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US Jewish Lawmakers Challenge Hegseth Over Pentagon Press Secretary’s Social Media Antisemitism
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on US President Donald Trump’s budget request for the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
The Congressional Jewish Caucus on Tuesday sent a letter to US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, demanding explanations for the continued employment of Kingsley Wilson, now serving as the Pentagon’s press secretary, following revelations of her social media postings peddling antisemitic conspiracy theories.
“These statements include promoting the antisemitic and racist ‘Great Replacement’ theory, praising far-right political movements using slogans tied to neo-Nazi groups, and repeating patently false statements commonly circulated in neo-Nazi circles about Leo Frank, a Jewish man who was lynched by an antisemitic mob in Georgia in 1915,” the legislators wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Jewish Insider.
According to the members of Congress, on four occasions Wilson had written “Ausländer Raus!,” a term associated with neo-Nazis and banned in Germany.
One August 17, 2024, post on X stated “Leo Frank raped & murdered a 13-year-old girl. He also tried to frame a Black man for his crime. The ADL turned off the comments because they want to gaslight you.”
Frank, a Jewish factory manager, was sentenced to death by hanging for the rumored rape and the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan in Atlanta in 1913. Phagan was found dead in the basement of the factory in which Frank worked.
The 31-year-old’s sentence was later commuted to life in prison. However, an armed mob, infuriated by the decision to downgrade the sentence, abducted Frank from his jail cell and lynched him.
Frank was officially pardoned in 1986, and historians largely believe that he was wrongly convicted. Historians also believe that Frank’s trial and subsequent conviction were compromised by antisemitism. During his court proceedings, thousands of spectators gathered and yelled chants such as “hang the Jew.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was founded following the lynching of Frank and regularly receives comparable attacks from neo-Nazis and other antisemites today.
In previous testimony before Congress regarding Wilson’s remarks, Hegseth had said he “would need to see precisely what’s being characterized.” He described the questioning as “a mischaracterization attempting to win political points.”
Rep. Laura Friedman (D-CA) led the letter. Cosigners included Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Greg Landsman (D-OH), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Eugene Vindman (D-VA), Kim Schrier (D-WA), Mike Levin (D-CA), Becca Balint (D-VT), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL).
The congressmembers concluded with four questions for Hegseth, beginning with asking if he could “confirm whether or not the public comments made by Kingsley Wilson are permissible for a civilian employee serving in a senior, public-facing role within the department?”
The letter asked, “When a department employee has been confirmed to have made public statements of this nature, how has the department assessed whether those remarks are relevant or serious enough to warrant action?” It also inquired about “specific steps” taken in response to previous similar instances.
The legislators concluded by asking, “Do you, Secretary Hegseth, find these comments to be acceptable language for an official representing the Department of Defense?”
Following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks across southern Israel, Wilson expressed disinterest, writing that “the images of the babies murdered by Hamas are horrific. I wish images of aborted babies evoked a similar global outcry.” She embraced a conventional position long advocated by the non-interventionist, paleo-conservative right, saying the United States should not “get involved in foreign ethnic conflicts” and that the Israel-Hamas war was “none of our business.”
Wilson also made explicit her support for “the Great Replacement Theory,” the conspiracy theory which insists a cabal of Jews has plotted to replace white Americans with brown immigrants. She wrote, “The Great Replacement isn’t a right-wing conspiracy theory … it’s reality.”
This racist fantasy inspired convicted mass murder Robert Bowers to slaughter 11 Jews on Oct. 27, 2018, at the Tree of Life – Or L’Simcha Congregation in Pittsburgh. Bowers currently sits on death row at the US Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.
In interviews with Jewish Insider, multiple Republican senators expressed their concerns with Wilson’s statements, including Republican Sens. Roger Wicker (MS), Rick Scott (FL), and James Lankford (OK).
Wicker confirmed he was looking into Wilson’s statements while Scott said “obviously I don’t agree with her comments. I trust the Pentagon will address this.”
Lankford called the remarks “weird stuff” and noted an ongoing pattern of defense hires with questionable positions on Israel or hateful statements. “So yes, I have some questions, and I think those are fair questions,” he said.
Wilson’s isolationist sentiments and promotion of antisemitic conspiracies reflect viewpoints in line with a wing of the so-called Make America Great Again movement which now finds itself at odds with President Donald Trump’s decision to drop three 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Far-right provocateur Candace Owens also began a series of antisemitic social media postings in August 2024 which included the promotion of conspiracy theories about Frank.
In response to the recent strikes on Iran, Owens appeared to take Iran’s side on X, writing to her 6.9 million followers on Tuesday that “Iran is alleging that they never violated the ceasefire. Israel has a LONGGGG history of faking ceasefire violations. Iran did not begin this war so no one should believe anything [Israel Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is alleging. He wants this war, badly.”
The post US Jewish Lawmakers Challenge Hegseth Over Pentagon Press Secretary’s Social Media Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Palestinian Rioters Splatter Israeli Singer With Red Paint, Try to Storm Stage at Concert in Poland
Illustrative: Anti-Israel protesters hold a banner that says, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” standing in front of the president’s palace in Warsaw, Poland, on Nov. 5, 2023. Photo: IMAGO/Marek Antoni Iwanczuk via Reuters Connect
Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian demonstrators threw red paint on Israeli singer-songwriter and composer David D’Or and tried to storm the stage with a Palestinian flag during his performance in Warsaw, Poland, on Sunday night.
