Knoxville to Consider Resolution Demanding Biden Admin End Support for Israel, Seek Ceasefire in Gaza

Amelia Parker

The City of Knoxville will consider on March 19 a resolution that would call for Tennessee’s U.S. Congressional delegation to join the city in demanding the Biden administration cease providing military support to Israel until the country agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

Filed by Knoxville City Council At-Large Seat C Representative Amelia Parker, the resolution urges the United States act to force Israel to comply with an International Court of Justice (IJC) ruling that raised concerns about Israel’s practices in its defensive war against Hamas.

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

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

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’

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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Roger Simon Says Trump Is a ‘Force of Nature’ Following Nashville Speech

Donald Trump Speaking

Roger Simon, the co-founder of PJMedia and current columnist for The Epoch Times, attended former President Donald Trump’s speech at the National Religious Broadcasters International Christian Media Convention in Nashville on Thursday,

Simon, noting how Trump was nearly two hours late to the event after having delivered a speech at an earlier fundraiser event, said the former president was a “force of nature,” proving those who believe he has “lost a step” wrong.

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U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Sends Four Letters to the House Appropriations Committee

Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) sent four letters to the House Appropriations Committee on Friday advocating for the defunding of “America-last directives” as the committee works on funding accounts for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2024.

In one letter to the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Ogles requests that a provision be added to any upcoming spending legislation prohibiting President Joe Biden’s recent executive order granting Deferred Enforced Departure to Palestinians in the U.S. for 18 months.

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

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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U.S. Senate Passes $95 Billion Foreign Aid Bill to Ukraine, Israel

Chuck Schumer

The U.S. Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after days of delay from Republicans who did not want to pass the funding without provisions to secure the southern border.

The legislation passed early Tuesday morning after a filibuster largely led by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., ended. Now the legislation goes to the House, where it remains unclear if they can get the votes.

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Nashville Metro Councilman Jeff Eslick: Leftists are Using Public Comment Period to Advance Pro-Hamas Agenda During Meetings

Metro Council

Metro Nashville Council Member Jeff Eslick joined Thursday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss the latest developments and work from the Metro Nashville Council.

Eslick said the council’s meeting on Tuesday consisted of some good discussions on issues; however, it was dragged out by council members trying to convince other members on how to vote on certain ordinances as well as activists taking advantage of the public comment period to speak on the current situation in the Middle East.

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Former Trump Campaign Spokesman Steve Cortes Calls Senate Border Deal a ‘Monstrosity’

Steve Cortes

Steve Cortes, former senior spokesman and strategist for the 2016 and 2020 Trump campaigns and current head of the League of American Workers, joined Monday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss the Senate’s recently unveiled border deal.

On Sunday, the Senate Appropriations Committee announced the details of the $118.3 billion emergency spending package that would fund U.S. national security efforts in Ukraine, Israel, and at the U.S.-Mexico border.

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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

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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Border Agents Nabbed 50 Illegal Aliens on Terror Watchlist in Last Three Months

Border Patrol agents apprehended 50 illegal aliens on the terror watchlist between October and December, according to federal data updated Friday.

The total number of migrant crossings at the southern border between October and December surpassed 785,000, more than 629,000 of them being illegal entries, according to the data. Federal authorities warned Border Patrol after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel to keep watch for Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah terrorists possibly crossing into the U.S. via the southern border, according to an internal memo exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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

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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Harvard Students Sue over Alleged Campus Antisemitism

Harvard University

Harvard University students sued the university Wednesday over alleged antisemitism on campus.

Harvard University has come under fire for alleged antisemitic incidents on campus, including pro-Palestinian protests that use anti-Israel slogans and the reported mobbing of a Jewish student. The students filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and accused the university of selectively applying its policies on discrimination and allowing Jews to be discriminated against on campus, according to court filings.

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Johnson and Schumer Spending Deal Ignores Biden’s $106 Billion Request for Israel, Ukraine Aid, and More

Schumer Johnson

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s spending deal doesn’t include President Biden’s $106 billion request for a supplemental foreign aid package, Just the News has learned. Congress faces two appropriations deadlines of Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 before the federal government runs out of money.

The deal sets a top line for domestic and military spending through September 2024 at $1.59 trillion. The total reflects the parameters of the previously passed Financial Responsibility Act of 2023, which passed after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached a spending agreement with President Biden that raised the nation’s debt ceiling. 

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

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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Commentary: Claudine Gay’s Resignation Is Not the End of the University of Harvard’s Dilemma

Claudine Gay

Harvard may assume the forced resignation of its president, Claudine Gay, has finally ended its month-long scandal over her tenure.

Gay stepped down, remember, amid serious allegations of serial plagiarism—without refuting the charges. She proved either unable or unwilling to discipline those on her campus who were defiantly anti-Semitic in speech and action.

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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’

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

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

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

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

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

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’

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’

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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Commentary: Biden Is Not the Democrats’ Biggest Problem

Biden Bidenomics

President Joe Biden is not the Democrats’ biggest problem; they are. The greatest misperception in the 2024 presidential race is that Biden is causing Democrats’ poor performance. On the contrary, Biden is an effect. The real cause is that Democrats are wildly out of touch with America.

Biden’s bad polling numbers are well known. According to Real Clear Politics’ Dec. 18 average of national polling, Biden’s job approval rating is 40.8–56.0 percent; he trails former President Donald Trump in a head-to-head rematch 43.7 to 47.2 percent, and his favorability rating is 39.4–56.0 percent.

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

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

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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Pro-Palestine Protesters Shut Down Minnesota School Board Meeting

Dozens of protesters shut down an Edina School Board meeting Monday night in a show of support for two Edina High School students who were suspended for using an antisemitic chant during a walkout for Palestine Oct. 26.

The students were suspended for three days for chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” during a student-led walkout in October. Protesters say the students’ First Amendment rights were violated and want the suspensions expunged from the students’ records.

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

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

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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Muslims in Swing States Turning Against Biden

Muslim Americans, some of whom live in crucial swing states, are set to launch a campaign that will officially oppose Joe Biden’s re-election bid in 2024.

Axios reports that the campaign, titled “#AbandonBiden,” launched on Saturday with a gathering in Michigan. It consists of left-wing Muslim Americans who oppose Biden’s support for Israel as the country wages war against the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas.

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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

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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Analysis: Biden’s Support from Independents Hits a Record Low, Democrat Support Wavers Over Middle East Turmoil

President Joe Biden continues to trail former President Donald Trump by several percentage points with the latest national polls showing Trump ahead by four points and ahead in five of six battleground states. While Biden’s support has eroded within his own party, swing voters retracting their support is at the heart of the president’s plummeting polling numbers.

A collection of polling across the past month shows Biden losing double-digits with young people, minorities and Independents compared to 2020 as well as struggling with female voters in battleground states.

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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

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

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

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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