Follow the Money-Who is Paying for the pro-Hamas Protests on College Campuses? And WHAT are They Getting for it?

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson Episode: Follow the Money—Who is Paying for the pro-Hamas Protests on College Campuses? And WHAT are They Getting for it? Release Date: April 29, 2024

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Introduction

In this episode of The 47 Morning Update, host Ben Ferguson engages in a compelling discussion with Senator Ted Cruz, delving into the surge of pro-Hamas and anti-Israel protests engulfing college campuses across the United States. The conversation examines the underlying motives, financial backing, and institutional responses contributing to this disturbing trend.

Overview of Anti-Israel and Pro-Hamas Protests on College Campuses

Ben Ferguson initiates the discussion by highlighting the emergence of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic protests driven by pro-Hamas sentiments spreading nationwide in academic institutions. He emphasizes that these movements are not spontaneous but are orchestrated with substantial financial support aimed at destabilizing pro-Israel sentiments and promoting anti-American agendas.

Notable Quote:

"This is not simply occurring magically and organically. There are a whole lot of dollars that are being written to cause this chaos, this dissension, this attack on Israel, this attack on America."
– Ben Ferguson [00:09]

The Radical Nature of Protesters and University Administrations’ Responses

The discussion underscores the extreme ideology of the protest organizers, who are portrayed as anti-Semitic radicals intent on fostering an environment of hatred and violence against Jewish students. Ferguson criticizes university administrations for their perceived inaction and fear of confronting these extremists, leading to compromised safety and canceled classes.

Notable Quote:

"These are radicals who hate Jews, who are bigots, who are violent, who are threatening violence, who are threatening, so far as murder."
– Ben Ferguson [03:28]

Senator Cruz echoes these concerns, pointing out the lack of accountability within university leadership and their failure to protect students adequately.

The Role of Funding and Influence from Groups like George Soros and Rockefeller Brothers Fund

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on the financial underpinnings of these campus protests. Ferguson reveals that organizations such as George Soros's Open Society Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund are channeling substantial funds into groups like the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (US CPR). These funds are used to pay campus fellows who organize and lead pro-Hamas activities.

Notable Quote:

"Protesters are being encouraged by paid radicals... US CPR pays up to $7,800 for its community-based fellows and between $2,880 and $3,660 for its campus-based fellows in return for spending eight hours a week organizing campaigns."
– Ben Ferguson [25:47]

He vehemently criticizes these financiers, labeling them as anti-Semitic and anti-American, and calls for their accountability in funding activities that propagate hatred and undermines American values.

Incidents at Specific Universities (Columbia, USC, UCLA)

The episode delves into specific instances of anti-Semitic actions at prominent universities:

• Columbia University: Ferguson discusses the appointment of Claudine Gay as president and her subsequent resignation amid escalating anti-Semitic tensions. He highlights incidents like students being threatened and advised to stay off campus for their safety.

• USC: USC's decision to cancel graduation ceremonies for students who already faced cancellations during COVID-19 is criticized as an overreaction to campus unrest, further impacting students' academic milestones.

• UCLA: An altercation between a Jewish student holding an Israeli flag and a UCLA professor exemplifies the hostile environment fostered by university staff, where even expressions of pro-Israel sentiment are met with aggression.

Notable Quote:

"If you are threatening violence, that is not protected by the Constitution... those who commit actual violence should be arrested."
– Ben Ferguson [07:14]

Calls for Accountability from Donors and the Business Community

Ferguson and Cruz advocate for influential donors to withdraw their financial support from universities complicit in fostering anti-Semitic environments. Citing figures like Robert Kraft of the Patriots and Bill Ackman of Harvard, they urge these donors to leverage their contributions to demand significant changes within academic institutions.

Notable Quote:

"These are organized, this is deliberate. And there's real money behind it."
– Ben Ferguson [25:44]

They emphasize the power of financial influence in driving institutional accountability and the necessity for high-profile donors to take a stand against the perpetuation of hate on campuses.

Conclusion and Looking Forward

The episode concludes with a stern warning about the long-term implications of unchecked anti-Semitism and pro-Hamas activities within educational settings. Ferguson and Cruz call for a unified response from the business community, alumni, and society at large to hold universities accountable and ensure the safety and inclusion of Jewish students.

Notable Quote:

"If you see a Nazi, if you see a Klansman, or if you see a pro-Hamas bigot, respond with truth, respond with facts, to counter the hate."
– Ben Ferguson [07:14]

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Note: This summary intentionally omits all advertisement segments present in the original transcript to focus solely on the substantive discussions between Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz.

