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Gaza: In the minutes before the ceasefire kicked in at Gaza this morning, Hamas fired a flurry of rockets towards Israel - 30 according to some counts. Israel has argued that that these rockets are fired from civilian areas, and this is why its retaliatory strikes can result in civilian casualties. But this morning, NDTV witnessed one such rocket silo being created under a tent right next to the hotel where our team was staying. Minutes later, we saw the rocket being fired, just before the 72-hour ceasefire came into effect. It began with a mysterious tent with a blue...

Bill Maher is known for his pathological, frothing attacks on all things conservative. However, on the August 1 edition of Real Time With Bill Maher, the HBO host took a controversial stance for a liberal: he defended Israel. When his Iranian-American guest Reza Aslan argued that “Amnesty International...have found no evidence whatsoever of any kind of human shield being used,” Maher interrupted to state “It's a war. It's a war that Hamas started.” The left-wing comedian continued, claiming that “somehow when Israel reacts to this, they have to do everything in a way that doesn't kill any civilians. People die...

Following is a letter from Coach is Right contributor Kevin O’Neil to his Member of Parliament in London 25th July 2014. Dear Mr. Gyimah, Thank you for your letter of the 17th July 2014. I am pleased to read that ‘Britain will stand with Israel as it seeks to bring to justice those responsible’ for the murdering of the three Israeli boys, and that you found the act ‘appalling and inexcusable’. However, within the body of your letter you state that you support ‘a two-state solution’ with a divided Jerusalem. Are you aware that you are supporting the establishing of...

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In the past week someone posted an article from a young supposedly Christian Arab girl who calls herself Arab Girl. I attempted to respond to her article at the website that the article was posted from, but there was no way to make comments. Today I got an email from Marvin Rosenthal about the Israeli situation and at the very end, he has a CD available about the cult of so-called Arab Christians in Palestine. These people have a lot of support from American churches here because they claim to be Christian. Here is a link to the last page...

The front pages across the world tell an old and familiar story. Hatred of the Jews is back. The sons and daughters of Abraham enjoyed a brief respite from an ancient hatred, but it was only an intermission. The old story never ends. Assimilation with everyone else was once the Jewish dream, but Hitler turned the dream into nightmare. Only having a homeland of their own would put an end to Jew-hatred, but old hates do not go gentle into that good night. Or a bad one, either. The Jews who lost both synagogue and state over 2,000 years ago...

Let’s concede for a moment that most of us don’t believe the United States should be taking sides in conflicts abroad. Even so, most Americans would probably agree that at a minimum our diplomatic efforts should not cause unnecessary harm. Which brings me to Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent misadventure in the Middle East. It seems like a rather big deal that Egypt, Israel, Fatah, Jordan, Saudi Arabia—ostensibly, all allies of ours—agree on anything. This development, one imagines, might be something the United States would be interested in fostering rather than destroying. Certainly, the idea that Hamas’ power should...

In response to a report that the Facebook group "Death to Israel and the Zionists" is offensive, Facebook has declared that it "doesn't violate our Community Standards." Similarly, the also declared that the group "DEATH TO ZIONISTS" was also found not to violate Facebook's standards. Here are the declarations from Facebook reporting on their decision: And: Death to Zionists' page wrote on the first day of their group’s creation, “Army of Mohammed has started to return.” ...And, of course, the group "Death to the Jews" is still up on Facebook.

Yesterday on The Young Turks, Cenk Uygur took on Sean Hannity over his confrontational showdown with a Palestinian guest. Uygur said Hannity couldn’t last a debate where he didn’t control the format and setting, and said if he ever got the chance to debate Hannity fairly, “I’ll kick his [expletive] all day long.” Uygur charged that on Fox News, any criticism of Israel whatsoever isn’t tolerated, and Hannity kept poking at his guest “so he can say, ‘See? Angry Muslims.’” But would Uygur ever face off with Hannity himself? He said if he did, “he’ll do the usual badgering, but...

Israel is not tame. But she is good. If a poacher shoots arrows at a pride of sleeping lions, are the lions to blame for rousing and defending themselves? What does one say of the shooter when he intentionally cowers behind the skirts of his own women and daughters, hoping, indeed praying, that these precious souls will inadvertently perish as a result? One calls him a coward, a fool and a monster. Such are the men of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Palestinian Authority – terrorists all. They are purposefully slaughtering their own citizenry. There are but two things to blame...

