Free Republic

Police arrested “roughly 60” anti-Israel protesters inside the Capitol Rotunda Tuesday after a group led by controversial activist Linda Sarsour staged an illegal rally in the iconic venue. “Not another nickel! Not another dime! No more money for Israel’s crimes!” chanted members of the group, holding “Stop Arming Israel” signs. It is illegal to hold demonstrations inside the Capitol, though violators of the prohibition are inconsistently prosecuted by the DC US Attorney’s Office after being arrested. “We were aware of a group’s potential plan to take a tour of the US Capitol Building and then start a protest,” Capitol Police...

On Friday June 3, as the Jewish holiday weekend of Shavuot began, an unusual website appeared: It showed a map of Massachusetts chock-full of dots interconnected by multicolored lines, like the corkboard of an overzealous detective or, perhaps, a conspiracy theorist. Each dot represented an institution — a school, a corporation, a police department, a nonprofit — and the lines showed their ties to one another and to Jewish organizations or philanthropists. The institutions and their purported relationships were highlighted, the Mapping Project’s anonymous creators wrote, “so we can dismantle them.” In the Boston-area Jewish community, the Mapping Project has...

(Two background notes. (1)Nick Riemer is a very prominent Australian "progressive" "antizionist" and his views expressed here are relatively moderate compared to those who are celebrated Hamas' "act of resistance" though less moderate than those engaging in "both sideism"; (2) Everyone knows that the slaughter, rape, kidnapping, and so on of hundreds of Israelis is precisely what Hamas would do to the entire Jewish population of Israel if it had the power to do so. So, with that said…)There has been too much pointless debate over whether those who call for Israel's destruction are necessarily antisemitic. The important point is...

CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker said Wednesday that he is resigning, effective immediately. Zucker said in a memo, "As part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo's tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years. I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn't. I was wrong. As a result, I am resigning today."

Joe Biden said Saturday that it is “bizarre” for Bernie Sanders to propose withholding U.S. military aid from Israel if the government there doesn’t moderate its treatment of Palestinians. The remarks highlight a nuanced but significant distinction between the Democratic presidential contenders. Biden and Sanders support a “two-state solution” for Israel and the Palestinians, and both men have criticized political leaders on each side of the long-standing conflict. But Biden’s take, offered during a question-and-answer session with Iowa voters, hewed a more traditional U.S. establishment line by reaffirming a financial commitment to Israel regardless of its actions toward Palestinians. The...

A prominent haredi publication has raised eyebrows with an open letter in Hebrew and Arabic begging Arab terrorists not to attack haredi Jews, by highlighting the fact that most haredim do not visit the Temple Mount. The letter was published in the haredi weekly Mishpacha Magazine this morning (Thursday), penned by Mishpacha’s Deputy Editor, Aryeh Ehrlich. It comes after a month of escalated, daily terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces by Palestinians. False rumors that Israel is planning to “change the status quo” on the Temple Mount to allow Jewish prayer have been used as a pretext by...

Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, spokesman of Neturei Karta International, issued the following statement on the eve of the arrival of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "It has been our honor and privilege to meet with President Ahmadinejad, as well as other Iranian leaders, several times in the past. In addition we have had the pleasure of visiting Iran on different occasions. At each encounter with the Iranian leadership, we have emphasized to them that, despite media hysteria and the statements of some misinformed Jews, we have found the Iranian people and their leaders to be friendly and respectful." "Likewise, although...

Bryce Lockwood, Marine staff sergeant, Russian-language expert, recipient of the Silver Star for heroism, ordained Baptist minister, is shouting into the phone. "I'm angry! I'm seething with anger! Forty years, and I'm seething with anger!" Lockwood was aboard the USS Liberty, a super-secret spy ship on station in the eastern Mediterranean, when four Israeli fighter jets flew out of the afternoon sun to strafe and bomb the virtually defenseless vessel on June 8, 1967, the fourth day of what would become known as the Six-Day War.......... .....Their anger has been stoked by the declassification of government documents and the recollections...

"If they [Jews] all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide." – Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbullah commander "I say this without fear: for those who believe in freedom and dignity, we are all Hizbullah now." – Norman Finkelstein, Jewish anti-Zionist That any human being could proclaim his support for a movement whose goal is to annihilate all the world's Jews must be shocking to the normal observer. That a Jew could take this position seems all the more astounding. Yet Norman Finkelstein, university professor and best-selling author, is by no means unique among...

A group of anti-Zionist rabbis has visited the Palestinian parliament to pledge their support for the prospective Hamas-led government. The rabbis from the small ultra-Orthodox movement Neturei Karta, which this month sent a delegation to Iran, travelled to the West Bank town of Ram Allah to express their support for the Islamic group. The group rejects the existence of the state of Israel as contrary to Jewish law and believes the land should be returned to Palestinians. Neturei Karta believe that no Jewish state should be created before the coming of the messiah. "We are true Jews who have come...

A reader has sent me the following deeply disturbing account of the current atmosphere on a British law course: 'I must say it's been an eye-opener for me regarding the level of antizionism/antisemitism I have encountered from the people on the course, many of whom have training contracts and will go into practice as the next generation of lawyers. Upon realising the hostility I decided not to tell anyone that I was Jewish. 'One day, at the end of a workshop, someone raised the issue that an Israeli soldier was in the headlines for shooting a Palestinian boy. Three other...

On April first, many bewildered Americans woke to find headlines including “Columbia Cleared of Anti-Semitism” and “Columbia Panel Clears Professors Of Anti-Semitism”. Many must have thought this an April Fools joke. How could there even be a question of anti-Semitism at Columbia, long known as “the Jewish Ivy?” Sadly, these news stories were little more that a tool for a cover up the problem at Columbia. For the last three years, Columbia has been a battleground between supporters of aggrieved students and professors throwing around allegations of Anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism, intimidation, outside influence, “McCarthyism”, and “a pattern of discrimination”. The campus...

There's another website I participate in,and I often find myself crossing verbal swords with the self-defined "intellectual elite". Today was no exception. On one thread,an anonymous poster was making snotty remarks about "neo-cons" in the Administration.He/she (whatever!) listed several by name,and it suddenly occurred to me all of the names were Jewish . I responded politely-which took a bit of effort.I'm not Jewish,but 3 of my grandchildren are.My closest friend in high school was the son of death camp survivors-(and yes,I saw the tattoos with my own eyes !) I expressed my concern to "Anonymous",saying I knew anti-Semitism had become...

<p>Recently I had a disturbing encounter with an anti-Zionist. I'll present the discussion as well as I can, both in hopes that I can respond to anyone else who thinks the same way, and so that I can organize some of the thoughts I was not able to articulate during the discussion itself. I also welcome corrections to my limited understanding of mideast history. I know that my point of view may be different from those who are religious, but please keep in mind that the conclusions are the same -- as long as your world view does not call for the destruction of Israel due to prophecy.</p>