Transcript

[Ted Cruz]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. And Senator, we now know a lot more about who's behind the protests on college campuses.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, that's exactly right. We're going to do a deep dive into these anti Israel, anti Semitic protests, these pro Hamas protests that are breaking out at college campuses all over the country. We're going to go into some of the extreme views that are being taken by the organizers, by the radicals putting it on, by the professors who are participating. We're going to get into the weakness to the fecklessness of the college administrators who are terrified to take on these rabid anti Semites. And we're going to follow the money we're going to lay out. This is not simply occurring magically and organically. There are a whole lot of dollars that are being written to cause this chaos, this dissension, this attack on Israel, this attack on America. We're going to break that down.

[Ted Cruz]

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[Ben Ferguson]

Well, that's exactly right. And you have to understand, first of all, the radicals that are putting this on, this is not ordinary political speech. This is not within the mainstream of discussions. These are radicals who hate Jews, who are bigots, who are violent, who are threatening violence, who are threatening, so far as murder. Here I want you to look at one of the organizers of these pro Hamas protesters at Columbia University and take your own assessment of just kind of what kind of person this is.

[Ted Cruz]

And so be glad, be grateful that I'm not just going out and murdering Zionists. I've never murdered anyone in my life, and I hope to keep it that way. I genuinely hope to keep it that way. Hope to keep it that way. If you're a Jewish student that goes to college, where that person goes to college, I'd be terrified.

[Ben Ferguson]

And by the way, look, the phrase be glad I'm not just killing Zionists. Now you know what the word Zionist means.

[Ted Cruz]

I think he means Jews.

[Ben Ferguson]

Exactly. That's the word that bigots use when they want to mean Jews. What does he want to do, murder Jews? He hasn't yet. He hopes he doesn't. But we ought to be glad that he's not actively murdering Jews. And this is.

[Ted Cruz]

Let me ask you this, and this is so important. Is that free speech or is that a threat?

[Ben Ferguson]

And by the way, he also said in that same interview, he said, quote, zionists don't deserve to live.

[Ted Cruz]

Jews don't deserve to live. Yes, translation.

[Ben Ferguson]

And, you know, it's not like in history there have been any people who believe Jews don't deserve to live. We ought to just kill all the Jews. Like you literally have lefty college campuses. He ought to get a little Hitler mustache and just, you know, start doing Sig Heil. I mean, these leftists, they are Nazis. And by the way, listen, I don't like in politics Nazi comparisons. I think they're used too often. Yeah, but what hamas did on October 7, the Nazis would be proud. It was the same sort of indiscriminate mass murder. Directed at Jews because they are Jews that the world has not seen at that scale since the Holocaust. October 7th was, in one day, the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. And by the way, when you are murdering civilians, when you're murdering the elderly, when you're murdering children, when you're raping women and little girls, when you're beheading people, those are the atrocities the Nazis committed. That is what these pro Hamas protesters are chanting. Now, you asked about, is that a threat? Listen, if you are threatening violence, that is not protected by the Constitution. If you are threatening to kill anyone, that's not protected by the Constitution. We know that the threats are being heard and perceived because we know at Columbia, the Orthodox rabbi sent out an email, actually a WhatsApp, to the some 260 Jewish students on campus saying, do not come to campus. Stay home. Why? Because Columbia cannot and will not protect your safety. So the threats are real and perceived. And by the way, look, it's worth doing a little bit of a deep dive on free speech. Does the First Amendment protect your right to free speech? Yes. Yes, you have a right to speak. And by the way, that includes Nazis. As a famous decision, Skokie, Illinois, where the Nazis wanted to march in the downtown city, and it went all the way to the Supreme Court. Supreme Court concluded, Yep, the Nazis have a right to march under the First Amendment. And that is correct. But you know what they're not immune to? They're not immune, number one, to counterspeech. And I think anyone has an obligation, if you see a Nazi, if you see a Klansman, or if you see a pro Hamas bigot, to respond with truth, to respond with facts, to counter the hate. That's number one. But number two, just because the Constitution allows you to say it does not mean a university has to allow it on their campus.

[Ted Cruz]

That's what I was going to ask. Second, and I'm glad you went there, is that there. There doesn't seem to be any accountability on these college campuses from the administration. If there is accountability, it's coming from police outside.

