Free Republic

Twenty-six years after Israel became the first country to pass a state-supervised surrogacy law that included only married heterosexual couples, the Health Ministry has announced a change allowing same-sex couples, transexuals and single fathers to make arrangements for producing a baby with surrogate in Israel.“This is a historic day for the struggle of the LGBT community in Israel and for Israeli society as a whole. We are putting an end to years of injustice and discrimination – the surrogacy equality revolution is underway,” declared Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, who himself is openly homosexual. He made the announcement along with ministry...

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began last week, most Israeli leaders across the political spectrum have either expressed full support for Ukrainians or cautiously supported a neutral approach for strategic reasons, fearful of harming the country’s interests in Russia-controlled Syria. A minority on the right, however, has gone as far as to express a measure of sympathy and identification with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s justifications for Russia asserting a historic claim to Ukrainian territory. “People in Russia suit Putin’s rule. Kyiv is Russia’s birthplace. Kyiv for Putin is like Bethlehem and Hebron,” said Maj. Gen. (ret.) Gershon Hacohen, a senior...

A state with one of the largest percentages of White residents may ban critical race theory in classrooms — an effort that doesn’t sit well with a Jewish lawmaker who wants people to remember traditionally disenfranchised communities. Wyoming state Rep. Andy Schwartz (D) stood before his colleagues on Thursday to share his concerns about moving forward with the HB97 bill, which would have banned the teaching and training of critical race theory. After reviewing the bill, Schwartz found unacceptable provisions, such as one that allowed “controversial aspects of history” to only be taught “from a holistic point of view, a...