Minnesota School Shooter Left Antisemitic Writings
Robin Westman, a 32-year-old transgender individual, died by suicide after fatally shooting two children at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. Authorities said the attack also left 17 people injured, most of them students.
The New York Post reported that Westman’s journals, written in Cyrillic script, contained repeated antisemitic rants, including praise for mass killers and threats against “filthy Zionist Jews,” along with claims that “six million wasn’t enough.” The writings also included “Free Palestine” slogans and references to assassinating former President Donald Trump.
According to police, the shooting erupted during a morning Mass marking the start of the school year. Of the 17 people hurt, 14 were children; two remain in critical condition.
The Anti-Defamation League confirmed that the firearms used bore antisemitic and anti-Israel markings, along with tributes to past extremists.
“This was an unspeakable act of evil,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, adding that the city must rally around the grieving families. Police Chief Brian O’Hara called it a deliberate act of cruelty aimed at children.
Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), who is Jewish and serves on the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, called the attack “horrific” and urged action against gun violence: “This is not normal or inevitable.”
Katz Signals Israeli Military Activity in Syria
Defense Minister Israel Katz suggested Thursday that Israeli troops are conducting ongoing operations in Syria, after Arab media reported IDF strikes near Damascus and Quneitra earlier this week.
“Our forces are operating in every battlefront, day and night, to secure Israel,” Katz posted on X. The IDF has not officially confirmed the reports.
Syrian state media claimed Israeli forces raided a site south of Damascus that had already been hit by airstrikes on Tuesday and Wednesday. According to Syrian outlets, drones struck an army unit near Al-Kiswah, killing six soldiers—later revised by Syria’s Foreign Ministry to eight. The same location was bombed again the next day.
Reports said the site contained surveillance equipment and weapons used by Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed militias. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called it the first Israeli ground raid since the Assad regime collapsed last year.
Israeli forces, Katz emphasized, will continue to hold positions on Mount Hermon and the security zone along the Golan Heights to shield northern communities, citing lessons from the Hamas assault of Oct. 7, 2023. He also pledged to protect Syrian Druze communities from cross-border threats.
Katz’s comments came as Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa acknowledged ongoing talks on reviving elements of the 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel. While he said conditions for peace are not ideal, he left the door open if it served Syria’s interests.
Former Hamas Hostage Says Captivity Deepened His Faith
Keith Siegel, an American-Israeli freed earlier this year after nearly 500 days in Hamas captivity, said his time in Gaza transformed his relationship with Judaism.
“Judaism didn’t speak to me as a child, but in captivity I reconnected,” Siegel told Kol Barama radio. He described saying Shema Yisrael daily and blessing food while held in 33 different locations across the Strip.
Militants repeatedly pressured him to convert to Islam, he said, even demanding he recite phrases he didn’t understand. “The more they tried, the stronger I felt as part of the Jewish people,” Siegel explained. “I drew inspiration from generations of Jews who suffered, and I began to pray. That gave me strength.”
Siegel and his wife, Aviva, were kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7, 2023. She was released in November 2023, while he remained captive until February 2025, freed in a negotiated deal.
This week, Siegel stood at the Western Wall during a mass prayer for the 50 hostages still in Gaza. In a message directed at U.S. President Donald Trump, he urged Washington to push for another agreement to secure their release: “We have an opportunity to save lives and return the fallen for burial.”
Of those hostages, officials believe 20 to 22 are alive.