- July 25, 2026
- 1:13 pm
- Ukraine
Influential American supporter of Donald Trump and supporter of Israel, Laura Loomer, during a July trip to Ukraine, learned previously unknown details about the history of her Jewish family. Ukrainian archivists found information about her great-grandfather Pinkus Loomer, who was born in Vinnytsia on February 10, 1895, and later moved with relatives to Kyiv.
Loomer openly speaks about her Jewish heritage and has positioned herself as a consistent supporter of Israel for many years, paying special attention to combating anti-Semitism, the threat from Iran, and the security of the Jewish state. In 2026, she also opposed the strengthening of anti-Israel sentiments within the American conservative movement and criticized those MAGA representatives who questioned the US alliance with Israel.
Loomer received copies of archival documents during an interview with Ukrainian TV host Marichka Padalko. The conversation was published on July 24, 2026, as part of the “Marichka” project. Already on July 25, the story gained wide coverage in Ukrainian and international media.
The archival discovery turned out to be especially symbolic, as it occurred at a time of a sharp change in Loomer’s public position. Previously, she criticized American support for Ukraine and repeated Kremlin-spread claims, but after a personal trip, air raid alarms, meetings with Ukrainians, and visits to sites destroyed by Russian strikes, she acknowledged that her previous views were shaped by disinformation.
What Laura Loomer knew about her family
Before the trip, Loomer only knew that her family had Jewish roots and that her paternal ancestors emigrated to the United States from Kyiv. According to her, the family preserved several old photographs, and among the names of ancestors, Pinkus and Annie were mentioned.
“I am Jewish. And, according to my father, his grandfather and grandmother emigrated from Kyiv. That’s all I knew. I never saw my grandparents. My grandmother died before I was born, and my grandfather when I was only a year old or less. I only know that we have a few of their photographs, that their names were Pinkus and Annie, and that they were from Kyiv,” said Laura Loomer.
During the interview, Loomer said she had almost no other information. The information about the family’s origin was passed on to her by her father, but she had no detailed documents or extensive family history.
Ukrainian journalists and archivists managed to go further. The materials found showed that the Loomer family was connected not only with Kyiv but also with Vinnytsia.
TSN channel with the help of archive staff discovered information about Laura Loomer’s great-grandfather in Ukrainian archives. It turned out he was born in Vinnytsia on February 10, 1895. Later the whole family moved to Kyiv.
“It says here that the Loomer family is from Vinnytsia, modern Ukraine. Historical documents indicate that in 1875 they were officially enrolled in the bourgeois class,” read Laura Loomer.
In addition, the influencer was given copies of documents about her family stored in Ukrainian archives. She noted that she knew almost nothing about her family’s history but was very eager to learn about it.
“I would never have known all this if I hadn’t stopped believing Russian propaganda,” she said.
Laura Loomer was shocked by what she learned about her family’s origins. She also thanked the archive staff who helped find information about her family’s origins.
| Date | Established fact |
|---|---|
| 1875 | Representatives of the Loomer family were officially enrolled in the bourgeois class |
| February 10, 1895 | Pinkus Loomer was born in Vinnytsia |
| Later | The family moved from Vinnytsia to Kyiv |
| Subsequently | Representatives of the family emigrated from Kyiv to the USA |
| July 24, 2026 | Laura Loomer was given copies of documents found in Ukraine |
TSN directly names Pinkus Loomer as the great-grandfather of the American blogger. The date 1875, accordingly, does not refer to Pinkus himself, who was born twenty years later, but to an earlier generation of the family.
Upon receiving the documents, Loomer stated: “I would never have known all this if I hadn’t stopped believing Russian propaganda.” She thanked the archive staff and admitted that the news about her family’s origins was a strong emotional shock for her.
Can Loomer be called “half-Ukrainian”
Some headlines claimed that Laura Loomer was allegedly “half-Ukrainian.” However, the available documents allow us to confidently speak only about the Ukrainian roots of one branch of her family.
The exact share of origin in the published materials is not established. Therefore, it is more correct to write that Loomer has Ukrainian Jewish roots on her father’s side, and her great-grandfather was born in Vinnytsia and later lived in Kyiv.