[Ben Ferguson]

So listen, does anybody doubt that if a student on a campus went to the center of campus, erected a cross, lit the cross on fire, put on a white sheet, and advocated for the murder of all African Americans, that that student would be expelled instantly and arrested? And let's be clear. Well, depending on burning the cross might be arrested, but if you do it in a public square, that actually is protected free speech, you are allowed to say it, just like the Nazis are allowed to say we want to kill Jews. The Klan is allowed to say, we want to kill African Americans or Hispanics. By the way, let's be clear, the Klan wants to kill me too. Like, they're evil, bigoted morons. The First Amendment lets you say it, but there's no obligation if you say things that are horrible and hateful. A university doesn't have to allow you to remain there. The First Amendment says Congress shall make no law abridging in relevant part the freedom of speech. That's a restriction on the government. A university is not the government. And so, of course, if a student began speaking as a Klansman and arguing for killing fellow students, you would expel that student. Likewise, and by the way, in a normal world, if. If a racist who happened to be African American began saying, we should murder white students, you should expel that student. And in this instance, where you have students calling for murdering Jews, in my view, those who are engaged of threats of violence, a threat of violence crosses the line to criminality, they should be arrested. Especially those who commit actual violence. They should be arrested. Students who engage in this should be expelled. Professors who engage in this hateful speech should be fired. Look, we talked at a prior, prior podcast about what appeared to be a Columbia student holding a sign. So there were several Jewish students behind her waving Israeli flags and American flags. And she's holding a cardboard sign that is handwritten that says Al Qassam's next targets with an arrow pointing to the Jewish students. To the Jewish students. And interesting enough, this young woman appears to be a blonde young woman. I don't know if the Internet's right, but it's identified her as from a wealthy Georgia family. So not Palestinian, just a young leftist who feels perfect. And she's wrapped in a Palestinian scarf, so her face is covered up. But this young leftist feels perfectly fine, feels perfectly normal to advocate the murder of her fellow students because they are Jews. And she feels certain that she'll have impunity, that Colombia will not expel her.

[Ted Cruz]

And why would you not expect that if you're a student? Let's go back to right after the attack on Israel. You and I spent a lot of time talking about, you know, Ms. Gay, for example. He's the president at one MIT. You had what was a Harvard, Yale that were. That were all having these protests. And it was very clear, leadership down. Yeah, they were anti Israel and allowing this to play out.

[Ben Ferguson]

The leadership supports the pro Hamas protesters. All right, listen to the president of Columbia University not long after 9 11.

[Ted Cruz]

So it's not.

[Ben Ferguson]

You'll always have individuals who will have extreme views.

[Ted Cruz]

But what's really troubling in the region is that there's actually quite a broad.

[Ben Ferguson]

Base of society which has some sympathy for the terrorists.

[Ted Cruz]

Not so much because they approve of their methods, but it's a form of protesting against a system which is not.

[Ben Ferguson]

Delivering for them on the economic or the political front.

[Ted Cruz]

That's two months after 9 11. She says this two months after. Well it's a form of protest like so terrorists can do this.

[Ben Ferguson]

Flying jet airplanes into the World Trade center, flying jet airplanes into the pentagon, murdering some 3000 people is not a form of protest. That is a form of mass murder. That is a form of terrorism. That is a form of targeting civilians to murder them in many instances to burn them horribly alive. Not only did they die, many of them died horrible wretched deaths. You and I were both alive and remember the images that day as those towers that burned. We remember the people at the top of the towers burning alive sounds like really a horrific death. But there she is as this leftist academic saying, well it's a form of protest. No, waving a sign and chanting in a public park is a form of protest. Murdering 3,000 people is a horrific crime and it is terrorism and it is evil.

[Ted Cruz]

If there's any place where you would think a university president would not say this after 9 11, wouldn't you think it would be a university that's in New York City?

[Ben Ferguson]

You would. Except our universities now, they barely acknowledge they're American. Our university leadership is Marxist. Look, as you know, the last book I wrote is called how to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America. The entire book explains that poison. You are seeing that poison. You are seeing that they are taught America is bad, it is imperialist, it is oppressive. The Marxists believe there are two groups, there are oppressors and victims. In the Marxist world, oppressors are Jews. That's why they call them Zionists. That's why they say the Zionists read Jews are lucky. I'm not murdering them right now. Why? Because they're oppressors. And once you're labeled an oppressor you have no rights, you should be murdered. By the way, those Marxists also consider all Americans oppressors. So 911 planes going into the World Trade center, not a problem. Oppressors deserve to die. And so the view of those Marxist academics is if you're killing oppressors, that's a good thing. The other group are the so called victims. And when it comes to the Middle east, the victims of the Palestinians in the leftist view. And what Marxists advocate is the violent revolution of the victims against the oppressors. So when the so called victims are killing the oppressors, they're cheering for the murder. The Marxist is happy for the murder. They think it is a good thing. And their view is the only problem is there wasn't enough murder. What these Marxists believe, what they advocate is the problem with October 7th is it stopped at 1200 Jews. Yeah, it should have been 2000 or 3000 or 5000 or 10,000. And by the way, you look at these pro Hamas terrorists, that's what they're promising. These groups chanting are saying, we'll have an October 7th every day. We're not done with murdering 1200, we want to do it again tomorrow.

