Democrat Infighting Breaks Out over Support for Israel
Democrat infighting over Israel threatened to turn physical Friday, after Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) repeatedly called Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) “cowardly” in an interview and said, “We can handle it like gentlemen or we can get into something else.”
Carson was responding to a post on X by Gottheimer where he slammed 15 Democrat colleagues who voted against or “present” on a House resolution expressing support for Israel as “despicable.”
Carson’s threat drew criticism from prominent Jewish progressives. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, posted:
It’s inexcusable for any member of Congress to threaten a colleague, & especially egregious that @RepAndreCarson is threatening a Jewish member for speaking out at a moment when we’re seeing a massive spike in antisemitism. What’s the point? Does he think it’s productive to intimidate @RepJoshG?
Gottheimer later sought to tamp down the tensions, posting that he was thankful for colleagues who did support the bipartisan resolution and that “it’s more important than ever for us to talk to each other”:
Still, the incident highlighted divisions among Democrats in Congress — as well among the broader public — over Israel.
Thousands of progressives around the country have protested, on college campuses and in major cities, against Israel responding militarily to attacks by Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas that killed more than 1,400 in southern Israel in the deadliest attacks against Jews since the Holocaust.
There were even protesters in the U.S. Capitol — led by members of Congress such as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who is Muslim and Palestinian-American.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) speaks during a rally at the National Mall during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Washington on October 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Tlaib, Carson, and seven other Democrats voted against the resolution in support of Israel, including Reps. Jamaal Bowman (NY), Cori Bush (MO), Al Green (TX), Summer Lee (PA), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Ilhan Omar (MN), and Delia Ramirez (IL), while six other Democrats voted “present,” including Reps. Gregorio Casar (TX), Julian Castro (TX), Jesus Garcia (IL), Pramila Jayapal (WA), Ayana Pressley (MA), and Nydia Velaquez (NY).
RELATED VIDEO — Dem Rep. Auchincloss: Disinformation Spreader Tlaib Doesn’t Speak for Us — She Falsely Conflates Hamas with Civilians:
Gottheimer is not the only one who had sharp words for Democrats voting against the resolution.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) told CNN she “vehemently” disagreed with Tlaib and her actions “throughout this process,” and that anyone voting against the resolution “doesn’t have a soul.”
The growing divide does not appear to be ending anytime soon. Israel over the weekend launched its offensive into Gaza, which is expected to last for months.
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ANYONE BLACKS DO NOT HATE, HARASS AND ASSULT?
Pop Star Pink Denounces Hamas and Its Supporters’ ‘Hate-Filled Demonstrations’
Pop star Pink took to social media on Friday to publicly call for Hamas terrorists to release all the hostages they kidnapped when they invaded Israel on October 7.
A ten-point plan was posted on social media to set out the “What About Us” singer’s anger at the actions of Hamas and those that support the terrorist organization though “hate-filled demonstration.”
Here’s the complete list posted by Pink:
- The hostages need to come home.
- Hamas is a terrorist organization that seeks to destroy Jews. They also murder and oppress women, the LGBTQIA+ community and political opponents.
- Palestinians need a solution that honors their aspirations and their humanity.
- Neither Palestinians nor Israelis can exist peacefully under the threat of Hamas.
- Protecting innocent civilian life must remain of utmost priority.
- No one should celebrate the murder of women and children. Ripping down images of kidnapped children is inhumane.
- Nuance and complexity are not rewarded on social media something going viral does not make it true.
- The responsibility of traditional media to report the unbiased facts has never been more critical.
- Prejudice and acts of hate toward any one group is unacceptable.
- Any violent or hate-filled demonstrations taking place around the world are making the problem worse, not better
Pink, whose real name is Alecia Beth Moore, is Jewish and has addressed antisemitism in the past.
Celebrities such as Natalie Portman, Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld, Jamie Lee Curtis, Gal Gadot, Amy Schumer, Chelsea Handler and others have taken to social media to share their support for Israel after the terrorist group Hamas launched deadly land and air strikes on the country.
