Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., is facing mounting backlash from some Black leaders over her decision to seek re-election in a majority-minority district, a move that appears to be costing her support from the highest-ranking Black Democrat in Congress.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., declined to endorse Wasserman Schultz’s re-election bid Tuesday after she entered the race for the plurality-Black district, where she faces four Black opponents in the Aug. 18 primary.

«Haven’t made a decision, as it relates to that particular race,» the lead Democrat said at a news conference when asked if he supports Wasserman Schultz’s run for the Fort Lauderdale-based seat.

Jeffries said he’s spoken to Wasserman Schultz, a member of his leadership team, about the race, but stopped short of offering his support.

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«Everybody has a right to run where they see fit. They’ve got to make their case to the people that they hope to represent moving forward,» he said.

«I think we all recognize the sensitivities of the moment in terms of an unprecedented Jim Crow-like assault on Black political representation that has been unleashed by the Supreme Court’s outrageous decision to gut the Voting Rights Act,» he added, invoking the court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which curbed the use of race in the drawing of electoral districts and spurred redistricting in several Republican-led states affecting majority-minority districts represented by Black Democrats. 

«And it’s an environment that all of us need to be sensitive to as we move forward,» he said.

Jeffries’ comments come as Wasserman Schultz seeks to weather fierce criticism from some local Black leaders over her decision to run in the district. The seat has been represented by a Black lawmaker for more than three decades.

Elijah Manley, a progressive Gen-Z activist running in the Democratic primary, slammed Wasserman Schultz in a statement posted to social media.

«First, she said the CBC [Congressional Black Caucus] encouraged her to run. The CBC Chair said they did not,» Manley wrote. «Then she went on TV and said that Leader Jeffries was supporting her. Jeffries just declined to endorse her.»

«It is not a good day to be named Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida’s 20th District,» he continued.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., declined to endorse Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s re-election campaign on Tuesday. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Wasserman Schultz, however, will likely have a significant fundraising advantage over her primary opponents. Her campaign account has more than $2.5 million in the bank, according to recent Federal Election Commission filings.

Former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., previously occupied the solidly blue seat before she resigned amid an expulsion threat and House Ethics Committee investigation earlier this year. Cherfilus-McCormick is running again for the seat despite facing a pending criminal trial tied to allegedly stealing more than $5 million in disaster relief funds, among other charges.

Former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness and musician Luther Campbell are also vying for the Democratic nomination.

Florida Republicans carved up Wasserman Schultz’s safe Democratic seat as part of a new GOP-friendly congressional map signed into law in May.

Former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., is running against Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the Democratic primary contest, despite facing a pending criminal trial that could result in more than half a century in prison if convicted. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

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Wasserman Schultz previously served as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, during which her tenure was rocked by the release of internal emails disparaging Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. She first won election to the House in 2004.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Wasserman Schultz campaign before publication.

Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister accused the European Union of weaponizing a «socially acceptable mask» of anti-Zionism to target Israel— after it sanctioned Israeli civil society groups that oppose a Palestinian state. It also sanctioned several individuals.

«We are witnessing a deeply troubling trend where traditional antisemitism has simply put on a new, socially acceptable mask: anti-Zionism,» Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel told Fox News Digital. «Where prejudice once targeted the individual Jew, it is now directed at the collective Jewish state and our fundamental right to live in our ancestral homeland. But make no mistake, the political targeting of Israel always bleeds into an assault on Jewish life itself,» Haskel added. 

The European Union imposed the sanctions on four Israeli civil society organizations and three of their senior figures, alleging support for «settler violence» and claiming they undermine prospects for a Palestinian state — a move that Regavim, one of the groups targeted, described as an infringement on Israeli sovereignty.

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«Our entire activity consists of legal and parliamentary work. We collect and analyze information and policies and go to court and the legislature to highlight areas where Israel’s policy is either lacking or misguided,» Naomi Kahn, Regavim’s Director of International Division, told Fox News Digital.