Hamas, with perhaps unwitting help from President Barack Obama, is achieving its war aim: to legitimize Islamic supremacism and Jew-hatred, and take it global. Jews are no longer safe in Europe or even in some places in the U.S. Who now recalls that when Hamas was elected, the world responded with disgust? Hamas was on everyone's terrorist list. Flailing, the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and United States asked Hamas to recognize Israel, renounce terror and agree to live by previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority. Hamas refused. Nevertheless, its image is much improved. Hamas enjoys...

“Why in God’s name does anyone show sympathy, and support for a terrorist organization?” - Former Congressman Allen West And that is the question that should be asked. It boggles the mind and offends the senses that there is EVEN ONE MEMBER OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION who is upset that Israel is pummeling the Palestinian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. Under Ariel Sharon, Israel forcibly removed its citizens from Gaza and turned the land over to the Arabs. Israel has been rewarded for that gesture of conciliation with the abduction and killing of its citizens and the launching of hundreds of...

The Cupcake Crew food truck in New York City proved it’s not so sweet after all. The company inexplicably took to Twitter on Wednesday evening to spew some hate for Israel.

In his commentary for Wednesday’s Opinion page, UC San Diego communications professor Gary Fields rebukes those who talk or write about what is happening in Gaza while offering “a very simple picture of Hamas as an implacable aggressor, and the state of Israel as an innocent victim of terror.” But nowhere in his essay does Fields detail why Israel has acted as it has in Gaza since it bulldozed Jewish settlements and withdrew soldiers from the 140-square-mile territory in 2005. The narrative he ridicules — of Israel feeling compelled to defend itself against a terrorist neighbor bent on Israel’s destruction...

I argued in Spring Fever: The Illusion of Islamic Democracy that the illusionÂ’s signature feature is a fantasy: By holding free elections, a people is choosing freedom: joining modernity, adopting pluralism and tolerance, rejecting revolutionary violence and totalitarianism.Today, we are yet again being inundated with tales of Palestinian woe after HamasÂ’s familiar barbarism has provoked an Israeli military response. It thus bears remembering that the Palestinian people chose Hamas. What ever happened to all those Democracy Project paeans to self-determination? Hamas is Palestinian self-determination. Hamas was not forced on Palestinians. Hamas did not militarily conquer Gaza. No, Hamas swept parliamentary...

The anti-Semitic "tradition" of blaming Jews for the world's problems mostly took a temporary back seat in light of the indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas. Major newspaper editorials condemned Hamas, but their condemnation was hedged by calls for "restraint" on "both sides" and "proportionality" in Israel's response to the attacks. There is little or no mention of Hamas' directive to ignore Israel's warning to leave homes in areas where the rockets have been placed among civilians. The Hamas strategy is to parade the bodies of the dead before TV cameras to demonstrate Israel's "cruelty"...

On Sunday John Kerry forgot the number one rule of being miked for an interview; the microphone is always on. The Secretary of State was miked and on camera waiting for an interview with Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace when he spoke to an aide about an Israeli operation resulting in the deaths of 14 IDF solders. Kerry’s reaction was a mocking: "It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation. “It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation.We’ve got to get over there. Thank you, John. I think, John, we ought to go tonight. I think it’s crazy to be sitting around.”...

Palestinian soldier stands guard during Pope Francis' May 25, 2014 Mass in Bethlehem's Manger Square. Credit: Lauren Cater/CNA. Vatican City, Jul 18, 2014 / 08:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In wake of the rising death toll in Gaza due to increased tensions between Israel and Palestine, Pope Francis made a personal call to both presidents in order to ask for peace. “Following last Sunday’s heartfelt appeal for continued prayer for peace in the Holy Land, this morning the Holy Father Francis personally telephoned President Shimon Peres and President Mahmoud Abbas,” a July 18 statement from the Vatican read. During the calls,...

Netanyahu's office says purpose of mission is to destroy terror tunnels and seriously harm the infrastructure of Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Gaza. "In light of Hamas' continuous criminal aggression, and the dangerous infiltration into Israeli territory, Israel is obligated to act in defense of its citizens,” a statement from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office said.