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Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Under Fire for Pushing Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories

Pentagon deputy press secretary Kingsley Wilson in September 2024, when she was working at the Center for Renewing America. Photo: Screenshot

The new deputy press secretary for the US Department of Defense has come under heavy fire for peddling antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media.

In August 2024, Kinsley Wilson lambasted the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for commemorating the death of hate-mob victim Leo Frank, arguing that Frank raped a teenager and attempted to pin the crime on a black man. 

“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,” Wilson posted on X/Twitter. 

Frank, a Jewish factory manager, was tried, convicted, and 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 colored by antisemitism. During his court proceedings, thousands of spectators gathered and bellowed chants such as “hang the Jew.”

Many high-profile public figures have used Frank’s personal story to advance anti-Jewish tropes. For example, Candace Owens, a podcaster with an extensive history of antisemitic commentary, falsely claimed that Frank’s family believed in pedophilia and incest “as the sacramental rites and they would commit these acts, things that would normally be termed blood libel were actually happening.” Far-right social media personality Keith Woods also asserted that Frank was guilty, questioning why jurors in the Jim Crow-era south would elect to “lynch a wealthy and connected businessman?”

Wilson has also come under fire for a series of insensitive social media posts following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.

On Oct. 12, 2023, in reference to the Israeli babies killed by Hamas during the onslaught, Wilson wrote “The images of the babies murdered by Hamas are horrific. I wish images of aborted babies evoked a similar global outcry.”

Five days later, Wilson suggested that the US distance itself from the Jewish state, writing that America should not “get involved in foreign ethnic conflicts.” There was no serious debate at the time, or since, about US troops fighting in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

However, Wilson also expressed opposition to the US even providing support to Israel. In October 2024, Wilson lambasted the White House for giving aid to Israel, saying that the war between the Jewish state and Hamas is “none of our business.”

The newly minted Pentagon official has also previously complained about the US providing assistance to help Israel thwart direct Iranian missile attacks, asking why the US military is “defending Israel [and] Ukraine’s border but not our own.” She also bemoaned the Biden administration’s decision to “spend $95 billion on border defense for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan,” an apparent reference to a bipartisan foreign aid package passed by the US Congress last year, while not allocating money to complete the construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border.

Wilson has also posted support for the antisemitic “great replacement theory” — which posits that Jewish people are systemically importing masses of minorities into Western countries to erase white people. Wilson wrote that the conspiracy theory is a “regime-approved plan of action” to “displace citizens [and] alter our electorate.”

“The Great Replacement isn’t a right-wing conspiracy theory … it’s reality” Wilson wrote. 

Wilson’s comments have sparked backlash from both Democratic and Republican US lawmakers. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Politico that Wilson’s remarks were “completely off-script” with President Donald Trump’s foreign policy agenda.

“I’m not gonna tell them who to hire, but I do know that Trump doesn’t believe any of the things she’s talking about, and I’ll leave it up to them to determine if they think she’s the right spokesperson,” Graham said.

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) repudiated Wilson’s online commentary as “horrible.”

“Sometimes people think they’re anonymous when they’re on social media, that they can comment or post on whatever may be their attitude at the time, and then they later regret it,” she added.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) issued a statement calling on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to fire Wilson over her commentary.

“Doing a basic search through her social media history, it is clear that her record is a minefield of antisemitic rhetoric, white nationalist conspiracies,” Torres wrote.

The post Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Under Fire for Pushing Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Antisemitic Incidents at Argentina Local Soccer Match Spark Official Investigations, Condemnations

Fans of Argentinian soccer club All Boys marched through the streets before their match against Atlanta soccer club, carrying a coffin draped with an Israeli flag alongside Iranian and Palestinian flags. Photo: Screenshot

Argentinian authorities and soccer officials have launched investigations following antisemitic incidents by Club Atlético All Boys fans during Sunday’s local match against Atlanta.

Atlanta, a soccer team based in the Villa Crespo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, has deep historical ties to Argentina’s Jewish community, which has long been a significant presence in the area.

This latest antisemitic incident took place outside the stadium before the game had even started.

All Boys fans were seen waving Palestinian and Iranian flags, carrying a coffin draped with an Israeli flag, and handing out flyers bearing messages like “Free Palestine” and “Israel and Atlanta are the same crap.”

Then, during the match — which ended in a 0-0 draw — a drone carrying a Palestinian flag flew over the stadium, while some fans reportedly chanted anti-Israel slogans.

Local police confirmed they have issued citations to individuals accused of inciting public disorder and related offenses.

On Monday, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) condemned the incidents as “abhorrent” and confirmed the organization has opened a formal inquiry into the events.

