Posted on 06/04/2017 8:15:37 AM PDT by justiceseeker93
Rep. Mark Pocan (D., Wis.) has been identified as the anonymous member of Congress who reserved official Capitol Hill space for an anti-Israel forum that is being organized by several organizations that support boycotts of the Jewish state, according to congressional sources who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon.
News of the June 8 anti-Israel event, which was first disclosed earlier this week by the Free Beacon, sparked outrage on Capitol Hill and initiated a search to identify the anonymous member of Congress sponsoring the event.
The event, which sources confirmed to the Free Beacon is being sponsored by Pocan, is being organized by anti-Israel advocacy groups that have supported Israel boycotts and have been cited for distributing propaganda slandering the Jewish state.
Pocan, a supporter of the liberal Middle East advocacy group J Street, has come under fire in the past for meeting with convicted terrorist associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a terror organization.
Since the Free Beacon first reported on the event—which many have described as a propaganda effort meant to defame the Jewish state—pressure has been mounting for the anonymous congressman behind the event to step forward.
Pocan's communications director, David Kolovson, did not respond to multiple Free Beacon requests for comment on the matter.
Rep. Peter Roskam (R., Ill.), co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus, told the Free Beacon on Wednesday that the lawmaker sponsoring the event should publicly step forward and explain his or her support for such a forum.
"It's completely unacceptable to use the resources of the House of Representatives to help promote the hateful, malevolent BDS [Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions] campaign," Roskam said. "If a member of Congress wishes to sponsor an event like this, he or she should step forward and tell us why."
The event, "50 Years of Israeli Military Occupation & Life for Palestinian Children," is scheduled to be held June 8 in room 122 of Capitol Hill's Cannon House Office Building, according to an invitation viewed by the Free Beacon.
One senior congressional source familiar with the situation said that Pocan should explain why he is backing the event.
"If true, Congressman Pocan should be ashamed of himself. This is the type of event you'd expect to take place in backrooms at the United Nations, but not in the halls of the United States Congress," the source said. "The hosts of this forum have only one goal: to disseminate virulently anti-Israel propaganda. Congressman Pocan should stop hiding behind a cloak of anonymity, take responsibility for facilitating this event, and, ideally, cancel it."
Groups involved in organizing the event include several advocacy organizations known for their criticism of the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF.
They include the Defense for Children International-Palestine and American Friends Service Committee, which operate an affiliated advocacy group dedicated to accusing the IDF of various crimes against humanity.
These organizations have been cited by pro-Israel organizations and watchdog groups for their promotion of anti-Israel propaganda and false information about the IDF.
Speakers scheduled to attend the event include: Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestinian director for Human Rights Watch, which routinely criticizes Israel; Brad Parker, the staff attorney and international advocacy officer for Defense for Children International-Palestine, a group that backs Israel boycotts; Nadia Ben-Youssef, director of the Adalah Justice Project, which has accused Israel of "genocide"; and Yazan Meqbil, a Leonard Education Scholar and student at Goshen College.
Will the House have the collective guts to at least sanction Pocan (or better yet, expel him) for this disgusting "Forum"?
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. -Genesis 12:3
Ping!!!
Not so anonymous anymore
On November 24, 2006, Pocan and his long-term partner, Philip Frank, were legally married in Toronto, Ontario.[14]
Why all the whining? Ryan can cancel this in 60 seconds. But I bet he won’t, since the faggot who sponsored it is from Wisconsin.
Wonder what's so "progressive" about hanging out with Muslims who want to return to a medieval Caliphate? And you also have to wonder about what his Muslim buddies think of his "sexual preference."
It’s really funny, since Israel may very well be the most pro-Gay country on the planet. And the Muslims are the ones who throw gays off of buildings.
Yes, I knew about that, having looked up his background yesterday.
I'm sure the Islamists pretends to be buddies with would cut off his head when they have no use for him anymore.
He is gay. No sanction.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza strip has declared homosexuality punishable by death. Hamas cofounder Mahmoud Zahar has said, “You in the West do not live like human beings. You do not even live like animals. You accept homosexuality. And now you criticize us?”
I'm sure the Islamists who pretend to be buddies with Pocan would cut off his his head when they have no use for him anymore.
Exactly
Thanks for the ping.
Does Pocan have the prerogative to invite anyone he wants to come on the Capitol grounds, despite their pro-terrorist sympathies and backgrounds? Or do these forum speakers have to be vetted by law enforcement as a precondition to gaining entry to the premises?
Seems like there are already quite a number of Islamic extremists making a place for themselves on Capitol hill as staffers for predominantly Democrat members.
They’ll start thumping on the First Amendment and obfuscating the misuse of taxpayer-funded resources. The FSM will back this ploy to the hilt, say that this is further proof that Trumpistas are fascistas, suppressing free speech, etc., and the public will be none the wiser, unless Trump uses his bully pulpit and twitter to set the record straight. Will he? He could view it as mixing in to Congress’ business, or he could just do it.
If you want to see Pocan’s leftist record, go to www.keywiki.org and search under his name (Search box on the left side of the cover page.
He’s and up and coming Marxist POS.
Bookmark for future use.
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