[Ted Cruz]

When you look at also just how this has unfolded, there's one other thing that there was a new standard this week by the media that I thought was shocking. You're seeing more people come out and saying that the president of Columbia, for example, specifically should immediately resign. Speaker Johnson went up to New York, talked about that.

[Ben Ferguson]

Absolutely she should.

[Ted Cruz]

But they said you shouldn't say that. They said that's bullying from a politician, should stay out of it. How dare you bully the universities. That's what I was watching on TV this week. Now, granted, I was in shock. While I'm watching, I'm like, wow, there's a new standard.

[Ben Ferguson]

By the way, Columbia gets millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government, from taxpayer monies. Why are we sending money to a university, your money that you pay with taxes, why are we sending it there? To create an environment where terror and harassment and hate are normalized, are welcomed, are celebrated. And by the way, for the some 270 Jewish students who've been advised stay home because you can't go safely. Let me tell you what, every one of them, they ought to file a class action lawsuit against Colombia and against NYU and against any of these other schools and say, look, we paid you $70,000 in tuition and now you're not honoring your contract. You're not actually teaching your classes. Columbia's canceled their classes. They're teaching it all remotely because they won't stand up to the radicals and the Jewish students. There is an obligation when you pay tuition that you're going to protect my safety. That is part of the contractual obligation. And Colombia is on a racial matter, discriminating against Jews and saying, because we Marxists view you as oppressors, we're not going to protect your Safety, you're on your own. Sorry.

[Ted Cruz]

Talk about liability for these universities. They're admitting while trying to have it both ways, they're saying, well this is freedom of speech. But you just mentioned they're canceling graduation ceremonies. They're canceling classes, like for the rest of the year. For the year.

[Ben Ferguson]

By the way, USC canceled their graduation ceremony. I gotta say, I feel really bad. Seniors right now at USC were seniors in high school in 2020.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

So they had their graduation canceled in 2020 because of COVID and a bunch of idiots. And now they're having their college graduation canceled because of rabid antisemitism and a bunch of idiots.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah. In fact there was a student that mentioned this saying, I'm not gonna get to graduate twice because of this. Take a look.

[C]

So USC just canceled our graduation. I literally, I have no words. Like this is so like, it's actually comical at this point. If you don't know the seniors that are graduating college right now are the seniors that graduated in 2020 where we didn't have a high school graduation and a lot of us had like drive thru fake graduations or no graduation at all. And now we are seniors about to graduate, getting ready for our first real graduation and it just got cancelled. I, I literally just like, I just can't even. I'm in shock right now. We as a whole senior class have never had a real graduation because of COVID first, which we thought was like a one time thing. Like we're the class that got screwed over. It is what it is. Unlucky now. USC just canceled it. And of course usc, we've all worked so hard to get here. Usc, I'm sure, you know, is not an easy school to get into. And so everyone that goes here is very accomplished. Like had worked really hard to get in and now they just canceled our freaking graduation. Like what now? What? Like what now? They sent out an email 10 minutes ago about how they know it's disappointing, but they're canceling it and they're gonna have other fun events, which I don't even know what that means. I understand that like a lot has been going on at USC right now with like protests and everything. I just feel like there could have been a different way to go about this than to cancel the entire graduation for a class that never even got a high school graduation either.

[Ted Cruz]

It's almost like it's lack of institutional control from the universities. I feel bad for this student and.

[Ben Ferguson]

All the students and they don't care about the students. One of the problems with the Marxists is their ideology matters more than everything. So listen, it is a tiny fringe that are conducting these protests, these anti Semitic displays. But the rest of the students get screwed over, as she's saying. Like, you know, it is not the majority of students that are out there, but the interest of the majority of the students. The administrators don't care because part of the view of the modern leftist is politics trumps everything. All right, I want you to watch another exchange from California, this one at ucla, and I want to set the stage. Here you've got presumably a UCLA student, a young Jewish man, I assume, who is holding an Israeli flag. And you see a UCLA professor lose it, begin screaming and losing her mind. Watch this exchange. I'm saying that you won't provoke the people here with not a good reason.

[Ted Cruz]

Do I look like I'm provoking?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yes, you can fear the people, provoke them. That's what you're doing. They're spreading fear. They're not spreading fear. They're trying to protect the innocent kids that are meaningful.

[Ted Cruz]

What do you have to say?

[Ben Ferguson]

Can't get mad at the freedom of protest.

