Pennsylvania Democrat Claims Buying Israel Bonds Risky Due to Gaza War, Hackers

Eric McClelland

Erin McClelland, the Democratic nominee to become the next Pennsylvania Treasurer, raised concerns about foreign policy, credit worthiness and hackers to explain why she would not use state money to buy Israel Bonds in remarks published Tuesday.

McClelland won her party’s nomination after establishing herself the only candidate opposed to Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity’s decision to purchase $20 million in Israel Bonds, and in remarks to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, claimed Garrity and other Republicans are inappropriately taking sides in a foreign conflict while neglecting financial and security ris

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Israel Ministers Threaten to Quit Over Ceasefire, Official Says Biden’s Description ‘Not Accurate’

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich with Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (composite image)

Top Israeli ministers are threatening to quit, which would cause the government coalition to collapse, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to President Joe Biden’s cease-fire proposal.

A senior Israeli official said that Biden’s description of the cease-fire proposal, which he unveiled Friday, was “not accurate,” NBC News reported Monday.

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‘Amateur Hour:’ Biden Admin’s Floating Gaza Pier Problems Go from Bad to Worse

JLTOS Pier in Gaza

New problems are mounting for the Biden administration’s $320 million floating Gaza aid pier which was already facing setbacks, despite becoming operational less than two weeks ago.

The U.S. military was forced to halt aid shipments to Gaza on Tuesday after the floating pier was damaged by bad weather over the weekend. The damage sustained from the bad weather is only the latest in a string of logistical and operational problems that have plagued the pier since it was constructed in mid May.

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John Fetterman Campaign Donates to Pennsylvania Treasurer Nominee Despite Apparent Disagreement over Israel

John Fetterman PA Treasurer Candidate

The political campaign committee for Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) donated $1,000 to Erin McClelland, the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania Treasurer who said she would not have invested in Israeli Bonds after the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas.

While Republican Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity reportedly has more than $700,000 heading into the general election, Spotlight PA reported McClelland only has about $67,000.

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Exclusive: Israeli-American Journalist Caroline Glick Attends Israel Summit in Nashville, Says Standing with Israel is Being on the ‘Right Side of Human History’

Caroline Glick

Caroline Glick, senior contributing editor at Jewish News Syndicate, sat down for an exclusive interview with The Michael Patrick Leahy Show on Monday during the first day of the 2024 Israel Summit at the Ramsey Event Center in Franklin.

Glick said she attended the Israel Summit to show “appreciation” for those “willing to stand up and make themselves heard” regarding supporting Israel.

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Exclusive: Patricia Heaton Takes Stand Against Rising Antisemitism in America, Launches October 7 Coalition

Patricia Heaton

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Actress Patricia Heaton, known for her roles in Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle, took a public stand against rising antisemitism in America by starting her own nonprofit, the October 7 Coalition (O7C).

Heaton, who lives in Nashville, founded O7C as a Christian grassroots group meant to serve as a network for Christians and pastors to take public stands against antisemitism in the U.S. Heaton and the group have been involved in protests against antisemitism, like at Columbia University which has previously been embattled by anti-Israel demonstrations and encampments by students.

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Legal Counsel for Sponsors of Israel Summit Raises Questions on Sonesta Hotel’s Reasoning to Cancel Event

Sonesta Nashville Airport

First Liberty Institute, the legal counsel for the organizing groups of the 2024 Israel Summit, raised questions to the Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel’s reasoning behind its decision to break its contractual obligation to host the event next week.

The Israel Summit was expected to be hosted next week at the Sonesta Hotel until hotel leadership contacted one of the summit’s sponsors, notifying the group that it was dropping its contract to host the event, citing “threatening” calls and messages.

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Ramsey Event Center in Franklin to Host Israel Summit

Ramsey Event Center

The Ramsey Event Center in Franklin will hold the 2024 Israel Summit next week after the event’s original venue, the Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel, broke its contractual obligation to host the summit.

“God is doing amazing things in Tennessee, and we are even more excited about the upcoming Israel Summit,” two of the summit’s sponsors, HaYovel and The Israel Guys, announced Tuesday. “Dave Ramsey stepped in TODAY and offered his state-of-the-art event center for the Israel Summit!”

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More Than 100 Lawmakers Slam Biden for Withholding Weapons from Israel

President Joe Biden with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Dozens of legislators wrote to President Joe Biden on Monday to criticize the Biden administration’s decision to withhold certain weapons from Israel.

