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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who claimed Jewish heritage, instead reportedly had a grandfather who fought for the Nazis
(JTA) – Florida Republican Anna Paulina Luna beat a Jewish Democrat to represent her district in Congress last fall, but she had Jewish ancestry, too — or so she claimed at the time.
The freshman representative told Jewish Insider during her campaign that she was “a small fraction Ashkenazi,” in addition to having been “raised as a Messianic Jew by my father.” While mainstream Judaism does not consider Messianic Jews, who believe in the divinity of Jesus, to be Jewish, Luna’s additional claim of Ashkenazi heritage was of interest enough for her to use it to deflect accusations that her political ally, the far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, was antisemitic.
But that detail appears to be untrue, according to a Washington Post investigation into Luna’s biography published late last week. After speaking to members of Luna’s extended family and reviewing genealogical records, the Post determined that she does not have any apparent Ashkenazi background — and that her paternal grandfather, in fact, served in the armed forces of Nazi Germany.
If Luna indeed fabricated her Jewish heritage, she would be the second Republican freshman in Congress to have done so this term. New York Rep. George Santos attracted widespread scrutiny shortly after his election when it was revealed that he had made up large portions of his biography, including claims that he was Jewish and the descendant of a Holocaust survivor. Santos, who also had a social media history of appearing to praise Hitler, has thus far resisted calls to resign, including from within his own party.
Some Democratic groups and liberal columnists have already pounced on drawing comparisons between Luna and Santos, while the Jewish Democratic Council of America tweeted, “Republicans are increasingly using Jewish Americans, our community, and our history as political props.” Both candidates represent districts with significant Jewish populations.
It’s unclear whether Luna was consciously lying about her Jewish background or simply misinformed. Heinrich Mayerhofer, Luna’s grandfather, served in the Wehrmacht, the Nazi army, before immigrating to Canada in 1954, family members told the Post. They said his Nazi past was well known among relatives. The Post also found an old photo of Mayerhofer in a Wehrmacht uniform. He identified as Roman Catholic, and told family members he had had no choice but to serve the Nazis in order to survive.
His son George Mayerhofer, Luna’s father, was raised Catholic, according to members of Luna’s extended family from whom she has become estranged. But Luna said he followed Messianic Judaism and raised her with those beliefs. Her mother Monica Luna also told the Post that George, who struggled with addiction, “started attending a Messianic Jewish church in Orange County” after he got clean, and that Luna “buried him to Jewish customs” after he was killed last year in a car accident.
Luna’s office has called the Post’s story “comical” and said she was being targeted because “anyone who is a conservative minority is a threat to Leftist control.” The Post has already issued two corrections on the story concerning other elements of her biography, but not on her claims of Jewish heritage.
Meanwhile, a different Jewish Republican last week moved in the opposite direction of their identity journey, as candidate for Michigan GOP chair Lena Epstein announced that, while she had been raised Jewish, she was now “baptized” and considered herself a “Jewish Messianic believer of Christ.” Epstein still belongs to a Reform Jewish congregation in the Detroit area, according to the Forward; after her announcement, her rabbi wrote on Facebook in all-caps that “THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MESSIANIC JUDAISM” and that people who use the term are “camouflaging their identity.”
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Britain Sends Destroyer and Helicopters With Counter-Drone Tech to Cyprus
Entrance to the RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base in Cyprus, which was hit by an unmanned drone overnight, causing limited damage, after sirens sounded, in Cyprus, March 2, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
Britain is deploying HMS Dragon, an air defense destroyer, to Cyprus after the runway of its Akrotiri base there was hit by an Iranian-made drone.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday he was sending the naval vessel along with helicopters with counter–drone capabilities to the region, as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies.
France and Greece said they would also send anti-missile and anti-drone systems after the British base on the island was hit on Monday.
“The UK is fully committed to the security of Cyprus and British military personnel based there,” Starmer said in a post on X, adding that he had spoken with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides about the move.
“We’re continuing our defensive operations and I’ve just spoken with the President of Cyprus to let him know that we are sending helicopters with counter drone capabilities and HMS Dragon is to be deployed to the region,” the British prime minister said.
HMS Dragon is a Type 45 air-defense destroyer equipped with the Sea Viper missile system and advanced radar designed to track and neutralize airborne threats, according to the Royal Navy’s website.
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Trump Awards Medal of Honor to ‘Righteous Among the Nations’ World War II Soldier With ‘Unsurpassed Courage’
US President Donald Trump speaks during a visit at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, US, Feb. 13, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
President Donald Trump bestowed the Medal of Honor to three former US Army soldiers on Monday at a White House ceremony and they included a World War II veteran who was recognized by Yad Vashem as “Righteous Among the Nations.”
Trump posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Master Sgt. Roderick (Roddie) W. Edmonds, who refused to single out the Jewish servicemen he fought alongside when he was held by Germans in a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during World War II. The president said the three US soldiers receiving the Medal of Honor — only one of whom is still living – demonstrated “unsurpassed courage.”
