Tag: Hamas

Commentary: The Anti-Democratic Democratic Left

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BLM protesters

Joe Biden has claimed that his opponents are assaulting democracy on the basis of the January 6, 2020, buffoonish riot.

Aside from the fact that storming the Capitol Rotunda sometimes is apparently deemed permissible—as in the recent pro-Hamas takeover of it—or aside from the fact that disrupting a federal government proceeding is deemed exempt—as in the recent pro-Hamas throng that blocked the route of the presidential motorcade and thus delayed the State of the Union address to the nation by 26 minutes—who really is attacking democracy?

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Coalition for Jewish Values Defends Tennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles’ ‘Death to Hamas’ Comment

Kaitlin Housler
Ogles Hamas

The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV) came to U.S. Representative Andy Ogles’ (R-TN-05) defense over comments he issued last month in response to an activist who pressed him on the situation unfolding in the Middle East, specifically between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza.

“Given that Rep. Ogles stated unequivocally that he was speaking about Hamas, a terror organization that has both declared and evidenced its intent to massacre all Jews, his is the only morally correct position,” CJV Midwestern Regional President Rabbi Ze’ev Smason said in a statement. “It is deplorable that organizations and even left-wing media outlets have deliberately falsified his words in order to malign and slander him.”

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Commentary: Foreign Cash Could Be the Culprit Turning Our Kids into Terrorist Sympathizers

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Texas A&M

Shortly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, a Harvard CAPS-Harris X poll found that 48 percent of Americans ages 18-24 supported Hamas over Israel. This is in direct contrast to 95 percent of Americans 65 years of age and older who sided with Israel. This stark difference begs the question: why do half of young Americans support a group that has been designated by the State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since October 1997? Our ongoing fight for transparency suggests at least some of the answers lie in Qatar’s pocketbooks.

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U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Stands Firm on ‘Death to Hamas’ Comment, Says ‘These Terrorists Deserve to Die’

Kaitlin Housler
Andy Ogles

Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) is standing firm on comments he issued in response to an activist who pressed him on the situation unfolding in the Middle East between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza.

Footage shared on social media shows the activist pressing Ogles while walking through a corridor in the U.S. Capitol.

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Virginia U.S. Senator Tim Kaine Asks Biden Not to Send ‘Offensive Weapons’ to Israel

Tom Pappert
Tim Kaine Joe Biden

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) revealed details of a letter he sent to President Joe Biden on Wednesday to urge his administration to refrain from sending “offensive weapons” to Israel. Kaine said sending such weapons would hurt the chances of successful negotiations to secure the release of hostages taken during the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas and ease tensions with the U.S.-designated terrorist group.

Kaine’s office said the senator “underscored the importance of pursuing a deal to immediately release all hostages taken by Hamas” during the radical group’s October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, “end the violence in Gaza,” and all for the distribution of humanitarian aid.

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Laura Loomer Details Trip to the Darién Gap to Document ‘Most Dangerous’ Passageway for Illegal Aliens Crossing into North America

Kaitlin Housler
Laura Loomer

Investigative journalist Laura Loomer is traveling to the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama for a week-long trip to document how illegal aliens and other dangerous groups utilize the only land path connecting Central and South America to get to North America.

The Darién Gap, which consists of more than 60 miles of dense rainforest, steep mountains, and vast swamps, is not only a passageway for migrants from South America, Loomer said, but a hotspot for Hamas and Hezbollah networks, drug cartels, and human trafficking groups.

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U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Introduces Bill to Designate the United Nations Relief and Works Agency as a Foreign Terrorist Organization

Kaitlin Housler
Rep. Andy Ogles

U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) introduced a bill on Thursday that would designate the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Ogles’ bill, H.R.7206, comes after nine employees from the United Nations Relief Works Agency were fired last week after being accused of involvement in the terrorist group Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel.

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Vanderbilt ‘Justice in Palestine’ Students and Alumni Accuse University of Supporting Genocide

Matthew Giffin

Pro-Palestine Vanderbilt students and alumni activists accused the university and its chancellor of “supporting genocide” in an Instagram post on Monday.