More than 100 lawmakers, including Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, signed the letter slamming the administration’s decision to hold back certain weapons from Israel, which President Joe Biden addressed during an interview last week with CNN. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have engaged in highly-visible protests imploring Biden to back away from Israel for months before the administration ultimately opted to impose restrictions on military aid to Israeli forces.

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Police Union Pushes Back over Claims About University of Connecticut Protesters

UConn Division of University Safety

The union representing University of Connecticut police is pushing back on claims officers injured pro-Palestinian protesters when they broke up an encampment last month and arrested more than two dozen people.

The Connecticut Police & Fire Union, which represents UConn police, said the claims about the April 30 encounter made by another union in a letter to school leaders was an “unconscionable attack” on the officers who were just “doing their jobs” by shutting down the “unauthorized” encampment on school grounds.

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Legislators Debate Whether to Help University of Minnesota Pay for Costs Associated with Anti-Israel Camp

Palestine Protest on UMN Campus

It’s been less than a week since a group of anti-Israel activists on the University of Minnesota’s Minneapolis campus packed up their tents and provisions and ended their encampment protest on Northrop Mall.

And now come the questions: How much was the damage incurred by the boycott/divestment/sanctions protesters? Who will pay for it?

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Anti-Israel Demonstrations at University of Tennessee Continue Into Sixth Day

People’s School for Gaza

Anti-Israel demonstrations at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK) continued into their sixth consecutive day on Monday, May 6. A non-student organization calling itself the People’s School for Gaza held demonstrations at multiple locations on UTK’s campus.

The group announced a meeting at 9 a.m. ET in an initial Instagram post and moved across campus throughout the day. By 1:50 p.m. ET, demonstrators had moved to the lawn of the Student Union, according to a post later in the day.

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Lawsuit Accuses Pro-Palestine Groups of Being ‘Collaborators and Propagandists’ for Hamas

Pro-Palestine Protest

In a landmark lawsuit filed Wednesday, the law firm representing several victims of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel laid out compelling evidence that National Students for Justice in Palestine and its affiliates were acting as “collaborators and propagandists” for Hamas in the United States.

Earlier in the week, Just the News reported on the formation of National SJP—an umbrella organization purportedly organized by American Muslims for Palestine to coordinate the efforts of the hundreds of Students for Justice in Palestine groups at universities across the country.

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Leaders at College in Tennessee Cave to Demands of Pro-Palestine Protestors

Dr. Robert Pearigen

Leaders at the University of the South reportedly caved to the demands of pro-Palestinian protestors who were occupying the All Saints’ Chapel on the school’s campus. 

Among other things, the protestors demanded full disclosure of how the school spends its $400,000 endowment, and that the school cut ties with any organizations that makes weapons used against Palestinians. 

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Congressman Andy Ogles Among House Republicans Seeking to Prevent the Resettling of Palestinians into the U.S.

Andy Ogles

Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) is among a group of House Republicans requesting that a provision be included in the Fiscal Year 2025 spending bill to prohibit Palestinian refugees from being imported and resettled into U.S. communities.

Ogles, along with U.S. Representatives Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07) and Scott Perry (R-PA-10), are specifically seeking a provision in the funding bill that “prohibits expenditures of any funds to issue a visa or grant parole to any alien holding a passport issued by the Palestinian Authority.”

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‘Would Be Unacceptable’: Blinken and Netanyahu Meeting Hits Crossroads as Israeli Invasion of Rafah Looms

Secretary of State Antony Blinken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister met in Tel Aviv on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas war — and disagreements over the next phase of conflict.

The Biden administration is backing an effort to reach a deal between Israel and Hamas for a temporary ceasefire and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages. During their meeting on Wednesday, Blinken discussed the ceasefire deal with Netanyahu and “the need to avoid further expansion of the conflict,” underscoring the Biden administration’s “clear position” on opposing an Israeli invasion of Rafah, the southernmost region of Gaza, according to a readout of the meeting.

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Congressional Probe Opened on ‘Mealy-Mouthed, Spineless College Leaders’

US Rep Virginia Foxx

For “mealy-mouthed, spineless college leaders,” actions will have consequences, the North Carolina congresswoman leading a key U.S. House of Representatives committee said Tuesday amid ongoing college campus disruptions.

The war between Israel and Hamas has led to significant demonstrations or encampments on at least four dozen campuses nationwide, a national observer of such activity reports. U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., with support of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the Committee on Education and the Workforce she chairs has opened a congressional probe and on May 23 will hear from presidents of Yale and Michigan and the chancellor of UCLA.

