On his visit to Israel this week, Ambassador-Designate for International Religious Freedom Mark Walker said meeting families of hostages and survivors of Hamas captivity left him “overwhelmed,” reaffirming what he called the “spiritual and historic bond” between the United States and Israel.

Walker, a former Republican congressman and Baptist pastor from North Carolina, was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the nation’s top global envoy for religious liberty. He will officially assume the post once confirmed by the Senate, becoming the seventh American to hold the role since it was created by Congress in 1998.

His visit to Israel, he explained, was driven by both friendship and timing. “All these other historic landmark agreements are happening the same week we’re here,” Walker said. “It’s been amazing to see the excitement — literally banners hanging from buildings and parks thanking President Trump for his ongoing efforts and the strength he’s shown to drive the region toward peace.”

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Walker said he was particularly moved by his meetings with hostage families.

“I was overwhelmed to spend some time with Keith Siegel, who endured 483 days of captivity and torture, and with Ruby Chen, whose son, Itay, was killed by Hamas — his body still not returned,” Walker said. “To hear the passion in Ruby’s voice, to see his perseverance, it’s overwhelming. In America, we’re watching this from a distance. But being here on the ground, seeing how the community has banded together to stand up for these hostages — alive or dead — has impacted me in a different manner.”

The experience, he said, deepened his appreciation for Israel’s resilience. “The people of Israel have stood resiliently in the face of evil,” he said. “Their faith and courage remind the world what strength looks like.”

With U.S. officials visiting Israel to monitor the fragile ceasefire, Walker said he remains confident in the administration’s leadership.

Ambassador-Designate Mark Walker for religious freedom with freed hostage Keith Siegel and Rubi Chen, father of hostage Itay Chen. (Warren Cohn)

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“I have no confidence in Hamas based on their history,” he said. “But I have great confidence in President Trump and what he’s doing. He’s committed to peace and showing it with his actions — sending Vice President Vance, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff here this week.”

He also praised Secretary of State Marco Rubio for advancing the administration’s diplomatic agenda. “This isn’t a photo opportunity,” Walker said. “It’s a real plan for long-term stability.”

When asked how he views Israel’s importance, Walker reflected on his years in Congress.

“I think historically, we’ve had a long-standing relationship of supporting each other through times of peril as well as times of success,” he said. “Certainly, military and business relationships, but from a spiritual standpoint, America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles.”

He added, “When you sit in the House chamber where President Trump gives the State of the Union, there are 22 or 23 philosophers — great men of genius — depicted above. But there’s only one historical figure looking directly at the speaker’s rostrum, and that’s Moses. That tells you a lot about the spiritual connection that binds our two countries.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Knesset as President Donald Trump and Amir Ohana, speaker of the Israeli Knesset, look on at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025 in Jerusalem.  (Chip Somodevilla/Pool via AP)

When asked about criticism from some within the evangelical community regarding its close alignment with Israel, Walker said he welcomes open discussion but rejects efforts to undermine the partnership. “I don’t have a problem with anyone questioning — we ought to be able to defend those relationships,” he said. “But when you see some of the talk lately that aims to degrade that relationship, maybe for personal gain or attention, I do have a problem with it, and I think it needs to be condemned.”

He added that such views are far from mainstream. “The evangelical communities that I’m part of — and I happen to be a member of the largest Protestant organization in the United States — don’t have those issues,” he said. “There may be some who are loosely affiliated and use that kind of rhetoric, but the overwhelming majority of evangelicals in America applaud and encourage the relationship we have with Israel.”

Attendees wave Israel and the United States flags at the Christians United for Israel (CUFI) summit on July 17, 2023 in Arlington, Virginia. GOP presidential hopefuls for 2024 are making their cases before the pro-Israeli group.  (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

On his new role, Walker said the mission was deeply personal.

“When President Trump reached out and asked us to serve as the ambassador for International Religious Freedom — that’s a global position — it was humbling,” he said. “The responsibility is to advocate for people of all faiths, especially in places where they’re persecuted or punished by blasphemy laws.”

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Walker said he is already building relationships with governments and faith leaders to prepare for his official role advising both President Trump and Secretary Rubio.

“Our job is to engage, expose and eradicate atrocities — whether it’s Christians in Nigeria being massacred, Druze in Syria targeted or rising antisemitic behavior worldwide,” he said. “The United States must remain the beacon of hope for religious freedom. We’re the only country that has it written into law.”

He added that Israel’s example of tolerance stands out in the Middle East. “Christians should be able to live peaceably, share their faith and worship without fear,” he said. “The fact that Israel allows that in a region where so many others don’t is meaningful.”

U.S. President Donald Trump holds the signed agreement of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. (Reuters)

Walker said he plans to “push back wherever persecution exists — whether through diplomacy or by urging governments to repeal blasphemy and anti-conversion laws.”

He concluded, “President Trump is the only president in American history who called a global conference on religious liberty at the United Nations,” Walker said. “That sent a message across the world — that faith matters, that freedom matters. What we see here in Israel is that same spirit of courage, and it reminds us why this partnership, rooted in faith and freedom, must endure.”

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PORTLAND (AP) — A baby elephant at the Oregon Zoo had more tricks than treats to show when handlers gave it a small pumpkin to play with during an annual fall event where giant elephants smash half-ton pumpkins.

Weighing just 775 pounds (351.5 kilograms), eight-month-old Asian elephant Tula-Tu is about the heft of one of the giant pumpkins so is too small to smash them. Instead, zoo handlers gave her a small pumpkin to practice with. The little elephant dribbled the gourd around like a soccer ball, a video from the zoo shows.

Her elephant family at the Oregon Zoo enjoyed the large pumpkins on Oct. 16 at the annual “Squishing of the Squash,” a tradition that goes back to 1999 when a farmer donated a pumpkin weighing 828 pounds (376 kilograms). The donated pumpkins have gotten bigger, around 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) this year, thanks to competitive hobbyists at the Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers Club.

To break open the gargantuan gourds, zookeepers present them to Tula-Tu’s adult relatives like her brother and father who weigh slightly over 10,000 pounds (4,500 kilograms). In a video from the zoo, they appear to delicately place one foot at the top, and gently press down. The pumpkins crack with a loud pop, sending rind and seeds flying.

Past years’ videos have shown midsized, young elephants putting both feet on top of the pumpkins but being too light — or lacking technique — so the giant vegetables don’t burst.

This year the adults elephants smashed the massive pumpkins in front of a cheering crowd of zoo visitors, and then the family of elephants ate the many tons of squash fragments.

Asian elephants like Tula-Tu and her family are considered highly endangered, according to Oregon Zoo officials. There is a fragmented population of around 40,000 to 50,000 such elephants in the wild in places ranging from India to the Malaysian island of Borneo. But there have been successful conservation milestones in recent years, including in Cambodia.