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Man Charged in Florida for Death Threats Against Jewish Conservatives Referencing Charlie Kirk’s Murder
Charlie Kirk speaking at the inauguration of Donald Trump in January 2025. Photo: Brian Snyder via Reuters Connect
The unfounded speculations promoted in recent weeks by some right-wing podcast figures of a hidden Israeli hand behind the killing of pro-Israel activist Charlie Kirk have now led to one arrest, with law enforcement in Florida charging a man with 12 counts for allegedly threatening Jewish conservative media personalities who he suspected of being part of the conspiracy.
Florida state Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on Monday that his Office of Statewide Prosecution was notified last week of “multiple, specific death threats made to Jewish conservative media members who live in Florida.”
After an investigation, Uthmeier continued, “we obtained an arrest warrant for Nicholas Ray of Spring, Texas. Ray is now in custody and will be extradited to Florida to face charges of extortion, written threats to kill, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.”
Ray, who now faces 140 years behind bars if convicted on all charges, allegedly targeted Newsweek senior editor-at-large Josh Hammer, New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz, Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon, and far-right podcaster Laura Loomer.
The New York Post reported that the probable cause affidavit it reviewed says that Ray used a “zionistarescum” X account to make the threats between Oct. 8 and 10. The account follows a Dallas Cowboys fan, the neo-Nazi Paul Miller, and Candace Owens, the former Daily Wire host who has reinvented herself in recent years as an independent podcaster focused on a plethora of provocations from anti-Israel conspiracy theories to accusing Brigitte Macron, the first lady of France, of being born male, an accusation which has prompted an international lawsuit.
Police say that Ray wrote that Hammer had “conspired with foreign govt about killing Charlie [Kirk].” Ray allegedly fantasized that Hammer “SHOULD LITERALLY BE KILLED BY A FIRING SQUAD” and labeled him a “TRAITOR.”
Markowicz, Dillon, and Loomer received similar accusations of involvement with the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and the so-called “genociding” in Gaza. A threat targeting Dillon read, “You’re in on it too bitch don’t think we forgot. Conspired with foreign govt about killing Charlie we f–king know you did bitch. We’re gonna get you I promise maybe not today or tomorrow but you’re living on borrowed time and you know it.”
Uthmeier told “The Ben Shapiro Show” on Tuesday that Ray was “clearly demented” and “was calling for the death of several in conservative media, using antisemitic verbiage in his threats.” He added, “We’re going to throw the book at him and send a clear message: If you call for violence, you will be punished, you will do as much time as possible in the state of Florida. We have zero tolerance for it.”
Earlier this month, Owens promoted the conspiracy theory that Hammer may have had foreknowledge of Kirk’s murder, pointing to a tweet he had made referencing the Aug. 22 death of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was fatally stabbed on a North Carolina train, and doubling down when challenged.
Hammer has in turn considered filing a lawsuit against Owens for the claim.
“I mean, when you put yourselves out there, you’re going to get pushback. But this is not pushback, right? I mean, this is not someone responding to a legal theory of mine or making an intelligent point about the two-state solution or not two-state solution,” Hammer told interviewer Erin Molan. “No, I mean this is literally just picking a Jewish person and calling him sub-human filth, and sickening your band of millions and millions of neo-Nazi zealots on a Jewish person who happens to be a, yeah, like Charlie, happens to be a husband and a father to a young child.”
Hammer continued, “So, I mean it’s just awful, awful stuff. And I guess I will say, Erin, I’m pretty sure I’ve said this publicly already, you know, I’m talking to lawyers. I think — I’m a lawyer with my background. I clerked for a federal appeals judge. I know a thing or two about United States constitutional law. I think that we have a potentially serious case here for defamation, and I’m very much speaking with lawyers. And we’ll see what happens.”
As of Thursday, the “zionistarescum” X account remains live. The most recent posting, from Oct. 15, states, “When Israel is purged it will be biblical.” A warning on X notes that the post has been classified as “Visibility limited: this Post may violate X’s rules against Violent Speech.” It has received more than 5,000 views.
The user also criticizes US President Donald Trump, writing on Oct. 10, “Dude that funded ethnic cleansing and genocide begging for a prize cause his daddy didn’t love him enough #NobelPeacePrize,” a thought which received more than 1,500 views.
Preceding that statement, “zionistarescum” shared a posting from Loomer from Oct. 9 that was critical of Owens.
“F–k @RealCandaceO,” Loomer wrote. “This woman would be in her basement under the name ‘Red Pill Black’ if it weren’t for President Trump. She owes her entire career to President Trump and his family. She even had her wedding at one of his properties. She is the biggest grifter and opportunist. She was always a liberal and she doesn’t speak for me, MAGA [Make America Great Again], or the Trump base. Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for securing many peace deals. Not just between Israel and Hamas. She doesn’t speak for MAGA. She has and always will only speak for herself and the voices in her head. I’m so sick of these ingrate ‘influencers’ attacking Donald Trump after they used him to acquire wealth and fame. F–k this stupid bitch.”
