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An avowed Holocaust denier is running for school board in Minnesota

(JTA) — One of the candidates on the ballot for an upcoming Minnesota school board election is an avowed Holocaust denier who has called for all Jews to be sterilized and tattooed with the Star of David, all synagogues to be closed and all Jewish children to be forcibly removed from their parents.

Vaughn Klingenberg is one of seven candidates on the ballot for three open seats in Roseville, a suburb of the Twin Cities. In addition to his views on Jewish people, which he recently published under his own name on a blog, he also visited two area synagogues during the recent High Holidays, actions that have earned condemnation from the state’s attorney general and from local Jewish leaders alike.

“He has our attention. He’s clearly tried to get the attention of the public by spewing hateful, antisemitic rhetoric, which is obviously untrue but is also dangerous,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told a local news channel

“Minnesota has no place for hate, and we’re not going to tolerate it. And he can think whatever he wants to think, he can even blog about it,” Ellison added. “But when he starts showing up at peoples’ houses of worship and trying to inspire others to commit acts of hatred, that’s where we have to draw the line.”

The site of the first-ever Target store and birthplace of the late evangelist leader Billy Graham, Roseville has a population of around 36,000. Candidates for school board only need to demonstrate proof of residency and declare they are not sex offenders or running for another position simultaneously, according to election information provided by the district, which did not return a Jewish Telegraphic Agency request for comment. 

Klingenberg has not participated in any local candidate forums for the election, set for Nov. 7. This appears to be his first run for public office. He did not respond to JTA requests for comment.

In a blog entry dated Sept. 20, Klingenberg describes visiting two synagogues in the Twin Cities. At the first, over Rosh Hashanah, he said he “dropped off some literature on Big Zionist Jewish responsibility for the Holocaust.” At the second, during the Kol Nidre prayer said at the start of Yom Kippur, he said he wanted to catch Jews reciting “an anti-vow that excuses all Jews who recite it from any oaths, promises, vows…etc. that they may make in the upcoming year.” He was reprimanded by synagogue security at both locations, according to his own accounts.

These visits got the attention of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas. “It is appalling that on the holiest days of the Jewish calendar … an obsessive Holocaust denier and antisemite who espouses the most vile conspiracy theories would violate our sacred spaces,” Ethan Roberts, deputy executive director of the group, told the local Jewish news site TC Jewfolk

Roberts added that the JCRC is working with law enforcement “to do everything possible to ensure that Vaughn Klingenberg knows that he is not welcome at our houses of worship and Jewish community institutions.”

Klingenberg works in customer service, most recently for the insurance company and Nordic cultural organization Sons of Norway, according to his LinkedIn page. He lists Progressive Insurance and Xcel Energy among his previous employers. He holds a master’s degree from Marquette University and in 2011 self-published a pamphlet on Holocaust denial called “The Big Lie: The Holocaust (An Introduction to the Greatest Fraud of the 20th Century).” 

Klingenberg’s other writings include two self-published volumes on Shakespeare and an antisemitic novel titled “The Bruderschaft Manifesto” that opens with the statement, “Obviously there are many good, outstanding Jews in the world, but this should not blind us to the fact that an extremely powerful subsection of the Jewish community does not affirm a universalist humanitarian agenda.”

In blog entries titled “Vaughn Klingenberg in Zionist Wonderland,” published on the site VTForeignPolicy on Sept. 20, Klingenberg outlines his proposal for Jews who “refuse to testify” against the wrongdoing of other Jews: They “will have all of their wealth stripped from them, they will be tattooed on their forehead with a Star of David (in order that they not remain hidden from the broader public), they will be stripped of all employment, they will receive as monthly income what is currently paid to those on disability, and they will be given Section 8 housing in which to live.”

He further outlines his plans to have all Jews “permanently rendered sterile so that they cannot, ever, reproduce,” to close all synagogues, and to have Jewish children “placed in foster homes to be adopted by non-Jews.” (Klingenberg said he would make exceptions for anti-Zionist Jews.)

Roseville’s schools superintendent has repudiated Klingenberg’s views. “Roseville Area Schools strongly rejects any language or stance that denies the truth of the Holocaust and its devastating impact not only Jewish people but our world. We stand for truth, human rights and human dignity,” Jenny Loeck said in a statement to Minnesota Public Radio

Regional representatives for the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and educator union group Education Minnesota have also condemned the candidate.

Following impassioned support from local 99-year-old Holocaust survivor Dora Zaidenweber this spring, Minnesota state lawmakers passed a Holocaust and genocide education mandate for public schools. Zaidenweber died two weeks ago.