The Instagram accounts for the Vanderbilt Alumni for Palestine and the Vanderbilt chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine jointly posted a series of graphics in response to an email that the groups claim Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier sent to students.

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Sen. Blackburn Co-Sponsors Bill That Makes Blocking Traffic While Protesting a Federal Crime

Peter D'Abrosca
Seattle Palestine Rally

A Tennessee senator is co-sponsoring a bill that would make it a federal crime to block a highway as a form of protest.

S.3492, “The Safe and Open Streets Act,” says “[i]t shall be unlawful to, in any way or degree, purposely obstruct, delay, or affect commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce by blocking a public road or highway, or to attempt or conspire so to do.”

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Co-Founder of the Jewish Republican Alliance Mitch Silberman Says People are ‘Sick and Tired of Watching our Country Being Flushed Down the Toilet’

Kaitlin Housler

Co-founder of the Jewish Republican Alliance Mitch Silberman recently joined The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss his work with the group as well as the changes he’s seen among Jewish voters amid the terrorist group Hamas’ attack on Israel last year.

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Video Shows Pro-Palestine Protesters Stopped Traffic, Disrupted Christmas Eve Shoppers in Tennessee

Tom Pappert

Video captured pro-Palestine protesters waving flags in Collierville, Tennessee on December 24, where they reportedly interfered with Christmas shoppers.

Newsmax host and author Todd Starnes wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the crowd was “mostly Muslim” in a post seen more than 300,000 times. Video of the incident shows protesters drive through a parking lot, then stop. Though words appear to be exchanged between the protesters and Christmas Eve shoppers, their words are unintelligible in the video due to the number of horns honking. Individuals with Palestinian flags are seen running on the sidewalk as the vehicles bearing Palestine’s flag are stopped in the parking lot.

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Commentary: A Glaring Sign of Rot Within the CIA

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CIA Building

In his powerful new book, Neutering the CIA: Why Us Intelligence Versus Trump Has Long-term Consequences, former CIA analyst John Gentry discusses how the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) agenda has harmed national security by elevating the goals of left-wing identity politics as paramount in the selection and promotion of officers. For example, late last month, the Financial Times revealed that a CIA officer posted pro-Palestinian images on her Facebook page and a selfie photo with the caption “Free Palestine.”

The agency officer, later identified as Amy McFadden, reportedly posted at least one of these images to the Internet after the horrific October 7, Hamas attack on Israel in which more than 1,300 Jews were killed by Hamas terrorists, many of them raped and mutilated, and more than 250 taken hostage.

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Commentary: Trump’s Margin Widens in Battlegrounds and Gets Boost from Voters Who Sat Out 2020 in Two States

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Trump Podium

Former President Donald Trump’s lead against President Joe Biden has widened in the latest poll of seven battleground states, with the latest Morning Consult poll showing Trump beating Biden by five percentage points, 47% to 42%. This is a slightly wider lead than Trump had over Biden in swing state polling conducted in early November that showed Trump ahead of Biden by four percentage points, 44% to 48%.

Meanwhile, new polling conducted for CNN by SSRS shows Trump’s margins widening specifically in Michigan and Georgia, buoyed by voters who sat out the 2020 election but plan to vote in 2024.

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Behind the Conviction: Stewart Parks’ Legal Ordeal and the Fight for Truth in J6 Capitol Trespassing Case

Tennessee Star Staff

Stewart Parks, a former congressional candidate from Tennessee’s 5th District, finds himself in the crosshairs of a harrowing legal battle following his participation in the January 6 events at the Capitol. Convicted in a bench trial by Judge Amit Mehta, Parks disputes charges of misdemeanor trespassing, disorderly conduct, and theft and is in the early stages of pursuing an appeal.

Parks updated listeners on Thursday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on the latest developments in his plight and he details his concerns about potential prejudice against those with conservative ideologies and the need for a fair legal defense.