The user responded, “WAHH WAHH PEOPLE GOT RICH AND FAMOUS OFF DONALD TRUMP WAHH DONALD TRUMPS FAMILY IS 100 BILLION RICHER SINCE ELECTED HES THE MOST CORRUPT PRESIDENT OF ALL TIME. JEW JEW JEW JEW.”
On Wednesday, Loomer shared a clip of Owens on X in which the podcaster apparently stated that Kirk’s murder has “made me fully lose faith in Trump.”
Loomer wrote with the video that Owens “is now implying that President Trump murdered Charlie Kirk. Absolutely unhinged.”
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Majority of House Democrats vote to defeat Lebanon war powers measure
(JTA) — A House resolution aimed at preventing U.S. involvement in hostilities in Lebanon failed Thursday.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat and fierce critic of Israel, forced a vote on the House floor Thursday. It was defeated 324 to 92, with 91 Democrats voting in favor. The sole Republican vote came from Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who will be departing Congress next year after losing his primary.
The resolution, which would have ordered President Donald Trump to remove U.S. troops from Lebanon within seven days, was defeated after Democratic Party leaders noted in a joint statement that there are “no U.S. servicemembers involved in combat operations or hostilities in Lebanon.”
The statement issued by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar continued: “We stand with the Lebanese people, the government of Lebanon and the Lebanese Armed Forces in their efforts to live peacefully and defeat Hezbollah, a violent terrorist organization that is a sworn enemy of the United States.”
Jewish Democratic Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Dan Goldman of New York also voted “no” on the resolution, writing in a joint press release that their opposition “should not be taken as an approval of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s prosecution of Israel’s military action in Lebanon.”
“To the extent that American armed forces are present in Lebanon, it is to support the current Lebanese government, which deserves our assistance,” the statement continued.
But Tlaib defended her resolution in a post on X Thursday ahead of the vote. “The people of Lebanon can’t wait another month for Congress to act,” Tlaib wrote. “Every day that we do nothing, 11 more Lebanese children are killed or injured by the Israeli military in this U.S.-supported invasion. Congress must pass today’s Lebanon War Powers Resolution.”
Tlaib was citing a UNICEF report of data from Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health last month that found 77 children in Lebanon had been killed over the course of a week as Israeli strikes continued to pummel the country.
Some of those who opposed Tlaib’s resolution, including Nadler and Goldman, said they would vote for an alternative version of the resolution that would preserve cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces in their fight against Hezbollah.
The defeat of the resolution came the same day that Hezbollah rejected the latest ceasefire agreement brokered between Israel and Lebanon, as fighting between the Iranian proxy and Israel has intensified in recent weeks.
On Wednesday, the House narrowly passed a resolution for the first time that would limit President Donald Trump’s power to continue the war in Iran. While the development was largely symbolic, it marked a rebuke of the president’s increasingly unpopular strategy in Iran.
On Friday, 85 members of Congress also signed onto a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling on the Trump administration to “use every available diplomatic tool to halt imminent settlement construction in the E-1 area of the West Bank,” a corridor east of Jerusalem.
Citing Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s orders to demolish a Palestinian Bedouin village in the West Bank last month, the letter, which was led by Democratic Reps. Mark Pocan and Jan Schakowsky, who is Jewish, argued that the issue of settlements in the area had reached a “critical and final inflection point.”
“The window for meaningful diplomatic intervention is closing rapidly, and we believe it is not too late for the United States to act,” read the letter, which was also signed by Nadler and Jewish Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
The post Majority of House Democrats vote to defeat Lebanon war powers measure appeared first on The Forward.
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After years of hostile relations with Israel, Slovenia’s new prime minister signals diplomatic reset
(JTA) — Less than an hour after Slovenia’s newly elected prime minister, Janez Janša, was sworn into office by the country’s parliament, he had the Palestinian flag lowered from a government building.
The move marked the first step in a sharp reorientation of Slovenia’s posture towards Israel under Janša. The right-leaning prime minister, who previously held office in 2022, replaced a prime minister for the liberal Freedom Movement party.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced on Thursday that Israel would open its first-ever embassy in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital, writing in a post on X that the move was a statement of “friendship, dialogue, and a shared belief in freedom, democracy, and security.”
“The election of Prime Minister @JJansaSDS marks a new chapter in relations between Israel and Slovenia,” Saar wrote. “After years of the hostility of the previous government- we now have an opportunity to rebuild, strengthen, and deepen a real partnership.”
Saar wrote in another post on X that he had spoken with Tone Kajzer, who was appointed as Slovenia’s minister of foreign affairs under the new administration, and that he had “pledged all the assistance necessary” to ensure the “swift establishment” of the embassy.
Janša replied to Saar’s post Thursday, writing, “Welcome to Ljubljana. 🇸🇮🇮🇱Looking forward to a new era in Slovenia-Israel relations.”
