DHS report cites Iran war as possible motive of alleged Trump assassin
(JNS) — A report released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security identified the Iran war as a possible motivating factor for Cole Allen, who faces multiple felony charges for allegedly attempting to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25.
The April 27 report, obtained by Reuters, found that Allen, 31, had “multiple social and political grievances” and concluded that U.S. military operations in Iran “may have contributed to his decision to conduct the attack.” The assessment cited Allen’s social media posts criticizing the war.
In an email sent to his family the night of the attack, Allen wrote that he was “no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes” and indicated that members of the Trump administration were targets, “prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest.”
Allen also appeared to comment on security at the Washington Hilton, where the event was held, writing, “If I was an Iranian agent, instead of an American citizen, I could have brought a damn Ma Deuce in here, and no one would have noticed”
In the same message, he described emotional distress, writing, “I want to cry for all the things I wanted to do and never will, for all the people whose trust this betrays. I experience rage thinking about everything this administration has done.”
Boulder hostage-march firebombing suspect to plead guilty to state charges
(JTA) — The man charged with firebombing a Boulder, Colorado, march for Israeli hostages in 2025 will plead guilty to killing one person and attempting to kill others in the incident, according to documents filed in the case over the weekend. Thirteen people were physically injured in the attack, which took place on a pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder where supporters of the Israelis then held hostage in Gaza marched weekly. One, 82-year-old Karen Diamond, died weeks later of her injuries.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who was arrested at the scene of the June 1, 2025, attack, is asking for his ex-wife and children to be able to remain in the United States as a condition of his guilty plea, according to the documents.
His ex-wife and five children, like him all Egyptian nationals who came to the United States in 2022 via Kuwait, were arrested by immigration authorities shortly after the attack. His ex-wife, whom he divorced in April, has not been charged with a crime and said she did not know about Soliman’s planned attack.
Soliman is reportedly pleading guilty to all state charges but still faces federal charges in relation to the attack, which he allegedly said he staged to “kill all Zionist people,” according to an earlier court filing. He has previously pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, for which prosecutors could seek the death penalty.
30 House Dems, including ‘Squad,’ want info on Israeli nuclear program
(JNS) — Some 30 House Democrats, including members of the so-called “Squad,” are calling on the U.S. State Department to reveal information about Israel’s nuclear program to “pave the way for coherent nonproliferation policy.”
The Jewish state has long been reported to have a nuclear program, but it has historically kept a policy of ambiguity about its nuclear capabilities, neither confirming nor denying possession of nuclear weapons.
Its posture appears to serve as a deterrent to regional adversaries and to avoid inspections and other documentation under the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Western Hemisphere subcommittee, is leading the effort.
“We cannot develop coherent nonproliferation policy for the Middle East, including with respect to Iran’s civil nuclear program and Saudi Arabia’s civil nuclear ambitions, while maintaining a policy of official silence about the nuclear weapons capabilities of one party central to the ongoing conflict in which the United States is a direct participant,” the signatories wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“We ask that you hold Israel to the same standard of transparency that the United States expects from any other country that may be pursuing or retaining nuclear weapons capability,” they wrote.
ADL report says 2025 one of most violent years for American Jews
(JNS) — Although incidents of Jew-hatred declined overall in the United States in 2025, last year was one of the most violent years for Jews in the country, according to a new audit published by the Anti-Defamation League.
The 203 antisemitic assaults in 2025 represent a 4% increase from the 196 in 2024, and assaults with a deadly weapon rose nearly 40%, from 23 in 2024 to 32 last year.
Vandalism and harassment declined 21% and 39%, respectively, from 2024 to 2025, per the ADL audit.
There was a dramatic decline — 66% — of Jew-hatred on college and university campuses, and campus incidents related to anti-Israel protests were down 83% between 2024 and 2025, according to the audit.
The audit attributed the decrease of incidents on campuses to the “decline of the anti-Israel encampment movement that drove the spike in incidents on campuses in the spring of 2024.”
In 2025, 45% of incidents involved Israel or Zionism, down from 58% in 2024, according to the report. The most incidents (1,160) occurred in New York, followed by California (817), New Jersey (687), Florida (319) and Pennsylvania (281) in 2025.
Overall, the audit found 6,274 reported instances of antisemitism in 2025, a 33% decline from the 9,354 in 2024. Still, it was the third-largest number that the ADL has recorded.
Rutgers cancels graduation speaker over post claiming Israelis ‘train dogs to sexually assault prisoners’
(JTA) — Administrators at Rutgers University have canceled a commencement speaker scheduled for next week, citing an “inflammatory claim” the speaker posted about Israel.
Rami Elghandour, a Rutgers alumnus and a producer of an Oscar-nominated docudrama about a Palestinian girl who died in Gaza, was set to deliver the speech at the university’s School of Engineering on May 15. But the university, New Jersey’s public flagship, rescinded the invitation on May 7.
The Associated Press was the first to report that Elghandour’s invitation had been rescinded and that the university said social media posts about Israel were the cause.
To the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a university representative specifically cited an April 20 post by Elghandour that accuses Israel of genocide and says the Israelis are “running dungeons where they train dogs to sexually assault prisoners.”
The post was a response to a post from California Rep. Ro Khanna advocating for cutting U.S. aid to Israel, which was itself a response to a post by AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby that has become a bogeyman in U.S. politics. The unsubstantiated claim that Israel trains dogs to assault prisoners has circulated widely in recent weeks among some pro-Palestinian activists.
