Free Republic

(Originally posted to the author’s website, Abu Yehuda} As many of you know, I returned to live in Israel a year ago after 26 years in the place I consider my beloved hometown, Fresno California, located in the large valley that runs down the center of the state. It is more or less equidistant from Los Angeles and San Francisco; politically it is on a different planet. Its establishment is solidly socially and politically conservative, although Democrats have a slight edge in voter registration. The main industries are agriculture and related occupations, and there is a branch of the California...

The Iran deal has potential, both because of public opinion and the way the administration is positioning itself, to hurt Democrats in much the same way that the Iranian hostage crisis did in 1980 and 1981. Should New York Senator Chuck Schumer succeed in killing the deal, he will be saving the Democrats from what appears to be a grave political mistake. President Obama has branded opponents of the deal as either ideological extremists or ignorant. In his speech at American University, he compared the agreement’s opponents with Iranian extremists chanting “death to America.” He pointed out that most of...

Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid gave a forceful endorsement Sunday to the nuclear deal with Iran, a key boost that provides continued momentum for preventing Congress from blocking President Obama’s pact. The Nevada Democrat said the deal, which lifts economic sanctions against the rogue nation for pledges to limit its nuclear program, is the “best way” to curtail Iran’s military ambitions, and he pledged to round up more support to thwart its opponents. “I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure the deal stands,” he said in a telephone interview with The Washington Post from his...

Omri Ceren talked by video from New York City and about the Iran nuclear deal, his opposition to the deal, and the lobbying effects of other groups who were supporting the deal. He responded to a video clip from Daniel Kalik speaking August 16, 2015, and an ad from his J Street organization supporting the deal. Mr. Ceren responded to telephone calls and electronic communications, with the telephone lines divided between those who supported and opposed the deal. Let's go to the videotape.

The signing of a Munich-class agreement with Iran that hands it more than it ever hoped to pull off represents a shocking, craven American capitulation to an apocalyptic crazy state: a North Korea with oil. Nothing in Western history remotely approaches it, not even Neville Chamberlain's storied appeasement of another antisemitic negotiating partner. But it also augurs the possibility of a nuclear war coming far sooner than one could have imagined under conventional wisdom worst-case scenarios. Following the US's betrayal of Israel and its de facto detente with Iran, we cannot expect Israel to copy longstanding US doctrines of no-first-nuclear-use...

American Jewish singer Matisyahu performed at a Spanish music festival late on Saturday, three days after organizers apologized for canceling his appearance due to pressure from the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. While he faced catcalls from some pro-Palestinian protesters, Reuters reported, the concert passed calmly despite its tense build-up. Video from the event shows Matisyahu singing his famous song "Jerusalem," even as protesters wave the flags of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) terrorist group in the crowd.

Political commentator and author Michelle Malkin dropped by to talk about her new book, “Who Built That,” the 2016 presidential field, Iraq and more. Michelle told Brian that she feels Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is the most intriguing candidate on the GOP side because of his intelligence and he practices what he preaches. Michelle also explained that before we can make a real decision we have to see them tested in the arena.Video at link.

As Texas Senator Ted Cruz continued to campaign in the South and Midwest, one local reporter thought he would take a run at Cruz's opposition to the nuclear deal with Iran. News 9 reporter Justin Dougherty from Oklahoma pointed to Cruz's past statements about listening to military leaders and their advice. "Several times you have mentioned that in international crisis you would seek the advice of military personnel. Now recently there were three dozen former generals and admirals who would say this Iran deal is our only option to keep nuclear weapons. Are you going to listen to that letter...

We’re days away from Congress failing to block a deal that will exponentially increase the chances of a nuclear flash over Tel Aviv or New York, and all conservatives could talk about for the past 72 hours was Donald Trump’s insult of Megyn Kelly, an insult that caused firebrand pundit Erick Erickson to lapse into Dean of Students mode to ensure that his Red State Gathering was a Safe Space — safe from the current GOP frontrunner. And we wonder why people are deeply alienated from politics? First, let’s just tell the truth: Approximately 98 percent of the professional politicians,...

Conflicting accounts of when data was removed from Hillary Clinton's private server indicate copies of emails known to contain classified information may reside on a device other than the one presently in FBI custody. She may have printed 55,000 pages of emails for submission to the State Department from a different device than the one presently in FBI custody.

American-Israeli actress implies Holocaust not any more horrific than other genocides around the world. It's time for the Jewish community to shift focus away from the Holocaust, American-Israeli actress Natalie Portman opined Friday, stating that such focus has detracted from atrocities committed around the world. “I think a really big question the Jewish community needs to ask itself, is how much at the forefront we put Holocaust education," Portman stated in an interview with the British Independent. "Which is, of course, an important question to remember and to respect, but not over other things." Portman revealed that her views stemmed...