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Jewish Security Group Warns of ‘Alarming Rise’ in Antisemitic Incidents on College Campuses
College campuses in the United States have experienced an “alarming rise” in antisemitic incidents as pro-Palestinian protests demonstrate against Israel over its response to Hamas’s unprecedented terror attack on the Jewish state, according to an organization that assists the Jewish community with security matters.
The Jerusalem Post reported:
Since the Hamas attack, [Secure Community Network (SCN)] has logged 94 incident reports on college campuses, 15% of the 614 incidents it has logged across the country this month. October 2023 is on track to register more antisemitic incidents than any month ever recorded since the group’s founding in 2004.
Some of these incidents have received significant attention, such as the events at the Cooper Union in New York City last week, when a protest claiming support for Palestine surrounded the school library and pounded on its glass windows, chanting, while a small group of Jewish students watched from inside.
WATCH — Fearful Pro-Israel Students Allegedly Stuck in Library Surrounded by Angry Pro-Palestinian Mob:
SCN CEO Michael Masters said in a statement, “The rise in incidents on our college campuses exposes the utterly insufficient response by a disturbing number of educational institutions in response to vocal support for foreign terror groups and rank antisemitism.”
RELATED VIDEO — Tim Scott to Republican Jewish Coalition: “Cut Out the Rot of Antisemitism” on Campus:
C-SPANFollowing the attack, student groups at colleges across the U.S. — namely Harvard University — expressed support for the Palestinians and even went as far as to suggest Israel was to blame for the assault that killed 1,400 people and left 4,500 injured. Harvard responded tepidly to the student group’s anti-Israel sentiments and defended their freedom of expression despite its lackluster support for free speech on its own campus.
Supporters of Palestine gather at Harvard University to show their support for Palestinians in Gaza at a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 14, 2023. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
WATCH — ADL CEO: Harvard “Clearly Not Educating Students” if Their Students Defend the “Fascism” of Hamas:
Some college donors, including the Wexner Foundation and private equity titan Marc Rowan, announced that they would cease financial support for Harvard and University of Pennsylvania, respectfully, due to their inadequate condemnation of the terror attack on Israel.
“We are stunned and sickened at the dismal failure of Harvard’s leadership to take a clear and unequivocal stand against the barbaric murders of innocent Israeli civilians by terrorists last Saturday, the Sabbath and a festival day,” the Wexner Foundation said in a letter on October 16. “Since then, many of our Israel Fellows no longer feel marginalized at HKS [Havard Kennedy School]. They feel abandoned. … Our core values and those of Harvard no longer align. HKS is no longer a place where Israeli leaders can go to develop the necessary skills to address the very real political and societal challenges they face.”
The foundation concluded by stating it would cut its “financial and programmatic relationships.”
Cornel West Holds Antisemitic Banner at ‘Free Palestine’ Rally in L.A.
Dr. Cornel West, an independent presidential candidate in 2024, joined a “Free Palestine” rally in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday and held an antisemitic banner depicting “Zionism” as a snake.
West had participated in a pro-Palestinian “student walkout” on Thursday, insisting that it was not about hating Jews, but opposing Israeli “occupation” (Israel has not occupied Gaza since 2005).
However, Saturday’s march featured explicit calls to eliminate Israel — a genocidal goal — and to arm Palestinian Hamas “fighters” (i.e. terrorists).
The Los Angeles Times reported:
Salah Odeh, of Pasadena … said it’s imperative that the people of Gaza be given humanitarian aid and that Palestinian fighters [sic] receive military assistance in the face of Israel’s bombing campaign in recent weeks.
“People are offering their prayers, and that’s good — but we need physical help. We need military assistance,” said Odeh, who wore a black-and-white keffiyeh on his head, a Palestinian flag around his neck like a cape, and a pro-Palestine shirt and necklaces.
