US strikes Islamic State targets in Nigeria, Trump says
(JNS) — The United States carried out a military airstrike in Nigeria targeting Islamic State operatives on Christmas, President Donald Trump announced, citing the terrorist group’s persecution of the country’s Christian population.
In a social media post, Trump said he had ordered U.S. forces to conduct “a powerful and deadly strike” against ISIS targets in northwest Nigeria. U.S. Africa Command later confirmed the operation, saying the strike was carried out at the request of Nigerian authorities and resulted in the deaths of “multiple ISIS terrorists.”
Trump said the targeted terrorists had been “viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians,” warning that he had previously cautioned Islamist groups in Nigeria that continued attacks would prompt U.S. military action.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria,” Trump wrote. “I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was.”
In November, Trump publicly threatened possible U.S. military action if Nigeria’s government failed to halt attacks on Christians by Islamist groups. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that additional action could follow if the group continues targeting “innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere).”
Vance declines to draw a line against rising influence of antisemitic figures in Republican party
(JTA) — In the latest round of conservative infighting over the mainstreaming of antisemitic figures within the GOP, Vice President JD Vance has once again declined to draw a red line.
At the center of the controversy that has roiled the Republican Party is Nick Fuentes, the antisemitic and white nationalist livestreamer who set off a firestorm after he voiced his disdain for “these Zionist Jews” in a friendly interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson in October.
Since then, Vance has failed to meet calls from Jewish conservatives to set a boundary against antisemitic voices within the Republican coalition.
On Monday, in an interview with UnHerd, Vance downplayed the influence of Fuentes and instead argued that the focus on his presence in the GOP was crowding out a larger discussion about anti-Israel animus within the party.
“I think that Nick Fuentes, his influence within Donald Trump’s administration, and within a whole host of institutions on the right, is vastly overstated, and frankly, it’s overstated by people who want to avoid having a foreign-policy conversation about America’s relationship with Israel,” said Vance.
Vance also dismissed claims about the prevalence of antisemitism across the political spectrum, saying that much of what is alleged to be antisemitism is in fact “a real backlash” against Israel.
Turning Point poll seems to suggest most attendees of event view Israel as ally
(JNS) — An informal straw poll that Turning Point USA, the student movement which late conservative activist Charlie Kirk co-founded, conducted at its America Fest conference in Phoenix, Ariz., made headlines for its suggestion that most attendees see Israel as an ally.
Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of the Charlie Kirk Show and a Turning Point spokesman, stated that “a clear majority view Israel as one ally of many (53.4%), about one-third of attendees see Israel as our top ally (33.3%), while 13.3% do not view Israel as an ally at all.”
An image that Kolvet shared on social media didn’t state how many of the estimated 31,000 attendees voted on the question.
In another post, the spokesman said that “this straw poll received the largest number of responses of any straw poll in our organization’s history, representing a statistically significant response rate.”
“It’s also the youngest average age of a respondent from any AmFest ever,” he stated. (JNS sought comment from Turning Point and from Big Data Poll about how many people responded to the poll question about Israel.)
Fox News appeared to suggest that every attendee took the poll, as it reported that some 31,008 answered one of the questions. It wasn’t immediately clear why a Turning Point spokesman would refer to the sample size as “statistically significant” if 100% of attendees responded to the poll.
Rob Reiner urges resilience in video address for Holocaust survivor event — recorded just weeks before his murder
(JTA) — At a virtual Holocaust survivor event on Dec. 24, beloved Jewish film director Rob Reiner gave a pre-recorded address where he urged those watching to be “resilient.”
For the survivors, families and advocates who tuned into the virtual event hosted by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, or Claims Conference, Reiner’s words carried added weight, having been recorded just weeks before he and his wife were killed in their home.
As Reiner came on the screen, he began by describing his family’s “personal connection” to the Holocaust.
“Personally, my wife, her mother, was in Auschwitz, and her whole family died there. Her mother was the only survivor, and my aunt was also in Auschwitz.”
Reiner then shifted his focus to urging “resilience,” which was the theme of the virtual event to honor Holocaust survivors.
“I know the theme of the evening is resilience, and if ever we needed to be resilient, it’s now,” he said. “We’re living in a time where what’s happening in our country is scary and reminiscent of what we’ve seen happen in the past, and we just hope that we can all survive this and that we can hold on to our democracy, but I want to just thank everybody for being there, and let’s be resilient.”
73 former, current Bay Area officials decry mayor’s Jew-hatred
(JNS) — Seventy-three current and former elected officials from across the Bay Area signed a joint letter condemning antisemitic posts that Eduardo Martinez, mayor of Richmond, Calif., shared on social media.
Signatories stated that they are “deeply troubled” by the mayor’s recent statements that “have harmed local residents and undermined public trust.”
The list of signatories appeared to include mayors, council members, trustees and community leaders from cities including Brentwood, El Cerrito, Martinez, Walnut Creek, and Berkeley.
Martinez previously told JNS that he intended to blame the Israeli government for the rise in Jew-hatred since Oct. 7 and not to say in general that Jews are responsible for antisemitism.
Those who signed the letter called for a city resolution saying that hate has no place in Richmond. If Martinez cannot or won’t do the right thing, he ought to resign, they said.
