Free Republic

OTTAWA - Israel's embassy in Canada said on Friday that a Canadian had confessed to planning attacks in North America on behalf of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, prompting an angry Ottawa to say it would reprimand the Israeli ambassador. Canadian officials said they were also unhappy with the way Israel had responded to complaints about how 23-year-old Palestinian-born Jamal Akkal was being interrogated and were unaware of any confession he might have made. Israeli Ambassador Haim Divon told reporters that Akkal confessed at a court hearing on Thursday that he been recruited by Hamas "to carry out terrorist attacks"...

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects freedom of expression, no matter how offensive, from government interference. With that in mind, Louis Brandeis, the first Jew to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, uttered the famous quote that still resonates today: "The remedy for bad speech is more speech." For those offended by murals painted on the outside walls of Brahim "Abe" Ayad's East 55th Street deli, "more speech" might be the only recourse. Ayad, 37, a Palestinian-American who owns Grandpa's Kitchen, has had dozens of controversial images painted on his business establishment over the last few years. Public...

Peace, Peace, but There is No Peace by Naomi Ragen (February 14, 2003) I have been watching the news from all over the world. Millions of people demonstrating in favor of allowing Saddam Hussein more time to develop his weapons of mass destruction. And of course, CNN, in its European edition, is leading the “rah rah” anti-Americanism. Hundreds of thousands in Sydney. A million in New York City. In Rome. In Great Britain. And anyway, CNN tells us, the scars from the Twin Towers are already “ beginning to heal.” Oh, really? And I wonder, where were all of these...

updated list to include Dustin Hoffman, who recently opened his big mouth... We the undersigned American Citizens stand against Wealthy Hollywood Celebrities abusing their status to speak for us. We do not believe that they have a clear understanding of how we live, what we fear, and what we support. We believe that celebrities Martin Sheen, Mike Farrell, Tim Robbins, Rob Reiner, Barbara Streisand, and others with them are using their celebrity to interfere with the defense of our country. We believe that Hollywood Celebrities use their wealth to make their own personal issues known while Americans would never have...

Hundreds of skinheads disrupted a public candle-lighting and Chanukah celebration of the Jewish community in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday night. The skinheads, members of the Hungarian Revisionist Party, menacingly gathered near the dias where the ceremony was taking place and chanted, "Hungary is ours!" Hungarian police did not intervene, as both groups had been issued permits for use of the public square. Police later apologized for the oversight in issuing the permits to both groups for the same night and location. In Perigueux, southern France, vandals broke in to a synagogue located down the street from local police headquarters. The intruders...