The banner that West held (shown above) was revealed, in a Times photo and on social media, to bear the slogan “Unity in Confronting Zionism.” It featured a raised fist pulling a snake’s tongue — with the obvious implication that Zionism, the belief in Israel’s right to exist, is the snake.
The image of a snake was a frequent antisemitic theme in Soviet anti-Israel propaganda. As Tablet magazine noted in 2019:
Soviet anti-Zionist cartoons relied on a particular set of symbols to identify “the Zionist” as an object of contempt and hatred. Since one of the political goals of Soviet anti-Zionist ideology was to undermine Israel, Soviet caricaturists typically depicted a “Zionist” as wearing Israeli military uniform. When it came to identifying a Jew as such, they used the full arsenal of anti-Semitic portrayals developed over the centuries. One traditional approach was to show a Jew as subhuman in form (a dog, a spider, an octopus, a snake) yet in possession of supernatural powers.
West has been accused of referring to Jewish conspiracies in recent years, as when he blamed his position on Israel for his denial of tenure at Harvard.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Report: Ye, aka Kanye West, Told Jewish Adidas Exec to Kiss a Photo of Adolf Hitler
A new report claims rapper and fashion mogul Kanye West told a Jewish Adidas executive to kiss a photo of Adolf Hitler, among other disturbing behavior.
Last year, when Adidas ended its partnership with West, the move appeared to be solely in response to the rapper’s public antisemitic tirades, but the New York Times reports that there was more going on behind the scenes — and had been for nearly 10 years.
Since Adidas and West began their partnership in 2013, the company appeared to ignore — and even adapt — to the “Gold Digger” rapper’s behavior while profits soared, which also made West a billionaire.
Interviews with current and former employees of Adidas and of West, as well as a review of hundreds of internal records — including contracts, text messages, and financial documents — revealed that the artist seems to have a “troubling fixation on Jews and Hitler,” among other things, New York Times reported.
At a 2013 meeting with Adidas designers at the company’s headquarters in Germany, for example, West reportedly drew a swastika on an Adidas sketch and later told a Jewish Adidas executive to kiss a portrait of Hitler every day.
The “Heartless” rapper also allegedly told Adidas employees that he admired Hitler’s command of propaganda.
Weeks before the swastika incident, West reportedly forced Adidas executives to watch pornography during a meeting inside his apartment in Manhattan. Last year, the “I Love It” rapper allegedly ambushed Adidas executives in Los Angeles with a pornographic film.
While the company’s contract with West had a clause in it that allowed Adidas to end the agreement if the rapper’s behavior harmed its reputation, it doesn’t appear that Adidas executives had ever considered invoking the clause before terminating their relationship with him last year, when West was acting out publicly, as a slew of other companies and entities dropped him.
Instead, Adidas “adapted” to West’s behavior, the Times reports.
Top executives and managers at Adidas reportedly started a group chat called “Yzy hotline,” where employees discussed how to address any chaos he caused.
The Adidas team ended up adopting a strategy that they compared to firefighting. They would rotate employees on and off the front lines of dealing with West, who reportedly made big demands, went through extreme mood swings, and threw shoes during company meetings. Tears were also common at said meetings.
And as Adidas adapted to the artist’s behavior, the company grew more reliant on West’s shoe brand, Yeezys.
West also made out pretty well, receiving a 15 percent royalty on net sales, with $15 million upfront, and millions of dollars in company stock each year under the 2016 contract. And then in 2019, Adidas agreed to $100 million annually for Yeezy marketing, which reportedly ended up becoming a fund from which West could spend with little oversight.
When Adidas parted ways from West last year, Yeezy sales stopped, and the company projected its first annual loss in decades. Meanwhile, West’s net worth plummeted.
Then, in May, “they had at least one more chance to keep making money together,” the Times reported, noting that Adidas began releasing the remaining $1.3 billion worth of Yeezys, with a cut of the proceeds going to charity, but most of the money going to Adidas, with West being entitled to royalties.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