There is also some confusion with the indication of the degree of kinship. In one part of the interview, it is said that Loomer’s father told her about his grandparents who emigrated from Kyiv. In this case, for Laura herself, they are great-grandparents. In another part of the retelling, the word “grandfather” is used. The most reliable guide remains the archival part of the TSN material, where Pinkus Loomer is directly named her great-grandfather.
The trip that changed Loomer’s position
Laura Loomer is known as one of the most prominent figures in the American conservative media environment and a consistent supporter of Donald Trump. Her social media audience approaches two million followers, and her publications regularly become part of discussions within the MAGA movement.
Previously, Loomer downplayed the consequences of the Russian invasion for years, opposed support for Ukraine, and repeated the thesis of alleged widespread Nazism in the country. This thesis is used by the Kremlin to justify the full-scale Russian aggression that began in February 2022.
Everything changed after the blogger decided to personally visit Ukraine. During her first air raid experience, she wrote that she had previously spoken about what was happening without proper empathy, but now considers “moral clarity” necessary.
For NAnews — Israel News, this part of the story has special significance. Loomer’s turnaround occurred not only after getting acquainted with the destruction but also after communicating with the Jewish community of Ukraine. Her personal family history additionally showed how closely intertwined the fates of American and Israeli Jews are with Ukrainian cities, which are being destroyed today by Russian strikes.
Meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky
On July 23, 2026, Laura Loomer met in Kyiv with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and recorded an interview for her program Loomer Unleashed. Among the topics of conversation were Zelensky’s relations with Donald Trump, a tense meeting in the Oval Office, and a subsequent conversation between the two presidents in the Vatican in April 2025.
Zelensky stated that a short conversation with Trump in the Vatican became a turning point and allowed the nature of relations between them to change in approximately 15–20 minutes. After the publication of the interview fragment, Donald Trump positively assessed the conversation on his social network.
At the same time, Loomer’s visit was not pre-organized by Ukrainian state structures. Presidential representative Dmytro Litvin told the Associated Press that the President’s Office initially learned about her stay in the country from social media.
On July 24, Zelensky separately mentioned Loomer in his evening address. The President of Ukraine called her a person very close to Trump and noted that during the trip she saw Kyiv, the Lavra, Ukrainians, and what the country is going through in the face of ongoing aggression.
Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the strike on the Assumption Cathedral
One of the central points of the trip was a visit to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. On July 23, Loomer met with the First Deputy Head of the President’s Office, Serhiy Kyslytsia, after which they went together to the Assumption Cathedral.
On the night of June 15, 2026, during a massive Russian strike, a drone hit the cathedral, causing a fire. Loomer inspected the aftermath of the attack and sharply criticized the Kremlin’s attempts to simultaneously present Russia as a defender of Christianity and strike one of Ukraine’s main Orthodox shrines.
She drew attention to the damage to the building and images of Jesus Christ, questioning how a state can claim to protect the Christian faith while attacking an ancient monastic complex with strike drones.
Conversation with the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Asman
During her stay in Kyiv, Loomer also visited the Central Synagogue of Ukraine and met with the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine, Moshe Asman.
Moshe Asman told her about daily Russian shelling, dead children and civilians, destroyed cities and villages, and the life of the Jewish community in a warring country. He emphasized that many of Loomer’s previous perceptions of Ukraine were shaped by Russian information campaigns.
After the meeting, the American blogger publicly rejected claims that Ukrainian Jews were allegedly hostages of a “Nazi regime.” She pointed to the active life of Jewish communities and the fact that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, is himself Jewish.
For NAnews — Israel News, it is important to note that Loomer’s story became an example of how direct acquaintance with Jewish life in Ukraine destroys one of the central constructs of Russian propaganda. Moscow has been trying for years to simultaneously use the theme of World War II and hide the consequences of its own strikes on Ukrainian cities, synagogues, churches, memorials, and mass burial sites.
Laura Loomer and Israel: Jewish identity and a tough stance on Iran
Israel occupies an important place in Laura Loomer’s public activities. She was born into a Jewish family, openly speaks about her heritage, and presents herself as a defender of Israel and Jewish communities in the United States. It is through this prism that she often views US foreign policy, the situation in the Middle East, and the struggle within the American conservative movement.
