LEST WE FORGET.... Memorial Day commemorates the men and women who died while in the military service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. In other words, the purpose of Memorial Day is to memorialize the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. We spend time remembering those who lost their lives and could not come home, reflecting on their service and why we have the luxury and freedom that we enjoy today. We might consider how we can support and safeguard their grieving families and loved ones who are left behind
Et Tu, Jim (Cooper)?
3,000-plus rockets targeting Israeli civilians was more than enough for U.S. House Republican supporters of Israel to attempt an expedited vote sanction U.S. designated terrorist groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and governments like Iran which support them.
It wasn't enough, however, for Tennessee Democrats Rep. Jim Cooper and Steve Cohen to break with Democrats and instead, voted* to block bringing Florida Rep. Brian Mast's Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act (H.R.261) bipartisanreauthorization bill to the House floor.
Tennessee Republicans DesJarlais, Rose, Kustoff and Burchett were all co-sponsors of Mast's bill.
In a very narrow 217-209 vote on Tuesday, May 18th, all Democrats, including Cooper and Cohen, voted to block the move despite the same bill passing unanimously in the House in 2019 although the Senate failed to take up the bill at that time. With the House blocking the bill's consideration, Rep. Mast, committed to standing with Israel, brought the bill back this session, stating:
"Hamas preaches the destruction of Israel and death to everything we hold dear in the United States. The recent attacks again show why we must cut off their financial support. But today 200 House Democrats backtracked on their previous support for this bill, and in doing so sent a clear message to the world that they stand with Radical Islamic terrorists like Hamas instead of with our ally Israel."
Prior to the vote, Minority leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy made clear the importance of once again passing this bill - "[s]upport for Israel should remain a proud, bipartisan, but most of all, clear policy principle in Congress. As our greatest ally in the Middle East faces the most intense siege in 7 years, the House should make it clear to the world that we stand united in support of Israel."
Today's media out-of-control anti-Israel bias willingly adopted and spread the propaganda justifying Hamas' attacks and villainizing Israel's defense of its citizens - the same propaganda spread by Imam Bahloul in his recent Tennesseean oped. It's the same propaganda used by Geraldo Rivera to condemn Israel in the name of Palestinian children in Gaza.
However, where are the voices of outrage for Israeli citizens terrorized by indiscriminately fired Hamas rockets? Who protects and speaks for Jewish children in Israel like the three little Fogel children, 11 year old Yoav, 4 year old Elad and their infant sister Hadas, who were murdered in their beds by Palestinian terrorists? The three boys kidnapped and murdered by Hamas? Hallel Yaffa Ariel?
CNN refused to call these acts of savagery terrorism even though the IDF had already said it was "an act of Palestinian terror."
If this had happened in our country or our state, would our defense be more measured than Israel's government? Would Nashville's rabbis and imams who signed onto the "we may be opponents we need not be enemies" letter to the Observer in 2014 continue to stand by a slogan which trivializes Hamas' vow to wipe the Jewish state off the map and BLM's commitment to "dismantle the Zionist project"?
Biden State Dept. Official: US Could Be Aiding Hamas Terrorists, 'No Guarantee' Where Money Goes
As the United States prepares to send massive amounts of aid to Gaza, the Biden administration admits it hasn't a clue whether Hamas will get its terrorist hands on the cash.
Hamas recently rained more than 4,000 rockets upon Israel, inviting retaliation from the Jewish state that destroyed buildings and infrastructure in Gaza.
A ceasefire was declared last week, sparking the United States to begin passing the hat for aid to Gaza through the international community. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting the region to begin the process.
The State Department provided a briefing to reporters with the condition that all information be attributed to a senior State Department official.
One reporter asked, "How can the U.S. guarantee aid to Gaza won't be diverted toward replenishing the Hamas arsenal?"
Antisemitic attacks increase amid Middle East conflict
BY LEXI LONAS - 05/20/21 05:13 PM EDT
The U.S. and other countries around the world are seeing a rise in antisemitic attacks at protests and online as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict rages in the Middle East.
Human rights groups say some criticism of Israel's actions during the conflict is crossing the line into antisemitism.
States around the country are reporting vandalism at synagogues, such as graffiti of swastikas and pro-Palestinian messages. Marking an uptick online, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Thursday reported finding 17,000 tweets between May 7 and May 14, a period of escalation in Gaza, with a variation of the words "Hitler was right."
"Some people seem to have trouble distinguishing the State of Israel, which is a sovereign state just like the United States or France or any other state, from Jews because Israel is the Jewish state, about 80 percent of its citizens are Jewish," Jill Jacobs, a rabbi and executive director of T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, told The Hill.
"We saw, for example, a really horrible incident near a Jewish Community Center in London, where people were driving down the street yelling terrible things about Jews, including rape their daughters. We saw just on Tuesday night, a physical attack of Jews having sushi at a sidewalk cafe in Los Angeles. We've unfortunately seen an uptick in those incidents where people are vandalizing synagogues," Jacobs said.
ATTENTION STUDENTS AND PARENTS OF STUDENTS. You will not want to miss this opportunity right here in middle Tennessee:
Student Eagle Leadership Conference
What you will learn
Leadership Institute & Eagle Forum's Student Leadership Conference is a two-day event on grassroots organizing and digital strategy.
The Student Eagle Leadership Conference will teach attendees how to build a movement around the candidate, campaign, or cause you are committed to. Attendees will also become digitally savvy activists and gain in depth knowledge of a variety of key topics in the digital field.
You will leave this conference with tactics that you can use to accomplish your political goals, whether it is starting chapters, recruiting for meetings and events, posting great online content, or even just connecting your friends together.
You will learn to:
Coordinate large numbers of volunteers and voters
Recruit and maximize the efforts of your group
Motivate volunteers with new and exciting projects
Effectively influence your audience through the media
Organize activism projects you can implement immediately
Thanks to the generous and dependable support of Leadership Institute donors, registration costs include hotel accommodations and food throughout the conference for students.
.jpg)
