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Texas GOP leaders reject proposed ban on associating with Nazi sympathizers and Holocaust deniers
(Texas Tribune via JTA) — Two months after a prominent conservative activist and fundraiser was caught hosting white supremacist Nick Fuentes, leaders of the Republican Party of Texas have voted against barring the party from associating with known Nazi sympathizers and Holocaust deniers.
In a 32-29 vote on Saturday, members of the Texas GOP’s executive committee stripped a pro-Israel resolution of a clause that would have included the ban. In a separate move that stunned some members, roughly half of the board also tried to prevent a record of their vote from being kept.
In rejecting the proposed ban, the executive committee’s majority delivered a serious blow to a faction of members that has called for the party to confront its ties to groups that have recently employed or associated with outspoken white supremacists and extremists.
Fuentes came to prominence through his participation in the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, and last year made national headlines when he dined with Ye, the musician who had recently made a string of antisemitic comments, and former President Donald Trump at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago retreat.
In October, The Texas Tribune published photos of Fuentes, an avowed admirer of Adolf Hitler who has called for a “holy war” against Jews, entering and leaving the offices of Pale Horse Strategies, a consulting firm for far-right candidates and movements.
Pale Horse Strategies is owned by Jonathan Stickland, a former state representative and at the time the leader of a political action committee, Defend Texas Liberty, that two West Texas oil billionaires have used to fund right-wing movements, candidates and politicians in the state — including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Matt Rinaldi, chairman of the Texas GOP, was also seen entering the Pale Horse offices while Fuentes was inside for nearly seven hours. He denied participating, however, saying he was visiting with someone else at the time and didn’t know Fuentes was there.
Nick Fuentes (middle) is seen exiting the offices of Pale Horse strategies with Chris Russo, founder and president of Texans for Strong Borders (right) in Fort Worth on Oct. 6, 2023. (Courtesy The Texas Tribune)
Defend Texas Liberty has not publicly commented on the scandal, save for a two-sentence statement condemning those who’ve tried to connect the PAC to Fuentes’ “incendiary” views. Nor has the group clarified Stickland’s current role at Defend Texas Liberty, which quietly updated its website in October to reflect that he is no longer its president. Tim Dunn, one of the two West Texas oil billionaires who primarily fund Defend Texas Liberty, confirmed the meeting between Fuentes and Stickland and called it a “serious blunder,” according to a statement from Patrick.
In response to the scandal — as well as subsequent reporting from the Texas Tribune that detailed other links between Defend Texas Liberty and white supremacists — nearly half of the Texas GOP’s executive committee had called for the party to cut ties with Defend Texas Liberty and its auxiliary groups until Stickland was removed from any position of power, and a full explanation for the Fuentes meeting was given.
But those proposed demands were significantly watered down ahead of the party’s quarterly meeting this weekend. Rather than calling for a break from Defend Texas Liberty, the faction proposed general language that would have barred associations with individuals or groups “known to espouse or tolerate antisemitism, pro-Nazi sympathies or Holocaust denial.”
Even that general statement was too much for the majority of the executive committee. In at-times tense debate on Saturday, members argued that words like “tolerate” or “antisemitism” were too vague or subjective. The ban, some argued, was akin to “Marxist” and “leftist” tactics, and would create guilt by association that could be problematic for the party, its leaders and candidates.
“It could put you on a slippery slope,” said committee member Dan Tully.
Rinaldi abstained from voting on the ban but briefly argued that antisemitism is not a serious problem on the right before questioning what it would mean to “tolerate” those who espouse it. “I don’t see any antisemitic, pro-Nazi or Holocaust denial movement on the right that has any significant traction whatsoever,” he said.
White nationalist leader Nick Fuentes addresses his livestream audience on the day Roe v. Wade is struck down to attack Jews on the Supreme Court, June 24, 2022. (Screenshot)
Supporters of the ban disagreed. They noted that the language was already a compromise, didn’t specifically name any group or individual and would lend credence to resolutions in which the Texas GOP has generally condemned antisemitism and restated its support for Israel.
“To take it out sends a very disturbing message,” said Rolando Garcia, a Houston-based committee member who drafted the language. “We’re not specifying any individual or association. This is simply a statement of principle.”
Other committee members questioned how their colleagues could find words like “antisemitism” too vague, despite frequently lobbing it and other terms at their political opponents.