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U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn Leads Colleagues in Condemning the United Nations’ Response to Hamas’ Sexual Violence Against Israeli Women

Kaitlin Housler
Marsha Blackburn

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) led a bipartisan group of colleagues in sending a letter to United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urging he open an independent investigation into the UN’s lack of action in response to the sexual violence against Israeli committed by the terrorist group Hamas on October 7.

The UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), which, according to its website, is “dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women,” failed to immediately condemn the rape and mutilation of Israeli women committed by Hamas.

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AIG Travel Guard Insurance Refuses to Reimburse Families Forced to Cancel Trips to Israel, Claims the Conflict Isn’t an ‘Act of Terror’

Rachel Alexander
Hathaway Family

At least two families were denied reimbursement by their travel insurance company when their trips to Israel were canceled due to the attacks by Hamas. AIG Travel Guard Insurance representatives told the would-be travelers that its policy didn’t cover war, or acts of war, only “acts of terror.” Arizona’s Family On Your Side (AFOYS) interviewed the families and aired coverage of a video showing that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken referred to the violence as a terrorist attack, specifically distinguishing it from war. However, AIG will not backtrack on what it told the families, even after AFOYS contacted the company.

Sheri Hathaway, who was denied reimbursement along with her husband and children, told The Arizona Sun Times that she would never use AIG again. They spent nearly $12,000, excluding airfare. “Hamas is a terrorist organization,” she said. “This happened as a terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas and clearly states in their policy that they do cover terrorist incidents, which this clearly was.”

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Breitbart Editor-at-Large Joel Pollak: ‘Harvard is Lost’

Tennessee Star Staff
Joel Pollak

Breitbart News Editor-at-Large Joel Pollak joined the newsmaker line on Wednesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to share insights into the troubling state of his alma mater, Harvard University.

The veteran journalist and Harvard Law School graduate highlighted the rise of antisemitism on campus and traced the university’s decline, noting that it was former President Drew Faust who emphasized a thin record of slavery over Harvard’s significant contributions to the abolitionist cause and civil rights movement.

The 387-year-old institution’s rapid shift to prioritize social justice and the erosion of free speech, Pollak suggested, has indelibly marred Harvard’s reputation as a symbol of excellence.

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Jewish Arizona Democrat Doxxed with Flyers over Pro-Israel Views, State Party Silent

Tom Pappert
Alma Hernandez

Arizona State Representative Alma Hernandez (D-Tucson) reported being victim to a doxxing campaign on Thursday, posting evidence of masked individuals distributing anti-Israel flyers containing her personal address in her neighborhood.

The flyers cite Hernandez’s public opposition to a ceasefire between Palestine and Israel, and claimed she is “working to silence pro-Palestinian colleagues on a local and national level” before claiming Hernandez abuses “power in support of genocide.”

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Megyn Kelly Says Taylor Swift Clearly Knows Nothing About Gaza

Peter D'Abrosca

Political commentator Megyn Kelly slammed pop star Taylor Swift on The Megyn Kelly Show after Swift attended a show by comedian Ramy Youssef, the proceeds of which were given to a pro-Palestinian nonprofit.

The proceeds from Youssef’s show will be sent to the American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), which Kelly said is “a group that NGO Monitor has described as ‘highly political, presenting a highly biased view of the Israel/Palestine war [and] ignoring any Palestinian responsibility for hardship and contributing to the demonization of Israel.'”

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Sen. Marsha Blackburn Urges Military to Prepare for ‘Space Warfare’ After Israel Intercepts Houthi Missile Outside Earth’s Atmosphere

Tom Pappert

Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) urged in a Wednesday letter to the United States Space Force for the military to prepare for “space warfare” after Israel reported intercepting a rocket from outside Earth’s orbit after it was launched by Iran-backed Houthi militants.

“The world has crossed into a new, concerning frontier: war in space,” Blackburn warned the military branch in her letter, which was first obtained by The Washington Free Beacon. After highlighting the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and rising Chinese tensions over the fate of Taiwan, Blackburn noted the October 31 interception of a ballistic missile launched by “Iranian-sponsored Houthi terrorists” in Yemen.