[Ted Cruz]

It's our amendment, right? We have the freedom of speech. But this is problem.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's bad, it's bad for you. It's just reactionary. I'm here to show Jews to us that we do not need to be afraid. You should be with them as other Jewish people have been, because they recognize what kind of atrocities being committed. The kids are barely getting killed by Hamas terrorists.

[Ted Cruz]

You're inciting. That's a professor telling a student that he's inciting people by holding up an Israeli flag. And that's the woman who's teaching our kids.

[Ben Ferguson]

She's a professor. She can present no argument. Later on in that exchange, he asked her because she starts screaming about genocide. He asked her, what is genocide? She can't say, what are the facts of genocide? Genocide is murdering an entire people, eliminating an entire people. He points out the Palestinian population is growing. It's not like if it were genocide, you would see the population. You know who committed genocide? The Nazis, when they murdered 6 million Jews. That's what genocide is, is exterminating a people. By no stretch of the imagination is Israel committing genocide. What they are doing is killing Hamas terrorists. Now, in the process of killing Hamas terrorists, there are some civilian deaths. Why are there civilian deaths? Because Hamas wants Palestinian civilians to die. Why is that? Because they use them as human shields. Human shields are a war crime. Hamas deliberately embeds itself surrounded by Palestinian Civilians. They based their military headquarters in the basement of a hospital. Why? Because if the Israelis bombed their headquarters, the result would be you bombed a hospital, and you would have literally dead Palestinian mothers and dead Palestinian infants. And it makes the Israelis look like the monsters. Understand, it's the Hamas terrorist. And by the way, Israel didn't bomb the hospital. They. They. They ended up saying, which actually Hamas knew they would, that the human shields would work. They would not be willing to bomb the Hamas headquarters because of the innocent civilians. Hamas stores missiles in the basements of kindergartens. They use Palestinian children deliberately as human shields. By the way, I've authored, number one, a resolution unanimously passed through the Senate condemning the use of human shields as a war crime. Hamas does that every day. And number two, imposing sanctions on anyone who uses human shields. But you know who hadn't imposed the sanctions?

[Ted Cruz]

Who's that?

[Ben Ferguson]

Joe Biden. The law I authored mandates sanctions if you use human shields. But the Biden administration sides with Hamas, so they are sanctioning Israelis. Joe Biden's reaction to this war to October 7th is to sanction Jews in Israel and not to go after Hamas. In fact, to give money to Hamas, to give money to Iran. That's their approach. And you look at that professor. A professor is supposed to be someone who can teach you. Yeah, professor's supposed to be someone who starts from knowledge. You look at her discussion. She doesn't know anything about Israel. She doesn't know anything about the Palestinians. She just screams Israel bad.

[Ted Cruz]

You shouldn't be here inciting people because you're Jewish.

[Ben Ferguson]

Being Jewish is incitement. How dare you have an Israeli flag? And he's saying, look, I'm showing Jews need not be afraid and listen. Presumably between a professor and a student, one would think the professor would be more mature. They're older. They're the teacher. You expect the teacher to be able to teach. That crazy lady is not able to teach anything. She is absolutely losing her mind, just screaming with rage, and it's ignorant rage. She doesn't know any facts. She has just been taught to hate. You know what? That crazy lady agrees with the organizer at Columbia that Zionists don't deserve to live. Yeah, that. That is. That bigotry is part of the faculty of ucla.

[Ted Cruz]

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[Ben Ferguson]

The chance shows they're not even hiding it.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, they're not.

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean, this is organized, this is deliberate. And there's real money behind it. And if you look at it in many instances. So copycat tents have been seen at Harvard, at Yale, at Berkeley, at Ohio State, at Emory. And they're organized by branches of the Students for Justice in Palestine sjp, funded by George Soros. Now, how much does that mean? Well, at three colleges, the protesters are being encouraged by paid radicals. And we now actually can follow the money. We have some specificity. Those paid radicals are called, quote, fellows of a Soros funded group called the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, US CPR. Now, US CPR pays up to $7,800 for its community based fellows. And between $2,880 and $3,660 for its campus based fellows in return for spending eight hours a week.

[Ted Cruz]

Can we just pause there?

[Ben Ferguson]

Organizing campaigns led by Palestinian organizations.

[Ted Cruz]

I want to make sure people understand this is not a little bit of money. This is big money. Eight hours a week, not 40 hours in the week. When you can make $3,660 for spending eight hours a week, that's one day of work.

[Ben Ferguson]

And by the way, 7,800. That's $8,000 for eight hours a week.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

That's a thousand bucks an hour.

[Ted Cruz]

That's like bribery to students almost. That's big money.

