Massachusetts man arrested for antisemitic threats had Nazi flag, guns and ammo
(JTA) — A Massachusetts man who was arrested on Saturday for threatening antisemitic violence had a gun, ammunition and a Nazi flag, police said.
Local outlets reported that Matthew Scouras, 34, had allegedly threatened to rape Jewish women and called for people to be shot outside of synagogues.
The FBI alerted police to the threat, and when they searched his home in Beverly, Massachusetts, north of Boston, they reportedly found the Nazi flag, six boxes of ammunition, several guns and numerous other firearm parts. He also had $70,000 in cash.
Scouras faces a range of charges related to illegal possession of firearms and a count of threats to destroy a place of worship. He has been arraigned and his next hearing is scheduled for next week. He is being held without bail.
Palm Beach County School District faces federal review of potential bias
(JNS) — A federal investigation into potential discrimination involving shared ancestry at Palm Beach County School District opened on Tuesday.
The U.S. Department of Education will review the case to determine if the district violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
JNS reached out to district representatives for details about the alleged discrimination.
According to the Anti-Defamation League’s 2023 audit, Palm Beach County led the state in antisemitic incidents, documenting 84 cases — an increase from 20 in 2022. As recently as 2023, officials have estimated that about 12% of Palm Beach County’s population is Jewish, the ADL report stated.
“In Palm Beach County specifically, there were 15 bomb threats. That was versus zero the year before,” Sarah Emmons, regional director of ADL Florida, said.
The School District of Palm Beach County is the 10th-largest school district in the country and the fifth-largest in Florida.
Trump again threatens ‘all hell will break out’ over hostages as envoy signals optimism on a deal
(JTA) — Donald Trump repeated his threat that “all hell will break out” if Hamas doesn’t release the hostages it is holding in Gaza as his Middle East envoy signaled optimism about a ceasefire deal that would see some of the captives go free.
The president-elect and his chosen envoy, real estate magnate Steve Witkoff, made the comments at a wide-ranging press conference Tuesday, 13 days before Trump returns to office.
At the press conference, Trump issued a threat to Hamas to release the approximately 100 captives, dozens of whom are thought to be dead, before he takes office on Jan. 20.“If those hostages aren’t back — I don’t want to hurt your negotiation — if they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East and it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone,” Trump said. He added that relatives of hostages who have been killed had called him to help recover their loved one’s bodies.
Gov. Abbott announces increased efforts to combat terrorism in Texas
(JNS) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has instructed the state Department of Public Safety to increase preemptive and protective efforts to combat radical jihadist terrorism.
Abbott’s announcement followed the terror attack in New Orleans carried out by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S.-born citizen from Houston, on Jan. 1. An ISIS flag was displayed in the back of the truck Jabbar used for the attack, and law enforcement later found social media videos he had posted that indicated he had been inspired by the terrorist organization.
“Law enforcement at all levels must aggressively collaborate to eliminate radicalization that can lead to terrorist attacks,” Abbott said.
The governor’s directive calls for greater collaboration with the FBI, an increase in intelligence analysts assigned to investigate terrorism and expanded efforts to locate and assess potential threats from Special Interest Aliens as identified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Trump taps Senate staffer as National Security Council’s Middle East director
(JTA) — Eric Trager, a Republican Senate staffer and Egypt expert, is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Middle East advisor on the National Security Council, multiple news organizations reported.
As senior director for the Middle East and North Africa, the top advisory role on Middle East issues, Trager would replace Brett McGurk, who has played a central role in the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
The senior director will advise Trump on two of the incoming president’s top priorities: ending the war in Gaza and brokering new agreements between Israel and Arab countries. Four such deals, known collectively as the Abraham Accords, were struck during Trump’s first term.
Trager will bring to the role expertise honed over years as a research fellow at the Washington Institute For Near East Policy, where he focused on Egypt, Islamism and U.S. policy, according to his social media profile. He authored a 2016 book about the rise and fall of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, which he later condemned as an “international hate group” seeking to launder its reputation abroad.
Trager has most recently been a staffer for the Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee. A 2005 Harvard University graduate with a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, he has donated to a Washington, D.C., synagogue and to Harvard Hillel, according to those organizations’ fundraising reports.
