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Anti-Israel protesters on college campuses are reportedly getting funding from several big-name Democrat donors that have backed President Biden's re-election efforts, according to a report.
Democratic donors such as George Soros, David Rockefeller Jr., who sits on the board of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Susan and Nick Pritzker, who own the Hyatt Hotel corporation, have funded pro-Palestinian efforts to protest the Israel-Hamas war, Politico reported.
Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow are the main organizations behind the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University as well as other campuses, according to the outlet. They are backed by the Tides Foundation, which receives a substantial amount of funding from Soros, and was supported in the past by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and distributes money to left-wing causes.
The Rockefeller Fund donated $300,000 to the Tides Foundation in 2022, according to Politico. The Tides Foundation has given $500,000 to Jewish Voice for Peace, a far-left, anti-Zionist organization that blamed the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and the U.S. rather than Hamas.
The Gates Foundation has disputed the Politico report. A spokesperson said the Gates Foundation has no active grants to the Tides Foundation and has never given grants to the Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow organizations. It also said the Gates Foundation has not donated to President Biden.
L- George Soros R- Anti-Israel protest (Getty Images)
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The Politico report, headlined "Pro-Palestinian protesters are backed by a surprising source: Biden's biggest donors," was panned online Sunday for finally acknowledging what others had reported months ago.
"This is actually the least ‘surprising’ thing I have heard all year," Chaya Raichik, Libs of TikTok creator, wrote on X.
"Glad you guys could make it," Washington Free Beacon reporter Joe Gabriel Simonson quipped.
Republican Alabama Sen. Katie Britt commented, "*A completely unsurprising source."
"Surprising to who?" Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., responded.
"The journalists at Politico apparently the only people on the planet ‘surprised’ by this," Spectator contributing editor Stephen L. Miller wrote.
"This is only "surprising" if you’re brand new to following Democrat money in politics," GOP communicator Matt Whitlock replied.
Gabe Kaminsky, investigative reporter for the Washington Examiner, posted several previous reports indicating that Soros and other liberal dark money groups were funding anti-Israel causes.
"Just so much surprisingness!" Washington Examiner columnist Ian Haworth mocked.
In addition to the anti-Israel protests happening across college campuses, protesters have also repeatedly interrupted President Biden's and other prominent Democrat leaders' speeches and events. They call Biden "Genocide Joe" and continue to protest the U.S. involvement in Israel's war with Hamas.
The Pritzkers also backed groups that are involved in the pro-Palestinian demonstrations. They have also resoundingly supported the president and donated $300,000 to his 2020 campaign.
"Why [is the Rockefeller Fund] giving significant grants to Jewish Voice for Peace, [which] blamed the horrific Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and the United States rather than Hamas?" Elisha Wiesel, a Democrat donor who chairs the Elie Wiesel Foundation, told Politico.
The president spoke out against antisemitism and violent protests on Thursday in a quick speech but reaffirmed his support for the right to peacefully protest.
President Biden speaks at a campaign event at Pullman Yards on March 9, 2024, in Atlanta. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
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"We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent. The American people are heard. In fact, peaceful protest is in the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues. But neither are we a lawless country. We're a civil society and order must prevail," Biden said at the White House.
"So, let me be clear. ... Violent protest is not protected. Peaceful protest is. It's against the law when violence occurs. Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It's against the law. Vandalism. Trespassing. Breaking windows. Shutting down campuses. Forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations. None of this is a peaceful protest," Biden continued. "Threatening people. Intimidating people. Instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest. It's against the law," he said.
Fox News Digital reported in April that a left-wing dark money group funded by Soros would provide bail and legal support for anti-Israel activists who were arrested after blocking major roads and highways nationwide.
Anti-Israel protesters rally outside of New York University’s campus in New York on May 3, 2024. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
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The demonstrations were largely organized by A15 Action, a recently created group that said it would "coordinate a multi-city economic blockade on April 15 in solidarity with Palestine."
Under the group's "resources" section on its website, users are pointed to a "bail and legal defense fund" hosted by ActBlue, the leading fundraising platform for Democrat campaigns and groups nationwide.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation denying the Politico report and clarifying it has no active grants to the Tides Foundation.
Fox News' Kyle Morris contributed to this report.
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