Britain has paid the full cost of repairing the damage inflicted by an Iranian mob on the UK Embassy without receiving a penny from Tehran, the Foreign Office has confirmed. Although Britain is still demanding compensation for the sacking of the embassy, the premises in Tehran will formally reopen on Sunday – and normal service will resume at Iran’s Embassy in London – without any money being contributed for repairs. The British Embassy and a separate residential compound in Tehran were looted by pro-regime demonstrators in November 2011. The crowd, which included members of the Basij militia, set the embassy’s...

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani unveiled the country’s latest domestically produced surface to surface missile on Saturday, saying such weapons are necessary for “defense”—despite his nation’s active offensive actions throughout the region, most recently in proxy rocket attacks against Israel on Thursday. The Fateh (Winner) 313 ballistic missile has a 500-kilometer (300 miles) range and features more advanced sensors and technology, according to Sepah News, the website of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. […] “Iran’s strategy is based on defense and deterrence. The first line is diplomats and the second line is generals. Diplomats should be backed by generals. If they fail,...

Jerusalem (CNN)Israeli leaders planned to attack military targets in Iran in recent years, but they were held back due to the opinions of other government and military leaders, according to an audio recording leaked to an Israeli television broadcaster. One planned strike was canned after scheduling conflicts with a joint military exercise with the United States got in the way, according to the audio. The recording with former Defense Minister Ehud Barak was leaked to Israel's Channel 2. It detailed three strikes Barak had allegedly planned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively. CNN has translated...

Americans do well with moderation. It is in our national DNA. It is also a by-product of the freedom of expression and allowing different perspectives in the public forum. In foreign policy, non-interventionism is the moderate stance, and it has served Americans well in her four hundred or so years. As British subjects, American colonists were compelled to fight for the British crown, until they felt compelled to defend themselves against the king’s army. After centuries of European conflicts dragging Americans into war, national independence yielded a non-interventionist foreign policy for the infant nation. George Washington advised in his farewell...

While New York Senator Chuck Schumer came under withering, anti-Semitic attack as soon as he informed President Barack Obama that he would vote to reject the president’s nuclear deal with Iran, his New York colleague, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, has been largely immune from criticism of any kind. Gillibrand announced her support for Obama’s deal on August 6, the same day Schumer announced his opposition. Her decision has been a critical asset for the administration’s campaign to secure the support of other Democratic lawmakers torn between their duty to their constituents and their loyalty to Obama. Gillibrand is a young senator...

Democrats have picked up enough congressional support for the Iran nuclear deal that they are now hoping not merely to sustain any White House veto of a resolution rejecting the agreement but also to prevent the resolution from even reaching the president's desk. All 54 Senate Republicans are expected to vote for a resolution in mid-September disapproving of the accord, but to clear a procedural hurdle so the chamber can move on the bill, they need six Democrats to join them. So far, only two Democratic senators have said they will oppose the agreement: New York's Chuck Schumer and New...

Representative Jerrold Nadler, shown in 2014, is the lone Jewish Democrat from New York to endorse an agreement with Iran. Credit Andrew Burton/Getty Images Representative Jerrold Nadler was being pulled hard from all sides. Close allies in the pro-Israel community told him a nuclear deal with Iran would doom the Jewish state. His Jewish colleagues in New York’s congressional delegation had all condemned the pact. Then there was the lobbying from President Obama, first with a phone call, followed by a face-to-face talk in the White House — Mr. Nadler’s first such meeting in Mr. Obama’s tenure. Facing extraordinary pressure,...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's political leaders pushed to attack Iran at least three times in the past few years but had to back down on the advice of the military and due to concerns about its ally the United States, former defense minister Ehud Barak said. In interviews to his biographers aired late on Friday by Israel's Channel Two, Barak said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had wanted military operations against Iranian nuclear facilities in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Israel has regularly hinted it could attack Iran to stop it getting nuclear weapons, something Teheran denies it is seeking....

With the nuclear deal with Iran soon to be etched in stone, the country is projected to receive anywhere from $100-150 billion in unfrozen assets–American Action Forum says $140 billion– as part of sanctions relief in return for limiting its nuclear weapons program. Yes, a known state-sponsor of terrorism is receiving billions that won’t be spent on terrorist activities. Remember, Secretary of State John Kerry forcefully said, “They’re not allowed to do that,” whereas National Security Adviser Susan Rice admitted that some of that money could fund such nefarious operations. Given the numbers crunched by American Action Forum, this...