Free Republic

If you just pulled your PPH (pink pussy hat) out of storage in anticipation of next month’s “Women’s March” in either Chicago or San Francisco you might want to make other plans. Both cities have cancelled their planned marches, for somewhat different reasons. What do you mean there will be no gathering of pink pussy brains this year to protest the patriarchy?Chicago organizers cited “logistical issues” but as board member Sara Kurensky conceded, to “further distance the Chicago group from national Women’s March leaders” was an additional “side benefit.” Why? …infighting across the national Women’s March movement arose after Nation...

Angelina Jolie has not ruled out a move into politics — and has joked that she might be tough enough to take the rough and tumble that comes with it. The American actress and U.N. envoy told BBC radio she “can take a lot on the chin” — a possible reference to her bitter divorce from Brad Pitt. […] Jolie is a special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency. She used her slot as a “guest editor” on the BBC to highlight refugee issues in the Middle East. …

Basketball star LeBron James has apologised after sharing a lyric about "Jewish money" on social media - saying he thought it was a compliment. James was called out over the lyric - which comes from a song by US rapper 21 Savage - after he shared it with his 45.8m followers on Instagram. But James said it was not his intent "to hurt anyone" with Saturday's post. "Apologies, for sure, if I offended anyone," he told sports channel ESPN on Sunday. "That's not why I chose to share that lyric. I always [post lyrics]. That's what I do. I ride...

A multi-million kroner money laundering case at Danske Bank’s Estonian branch could be investigated by US authorities. The Justice Department, Treasury Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are each examining Danske Bank over the allegations of money laundering flows, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The investigations are the result of a complaint made by a confidential whistleblower to US authorities more than two years ago, according to a person familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by the WSJ, the newspaper writes. In early August, the Danish state prosecutor’s office for serious economic and international crime...

A jewelry store at Paris Orly airport apologized for describing the Ben Gurion Airport in Israel as being located in “Occupied Palestine Territories”, JTA reported on Friday. In October, a receipt given to an Israeli couple who purchased an item at the Royal Quartz/Galeries Lafayette store said Ben Gurion was in occupied “Palestine.” The airport is located in the city of Lod, southeast of Tel Aviv. Arthur Lemoine, the director-general of the Galeries Lafayette watch division, said on Friday that steps will be taken to address the mistake. …

The European Union announced on Thursday it would commit a further €20 million ($23 million) to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in 2019, i24news reports. This will bring the EU’s contribution to €153 million, which is in line with how much the US contributed to the UN agency for “Palestinian refugees” in 2017. The United States, the largest single contributor to UNRWA, announced in August that it would end its $350 million a year funding for the agency, describing the organization as an “irredeemably flawed operation”. That announcement followed a previous US announcement in January that it...

The Nation of Islam and its leaders have received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the U.S. government since 2008 to teach religious study programs for federal prison inmates, according to records reviewed by the Washington Examiner. A black nationalist group led by Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam preaches that white people are “blue-eyed devils” and Jews are “the synagogue of Satan." Its leaders have received at least $364,500 in contracts and awards from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Justice between fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2019. The funding was designed to provide "Nation of Islam...

Dozens of NGOs on Tuesday called on Facebook to purge Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg from its board for blunders including “weaponizing anti-Semitism.” Advocacy and rights group took direct aim at Zuckerberg and Sandberg for Facebook enlisting Definers Public Affairs to conduct research on company critics. “You retained the services of Definers Public Affairs to investigate, undermine and attack our allies, mimicking the tactics of the worst, disreputable political operatives and hate groups,” read the letter. “It’s an absolute disgrace that Facebook sought to deflect criticism and discredit advocates by exploiting anti-Semitic campaigns against philanthropist George Soros.” The letter called...

Eight European Union member states on Tuesday warned that US President Donald Trump’s so-called “Deal of the Century” would fail unless it is based on the internationally agreed parameters for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Arab conflict. The statement by France, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany and Italy followed a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East in which US Ambassador Nikki Haley discussed the peace plan being prepared by the Trump administration. “We, the European Union members of the Council, would like to reiterate once more and emphasize the EU’s strong continued commitment to...

A Pulitzer-nominated New York Times photographer named Wissam Nassar hailed on social media the terrorists responsible for a drive-by shooting that claimed the life of a 4-day-old baby, and praised the perpetrator of an execution-style murder of two other Israelis.

A small church in Slovenia but an encouraging sign at the end of the service. The growing antisemitism in Europe, with comments on May and Macron. Comments on the climate-change movement and why a global issue is necessary for those who want to take over the world. And a word on the growing recognition of Jerusalem as capital. Notes on the future! Also, a reminder of the real meaning of Christmas.