In 1941, Edmonds enlisted in the US Army and soon became one of the youngest master sergeants in the military, Trump said. The native of South Knoxville, Tennessee, led a unit that fought in Europe during World War II and they were captured by German forces on Dec. 19, 1944. Edmonds was held with other American POWS, including Jews, at Stalag IX-B in Bad Orb, Germany. Germans tried to separate Jewish POWs and many of them were sent to Nazi extermination camps or killed. Edmonds was in charge of the American barracks in Stalag IXA, according to the US Army, but refused to help single out Jewish POWs.
“On July 26, 1945, a Nazi SS officer issued an order over the camp loudspeaker, loud and strong, he said that only American Jews were to show up to roll call. Following this morning, he added ‘all who disobey this order will be shot immediately,’” Trump explained at the Medal of Honor ceremony. “There were more than 200 Jewish American soldiers in the camp, and Roddie knew their separation from the group would mean certain death. So that night he summoned his team and devised a plan. The next morning, all 1,200 American men fell in line together, shoulder to shoulder.”
“Enraged, the Nazi commandant rushed forward, drew his Luger pistol, and pressed the barrel between Sgt. Edmond’s eyes,” the president added. “He barked at Roddie, ‘They cannot all be Jews!’ He screamed loud and again and again. And, staring straight back into the raging face of evil, Sgt. Edmonds replied fearlessly, ‘We are all Jews here.’ The Nazi officer lowered his weapon and the soldiers erupted in cheers.”
The president noted that “with total disregard for his own life, Roddie had saved over 200 of his fellow service members.” Stalag IXA was liberated two months later.
Edmonds died on Aug. 8, 1985, in Knoxville. His son, Chris, accepted his Medal of Honor on Monday at the White House ceremony. Trump also posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis and Command Sergeant Major Terry P. Richardson.
Yad Vashem recognized Edmonds as Righteous Among the Nations in 2015. A year later, a ceremony was held at the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, and the Righteous medal and certificate of honor was presented to Edmond’s son.
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US Women’s Basketball Player Stuck in Israel During Iran Conflict Remains Optimistic She’ll Return Home Soon
Destiny Littleton, right. Photo: IMAGO/Fotostand via Reuters Connect
Professional women’s basketball player Destiny Littleton has been posting on social media in real-time while being trapped in Israel, as Iran launches missile strikes on the Jewish state in response to the US-Israel strikes on Tehran over the weekend.
The former NCAA and Team USA player – who won a gold medal for the US in the 2017 FIBA 3×3 U-18 World Cup —moved to Israel in November to play for Hapoel Jerusalem in the top women’s basketball division. Since the joint US-Israel strikes in Iran that started on Saturday, and amid Iran’s counterstrikes against Israel, the 26-year-old has been trying to return home to the United States.
“There have been exits routes opening up so I don’t doubt that one of my next videos will be me having a plan to leave Isreal [sic],” she wrote in the caption of a video posted on Instagram early Tuesday morning.
“With that being said if and when such plan arises I will NOT be posting in real time as my safety is the number 1 priority,” she added. “Please keep me and everyone else in your prayers … The goal has always been the same to remain safe and find the best way out and back home.”
In the video, she shared, “options have been opening up for us to take … We are coming very close to making a move to get out of Israel.”
On Monday, the US State Department urged Americans in several countries across the Middle East to depart as soon as possible using all available commercial transportation, citing “serious safety risks” from the war with Iran. That same day President Donald Trump said the war could last a month or longer.
“Whatever it takes,” he noted. “Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that.”
Over the weekend, Littleton posted a video on Instagram of her and others in shock and fear as drones flew over their apartment building, while explosions were heard in the background. In several other videos, she recorded herself going to a bomb shelter while sirens blared around her.
On Sunday, an Iranian missile struck the city of Beit Shemesh, which is west of Jerusalem and just 30 minutes away from Littleton, she said in an Instagram post. The missile killed nine people and injured many others.
“I think I’m so clam [sic] because I’m in so much fear. Body is in flight or fight mode,” she wrote on Sunday, in the caption of a video posted on Instagram.
Littleton is one of three former South Carolina women’s basketball players competing in Israel who have been stuck in the country since the conflict started over the weekend. She is stranded in Israel along with former WNBA player Tiffany Mitchell and former Phoenix Mercury forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan. South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley said Saturday on X that she is working to bring all three athletes back to the US.
Littleton talked to Fox News about her experience living in a war zone while trying to get back home.
“It’s scary. And it’s hard not to take it to the ‘what ifs.’ You really can’t. We’re going to have to pray and hope everything will be okay and that we can leave safely,” she said. “Right now, I can’t tell you the full effect that this is going to have on me. But I do know that just with this 48+ hours of being in an active war zone, even the little noises you jump at. So, there is going to be some trauma there.”
Littleton also shared her feeling about the US and Israel joining forces to strike Iran. “The US is trying to stop a regime that’s terrible for the entire world; on the other hand, it’s the US is doing Israel’s bidding,” she said. “My opinion is that I’m against the war period. I’m against what war can do. And I don’t like how [Trump] made this decision on his own.”