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Commentary: Big Money Behind the Astroturf Pro-Hamas Campus Riots

Pro-Palestine Protest

Pro-terrorist occupations and protests have exploded across American college campuses—coincidentally, as final exams approached. Many have asked how these Hamas-loving protesters seemed so organized, coordinated, and well-supplied. The source of funding and strategy has been an open question as tent cities and occupations pop up simultaneously at universities across the country.

Reports have begun to emerge that indicate the usual suspects have coordinated everything from tents to strategies to direct cash payments to agitators. This echoes the paid, coordinated riots that occurred in 2020, another presidential election year, after the death of George Floyd and the rise of Black Lives Matter (BLM).

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Congress Seeks to Unmask Funding for Students for Justice in Palestine and Its Anti-Israel Protests

National Students for Justice in Palestine

The National Students for Justice in Palestine is a driving force in the anti-Israel protests sweeping across the country at college campuses. The national group says it supports 350 “Palestine solidarity organizations” throughout North America, primarily SJP chapters across America.

The funding of the student chapters largely come from U.S. universities, however, National SJP is funded through intermediaries and it is not required to disclose its own finances. This dark money arrangement has obscured funding sources and donations to the group and has spurred congressional interest.

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Senators Blackburn and Hagerty Among Few to Vote Against Ukraine Funding Bill

Marsha Blackburn Bill Hagerty

Tennessee’s two U.S. senators were among only a handful who voted against a bill that will send nearly $100 billion to foreign nations.

Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) both voted against the Senate’s version of H.R. 815, a bill that was initially meant to help veterans receive more healthcare reimbursements but quickly ballooned into a funding package mainly for the country of Ukraine.

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Roger Simon on Pro-Hamas, Anti-Israel Protests on College Campuses: ‘What Happened in Germany in 1937’ Is ‘What We’re Undergoing Now’

Roger Simon, the co-founder of PJMedia and current columnist for The Epoch Times, said the pro-Hamas protests unfolding on Ivy League college campuses across the nation are comparable to the scene in Germany in 1937.

Simon made the comments on Tuesday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show after listening to audio of a clip taken from Columbia University where pro-Palestine protesters formed a human chain to keep Jewish students out of an encampment on the university’s campus.

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Johnson Sets Up Ukraine Showdown Vote

Mike Johnson

The U.S. House is expected to vote on funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan this weekend, a controversial climax to months of battling in both chambers.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has arranged the vote for this weekend, likely on Saturday, despite calls from many in his own party to abandon funding for Ukraine, which is set to receive about $60 billion in foreign aid in its war against Russia’s invasion if the measure passes this weekend.

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Rep. Burchett: ‘We Could Have Built the Wall’ Instead of Funding Ukraine

Tim Burchett Border Wall

A Congressman from Tennessee took to NewsMax to ensure Americans that he won’t vote to continue sending taxpayer dollars to Ukraine, and noted that many domestic problems could have been solved with the money Congress has already allocated to the country. 

“Of course I’m not going to vote for any more funding for Ukraine,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) said in a segment on the news station Monday. “$116 billion dollars? We could have built the wall, I believe six times. We could have fixed the Flint, Michigan lead situation a dozen times, probably. We could give every homeless veteran a million dollars in this country with the money we’ve spent on Ukraine.”

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Columnist Roger Simon: The U.S. Government Paying for Iran’s Attack on Israel Is the ‘Single Greatest Disgusting Thing in American History’

Roger Simon Israel

Roger Simon, the co-founder of PJMedia and current columnist for The Epoch Times, said the U.S. government paid for Iran’s Saturday attack on Israel, which saw 300 drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles launched at the country.

Simon said the money trail could be traced back to the Obama administration when billions of dollars were sent to the Mullahs.

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GOP Representative Blasts Squad Democrats for Trying to Block Sale of F-35s Israel Used to Defend Against Iran Attacks

Rep. Brian Mast

Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida blasted Democrats for trying to get the Biden administration to block the sale of advanced F-35 jets to Israel that defended on Saturday against Iran’s large-scale drone and ballistic missile attack in an exclusive statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi joined 39 Democratic colleagues, including members of the “Squad,” in an April 5 letter urging the president to reverse his decision authorizing a weapons sale to Israel after an Israeli airstrike killed seven humanitarian workers in Gaza. The transfer included U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets and other American-origin weapons needed “to ensure Israel can survive” amid threats and attacks from Iran, Mast, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement to the DCNF.

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