«The European Union is trying to control the internal political system and policies of an independent state that is supposed to be an ally. When we point out the absurdity of the situation, they don’t like it,» she said.

In its announcement, the European External Action Service (EEAS) stated that «extremist settlers and the organizations supporting them contribute directly to violence, forced displacement and dispossession across the West Bank.»

European Union flags blow in the wind outside the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France, on Nov. 27, 2019. (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)

The sanctions, according to the EEAS, «target entities and individuals that facilitate, finance or support activities contributing to settler violence and serious human rights abuses against Palestinians.»

The statement also accused Regavim of lobbying for «the demolition of Palestinian property» and referenced an EU-funded school in Jabbet al-Dhib near Bethlehem.

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Israeli lawmakers condemned a leaked EU document they say reveals illegal EU funding for a Palestinian state, citing construction of an unauthorized school in Area C, which they say violates the Oslo Accords. (Regavim)

Kahn said the school was constructed illegally on Israeli state land in Area C, within a nature reserve connected to the Herodian complex. She said legal proceedings were carried out regarding the structure and that it was ultimately demolished.

Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, negotiated during the Clinton administration, the West Bank was divided into three areas: Area A, under full Palestinian control; Area B, under Palestinian civil authority with Israeli security control; and Area C, under full Israeli administrative and security control.

Kahn added that an engineering assessment found the school unsafe for use, arguing that placing students and teachers inside it posed «downright dangerous» conditions.

A view of the West Bank, also known as Judea and Samaria, a region discussed by evangelical Christian leaders urging the Trump administration to recognize Israel’s claim to the area. (TPS)

«We pointed out that the E.U. and the Palestinian Authority are simply violating the law in a very purposeful, systematic way to take control of Area C using structures like schools, sometimes mosques, and homes of innocent people that they push into those areas,» she added.

Regavim has published a report claiming there are 100 illegal schools in Area C that it says are being used by the P.A. as part of a broader strategy of de facto annexation.

Separately, a 2023 mapping study by Regavim estimated that roughly 103,000 unauthorized Arab-built structures exist across the West Bank, asserting that the P.A.—often with external support — has facilitated extensive illegal construction activity.

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The West Bank, also known as Judea and Samaria, is home to some 500,000 Israelis.  (Mahmoud Illean/AP)

In response, Israel’s cabinet last month approved a set of broad measures aimed at countering efforts by the P.A. to establish de facto control over disputed territories.

Under the resolution, initiatives attributed to Ramallah to create a parallel land registry in Area C were declared to have no legal validity or standing.

«The real target here is not violence, but legitimate political opposition. The sanctioned organizations do not support violent action; rather, they have consistently challenged the concept of a two-state solution and exposed how the EU actively builds illegal structures in Judea and Samaria,» Haskel said, referring to the biblical names of the territories.»

She accused the EU of disregarding the Oslo Accords and «attempting to unilaterally alter facts on the ground to steal Israeli land.»

Sharren Haskel, deputy minister of foreign affairs of Israel accused the EU of disregarding the Oslo Accords and «attempting to unilaterally alter facts on the ground to steal Israeli land.» (@Sharren Haskel via X)

Haskel acknowledged there was an issue, as in any society, with some individuals who break the law, but emphasized they represent a small minority and that Israel investigates and prosecutes them. She said grouping hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Israeli residents in the West Bank together with Hamas — a genocidal terror organization responsible for mass murder — distorts moral distinctions.

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She said, «This creates a false and dangerous symmetry that minimizes the exceptional threat of global terrorism while politically targeting individual Israelis. It is an unacceptable moral equivalence that blurs the line between a sovereign democracy defending its people and the savage terror apparatus trying to destroy it.»

Following several requests for comment, European External Action Service (EEAS) referred Fox News Digitial to its original sanctions statement.

