Free Republic

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an “obstacle” in a two-state solution between Israel and Gaza and said he should resign. In an interview with RTÉ’s Six One News during a visit to Ireland, Pelosi spoke about the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Netanyahu’s deadly counteroffensive that has left more than 34,000 Palestinians dead, according to local health officials. “We recognize Israel’s right to protect itself. We reject the policy and the practice of Netanyahu,” she said. “Terrible. What could be worse than what he has done in response?” “He should...

The anti-Israel side is getting more aggressive, experts and police agencies warn. And, now, some groups are openly embracing terror groups and their tactics – and becoming far more radical. This week, Western democracies were provided with more evidence. On Monday, Chicago’s O’Hare airport was shut down by anti-Israel and anti-democracy protests – as was a super-highway near Los Angeles, a bridge to New York City, major streets in downtown Ottawa and Vancouver’s vital container port. Around the same time, dozens of anti-Israel protesters occupied Google offices in three different U.S. cities, and more than 100 “pro-Palestine” students at New...

On the first night of Passover, the singsong of the Four Questions echoed from Jewish homes and gatherings around the world, including from unlikely, contested spaces: the center of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia and other universities where demonstrations are taking place. As evening fell over Columbia’s tent encampment on Monday, about 100 students and faculty gathered in a circle around a blue tarp heaped with boxes of matzo and food they had prepared in a kosher kitchen. Some students wore kaffiyehs, the traditional Palestinian scarf, while others wore Jewish skullcaps. They distributed handmade Haggadahs — prayer books for the Passover...

How Columbia University became the epicenter of disagreement over the Israel-Hamas war (Can only be linked to, per FR rules.)

The Israeli military's intelligence chief has resigned, saying he took responsibility for the failures before Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Major General Aharon Haliva would retire once his successor was selected. He acknowledged in a letter that his intelligence directorate "did not live up to the task we were entrusted with". He is the first senior figure to step down over the attack, which was the deadliest in Israel's history. Israeli military and intelligence officials missed or ignored multiple warnings before hundreds of Hamas gunmen breached the Gaza border fence that day...

A UN report into the Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA has concluded it must do more to improve its neutrality, staff vetting and transparency. But the independent review also said that Israel had failed to back up a claim that many of the agency's staff belonged to terror groups. Some of UNRWA's staff were accused by Israel of involvement in the 7 October attacks and of being Hamas members. This led several countries to halt funding to the humanitarian agency. The new report says Israel has not yet provided "supporting evidence" for its allegations.

Minnesota’s Democrat Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith recently joined 17 other senators in their party’s leftward lurch by urging the Biden administration “to take decisive action to bring about a two-state solution once and for all” and calling for “U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state” after the conclusion of the war in Gaza. In doing so, they are ignoring reality, refusing to apply the lessons learned from past peace attempts, tossing our ally, Israel, under the bus, and incentivizing terrorists around the globe by providing strategic rewards for the tactical atrocities they carry out to further their malign ambitions....

Columbia University faced a wave of fury over antisemitism on campus from billionaire donors Monday — with one calling pro-Palestinian mobs on the campus “f—ing crazy.” New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a Columbia graduate, said he was stopping donations immediately and charged the college with failing to keep its Jewish students safe. Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman, a business school graduate, said he would stick with a stop on donations which began shortly after the October 7 Hamas massacres.Sources told The Post that other billionaires, including industrialist Len Blavatnik may also consider pulling back as the campus is rocked by...

Sen. John Fetterman reiterated his criticisms of activists calling for cease-fire in Gaza, and slammed fellow Democrats for their “crazy” response to the attacks Iran has launched against Israel, in an interview with Fox Digital. “It is not appropriate or legal or helpful to advance your argument if you show up in a Starbucks with a bullhorn and start yelling at people,” he told Fox News Digital in a Friday interview. He also claimed such protests don’t “make you noble.” “It just makes you an (–*&*(,” Fetterman (D-Pa.) said. Since the onset of the war between Israel and terrorist group...

Many years ago, I worked for Virgin Atlantic airline and was fortunate to be awarded a free fam pass on El Al airlines to Israel. I ended up trading the ticket away to another employee but I always regretted not taking this opportunity to visit the Holy Land because of my cowardice. At the time, it seemed like every week there would be a bus blown up or an explosion in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv and I wondered how any one could live in such a turbulent environment. I grew up in a poor tenement in Spanish Harlem, where the...

Holder spent several years at Covington before he became attorney general and rejoined the firm after his stint at the Justice Department. He now advises clients on a range of issues including "cultural and social responsibility," raking in as much as $2,295 an hour for conducting racial equity audits.The former attorney general also weighed in on Israel's war against Hamas last week. Appearing alongside former Obama secretary of defense and longtime Israel critic Chuck Hagel, Holder called Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "small Man" and described Israel's response to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack as "extremely disturbing."...Hagel, who served as...

Isra Hirsi, the daughter of left-wing Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, says she's has nowhere to live or eat after being suspended for participating in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University.

Columbia University has canceled all in-person classes amid escalating anti-Israel protests that have sparked fear in Jewish students - and a warning from a rabbi. President Minouche Shafik on Monday said she was 'saddened' by the situation and that the school 'needed a reset'.

The head of Israel's military intelligence directorate has resigned, the Israel Defense Forces said on Monday. Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva announced his resignation after he failed to prevent Hamas' unprecedented Oct. 7 attack, the deadliest terror attack in Israel's history, the military said. "The intelligence directorate under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with. I carry that black day with me ever since, day after day, night after night. I will carry the horrible pain of the war with me forever," Haliva wrote in his resignation letter, according to a translation by the Associated...

President Biden marked the coming of Passover in a message Sunday, tying the Jewish holiday to the Israel-Hamas war and doubling down on his support for Israel in the conflict. “This holiday reminds us of a profound and powerful truth: that even in the face of persecution, if we hold on to faith, we shall endure and overcome,” Biden wrote. “We can never forget the horror of Hamas’ despicable atrocities.”

A massive new anti-Israel tent city took over Columbia University on Sunday, just days after an NYPD raid cleared another intrusive encampment there and cuffed more than 100 protesters. At least 30 tents were sprawled across the Manhattan Ivy League school’s West Lawn along with piles of food and supplies as embattled university officials struggled to contain the growing crisis. The upheaval and threats to Jewish students have become so intolerable that a prominent rabbi at the prestigious school urged them Sunday to stay home — and university officials told them they could take classes online. “We are looking for...

She’s working hard to pack antisemitism away for good. Archie Gottesman, the advertising guru behind Manhattan Mini Storage’s iconic billboard ads, is now focusing her talents on a new campaign — calling out the growing hatred against Jews. The 60-year-old Manhattan mom of three — who is responsible for the company’s cheeky taglines such as “Oh yeah, you’ll fit right in in Connecticut” — is also the copywriter for the controversial JewBelong ads that have gone up on highway signs around the country. With slogans such as “Oh, don’t be naive. Hamas would chop your head off too,” the ads...

Israeli strikes hit the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight killing 22 people, including 18 children. Health officials say Israel continues to carry out daily raids near Rafah. Israel vows to expand its ground offensive.

A new mass grave has been discovered at al-Shifa Hospital where a two-week siege by the Israeli army has turned the facility into a graveyard and put what was once Gaza’s largest medical complex out of service. Video with subtitles

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said he voted against additional aid to Israel to oppose a “blank check” to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Khanna was one of the 37 Democrats who voted against sending more funding to Israel on Saturday amid its ongoing war in Gaza. The House approved a long-awaited foreign aid package on Saturday that includes more funding for Ukraine, Israel and U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region.