Loomer consistently supports Israel’s right to defense and advocates for maintaining a close alliance between Washington and Jerusalem. In the spring of 2026, she claimed to have warned Donald Trump about the possible weakening of support for Israel among future American presidents. According to her, Trump may be the last openly pro-Israel US president, although the White House did not confirm the content of this conversation.
A separate direction of her activity has been the fight against the spread of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiments within the MAGA movement. In February 2026, Loomer sharply opposed further political rapprochement between Trump’s entourage and Tucker Carlson. The reason was his statements about Israel, criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and appearances on platforms associated with Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
At the same time, Loomer’s position is not limited to ordinary support for Israel. She adheres to an extremely tough approach to the Islamic Republic of Iran, rejects concessions to Tehran, and opposes agreements that, in her opinion, could leave the Iranian regime with the ability to threaten Israel and the United States.
In July 2026, Loomer caused sharp criticism after publicly calling on Israel to strike participants at the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Her statement was perceived as a proposal to attack a mass event, thus causing accusations of incitement to violence. This episode shows that Loomer’s pro-Israel position is often accompanied by extremely radical rhetoric, which cannot be equated with Israel’s official policy.
Russia’s connection with Iran became one of the factors that influenced her change in attitude towards Ukraine. After the trip, Loomer began to view Russian aggression not as an isolated European issue but as part of a broader system of cooperation between Moscow, Tehran, and Beijing. She stated that this alliance poses a threat not only to Ukraine but also to the US and Israel.
That is why her meeting with the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine, Moshe Asman, had not only a Ukrainian but also an Israeli dimension for her. Loomer came to a country she previously perceived through Russian claims of Nazism but saw an active Jewish community, a Jewish president, and religious leaders openly supporting Ukraine’s defense.
For NAnews — Israel News, it is important to separate several circumstances in this story. Loomer is indeed a notable pro-Israel voice within MAGA and opposes anti-Semitism and the Iranian threat. At the same time, her political activity has repeatedly been accompanied by controversial statements, conspiracy theories, and radical formulations that cause criticism, including in the American Jewish community.
The family documents discovered in Ukraine gave her position an additional personal dimension. Loomer’s story now connects American politics, Israel, and Ukrainian Jewish communities through the fate of one family that began in Vinnytsia and Kyiv.
Why Loomer’s change of position matters
Laura Loomer does not hold an official diplomatic position, but she has significant influence over part of the conservative audience in the US and maintains direct contacts with people from Donald Trump’s entourage. Therefore, her public renunciation of Russian theses may have consequences far beyond her personal story.
For many years, criticism of Ukraine within the MAGA movement was built on the repetition of several theses: Ukraine is allegedly completely corrupt, aid to it does not serve US interests, and the Russian invasion is a reaction to Western actions. Loomer previously participated in spreading such views.
After the trip, she began to speak about Russian disinformation, the need to pressure Moscow, and Russia’s connection with the Iranian regime. Loomer supported strengthening sanctions and stated that the Russian economy must be made to pay for continuing aggression.
Her turnaround does not automatically mean a change in the position of the entire MAGA movement. There are still serious disagreements in the American conservative camp regarding military aid to Ukraine and the US role in European security. However, the public acknowledgment of a mistake by someone who previously actively repeated Russian theses has become a notable precedent.
Personal history against the backdrop of big politics
The story of Laura Loomer’s ancestors combined several plots at once: Jewish life in Vinnytsia at the end of the 19th century, the family’s move to Kyiv, emigration to the United States, and modern Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Before arriving in Kyiv, Loomer perceived Ukraine mainly through political disputes and social media publications. During the trip, she experienced an air raid, saw the consequences of Russian strikes, visited a damaged Orthodox shrine, talked with the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Asman, met with Volodymyr Zelensky, and received documents about her own family.
That is why the found archival record became not just a genealogical detail. The great-grandfather of the influential American Trump supporter was born on February 10, 1895, in Vinnytsia, his family was part of the local Jewish community, then moved to Kyiv and emigrated to the USA. More than a century later, his great-granddaughter returned to Ukraine and admitted that she had been looking at her ancestors’ homeland through the prism of Russian propaganda for too long.
This does not prove that Laura Loomer is “half-Ukrainian.” But the documents confirm the main thing: part of her Jewish family’s history begins in Ukrainian Vinnytsia and Kyiv — cities that continue to live and defend themselves today from Russian terrorist strikes.