“I just don’t understand how people who routinely refer to others as leftists, liberals, communists, socialists and RINOs (‘Republicans in Name Only’) don’t have the discernment to define what a Nazi is,” committee member Morgan Cisneros Graham said after the vote.
House Speaker Dade Phelan similarly condemned the vote Saturday evening, calling it “despicable.”
The Texas GOP executive committee “can’t even bring themselves to denounce neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers or cut ties with their top donor who brought them to the dance,” Phelan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “There is a moral, anti-Semitic rot festering within the fringes of BOTH parties that must be stopped.”
For two months, Phelan and his staff have routinely and publicly sparred with some in the party – namely Rinaldi, a longtime political foe – over how to address the Fuentes scandal and extremism more broadly. After the Texas Tribune first reported on the Fuentes meeting, Phelan called on fellow Republicans to redirect money from Defend Texas Liberty to pro-Israel charities, a request that quickly drew the ire of Patrick and others who accused Phelan of politicizing antisemitism and demanded he resign.
After subsequent reporting on Defend Texas Liberty’s ties to white supremacists and other extreme figures, Patrick said he was “appalled” and that antisemitism is “not welcome in our party.” He then announced that the he had invested the $3 million he recently received from Defend Texas Liberty in Israel bonds.
Patrick reiterated that stance late Saturday night, calling the executive committee’s vote “totally unacceptable” and saying that he is “confident” the board will reconsider the ban at its February meeting.
“This language should have been adopted – because I know that is our position as a Party,” Patrick wrote on X. “I, and the overwhelming majority of Republicans in Texas, do not tolerate antisemites, and those who deny the Holocaust, praise Hitler or the Nazi regime.”
Saturday’s vote is the latest sign of major disunity among the Texas GOP, which for years has dealt with simmering tensions between its far-right and more moderate, but still deeply conservative, wings. Defend Texas Liberty and its billionaire backers have been key players in that fight, funding primary challenges to incumbent Republicans who they deem insufficiently conservative, and bankrolling a sprawling network of institutions, media websites and political groups that they’ve used to incrementally pull Texas further to the right.
The party’s internecine conflict has exploded into all-out war since the impeachment and acquittal of Paxton, a crucial Defend Texas Liberty ally whose political life has been subsidized by the PAC’s billionaire funders.
After Paxton’s acquittal, Defend Texas Liberty vowed scorched-earth campaigns against those who supported the attorney general’s removal, and promised massive spending ahead of next year’s primary elections. (Before the Saturday vote, executive committee members separately approved a censure of outgoing an outgoing state representative over his lead role in the investigation and impeachment of Paxton.)
News of the Fuentes meeting has only complicated Defend Texas Liberty’s retribution plans, as infighting intensifies and some Republicans question whether the group and its billionaire funders should have so much sway over the state party.
Meanwhile, Defend Texas Liberty’s allies and beneficiaries have tried to downplay the scandals and discredit the Tribune’s reporting, claiming the Fuentes meeting was a one-off mistake or attacking critics as RINOs, in bed with Democrats to suppress true conservatives.
Ahead of Saturday’s vote, two Defend Texas Liberty-backed representatives briefly spoke to the executive committee. The day prior, State Sen. Bob Hall — who has received $50,000 from Defend Texas Liberty — was also at the Austin hotel where executive committee members were meeting, and in a speech condemned attempts to cut ties with the group based on what he called “hearsay,” “fuzzy photographs” and “narratives.”
“If you want to pass a resolution, I would make it positive,” Hall said to executive committee members on Friday. “We don’t need to do our enemy’s work for them.”
Hall reiterated that stance in an interview, calling the Fuentes meeting a “mistake” but claiming that there was “no evidence” that Stickland or Defend Texas Liberty are antisemitic. “I’ve had meetings with transgenders, gays and lesbians,” Hall said. “Does that make me a transgender, gay or a lesbian?”
Asked if he was comparing gay people to white supremacists or Hitler admirers like Fuentes, Hall responded: “I’m talking about people who are political hot potatoes.”
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization about Texas, and is reprinted with permission.
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The post Texas GOP leaders reject proposed ban on associating with Nazi sympathizers and Holocaust deniers appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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IDF Releases Investigation into Discovery of 6 Hostages’ Bodies
i24 News – The IDF released on Tuesday the investigation into the murder of six abductees at the end of August: Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi,
Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lubnov, Almog Sarusi, and Sergeant Ori Danino.
According to the findings of the investigation, when the IDF operation began in the area of the tunnel, Major General Nitzan Alon did not believe abductees would be in the area. As the operation continued, the military assessment said the probability was even lower.