[Ben Ferguson]

Look, that's real money. And there's a reason why these folks are showing up. Showing up. And, and we know that the radical groups received at least $300,000 from Soros's Open Society foundation since 2017. And it also took in 355,000 from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund since 2019. Let me stop and say something. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Let me ask you, is there anybody around the Rockefeller Brothers, Brothers Fund who's not an anti Semite, who's not a bigot, who, who's not an anti American, vicious Marxist? If there is, get him to stop it. Let me ask you, who funds the Rockefeller Brothers funds? I'm assuming the Rockefeller Brothers. I don't know. But are there any donors that care? Is there any employee there that's not an anti Semite? If you work at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, unless you've been fitted for your brown shirt recently, you ought to resign because you're funding these attacks, you're funding these threats. You know what? If you work at Soros's Open Society, you're responsible for Jewish students being terrified to go to campus because their lives are being threatened. Is there anybody that holds them accountable? These people ought to be pariahs. These people ought to be treated just as if they're wearing KKK robes. Because they are functionally, they're funding it. And you know what? These same leftists, they're going to the opera, they're going out in high society in New York and they're being welcomed. This is disgusting. And they ought to be embarrassed because they're paying to destroy our colleges, to destroy our young people, to destroy America. Look, I actually have a friend of mine who's a very, very successful tech entrepreneur. And I was asking him, what is the deal with George Soros? I've never met the guy. I don't know the guy. I don't understand his motivations. What is behind the billions of dollars he's spending to destroy America?

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

And this friend of mine who does know Soros, his analogy, he said, he said Soros is like Magneto from the X Men movies.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

And if you look at Magneto, Magneto is twisted by hate and he hates humanity. I don't know if this is true or not, but it's an interesting theory. And I can't speak to his motivations, I don't know what they are, but I can speak to the results of his motivations, to what he is in fact doing. And he is spending billions of dollars funding people, funding left wing DA's who let murderers go, let rapists go, and the result is more murders and more rapes. Now, as far as I can tell, you only do that if you want to see more Americans murdered and more Americans raped.

[Ted Cruz]

You want chaos.

[Ben Ferguson]

You want chaos, you want suffering. You know what I understand that from? I look at a movie like Batman, that sounds like something the Joker wants. I mean, it is. It's why the Magneto analogy is not bad. It is like a comic book villain. Normal people don't have a rational argument. What we need to do is let more murderers go, even though we know it will result in more innocent people being murdered. We should do that anyway. That is not a normal argument. That is an argument that is driven from extreme ideology and I think in all likelihood is driven by hate. And that is precisely who is funding what's happening on these campuses right now.

[Ted Cruz]

Let's go back and look at the hierarchy of this. Just to put it in perspective. In the hours after the attack on Israel, you had to call out the United States government, the Biden administration, repeatedly, repeatedly. And I want you to go through that quickly in a second. But you had to call them out for basically holding Israel to a standard. They're not holding Hamas too, which is if Israel responds and protects itself and anyone dies that they're somehow evil, you then have a White House that's doubled down on that. You then have people like Alamo Mar and others in the Senate and the Democratic Party that have done the same exact thing. You then have that trickle down to the presidents of these universities. And we saw them go before Congress and none of them, by the way, got fired. Some of them aren't presidents anymore, but they still got their six figure salaries. They're still indoctrinated kids on campus. None of them lost their access to the university, which they've taken away from even some Jewish professors this week. So then that trickles down into the base professors, which we just played a moment ago, which then trickles down into the students that can hate Jews, and then it trickles down into the outside non students who are the protesters that are there. And yet you could fix all of this. The way that we've seen in Texas this week, the way we've seen it in Florida this week, where these protesters come out in those universities in those states and they said, we're not putting up with this crap. So this is all being done and organized and allowed by the universities, by law enforcement, by Democrats who are locally elected, and they could stop it all in a matter of days, but they're saying, no, no, let's keep going and let's keep this growing.

[Ben Ferguson]

Look, that's true, but I will say it's not even a question of trickling down. It's really trickling up. This started in the universities, this poison. As you know, the first chapter of my book on woke is colleges and universities, the Wuhan lab of the Woke virus.

[Ted Cruz]

Can I say something about your book real quick? When you wrote your book, we didn't know any of this was going to happen. I will tell everyone watching, listening, go buy it. I've read it and now there's so much that you wrote about that's happening in real time. If you didn't get it, get it, because you did. You spent an entire book and I think you saw this is coming down the pipeline.

