Newsom Tries To Be Zohran Mamdani of 2028 Presidential Race

The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, in an appearance in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary state of New Hampshire, reiterated his use of the term "apartheid" to describe Israel and did not correct his chosen interviewer, who falsely claimed "every expert" has described Israel's actions in Gaza as "genocide."

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No 'right to hijack': Christian ousted from Trump faith panel over anti-Zionist remarks



The chair of President Donald Trump's Religious Liberty Commission announced on Wednesday that he has removed a Christian member from the group after she made anti-Zionist comments at a hearing earlier this week.

During the commission's fifth hearing on Monday, Carrie Prejean Boller — a recent convert to Catholicism who was stripped of her Miss California USA Crown in 2009 after criticizing gay "marriage" — repeatedly asked whether anti-Zionism is necessarily anti-Semitic; stated that "Catholics don't embrace Zionism"; asked a panelist whether he would "condemn what Israel has done in Gaza"; and questioned whether the modern state of Israel is one and the same as the biblical Israel.

'Represents no one but herself.'

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who chairs the commission, desperately attempted to manage flaring tempers on the stage, at one point recommending Boller have a coffee with one of her interlocutors.

Following the hearing, one of the witnesses, Shabbos Kestenbaum, criticized Boller, expressing disappointment about her decision to "focus exclusively on Israel."

After stating in reply that she would not resign or "be bullied" and then suggesting in a separate message that the hearing had systematically excluded "Jewish and Christian voices that dissent from Zionism," Boller leaned harder into her criticism of Zionism online, tweeting, for example, "I will never bend the knee to the state of Israel. Ever. I am more determined than ever to speak plainly about political Zionism and the lies we’ve been sold to justify endless war, dead children, and blank checks."

While Boller made appeals in her messaging to the Catholic Church's teaching that the new Israel "is called the Church of Christ," she found critics among those Catholics she claimed to speak for, including Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

Donohue noted that while "it is possible for someone to oppose Zionism yet not be anti-Semitic," those "who are activists for the anti-Zionist cause invariably harbor an animus against Jews."

RELATED: Michael Knowles explains why he isn't a Christian Zionist

Photographer: Callaghan O'Hare/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Donohue stressed that Boller "does not run a Catholic organization, has no Catholic credentials as an author or instructor, and indeed represents no one but herself."

Among the other outfits and organizations that condemned Boller was the Wall Street Journal, whose editorial board characterized her as a dingbat and suggested the purpose of her theatrics was to gain online followers.

The National Review piled on, dubbing Boller "a lunatic antisemite."

Among those who alternatively voiced support for Boller was the group Jews United Against Zionism and Candace Owens.

On Wednesday morning, Patrick noted, "No member of the Commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda on any issue. This is clearly, without question, what happened Monday in our hearing on antisemitism in America."

"I am grateful to President Trump for having the vision and boldness to create this Commission," continued Patrick. "Fighting for the Word of God and religious freedom is what this nation was founded upon. Leading this fight will be one of his greatest legacies."

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Ousted NYC Anti-Semitism Czar: Mamdani Replaced Me With Left-Wing Activist Because I'm a 'Proud Jew' Who Doesn't Hate Israel

The recently ousted executive director of New York City Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism told the Washington Free Beacon on Thursday that he believes Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D.) replaced him with a left-wing activist because he is a "proud Jew" who doesn't fit in with the new mayor's agenda. That activist, Phylisa Wisdom, has slammed Israel's defensive operations against Hamas as "state-sanctioned violence" and once tweeted about how she "totally missed Yom Kippur."

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MLK Day Celebration Backed by Top Teachers' Union Disinvites Rabbi Over Support for Israel

A San Diego rabbi was disinvited from giving a benediction at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) over his support for Israel, according to the rabbi, his synagogue, and the organization that hosted the event.

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A Righteous Man in Japan

In the early 1940s, in the middle of World War II, a young Jewish student was arrested for wearing tefillin, phylacteries traditionally placed on the arm and head during prayer, on the rooftop of a store. This was somewhat of a surprise, for he was neither in Berlin nor Warsaw, but rather Kobe, Japan. Thousands of European Jews had obtained visas through the heroic kindness of Chiune Sugihara, vice-consul for the Japanese Empire in Kaunas, Lithuania, who risked his life to provide safe passage out of the reach of the Nazis and into Japanese territory. Included among these survivors were many students and teachers of the renowned Mirrer Yeshiva.

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Cooper Union Settles Lawsuit With Jewish Students Forced To Hide From Anti-Israel Mob

Cooper Union agreed to address campus anti-Semitism to resolve a discrimination lawsuit brought by Jewish students who said the school failed to protect them from anti-Semitic attacks after they were trapped inside a library by a swarm of anti-Israel protesters.

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Prominent MIT professor — reportedly Jewish, pro-Israel — shot to death in his home; no suspect in custody



A prominent professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was fatally shot in his Brookline home, the Associated Press reported.

Nuno Loureiro was Jewish and a vocal pro-Israel nuclear scientist, the Jerusalem Post said; but the paper added that it could not confirm speculations by Jewish organizations that Loureiro was targeted for his political affiliations.

'And a shooting in a state where it's so hard to even have a gun?'

The shooting occurred on the heels of a deadly shooting Saturday at another prestigious school in the region — Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Police there also have yet to find a suspect. Brookline is about 90 minutes northeast of Providence. The FBI told the AP it knows of no connection between the two crimes.

Loureiro — a married 47-year-old from Portugal — was shot Monday night and died Tuesday at a local hospital, the AP noted. WBZ-TV said in its video report that Loureiro was shot several times in the foyer of his home; a neighbor said he lived in a first-floor apartment.

A reporter suggested to the neighbor on camera that the crime is atypical for Brookline, and the neighbor replied that it was a "surprise ... and a shooting in a state where it's so hard to even have a gun?" The neighbor also said fellow neighbors noted a nearby car was "parked in the wrong direction" and "seemed to be waiting."

RELATED: Critics lambaste MIT's vice president for equity and inclusion over 'race baiting' social media post

Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive, the AP said, and the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office said no suspects were in custody as of Wednesday morning.

More from the AP:

Loureiro joined MIT in 2016 and was named last year to lead the school’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, one of its largest laboratories. The center has around 250 researchers working across seven buildings and focuses on advancing clean energy technology and other research.

The professor grew up in Viseu in central Portugal, studied in Lisbon, and earned a doctorate in London, according to the university. Before moving to MIT, he worked at a nuclear fusion research institute in Lisbon.

“He shone a bright light as a mentor, friend, teacher, colleague, and leader and was universally admired for his articulate, compassionate manner,” Dennis Whyte, an engineering professor who previously led MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, told a campus publication, according to the AP.

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Primed To Lead Israel

“In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles,” Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, once quipped.

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