La noticia sacudió al mundo del arte y las redes sociales: Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, la influencer estadounidense detrás del popular perfil “Jerry Gogosian”, apareció muerta en un exclusivo hotel de San Pablo.

El hallazgo en el hotel y las circunstancias de la muerte

El domingo 31 de mayo, Hilde fue encontrada sin vida en su habitación del hotel Rosewood São Paulo, uno de los más lujosos de la ciudad.

Según el parte policial, había una botella vacía de vodka, un vaso en el suelo y varios comprimidos sobre la cama.

Un hombre que se presentó como su cirujano plástico alertó a la administración del hotel tras no poder contactarla. El médico contó que Hilde llevaba unas tres semanas en Brasil para realizarse un procedimiento estético y que días antes la había acompañado a una guardia médica por una posible sobredosis. También mencionó que la influencer consumía drogas.

El personal del hotel ingresó a la habitación y la encontró inconsciente. Paramédicos luego confirmaron su muerte en el lugar.

Una noche agitada y una investigación en curso

La noche anterior, el hotel registró una queja por el comportamiento de Hilde y sus amigas en uno de los restaurantes. Según el medio local g1, las mujeres estaban visiblemente ebrias y protagonizaron “demostraciones íntimas en público que derivaron en exposición parcial del cuerpo, causando incomodidad a otros huéspedes”.

La Secretaría de Seguridad Pública de San Pablo informó que se solicitaron peritajes al Instituto de Criminalística y al Instituto Médico Legal. El caso quedó caratulado como “muerte sospechosa”.

El hotel Rosewood emitió un comunicado en el que confirmó la muerte de la influencer y aseguró estar colaborando con las autoridades. “En respeto a la privacidad de la huésped y su familia, no comentaremos detalles adicionales en este momento”, señalaron.

El último mensaje: “Dejen volar a la mujer rica que llevan dentro”

Antes de ser encontrada muerta, Hilde dejó un video en el que aconsejaba a sus seguidores: “Dejen volar a la mujer rica que llevan dentro”.

En tono irónico, animó a sus fans a contratar un maquillador, arreglarse el pelo y conseguir un chal de cashmere. “Creo que es muy saludable para la psique. Dicen: no te vistas para el trabajo que tenés, vestite para el trabajo que querés. Yo también quiero mirar el océano y preocuparme porque mi marido vaya preso por delitos fiscales”, bromeó.

En ese mismo posteo, se despidió con un mensaje que hoy suena inquietante: “Que tengan un buen fin de semana. Yo sé que lo voy a tener, estoy en Brasil”.

Rumores sobre su muerte

La joven, que se había hecho famosa por sus críticas ácidas al mercado del arte contemporáneo, ya había enfrentado rumores sobre su propia muerte meses antes, cuando decidió alejarse de internet por 51 días.

Durante ese tiempo, sus seguidores especularon con lo peor. “Un rumor comenzó de que ella estaba muerta”, contó la revista Avenue en marzo de 2025.

Finalmente, Hilde reapareció en la Semana del Arte de Miami y dejó una frase que hoy resuena con fuerza: “Pueden querer tomarse un descanso de las redes sociales sin estar muertos”.

Una voz crítica y un perfil viral en el mundo del arte

Con casi 150 mil seguidores, Hilde se transformó en una figura clave del circuito artístico internacional.

Su cuenta “Jerry Gogosian” se hizo famosa por ironizar los bastidores del mercado, burlarse de galerías, coleccionistas millonarios e influencers del sector. Sus memes y críticas sobre el elitismo, la especulación financiera y las relaciones de poder la convirtieron en una referente incómoda para muchos.

Según Hilde, el ambiente artístico había dejado de ser divertido y ahora estaba dominado por intereses económicos y juegos de estatus. “Personas son atraídas por el arte por razones horribles. Hay muchos coleccionistas moralmente fallidos”, disparó alguna vez. A pesar de sus críticas, aseguraba seguir apasionada por el arte y los artistas.