He claimed that "Netanyahu prevents us from proceeding to true victory. Therefore, today, we are leaving the...

Since October 7, Hamas has had the choice to return the hostages and end the war. It refused, and now its supporters are horrified that Hamas and Co. are paying a price. Since October 7, Hamas has had the choice to return the hostages and end the war. It refused, and now its supporters are horrified that Hamas members, both in uniform and civilians. are paying a price. In 2005, Israel withdrew from Gaza, leaving the region Judenrein (“Jew free,” as the Nazis liked to say) and without an Israeli military presence. There was no occupation. Gazans promptly—and overwhelmingly—elected Hamas,...