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Anti-Gun Tennessee Activist Group Called to ‘Disrupt’ Nashville Businesses for Being Pro-Israel

Tom Pappert

The Tennessee Student Solidarity Network (TSSN) urged activists to “disrupt” a number of Nashville businesses on Saturday over their purported pro-Israel stance as part of the controversial Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Community organizing group Nour Nashville distributed a flyer on social media revealing a “BDS Direct Action” event scheduled for December 9. The group explained the post is a “call for action to disrupt businesses in support of genocide,” and urged its followers to message the TSSN “for details.” Neither Nour Nashville nor TSSN posted updates about their planned disruptions by press time.

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YoungkinWatch: Williamsburg Festival Denies Hanukkah Celebration Ever Scheduled After Governor Condemns Cancellation

Tom Pappert

A Williamsburg music and arts festival is denying it ever scheduled a menorah lighting to celebrate Hanukkah after Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) condemned the group’s purported decision to cancel it amid Israel’s defensive war against Hamas.

News broke on Sunday that the 2nd Sundays Art and Music Festival in Williamsburg canceled a menorah lighting scheduled for its December 10 event, with The Virginia Gazette reporting that festival founder Shirley Vermillion “said 2nd Sundays are inclusive to different religions and cultures,” and reported that Vermillion stated the menorah lighting “seemed very inappropriate” due to what the outlet called “current events in Israel and Gaza.”

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Commentary: We May Be Headed for a 1930s Nightmare with the Rise of Weimar America

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Something eerie, something creepy, is happening in the world — and now in America as well. The dark mood is brought on by elite universities, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion industry, and massive immigration from illiberal nations and anti-Enlightenment societies.

At Hillcrest High School in Queens, New York, hundreds of students rioted on news that a single teacher in her private social media account had expressed support for Israel. Waving Palestinian flags, and screaming violent threats, the student mob rioted, destroyed school property, sought the teacher out and tried to crash into her classroom — before she was saved from violence by other teachers and an eventual police arrival.

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Commentary: By Aligning with Hamas, the Left Has Run Aground on the Hard Rock of the Most Basic Value of the West – Choosing Life

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I would have thought myself immune to all this. American public life has been a circus of lies for a while. Outright lies (“I did not have relations with that woman”), carefully parsed technical truths that meant to convey lies (the 50-odd members of the intelligence community, law enforcement, military, and the like who wrote that Hunter Biden’s laptop had all the hallmarks of Russian disinformation) — take your pick, we all have our favorites. I was at first completely dismayed, but now, it’s already baked into the price, as they say on Wall Street: Rather than wait for the crash, the value of the discourse is already steeply discounted. Such is our politics.

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After Recent Trip to Israel TN State Rep. Gino Bulso Says Biggest Need for Communities Attacked by Hamas Is a Freestanding Emergency Room

Kaitlin Housler

Tennessee State Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) sat down with the Editor-in-Chief and CEO of The Tennessee Star Michael Patrick Leahy in the latest episode of The Tennessee Star Extra to discuss his recent overseas trip to Israel following the terrorist group Hamas’ October 7 attack on the country that left around 1,200 Israelis dead.

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Israeli Intelligence Had Hamas Plans a Year Prior to Attack: Report

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Israeli Defense Force

Israeli intelligence services obtained plans for the deadly Oct. 7 attack more than a year before it was carried out, The New York Times reported.

Hamas carried out the deadly terrorist attack on multiple locations in southern Israel Oct. 7, killing over 1,400 people, including at least 30 Americans. Israeli military and intelligence officials viewed the plans, which they named “Jericho Wall,” as being aspirational, according to The New York Times.

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Anti-Israel, Pro-Palestine Rally Planned for After Dark in Nashville on Saturday

Kaitlin Housler

Another pro-Palestine, anti-Israel rally will be held in downtown Nashville this Saturday after the sun goes down, according to the new self-described “abolitionist” group Palestine Hurra Collective Nashville.

The “Shut It Down For Palestine” march will be held at 5:00 p.m. at the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in Nashville, according to the group, which said the demonstration will be part of a “global mobilization for Palestine.”

