Gilad Erdan, Israel’s envoy to the United Nations, threatened that the organization’s "days are numbered."
Inputs that matter: Erdan claimed it is the fault of the UN’s long-standing anti-Israel positions that "universities are permitting this Nazi-like behavior" and asked the body to reflect on "the generations you have indoctrinated."
- "We always knew that Hamas hides in schools,” said Erdan. “We just didn’t realize it’s not only schools in Gaza. It’s also Harvard, Columbia, and many elite universities."
- Meanwhile, the U.S. is voting on a new antisemitism law that critics argue stifles free speech.
The opportunity: At some schools, including UCLA, counter-protests in support of Jewish students have taken shape, escalating campus tensions.
- A GoFundMe called “Bruins for Israel” has raised over $81,000 as of Monday.
Zoom in: "Unlike many of our foreign partners, the United States, under the First Amendment, cannot designate organizations based solely on hateful speech," Vincent Picard, a spokesman for the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, said by email.
- "The Secretary of State must determine that it is a foreign organization that engages in terrorist activity that threatens the security of United States nationals."
- Stefanie Fox, Jewish Voice for Peace’s executive director, said people must think critically about the U.S. government’s history of applying the word “terrorism” to specific communities.
Between the lines: In 2020, Zoom, Facebook, and YouTube shut down an online event featuring Leila Khaled, a Palestinian activist who spent time in prison for hijacking planes.
- In a statement condemning censorship, Jewish Voice for Peace called her a "Palestinian resistance icon" and slammed the tech companies.
Follow the money: Several pro-Palestine organizations are operating around the country, including Within Our Lifetime, and do not have public tax filings, according to an NBC investigation.
- Instead, they use a progressive New York-based nonprofit group called Westchester People’s Action Coalition Foundation (WESPAC) as their fiscal sponsor to collect and process online donations.
- A similar group, IfNotNow, has received $100,000 from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in the past five years.
- The organization’s stated goal is to "end U.S. support for Israel’s apartheid system."
- The fund also awarded close to a half-million dollars to Jewish Voice for Peace, another Palestinian rights organization.
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Read More
- https://twitter.com/ClownWorld_/status/1786419481285447779
- https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-voting-antisemitism-bill-bible-illegal-1896543
- https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4637602-gaetz-dubs-house-antisemitism-bill-a-ridiculous-hate-speech-bill/
- https://www.jns.org/israels-un-ambassador-says-organizations-days-are-numbered/
- https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-799433
- https://www.newsnationnow.com/world/israel-palestine/who-is-organizing-pro-palestine-protests/