Free Republic

Israel's public broadcaster has requested changes to the lyrics of a song submitted for this year's Eurovision contest. Organisers barred it last week for breaking rules on political neutrality. Israeli broadcaster Kan had pledged not to alter the lyrics of October Rain - an apparent reference to the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October. But Israel's President Isaac Herzog called for "necessary adjustments" to ensure Israel can enter the show. Israel has won the Eurovision Song Contest four times before. This year's event will be held in Sweden - who won last year's content - in May. Kan is...

Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomes Argentinian President Javier Milei upon his arrival to Israel at Ben Gurion Airport. Milei, who assumed office in December, reiterates his pledge to move Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem. Katz thanks Milei, who made Israel his first bilateral overseas destination as president, for his support for Israel against Hamas and for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. “You are a person of values ​​who is committed only to the truth,” Katz tells Milei, speaking through a translator, “and it is no wonder that you chose to come to Israel right away to support us in the just...

It says exactly how to torture them, Israel's President Isaac Herzog said Hamas terrorists are carrying "instruction guides" on how to torture and kidnap civilians, as he explained the kind of "extremely cruel and inhumane enemy" his country is fighting against. "I saw the skull of a woman, in which house I visited, the house totally destroyed, totally destroyed, and they just cut her head off," Herzog said. "I saw a pool of blood in that house where the picture of the children is hanging, and the grandchildren are hanging on the wall with the knives and the hatchets which...

As the joint chamber of Congress waited for Israeli President Herzog to enter, and as members were seated in their respective areas, Kristen Sinema, striking a rather voluptuous pose, was seen chatting with Republican Senator from Utah Mike Lee. From the time she entered until she sat down, she was not seen talking to any Democrat.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) lashed out on Wednesday when she learned that Israel’s president will deliver a speech next week to the U.S. Congress. The Messenger asked Omar about the President Isaac Herzog’s upcoming speech on July 19th – to which she first expressed outrage before admitting that she had no idea he was even coming. Omar said that there was “no way in hell” that she would attend the speech, adding: “I didn’t even know he was coming.” Omar, who has a long history of spewing anti-Semitic hate, generated pushback across the political spectrum over her remarks. “She didn’t...

After the mass demonstrations throughout the country during the night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will deliver a speech to the nation this morning...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, exactly a day after Gallant called for a stop to radical [sic] reforms to the judiciary that have divided the country and that the defense minister said posed security risks to Israel.The dramatic move could accelerate a crisis that Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, who has also called for a stop to the legislation, has said could culminate in a bloody civil war. It could also further fray ties with the United States, where Gallant has been steering coordination on defense cooperation with his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin...In a surprise...

Before the news of events in Israel today comment and analysis. In the small nation of Georgia next to Russia in the last 24 hours protesters have succeeded in thwarting a 76-13 initial parliamentary vote in favor of foreign agents registration legislation. The legislation opposed by the US and US aligned nations in the 'rules based international order' camp. The elected government forced to back down on the legislation called a "Russian bill" by the forces of world order. The bill opposed by the Georgian president who would have had to sign the legislation if it had gotten to final...

Israel's president called for greater dialogue between the Right and Left, warning Sunday that the country is descending into a major social crisis. In a televised address Sunday evening, President Isaac Herzog reiterated his call on the Netanyahu government and the Opposition to reach a compromise on the proposed judicial reform plan...

President praises Mohammed V, who made North African country into a safe haven from Nazi persecution during World War II, thanks current monarch for supporting community, educationPresident Isaac Herzog thanked Morocco’s King Mohammed VI in a letter on Tuesday for his country’s provision of a “safe haven” for Jews during the Holocaust. The letter — marking two years since Morocco normalized ties with Israel — was the first occasion an Israeli state official has paid tribute to the Holocaust-era actions of Morocco’s monarch at the time, according to the presidency. Herzog expressed Israel’s gratitude to the king “and the people...