Last Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union Party voted down a motion to freeze funding for the Palestinian Authority until it stops its “pay to slay” imbursements to terrorists and their families. The motion stated that “with the payments, the PA knowingly and willingly supports terror against Israel and makes this a worthy financial business.” But Merkel’s party wasn’t moved. One day later, a Palestinian terror attack seriously wounded a pregnant woman. The baby, who was delivered in an emergency procedure, held out for a few days and died on Wednesday. In October during a visit to...

Anti-semitism has become “disturbingly normalized” in Europe, as almost 40 percent of the European Jewish community is considering leaving their home countries because they no longer feel safe, according to a survey by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency published on Monday (10 December). Nearly 90 percent of respondents said that anti-semitism has been on the rise since 2013. Some 70 years after six million Jews were murdered in Europe, Jews on the continent once again refrain from wearing their kippa, the religious cap, and hide their mezuzas, usually hung on doorposts, to protect themselves. The EU’s Vienna-based agency surveyed almost...

An Ohio woman, one of two people accused on Monday of planning mass murders, was in contact with the racist gunman who shot up a South Carolina church and killed nine people in 2015, authorities said. Elizabeth Lecron, 23, of Toledo, was one of two people arrested in domestic terrorism-related cases, the FBI announced. Lecron was arrested with 21-year-old Damon Joseph, of Holland... The FBI said investigators found an AK-47, shotgun, handguns, ammunition and hand-caps, which are used to make pipe bombs, in her apartment. Authorities said she planned to attack a bar in Toledo and meet up with other...

The Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety and the Pittsburgh police are investigating the distribution of anti-Semitic pamphlets in the city’s neighborhoods, The Hill reported on Sunday. “The Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police are aware of and are investigating the dissemination of anti-Semitic pamphlets in Pittsburgh neighborhoods, including Squirrel Hill,” the department said on Twitter. “Such hate-filled material will not be tolerated in Pittsburgh — not by residents, city officials nor Law enforcement,” the statement added. “The Department of Public Safety assures the community that we are taking this matter very seriously and will follow...

New York University student senators passed a resolution Thursday in support of the university divesting from three companies associated with the Israeli government and instituting a “socially responsible” investment policy. Israeli-affiliated companies named in the resolution included Caterpillar, General Electric, and Lockheed Martin. Only NYU students were allowed to attend the senate meeting, each senator's vote remained anonymous, and those who wished to address the room were limited to two minutes when speaking. The meeting, which was expected to last for about two hours, was ultimately extended until it spanned nearly three-and-a-half hours.

Anti-Semitism is widespread in Turkey and intensely motivated by Islamic scriptures. Some Turkish authorities and opinion-shapers have chosen the “easy” way: Use the “Jew card” to demonize Gülen and his supporters. Many pro-government news websites and discussion forums, including pro-government newspapers, are filled with columns that claim Gülen is actually Jewish.A columnist with the pro-government newspaper Sabah, Ersin Ramoğlu, for example, wrote a column entitled “Fethullah Gülen: a Karaite Jew,” in which he “described” how “Jewish Fethullah Gülen has destroyed Turkey, such as by poisoning thousands of young people in his schools.” Then he explained why Gülen engages in all...

Brett Favre apologized over the weekend after it was revealed that he was tricked into recording an anti-Semitic video for an organization claiming to represent veterans. The “Handsome Truth” and the “Goyim Defense League”, known anti-Semitic groups, paid Favre $500 to read a script that included coded language and dog whistle messaging, prompting Favre to speak out when it became clear he was tricked. The groups used “Cameo”, an app that allows users to pay celebrities to record short video messages. Favre was paid to read the message which was intentionally written not to raise Favre’s suspicions but still appeal...

CNN’s decision to drop Marc Lamont Hill has met with resistance on the left, with some prominent progressives calling for the network to rehire him and challenging the widely held view that his comments before a United Nations panel were anti-Semitic. Harvard professor Cornel West, “Avengers” star Mark Ruffalo, Democratic Rep.-elect Rashida Tlaib, and a host of journalists were among those who rushed to Mr. Hill’s defense after CNN released the liberal commentator last week following an uproar over his speech. Mr. West said he was in “deep solidarity” with Mr. Hill, while Mr. Ruffalo said that “[c]riticizing Israel is...

W hy is it so difficult, if not impossible, to have a candid debate about the grim Israeli-Palestinian catastrophe that prevails in our midst? What stands in the way of our capacity to grasp the undeniable need for justice for Palestinians and the understandable fear of annihilation of the Jews in Israel? Is the only option a desperate Palestinian counter-violent struggle against the structural and military violence of the occupying Israeli state? The recent firing of Marc Lamont Hill by CNN for calling for a free Palestine once again opens up this Pandora’s box – with little, if any, hope...