D’Or was singing the Hebrew prayer “Avinu Malkeinu” at a finale concert for an annual Jewish cultural festival in Warsaw when an anti-Israel agitator in the audience approached the stage and hurled red paint on him. While the protester was being apprehended by security, another activist emerged from the audience, carrying a Palestinian flag, and tried to storm the stage while reportedly shouting “Free Palestine.” Both activists were quickly removed from the auditorium.
D’Or posted a video of the incident on Instagram and detailed what happened in a Hebrew-language caption.
“In the middle of the prayer our father our king, when I pray for a good year and for peace in the world, I closed my eyes, when I suddenly felt a cold splash on my face, I opened my eyes to see a strong red color, similar to blood,” wrote the singer. “On the clothes on my face and on the stage and the musicians. The playlist was like stained in blood.” He said the stains of red paint reminded him “of the horror sights of October 7th,” referring to the deadly Hamas-led attack in 2023 in which Palestinian terrorists killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages back to the Gaza Strip, starting the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
D’Or said after he was splattered with red paint, “in the stunned crowd a sound of horror and crying began. I realized that I must pick myself up and encourage them.”
“I continued to sing and asked everyone to close their eyes and pray for the people of Israel,” he added. “It wasn’t easy, my eyes were teary with pain and great sadness from the situation we got to. At the end of the show the audience sang along with me and we came out strong … What terrible days, may God have mercy. Praying for better days.”
D’Or’s performance on Sunday night, accompanied by Sinfonia Viva, closed off the 22nd edition of the Singer’s Warsaw Festival of Jewish Culture. The concert took place at the Moniuszko Auditorium.
D’or’s career spans over 35 years and he has performed with many philharmonic orchestras around the world, including the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Philharmonic Orchestras of Rome, London, Moscow, Shanghai, Budapest, Beijing, and Los Angeles. He has 17 gold and platinum albums and previously performed at the Vatican six times, the United Nations, in front of former US presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and had a close relationship with Israeli President Shimon Peres, who asked for D’or to sing at his funeral.
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Florida Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Plotting Attacks Targeting Jews, Blacks
An American flag waves outside the US Department of Justice Building in Washington, DC. Photo: Al Drago via Reuters Connect
A man from Margate, Florida, man was sentenced on Friday to 25 years in federal prison for planning attacks against Jewish and Black Americans, the US Department of Justice announced.
John Kevin Lapinski, Jr., 41, previously pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, possession of a firearm by a person subject to a court order, possession of an unregistered silencer, and possession of body armor by a violent felon.
On Oct. 31, 2024, officers from the Margate Police Department responded to a call about shots fired in a residential neighborhood and discovered that Lapinski was the shooter. Inside his home, police officers found a shooting target that depicted a Black male covered in bullet holes. They also found Lapinski’s arsenal that included five firearms, more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition, two silencers, body armor, smoke grenades, a Ghillie suit used for camouflage, and tactical gear.
Officers additionally found maps of local schools, parks, and community sites with racial slurs, written by Lapinski, that targeted Black and Jewish people. Lapinski had also compiled a “target list” for attacks based on race and religion and it mentioned a Jewish member of Congress, local synagogues, Jewish-owned businesses, and other religious and ethnically identified sites, according to the Justice Department
“This defendant stockpiled weapons, tactical gear, and detailed attack plans to terrorize Jewish and Black Americans in our communities. His intent was not abstract — it was written on his maps, his targets, and his so-called hit list,” US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement
“Thanks to the swift work of our law enforcement partners, his plan never became reality,” Quiñones added. “Instead of carrying out acts of racist violence, he will spend the next quarter-century behind bars. Let this sentence serve as a warning: hate-fueled violence will be met with decisive federal prosecution. We will disrupt your plans, seize your weapons, and ensure you never endanger the people of this district again.”
Investigators also linked Lapinski to a shooting in August 2024 that targeted the home and vehicle of a Jewish Florida resident.
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Houthi Terrorists Raid UN Premises in Yemen, Detain At Least 11 People
Houthi policemen ride on the back of a patrol pick-up truck during the funeral of Houthi terrorists killed by recent US-led strikes, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Yemen‘s Iran-backed Houthi rebels raided United Nations offices in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday and detained at least 11 UN personnel, the body said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Houthis, an internationally designated terrorist group, forcibly entered World Food Program premises, seized UN property, and attempted to enter other UN offices in the capital.
The raid followed an Israeli strike on Sanaa on Thursday that killed the prime minister of Yemen‘s Houthi-run government and several other ministers.
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said in a separate statement that the 11 staff were detained in both Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah.
UNICEF, the UN Development Program and the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees are among other UN agencies with offices in one or both of the two cities.
Grundberg said the detentions were in addition to 23 other UN staff previously detained, some since 2021, and one who died in detention this year.