SDJW staff roundup
President Donald Trump may be backing off Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to livestream the Dec. 3 firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, who has been paralyzed in a wheelchair since the 2009 Fort Hood, Texas, shooting for which he was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others.
The President said on Friday he absolutely supported the livestreaming of the execution, but on Saturday told reporters he had yet to decide whether the execution should be livestreamed.
Hasan was an Army psychiatrist with a rank of major when he opened fire at Fort Hood’s medical center. He was convicted in 2013 of murder and sentenced to death.
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Democratic Congresswoman Sara Jacobs of San Diego is Jewish, has relatives living in Israel, and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Sunday.
Asked about charges of Israel committing “genocide” in Gaza, she said it was likely that war crimes were committed and genocide occurred, but she wanted the U.S. State Department and the International Criminal Court to opine publicly before she makes a statement.
She showed no such reticence when issuing a press release on Sunday about Trump’s comments about San Diego and Loa Angeles being hypothetically expendable in case of a war with Iran.
She wrote: “What the President said this past Monday night is f*cked up. I’m not cursing for dramatic effect — there’s just no other way to describe it.
‘In case you missed it: Monday night at a rally, Donald Trump suggested that Iran could hypothetically attack American cities — and that he would be OK with it.
“They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay and it’s going to be over very soon.”
“Since then, I’ve received countless texts, calls, and emails from my constituents — many of whom are active-duty service members, veterans, and their families — wondering if we’re safe, if there have been any credible threats, and if we’re under attack.
“So let me be clear: I have personally talked with our local FBI and military leadership, and there is NO increased threat to San Diego. You are safe.
“President Trump’s comments are inexcusable. They don’t need more context, and we don’t need a thicker skin to understand what he meant. San Diego and Los Angeles aren’t expendable, and neither are the service members who’ve already been killed in President Trump’s war with Iran or the ones who are still fighting this war.
“We need to end this war now, before President Trump decides that all Americans can be collateral damage, and we need to bring our service members home for good.”
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Preceding compiled by the staff of San Diego Jewish World.