The abductee who was extricated, Qaid Farhan Alkadi, was found alone, as neither he nor additional terrorists taken from the area provided indications to the additional abductees.
In the absence of new information, the operation continued in the area, the investigation said. Only then did the forces locate the bodies of the six abductees. In addition, forensic findings were found indicating that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had been there. It remains unclear whether he gave the order to murder the abductees himself. No signs of struggle during the murder were found in autopsies.
IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagri visited the tunnel and described the harsh conditions in which the six abductees endured. “They were heroes who were cold-bloodedly murdered by terrorists who build tunnels under children’s rooms,” he said. “We will hunt them down and know exactly who they are, we will find the one who murdered them. The teams here collect all the evidence from the scene.”
“We didn’t know the exact location of the hostages in the tunnel. They were killed before we could reach them. We are investigating the incident of their names being leaked prior to their rescue. This is a very serious event that is harmful to the families and the security of the forces on the ground.”
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Actress Emmanuelle Chriqui Talks About Jewish Pride, Growing Up in Modern Orthodox Family
Emmanuelle Chriqui attending the Creative Coalition Celebrate Election Night with a Star-Studded Dinner & Watch Party Held in Beverly Hills, California, Nov. 6, 2024. Photo: Faye’s Vision/Cover Images via Reuters Connect
Jewish actress Emmanuelle Chriqui opened up in a podcast interview on Tuesday about being raised in a Modern Orthodox household in Canada, being proud to be Jewish and how pro-Israel activists in Hollywood inspire her.
Chriqui, 49, was born to Moroccan Jewish immigrants in Montreal, Canada. Her late mother, Liliane, was born in Casablanca, while her late father, Albert, was born in Rabat and moved to Casablanca as a child. Growing up herself in Canada, Chriqui kept kosher at home and celebrated Shabbat every week with her family.
“I was raised in a small town outside of Toronto and we were two Jewish families but I lived in, I would consider, a Modern Orthodox home,” the former “Entourage” star told Jewish comedian Elon Gold during a guest appearance on his podcast “Stars of David with Elon Gold.”
“We did Shabbat dinner every Friday [and] Shabbat lunch Saturday. Dad went to temple,” she said. “All our biggest fights were [about] going out on Friday night. And my mom was an extraordinary cook. In Canada in the winter time, I would race home from school [on Fridays] so I could plug in the water, light the candles, cuz I’d be the first one home, turn the oven on low, all the things. We had milk and meat separate at home.”
The “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” star added that she still lights Shabbat candles every week in her home. She also noted that her favorite Jewish holiday is Rosh Hashanah. Explaining why, she said: “I love new beginnings; renewal. I love the symbolism, the food, [and] as much as I dread that it means Yom Kippur is around the corner, I love this time and I love how I feel after Yom Kippur.” She said in a previous interview that she includes a clause in her acting contracts, stating that she will not work on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur.
Chriqui has been an avid supporter of Israel for many years. After the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack in Israel last year, she expressed solidarity with Israel and its right to defend itself against Hamas. She signed an open letter condemning the US-designated terrorist organization, has advocated for the release of the hostages still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and shared posts on social media about the need to bring the hostages home. She has also supported efforts to counteract boycotts of Israel, including efforts to have Israel banned from the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest. Since 2020, Chriqui has been in a relationship with American actor Sam Trammell, who in early 2024 condemned antisemitism.
“Obviously this past year has been incredibly confronting on so many levels and things have come up that I’ve never lived through before,” Chriqui said during her podcast interview this week, referring to the global experiencing a rise in antisemitism since the Oct. 7 attack. She also said she thinks the “silver lining” of this past year has been seeing how Jews in Hollywood are embracing their Judaism in different ways than perhaps before the Oct. 7 massacre.
“Like in my 20-plus years of being in Los Angeles, it’s never been like this. Like I can’t keep up with the invitations,” she said. “It’s never been that way. Jews, fellow Jews that were like Jew-ish, suddenly it means something different. And I think that’s the thing – being Jewish in this moment has taken on a different meaning.”
She said “very much so,” Jews are starting to express pride and unity in their Jewish heritage that she has not seen before. She also told Gold that Jewish friends and pro-Israel advocates in the Hollywood community inspire her, including Hen Mazzig, Noa Tishby, Mandana Dayani and Montana Tucker. “I’m very inspired by all of them,” she explained.