[0404.co.il/?p=846085] MK Ben Gvir: "I will work to explain the positions of Otzma Yehudit in the entire world" News 0404, 09/11/2022 The chairman of Otzma Yehudit, MK Itamar Ben Gvir, referred to the audio segment in which Herzog was talking about when he thought the microphones had been turned off. "President Yitzhak Herzog and I have had many fruitful conversations in recent weeks. More than once he has pointed out to the president that the close familiarity with my views and plans has succeeded in swaying hundreds of thousands in Israel and that he is confident that if I speak...

US President Joe Biden held bilateral talks on Thursday (July 14) with Israeli officials.

Joe Biden and Prime Minister Yair Lapid expressed a public disagreement over the best way to tackle the threat, with Lapid telling the American leader that “words will not stop them, Mr. President,” and urging him to “put a credible military threat on the table.” Biden said, “I continue to believe that diplomacy is the best way.” Minutes before, the two leaders signed a joint strategic declaration, in which the US vowed to use “all elements in its national power” to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. “The United States stresses that integral to this pledge is the commitment never...

After receiving the Presidential Medal of Honor, Joe Biden turned around and shook hands with a ghost. President Isaac Herzog assisted feeble Joe and helped him walk over to a chair

During the state visit of the 46th President of the United States of America, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., to Israel next week, President Isaac Herzog will award him the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor in a festive ceremony at the President’s Residence in recognition of his true friendship with the State of Israel, the people of Israel, and the Jewish People; his uncompromising decades-long commitment to Israel's security; his contributions to deepening, strengthening, and enhancing the strong and unwavering alliance between Israel and the United States of America; and his struggle against anti-Israeli and antisemitic hatred around the world. The...

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday visited the Tomb of Jethro in honor of the Druze festival of Ziyarat al-Nabi Shu'ayb. At the start of the event, President Herzog was welcomed by Shaykh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel. Also attending were Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar (New Hope), Defense Minister Benny Gantz (Blue and White), opposition leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud), Internal Security Minister Omer Barlev (Labor), Welfare Minister Meir Cohen (Yesh Atid), Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej (Meretz), Minister in the Finance Ministry Hamad Amar (Yisrael Beytenu), Deputy Minister in the PMO Abir Kara...

For the first time ever, last week, Israel’s president made a visit to the United Arab Emirates. President Isaac Herzog traveled to the UAE and met with Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. This is the direct result of the U.S.-negotiated Abraham Accords, which have been paving the way for previously improbable Israeli-Arab cooperation as well as increased trade and investment with the United States. The Abraham Accords, which President Donald Trump institutionalized in September 2020, have normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates as well as Israel and Bahrain. For instance, as Israel...

Sergei Lavrov backs out of meeting with Bennett and Lapid amid Ukraine tensions and delicate Iran talks; Israeli sources say visit officially postponed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov canceled on Friday a planned trip to Israel and the region, during which he had been slated to meet with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and President Isaac Herzog. Lavrov had been scheduled to meet with the Israeli officials on Sunday and Monday, before meetings with Palestinian, Algerian, and Moroccan leaders, according to Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. He had been expected to attend the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum...

On Friday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited the Arab-Israeli village of Kafr Qassem and addressed a memorial to the victims of the Kafr Qassem Massacre. In that event, which took place on October 29, 1956, on the first day of the Suez Campaign, forty-nine people were killed. Speaking at the memorial ceremony, Herzog said, "I am standing here before you today with my head bowed and my heart pained, on the sixty-fifth anniversary of one of the saddest events in the history of our country - an event whose gravity has never been in question. For it is clear to...

If Israel does not take steps to separate from the Palestinians, Jews will continue to be killed in terror attacks and the two-state solution will be in danger, opposition leader Isaac Herzog told US Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday. Biden met with Herzog before concluding his three-day trip to Israel in a conversation that focused on the current wave of terror and on Biden's impressions on the Palestinian issue based on his talks with leaders during his visit. The US vice president's trip saw him meet both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas separately. Biden...