“This is not folklore. This is discrimination,” the statement reads.

Argentina’s Security Minister Patricia Bullrich also announced that a criminal complaint has been filed, citing “acts of violence, expressions of racial and religious hatred, and public intimidation.”

In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, condemned the incidents and called on both local authorities and the soccer officials to “take firm action against these acts of hatred.”

“We urge the authorities to take all necessary actions and apply the full force of the law,” the statement reads. “Violence and discrimination must have no place in our society.”

Since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Argentina has experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Jewish hate crimes.

According to a recent report by DAIA, Argentina experienced a 15 percent increase in antisemitic activity last year, with 687 anti-Jewish hate crimes recorded — up from 598 incidents in 2023 — marking a significant rise nationwide.

The study indicates that 66 percent of the antisemitic incidents originated in the digital realm, with a significant rise in Nazi symbols and conspiracy theories, but there was also a 34 percent increase in reported physical assaults, with such hate crimes rising in schools and neighborhoods.

The post Antisemitic Incidents at Argentina Local Soccer Match Spark Official Investigations, Condemnations first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Iranian nuclear program degraded by up to two years, Pentagon says

A satellite image of Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility. Photo: File.

The Pentagon said on Wednesday that US strikes 10 days ago had degraded Iran’s nuclear program by up to two years, suggesting the U.S. military operation likely achieved its goals despite a far more cautious initial assessment that leaked to the public.

Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, offered the figure at a briefing to reporters, adding that the official estimate was “probably closer to two years.” Parnell did not provide evidence to back up his assessment.

“We have degraded their program by one to two years, at least intel assessments inside the Department [of Defense] assess that,” Parnell told a news briefing.

U.S. military bombers carried out strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22 using more than a dozen 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs and more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.

The evolving U.S. intelligence about the impact of the strikes is being closely watched, after President Donald Trump said almost immediately after they took place that Iran’s program had been obliterated, language echoed by Parnell at Wednesday’s briefing.

Such conclusions often take the U.S. intelligence community weeks or more to determine.

“All of the intelligence that we’ve seen [has] led us to believe that Iran’s — those facilities especially, have been completely obliterated,” Parnell said.

Over the weekend, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said that Iran could be producing enriched uranium in a few months, raising doubts about how effective US strikes to destroy Tehran’s nuclear program have been.

Several experts have also cautioned that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of the deeply buried Fordow site before the strikes and could be hiding it.

But US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week he was unaware of intelligence suggesting Iran had moved its highly enriched uranium to shield it from US strikes.

A preliminary assessment last week from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggested that the strikes may have only set back Iran’s nuclear program by months. But Trump administration officials said that assessment was low confidence and had been overtaken by intelligence showing Iran’s nuclear program was severely damaged.

According to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the strikes on the Fordow nuclear site caused severe damage.

“No one exactly knows what has transpired in Fordow. That being said, what we know so far is that the facilities have been seriously and heavily damaged,” Araqchi said in the interview broadcast by CBS News on Tuesday.

The post Iranian nuclear program degraded by up to two years, Pentagon says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Switzerland Moves to Close Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s Geneva Office Over Legal Irregularities

Palestinians carry aid supplies received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo

Switzerland has moved to shut down the Geneva office of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed aid group, citing legal irregularities in its establishment.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.

The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.

Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.

Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.

With a subsidiary registered in Geneva, the GHF — headquartered in Delaware — reports having delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.

According to a regulatory announcement published Wednesday in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce, the Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) may order the dissolution of the GHF if no creditors come forward within the legal 30-day period.

The Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Swiss decision to shut down its Geneva office.

“The GHF confirmed to the ESA that it had never carried out activities in Switzerland … and that it intends to dissolve the Geneva-registered branch,” the ESA said in a statement.

Last week, Geneva authorities gave the GHF a 30-day deadline to address legal shortcomings or risk facing enforcement measures.

Under local laws and regulations, the foundation failed to meet several requirements: it did not appoint a board member authorized to sign documents domiciled in Switzerland, did not have the minimum three board members, lacked a Swiss bank account and valid address, and operated without an auditing body.

The GHF operates independently from UN-backed mechanisms, which Hamas has sought to reinstate, arguing that these vehicles are more neutral.

Israeli and American officials have rejected those calls, saying Hamas previously exploited UN-run systems to siphon aid for its war effort.

The UN has denied those allegations while expressing concerns that the GHF’s approach forces civilians to risk their safety by traveling long distances across active conflict zones to reach food distribution points.

The post Switzerland Moves to Close Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s Geneva Office Over Legal Irregularities first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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