The post An avowed Holocaust denier is running for school board in Minnesota appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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‘Fine Scholar’: UC Berkeley Chancellor Praises Professor Who Expressed Solidarity With Oct. 7 Attacks

University of California, Berkeley chancellor Dr. Rich Lyons, testifies at a Congressional hearing on antisemitism, in Washington, D.C., U.S., on July 15, 2025. Photo: Allison Bailey via Reuters Connect.

The chancellor of University of California, Berkeley described a professor who cheered the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre across southern Israel a “fine scholar” during a congressional hearing held at Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

Richard K. Lyons, who assumed the chancellorship in July 2024 issued the unmitigated praise while being questioned by members of the House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, which summoned him and the chief administrators of two other major universities to interrogate their handling of the campus antisemitism crisis.

Lyons stumbled into the statement while being questioned by Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), who asked Lyons to describe the extent of his relationship and correspondence with Professor Ussama Makdisi, who tweeted in Feb. 2024 that he “could have been one of those who broke through the siege on October 7.”

“What do you think the professor meant,” McClain asked Lyons, to which the chancellor responded, “I believe it was a celebration of the terrorist attack on October 7.” McClain proceeded to ask if Lyons discussed the tweet with Makdisi or personally reprimanded him, prompting an exchange of remarks which concluded with Lyons’s saying, “He is a fine scholar.”

Lyon’s comment came after nearly three hours in which the group of university leaders — which included Dr. Robert Groves, president of Georgetown University, and Dr. Felix V. Matos Rodriguez, chancellor of the City University of New York (CUNY) — offered gaffe-free, deliberately worded answers to the members’ questions to avoid eliciting the kind of public relations ordeal which prematurely ended the tenures of two Ivy League presidents in 2024 following an education committee held in Dec. 2023.

Rep. McClain later criticized Lyons on social media, calling his comment “totally disgraceful.” She added, “Faculty must be held accountable and Jewish students deserve better.”

CUNY chancellor Rodriguez also triggered a rebuke from the committee members in which he was also described as a “disgrace.”

As previously reported by The Algemeiner, CUNY campuses have been lambasted by critics as some of the most antisemitic institutions of higher education in the United States. Last year, the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) resolved half a dozen investigations of antisemitism on CUNY campuses, one of which involved Jewish students who were pressured into saying that Jews are White people who should be excluded from discussions about social justice.

During Tuesday’s hearing Rodriguez acknowledged that antisemitic incidents continue to disrupt Jewish academic life, disclosing that 84 complaints of antisemitism have been formally reported to CUNY administrators since 2024. 15 were filed in 2025 alone, but CUNY, he said, has published only 18 students for antisemitic conduct. Rodriguez went on to denounce efforts to pressure CUNY into adopting the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, saying, “I have repudiated BDS and I have said there’s no place for BDS at the City University of New York.”

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) remarked, however, that Rodriguez has allegedly done little to address antisemitism in the CUNY faculty union, the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), which has passed several resolutions endorsing BDS and whose members, according to 2021 ruling rendered by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), discriminated against Professor Jeffrey Lax by holding meetings on Shabbat to prevent him and other Jews from attending them.

“The PSC does not speak for the City University of New York,” Rodriquez protested. “We’ve been clear on our commitment against antisemitism and against BDS.”

Later, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), whose grilling of higher education officials who appear before the committee has created several viral moments, rejected Rodriguez’s responses as disingenuous.

“It’s all words, no action. You have failed the people of New York,” she told the chancellor. “You have failed Jewish students in New York State, and it is a disgrace.”

Following the hearing, The Lawfare Project, legal nonprofit which provides legal services free of charge to Jewish victims of civil rights violations, applauded the education committee for publicizing antisemitism at CUNY.

“I am thankful for the many members of Congress who worked with us to ensure that the deeply disturbing facts about antisemitism at CUNY were brought forward in this hearing,” Lawfare Project litigation director Zipora Reich said in a press release. “While it is deeply frustrating to hear more platitudes and vague promises from CUNY’s leadership, we are encouraged to see federal lawmakers demanding accountability.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post ‘Fine Scholar’: UC Berkeley Chancellor Praises Professor Who Expressed Solidarity With Oct. 7 Attacks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Huckabee Calls for Israeli Investigation Into ‘Criminal and Terrorist’ Killing of Palestinian-American in West Bank

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee on Monday urged Israeli officials to swiftly investigate the killing of Saif Musallet, a 20-year-old American citizen who was allegedly beaten to death by Israeli settlers while he was visiting family in the West Bank town of Sinjil.