Under Slovenia’s outgoing prime minister, Robert Golob, the country voted to recognize a Palestinian state in June 2024 and became one of the few European Union countries to label Israel’s war in Gaza a “genocide,” a charge Israel firmly rejects. It was one of five nations to boycott the Eurovision song contest this year over Israel’s participation.
Last year, Slovenia also became the first EU country to impose a travel ban on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
For the country’s Jewish population, which numbers just 100, the spate of anti-Israel measures adopted by the former government contributed to a growing sense of isolation in the country.
But now, Janša, an admirer of President Donald Trump and an ally of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, appears eager to reset relations with Israel.
On Friday, days after an Israeli passenger plane was denied entry to the country by Slovenian authorities in a protest against the Israeli government, Slovenian politician Jernej Vrtovec announced that the airline Israir had “once again been granted authorization to operate flights between Tel Aviv and Ljubljana.”
“The time has come for a responsible Slovenian 🇸🇮foreign policy based on facts, Slovenian national interests and international law,” Janša wrote in a post on X. He added that the “politically and economically harmful period of government support for activist anti-Semitism” had ended.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
The post After years of hostile relations with Israel, Slovenia’s new prime minister signals diplomatic reset appeared first on The Forward.
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Israel gives in to the politics of debasement
A small episode this week crystallized the broader pathology of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu more clearly than any grand speech or ideological argument ever could: the Knesset vote for state comptroller, one of the most sensitive institutional positions in Israeli public life.
In Israel, the 120 members of the Knesset elect the comptroller by secret ballot. The office audits government ministries, investigates failures of governance, oversees public integrity, and possesses enormous influence over public accountability. In the aftermath of the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, and the Gaza war, the role carries even greater significance. The comptroller may shape future investigations into catastrophic national failures and wartime decision-making.
This week — in a move straight out of United States President Donald Trump’s playbook — Netanyahu nominated his longtime personal lawyer, Michael Rabello, for the role.
Historically, the comptroller’s office has been occupied by senior judges, jurists, or respected public servants with reputations for independence. Figures such as Miriam Ben-Porat, Eliezer Goldberg, and Micha Lindenstrauss embodied a certain ethos: they were stern institutional guardians standing somewhat above partisan warfare.
The idea of placing the prime minister’s own attorney into the country’s central oversight institution struck many Israelis as grotesquely inappropriate.
Yet the truly astonishing part came during the voting itself, in which the opposition candidate was a former justice on the Supreme Court — an institution Netanyahu’s coalition has long vilified. The first round reportedly revealed substantial defections among Netanyahu’s coalition. His preferred candidate fell short. Panic spread.
Suddenly, allegations and reports emerged that coalition lawmakers were being encouraged to photograph or film their ballots in order to prove their loyalty. There was a pause in the proceedings as the Knesset speaker, Likud’s Amir Ohana, received legal advice to not allow phones in the voting area. He restarted the vote anyway. Israeli media filled with coalition lawmakers posting images of themselves voting the right way. The images and reports were the excruciating stuff of banana republics.
I cannot recall ever seeing a similar scene in a functioning democracy. Rabello was elected.
Secret ballots exist precisely because democracies understand that free voting collapses when superiors can verify obedience. The entire purpose of ballot secrecy is to protect individuals from coercion, intimidation, retaliation and patronage systems.
Modern democracies adopted secret ballots in the nineteenth century to break the power of bosses, landlords, oligarchs, and political machines that demanded proof of loyalty.
The blatant violation of these norms by Netanyahu’s coalition helps explain why so many Israelis react to him not merely with opposition, but with exhaustion, fury, and moral revulsion.
It’s not just the corruption trials, the permanent manipulation, the serial falsehoods, the failed strategic assumptions about Hamas, the relentless cultivation of tribal resentment, the attacks on state institutions, the politics of personal loyalty and the transformation of every disagreement into an existential struggle between patriots and traitors. It’s the cumulative exhaustion of watching every institutional norm eventually be subordinated to the most vulgar politics imaginable.
The episode revealed something larger than one parliamentary scandal: the culture Netanyahu has spent years cultivating. It is a system organized increasingly around personal allegiance rather than institutional responsibility. A political environment in which independent judgment becomes suspicious, dissent becomes betrayal, and every institution gradually bends toward one man’s political ambition.
So we have here a prime minister under criminal indictment pushing his own lawyer into a top civil service oversight role.
Opposition leaders Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid plan to appeal Rabello’s election to the Supreme Court, calling the vote “tainted.” Even that might not work. Several government ministers, including the justice minister, have suggested in recent months that they no longer consider court decisions binding.
And that is what outsiders often miss about Netanyahu fatigue in Israel. The anger does not emerge from one scandal, one trial, one war, or one speech. It comes from the constant sense of humiliation. This week, inside Knesset voting booths that were meant to be hidden from view, Israelis saw the whole story compressed into a single degrading scene.
The post Israel gives in to the politics of debasement appeared first on The Forward.