[Ben Ferguson]

It explains exactly what's happening and so many people are confused. But I want to read something that was tweeted by Carol Markowitz. Now, Carol Markowitz is a columnist at the New York Post, and she said something online that I think was really quite powerful. She said, quote, a lot of Jewish friends, especially those who are finally awake after October 7th, say things like, quote, how is this America? Or quote, it's so scary that this Jew hatred is happening everywhere, but it's very much not America. And it's absolutely not happening everywhere. In South Florida, Jews wear the dinner plate Megan Davids and no one says one word. In rural Michigan, churches put pray for Israel on the signs outside. I'm not naive. Obviously Jew haters can and do live anywhere, but they're only thriving, open, proud in blue areas. And I'm not going to let people ignore that. A lot of liberal Jews are trying to parse things right now. They imagine that they are still of the left, but just on this one tiny little thing, their right to exist. They disagree. No, my friends, it's a house of cards. And you're pulling the one from the very bottom. The whole left ideology is corrupt and you're going to have to face it. You can't spread the blame around. The hatred, the rage, the violence, the dehumanization is all coming from one side. Yours. A second example is an op ed that was written in jns. It was written by Jonathan Bernitsky. It's entitled Jewish Democrats Wake up. And it says at the outset, quote, the anti Semitic right is a fringe phenomenon while the anti Semitic left is mainstream, powerful and shaping America's future. And I'm just going to read the beginning of this because it's really quite powerful. Quote, this is addressed to you, my fellow Jews, since most of you are Democrats. You've heard from liberal colleagues that Tucker Carlson, who show you've never watched, has been flirting with antisemites. You've been told by liberal friends that Candace Owens, whose show you've never watched, has been picking fights with Ben Shapiro, whose show you've never watched from CNN and msnbc. You know that a pack of guys with citronella tiki torches marched through Charlottesville while shouting the Jews will not replace us. And that's why you've convinced yourself that there are far more anti Semites on the right than there are on the left. I wish to pose several questions. How many of the thousands of individuals who gathered in Times Square on October 8, 2023 and chanted Resistance is justified and Glory to our martyrs are registered Republican voters and plan to cast their ballots for Donald Trump? How many of the individuals who barricaded Jewish students inside Cooper Union's library on Oct. 25, 2023, pounded on the doors and carried signs that read Zionism Hands off our universities are registered Republicans and plan to cast their ballots for Donald Trump? How many of the thousands of individuals who rallied in Manhattan on December 25, 2023 and carried banners emblazoned with the words quote, by any means necessary and quote, resistance until return are registered Republicans and plan to cast their ballots for Donald Trump? How many of the thousands on thousands of individuals who assembled at Columbia University on February 2 and shouted Globalize the Intifada and Death to the Zionist state are registered Republican voters and plan to cast ballots for Donald Trump? How many of the individuals who amassed in Dearborn, Michigan on April 5 and yell death to America and Death to Israel are registered Republicans and plan to cast their ballots for Donald Trump? How many of the thousands of individuals who blocked traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge and other cities on April 15 and carried the Flag of Hezbollah are registered Republicans and plan to cast their ballots for Donald Trump. How many of the hundreds of thousands of individuals who have participated in the thousands of anti Zionist and pro Hamas protests across the country since October 7th are registered Republicans and plan to cast their ballots for Donald Trump? And then he answers it. He said the answer to every question posed above is close to zero, if not none. He goes on. Yet we've been told by reporters and commentators at august publications and news networks, leaders of esteemed nonprofits, academics at prestigious colleges and universities, and career civil servants at major three letter federal government agencies that antisemitism is solely a problem of the right. Yes, fringe right wing anti Semites are a problem. They should be considered a threat. But they are on the fringe. And because these fringe elements continued to be the near exclusive target of the left's so called fight against anti Semitism, it's more apparent than ever that our elites are purposely engaged in a partisan game. This next paragraph is the most important paragraph in the op ed. Right wing anti Semites are kooks and grifters. Left wing anti Semites are college professors, newspaper editors, Hollywood stars, a growing number of Democratic members of Congress, and quite a few Biden administration officials. They have immense cultural and political influence and they are decisively shaping the future of America. I don't know how you can dispute one word that was written there. And that is a point that explains why these universities are sick, why these college students are being fed poison, why the administrators are afraid to stand up to the bigoted lies, why Democrat politicians are celebrating the bigoted lies AOC and Ilhanim Omar are are going and cheering on the anti Semites and why even so called mainstream Democrat politicians like Joe Biden stand happily by while the squad cheers on the anti Semites.