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Knoxville City Council Rejects Far-Left Councilwoman’s Anti-Israel Resolution

Kaitlin Housler

Knoxville City Council did not pass a resolution condemning Israel and calling for a ceasefire between Israeli and Hamas forces during its Tuesday council meeting.

The resolution, according to its broad text, “calls on the U.S. Federal Government to urge an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine and to express the Council of the City of Knoxville’s support and solidarity with the people of Palestine facing genocidal levels of violence at the hands of the state of Israel.”

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Tennessee Rep. Kustoff Introduces Resolution Condemning Rising Antisemitism

M.D. Kittle

U.S. Representative David Kustoff (R-TN-08) joined Representative Max Miller (R-OH-07) this week in introducing a resolution condemning and denouncing antisemitism in the United States and around the world.

Kustoff and Miller, the only Republican Jewish members of the House, said it’s time to stand up to surging antisemitism infecting communities and institutions, including Congress.

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Pro-Palestine, Anti-Israel Rally to Be Held at University of Tennessee Knoxville Next Week

Kaitlin Housler

A pro-Palestine, anti-Israel rally will occur on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s (UTK) campus next week, according to the group Students for Justice in Palestine at UTK.

On Instagram, the group announced its plans to hold an art installation and rally for Palestine at the Pedestrian Walkway in the heart of the UT Knoxville campus on December 1 at 11:00 a.m.

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Commentary: Virginia AG Miyares and Marine Sergeant Major Exchange Roles

Admin

Virginia’s Attorney General Jason Miyares and Sergeant Major Carlos Ruiz, the newest Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps basically changed jobs during recent events in Virginia and on the battlefield in the Middle East.

Known for their fearless service in combat and garrison advising senior officers, political presentations are not part of a Sergeant Major’s job description.

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Arizona Chapter of Volunteers for Israel Seeks Volunteers in Israel’s War Against Hamas

M.D. Kittle

Volunteers for Israel’s (VFI) Arizona chapter is seeking volunteers to work in a non-military capacity on Israeli Defense Forces bases, assisting in various support services.

“When you are actually here, it’s the most unique experience. It’s the only organization that has civilians coming to help on a base to assist doing things like packing food kits and medical supplies or cleaning helmets,” said Mindy Franklin, VFI southwest regional manager.

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MTSU Student Newspaper’s Former Editor Says Faculty Adviser Was ‘In the Room’ When Editorial Board Drafted its Apology Letter to Placate ‘Free Palestine Crowd’

M.D. Kittle

The editorial board for the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) student newspaper issued a statement Wednesday in defense of the newspaper’s faculty adviser following the publication’s apology for running a story on an MTSU student worried about his friends in Israel.

But Matthew Giffin, the former editor-in-chief of Sidelines who wrote the profile piece, told The Tennessee Star that associate professor Stephen Leon Alligood was “in the room” when the editor’s note was crafted.

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Virginia Mosque Comes Out in Support of Hamas

Admin

The Manassas Mosque, a mosque in the Washington, DC area, explicitly declared its support for the Hamas terrorist organization in a recent newsletter. The mosque’s support for the Iranian regime has raised the concern of several congressmen.

The newsletter, which was first noticed by the Capital Research Center in collaboration with Focus on Western Islamism, states:

We stand firmly with the Palestinian Resistance (Hamas) and the courageous people of Palestine. With the help of Allah (swt), they will bring liberation and justice to Palestine and to the rest of the world. The Israeli regime is weak and afraid of all the calls for the freedom of Palestine taking place all over the globe. The regime’s days are numbered.

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Tennessee U.S. Rep. Kustoff’s Bill Would Revoke Tax-Exempt Status for Organizations Financially Supporting Hamas, Other Terrorist Groups

M.D. Kittle

U.S. Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN-08) joined Congressman Brad Schneider (D-IL) in introducing legislation to revoke the tax-exempt status for any organization that provides financial support or resources to designated terrorist groups such as Hamas.

The bipartisan bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to terminate the tax-exempt status of terrorist supporting organizations.

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