“There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act,” Huckabee wrote on social media, in what is one of his strongest condemnations of Israeli settler violence since he was appointed by President Donald Trump in November 2024. “Saif was just 20 yrs old.”

Musallet, a Florida native, was reportedly attacked on July 11 by a group of Israelis while accompanying relatives on family-owned farmland near Ramallah. His family says he was severely beaten and denied medical attention for nearly three hours before succumbing to his injuries. Another Palestinian man, 23-year-old Mohammad al-Shalabi, was shot and killed during the same incident, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israeli authorities said the violence followed an alleged rock-throwing incident that left two Israelis lightly wounded, a common occurrence in the West Bank which las left scores of Israelis civilians wounded and some killed. The Israel Defense Forces stated they used non-lethal crowd dispersal methods during the clash. The IDF says the incident is under investigation. Two Israeli minors were arrested following the attack, though according to Israeli media reports, neither of them is a murder suspect, and they were subsequently released to house arrest.

Musallet had traveled to the West Bank in early June to visit relatives and potentially meet a bride. Raised in Port Charlotte, Florida, he had recently co-founded an ice cream business in Tampa with his family. His death comes amid an escalation in settler-related violence across the West Bank, which has intensified since the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel and the Israeli military’s ongoing campaign in Gaza.

Huckabee has historically defended Israeli settlement activity and has vowed to serve as an unwavering defender of the Jewish state.

Human rights groups and local activists say Musallet’s killing is part of a growing pattern of impunity for attacks on Palestinians, including American citizens. No Israeli suspects have been indicted in several high-profile deaths of Palestinian Americans in recent years, including journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and teenager Omar Mohammad Rabea.

U.S. lawmakers, including Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL), who represents Tampa, joined calls for an investigation. The State Department said it is aware of the incident and is providing consular support to the family but deferred further comment to Israeli authorities.

Musallet’s funeral was held Sunday in his family’s hometown of al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya. His relatives say they are demanding justice not only for Saif, but for all Americans caught in what they describe as an increasingly lawless situation in the occupied West Bank.

The post Huckabee Calls for Israeli Investigation Into ‘Criminal and Terrorist’ Killing of Palestinian-American in West Bank first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Scandal-Plagued UN Commission Disbands Amid Increasing US Pressure Against Anti-Israel International Organizations

Miloon Kothari, member of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, briefs reporters on the first report of the Commission. UN Photo/Jean Marc Ferré

The Commission of Inquiry (COI), a controversial United Nations commission investigating Israel for nearly five years, has collapsed after all three of its members abruptly resigned days after the United States sanctioned a senior UN official over antisemitism.

Commission chair Navi Pillay resigned on July 8, citing health concerns and scheduling conflicts. Her fellow commissioners, Chris Sidoti and Miloon Kothari, followed suit days later. While none of the commissioners directly linked their resignations to the U.S. sanctions, the timing suggests mounting American pressure played a decisive role.

The resignations came just one day before the Trump administration announced sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories. Albanese was sanctioned over what the State Department called a “pattern of antisemitic and inflammatory rhetoric.” She had previously claimed that the U.S. was controlled by a “Jewish lobby” and questioned Israel’s right to self-defense. The sanctions bar her from entering the U.S. and freeze any assets under American jurisdiction.

The resignations mark a major victory for critics who have long viewed the inquiry as biased and politically motivated.

Watchdog groups, including Geneva-based UN Watch, celebrated the swift collapse of the Commission of Inquiry (COI), which they say had long operated with an open mandate to target Israel. “This is a watershed moment of accountability,” said UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer. “The COI was built on bias and sustained by hatred. Its fall is a victory for human rights, not a defeat.”

The COI had faced heavy criticism since its formation in 2021. In July 2022, Commissioner Miloon Kothari,  made comments about the undue influence of a so-called “Jewish lobby” on the media, said the COI would “have to look at issues of settler colonialism.”

“Apartheid itself is a very useful paradigm, so we have a slightly different approach, but we will definitely get to it,” he added.

The Commission was established in 2021 year following the 11-day war between Israel and Gaza’s ruling Hamas group in May. COI is the first UN commission to ever be granted an indefinite period of investigation, which has drawn criticism from the US State Department, members of US Congress, and Jewish leaders across the world.

Following the resignations, Council President Jürg Lauber invited member states to nominate replacements by August 31. However, it is unclear whether the commission will be reconstituted or quietly shelved. UN Watch and other groups have urged the council to disband the COI entirely, calling it irreparably biased.

The post Scandal-Plagued UN Commission Disbands Amid Increasing US Pressure Against Anti-Israel International Organizations first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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