[Ted Cruz]

It's a great point when a mother with an unplanned pregnancy meets her baby on ultrasound. You may not realize this, but that moment of hearing that baby's heartbeat on ultrasound doubles the chance that she chooses life. And that's why I want you to know about Preborn. Preborn is an incredible organization that is providing those ultrasounds to mothers that are in need. By six weeks a child's eyes are forming and by 10 weeks a baby is able to suck his or her own thumb. And for just $28 you can join with me and make a difference than helping choose between life and death. These machines are put out all over the country at different clinics where mothers can actually hear their own child's heartbeat and you can help double the chance of choosing life. In that situation. It is really easy to get involved with preborn. This is an organization that is taking on Planned Parenthood. They are out there protecting life instead of taking life. And that is why I'm asking you to partner with me now. Getting involved is actually really easy. Number one, all gifts are tax deductible. You can donate by dialing £250. That's it. Just dial £250 and say the word baby. That's £250. Say the word baby. To donate securely, you can also go to preborn.com verdict and your donation right now, in fact, just a $28 donation will cover one of those ultrasounds. So if you're ready to stand up for life, if you want to make sure that mothers have a chance to hear their own baby's heartbeat and choose life, get in the fight, just like the left is fighting every day. And stand up for unborn children right now. Make a phone call. £250. All right. Hit that on your phone and say the word baby. To donate securely, you can also go to preborn.com verdict that's preborn.com verdict Senator, last question I want to ask you about what's happening on college campuses is we talked about following the money and we now know who's behind it. Isn't there an obligation now for people that went to these universities to stand up and say, not only do we think at Columbia the president should resign, but you're not getting another dime from me until we see significant changes? You look at Robert Kraft, the Patriots owner. He really came out and did some interviews. He didn't just stop the flow of money. And there are buildings named after him at Columbia. He has been a massive donor. He said, they're not getting another dime of my money. And he didn't just say it. He went out and explained it and challenged others to do the same thing? We need people to do that all over the country in a big way.

[Ben Ferguson]

Absolutely, yes. And you look at Robert Kraft with Columbia. You look at Bill Ackman with Harvard. Bill Ackman played a pivotal role in Claudine Gay stepping down. You look at Mark Rowan with Penn. Mark played a pivotal role. These are all very, very successful leaders in business who've been massive, massive multimillion dollar donors to these universities who've taken leading roles, speaking out and saying what is happening is disgraceful. The antisemitism, the radicalism that you are allowing the DEI oppression. And by the way, this anti Semitism is The fruit of dei, the intersection.

[Ted Cruz]

That don't know what DEI stands for. Explain that more.

[Ben Ferguson]

It is diversity, equity and inclusion. And it is the vehicle within universities where they teach this nonsense. They teach this racism.

[Ted Cruz]

They.

[Ben Ferguson]

They teach that Jews are oppressors and Palestinians are victims. Look, here's an illustration and let's play this as our final clip. Ilhan Omar talking about the protest. Give a listen. How do you think this will translate to the Jewish students who are facing anti Semitism here on campus? So I actually met a lot of Jewish students that are in the encampment and I think it is really unfortunate that people don't care about the fact that all Jewish kids should be kept safe and that we should not have to tolerate anti Semitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they are pro genocide or anti genocide. What utter garbage. Whether they are pro genocide or anti genocide. Understand what she's saying. If you're not protesting in favor of Hamas, then you are a pro genocide Jewish. Now Israel is not remotely committing genocide and in fact they go to extraordinary lengths to avoid civilian casualties. They are killing terrorists. Do you know who is trying to commit genocide? Hamas. Hamas. When they entered on October 7, they were only murdering Jews. They were looking for Jews. They were murdering them because they are Jews. That is genocide when you are trying to wipe out a people.

[Ted Cruz]

Look at the rocket attacks the other day. They were. They weren't targeting any one building, they were just targeting any part of Israel.

[Ben Ferguson]

Any Jew. Like we started off with the Columbia organizer. He wants to kill Zionists, by which he means Jews. She's saying. And this is where the left. It is Orwellian. They turn things upside down. You know who is pro genocide? Hamas. The same Hamas she supports the same Hamas the protesters support. You know who is anti genocide? Israel. Israel is trying to save the lives of civilians. Hamas is also ironically pro Palestinian genocide. Why? Because they put Palestinian civilians in harm's way and they want them to die because they know the useful idiots will use the deaths of those Palestinian civilians to attack Israel. That is the sad reality of of cultural Marxism. This is the fruits of this poison that has taken over our institutions.

[Ted Cruz]

Don't forget we do the show Monday, Wednesday, Friday, we do a week in review that for anything you may have missed during the week on Saturdays, hit that subscribe auto download button as well. If you're watching this episode on YouTube, make sure you hit that follow button on YouTube as well and write us a five star review wherever you are listening to this podcast to help us reach news, new people. The senator and I will see you back here in a couple of days.