Chriqui was also asked about the backlash that some Jewish celebrities receive for not speaking out publicly either enough or at all in support of Israel.
“In the beginning, I think the sentiment was that we felt so alone so who are the Jews who have millions of followers that can affect change,” she said in response. “But it’s also about releasing expectations; releasing judgments. What I might do works for me, might not work for you. And I think really we need to be more tolerate with each other, especially within the community. That’s something that breaks my heart a little bit.”
“I think that speaking out against antisemitism on my platform, for me, is about standing tall in who I am. So it’s much less about what happened but really embracing who we are,” she noted.
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A History of Hanukkah and Jewish Survival
A Hanukkah menorah. Photo: Pixabay
We like to think that Hanukkah was the great victory of Judah, the son of Mattiyahu the Priest (who initiated the resistance) against the mighty Syrian or Seleucid Greeks over 2,000 years ago. The Seleucid campaign against Judea began when Antiochus the 4th invaded in 167 BCE). He believed his culture was far superior to that of the Jews. Jewish merchants were beginning to rival the Greeks in the Eastern Mediterranean, so commercial rivalry was a factor too.
Judah (the name Maccabee is not mentioned in Talmudic sources) did indeed defeat some Seleucid armies and retook the Temple and purified it in 164 BCE. But in fact, the fighting went on for some five years.
Although in between, the Temple did indeed function the way it did before Antiochus, nevertheless it was not a clear-cut victory. The in-fighting in the court of the Syrian Greeks, the assassination of kings and rival generals, all contributed to stalemate with Syrians still holding on to their fortress in Jerusalem.
Judah was killed in the battle of Elasa in 160 BCE. Judah’s brother Jonathan was killed in 143 BCE. Only with the last brother Simon, who was recognized officially as Judea’s high priest and the head of the Judean state in 142 CE, did Judea become independent, for a while.
Judah did not establish the annual eight-day festival we have today. He did replicate the Eight Days of King Solomon’s original dedication of the first Temple when he re-took it. The late Talmudic rabbis established the ongoing eight days to commemorate the miracle of the oil not mentioned earlier. And their failure to mention Judah indicates their disapproval of the Hasmonean dynasty in general as it played out.
Was Hanukkah just a matter of military conquest — or just cultural disagreement with the Greeks? There were no Palestinians to be seen. In competing for markets, Greeks killed Jews and Jews killed Greeks back. John Hyrcanus, Simon’s successor ,was particularly effective at retaliating against those who attacked Jews even beyond his territory.
Within the Jewish community of Judea, there were huge divisions, which reflected the precise divisions that exist today within the Jewish communities in Israel and the Diaspora.
Succeeding generations could not even agree what the significance of Hanukkah was. For those who fought, it was a military victory that ultimately led to the establishment of regaining and re-opening the Temple and an autonomous state.
For the rabbis of the Talmudic era, who were scarred by the Roman conquests, it was a celebration of the spiritual flame kept burning by the few against the many. Judah the fighter was not mentioned. Some saw it as a response to the Diaspora festival of Purim, others as the interaction between the Diaspora and Israel, with both suffering from different pressures and antagonisms. What we now call antisemitism.
A lot has changed over the last 2,000 years — and a lot has not.
Empires have come and gone, rulers have risen and died, and Jews remain a people as Bilaam says (Numbers 23:9) “A nation that dwells alone and is not regarded (or valued) by the other peoples.” We have always been loners. Does this really matter? For some it does and that explains why so many Jews have always abandoned the confines of Jewish life to try to thrive in the non-Jewish world. It also explains why others have fought for their beliefs and freedom — and why some have become zealots.
We should not be surprised today to discover how many Jews are antagonistic to the Jewish people, and certainly not about how the non-Jewish world continues to be extremely ambivalent towards us. Both in the Middle East and in the West, communities are now no longer as monochromatic or as unified as they once were. Mass migrations have changed the complexity of many societies and divided them against themselves.
This is why the Hanukkah story is so important. It’s the only festival we have that records the military triumph of Israel against its opponents, and the survival of our tradition despite the continuous, repeated attempts to snuff us out.
We have thrived despite it all. In our prayers every single day of the year, we think of Jerusalem and returning to it in our minds if not in our bodies. This is something that the world just does not get — because they are not concerned with history or facts. This is our story, whichever the way the wind blows, and they will not snuff our lights out.
The author is a writer and rabbi, currently based in New York.
The post A History of Hanukkah and Jewish Survival first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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