Many of Hollywood’s Biggest Stars Broadly Quiet on Israel-Hamas Conflict

Hello, and welcome to the Capitol Report on Entity Television. I'm Steve Lance. And coming up, the Biden administration bolstering support for Israel as a ground invasion into Gaza looms. What's next in rescuing hostages and more on the evacuation of the Gaza Strip. 10 days speakerless, Republicans meeting for hours today to decide a new nominee. This after Steve Scalise could not get the votes and dropped out. Do they have a new nominee? Ground raids are underway in Gaza. Israel today calling on civilians to evacuate the northern part of the Gaza Strip within 24 hours. That's as Israeli troops have begun raids in the region to root out Hamas terrorists. Some Gaza residents are already leaving the area, but Hamas' leadership is telling them to stay put. Elsewhere in the region, more casualties near Israel's northern border. The Associated Press reporting today that Israel shelled its border region with Lebanon. One of the shells landed near a group of journalists covering the fighting, killing one and injuring six others. Reuters confirming that one of its videographers was killed. And one person is dead and three others injured. That's as Hamas called for a day of rage today. Want to warn you that the following footage is graphic and includes video of a stabbing. A Jewish teacher in France is reportedly dead after a knife attack. Two others have been injured. An asylum seeker reportedly went on a stabbing spree attacking various people, screaming allahu akbar. France's President Emmanuel Macron visited the school on Friday afternoon. Also a staffer at the Israeli embassy in China was stabbed on the sidewalk in Beijing. Footage shows the diplomat being stabbed multiple times by a man in white. The attack came after Israel's foreign ministry expressed deep disappointment that Beijing did not condemn Hamas' terrorist attack over the weekend. And lastly, as you can see here, around 500 protesters in the West Bank marched toward the Israeli border as part of the so-called day of rage. Another clip shows Lebanese police dispersing that crowd using tear gas. Harvard University has been under fire after a coalition of student groups blamed Israel for Hamas' terror attacks. The university's president was also criticized for being slow to issue a statement to condemn Hamas. Joining us now to offer us perspective, we have Carrie Sheffield, senior policy analyst at Independent Woman's Voice and a Harvard graduate. Carrie Sheffield, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. Of course, Carrie, I just wanna get your thoughts. Are you disappointed with the, I guess you would maybe say, absence of moral clarity from higher education like Harvard when it comes to condemning these terror attacks? Well, I would say, one correction, we do have moral clarity. They're showing us who they are. They're showing us that they don't care about certain people, that they're willing to make extravagant displays about certain ideologies and certain groups of people. But then when it comes to other groups of people, particularly the Jewish population, they're silent, they're weak. I am a Harvard grad myself. I've been very disappointed, extremely disappointed by the response from the Harvard administration. The Harvard president sent out, I would describe as a really half-hearted video last night. And she, in my view, it seemed like she was just trying to save donors instead of actually have a substantive rejection of this ideology that is infecting her campus. And I think we're starting to see donors who are wanting to pull out and say, unless you actually act like an adult and tell these people who are behaving like bratty teenagers to grow up, to stop engaging in some cases in violence, has shown some really excellent reporting about this. For example, at Columbia University, a Jewish student from Israel was beaten on campus. And it's not isolated, unfortunately. It's been happening not just on Ivy League campuses. So it's very disconcerting. Kerry, I wanna switch gears a little bit here. You were actually present at the White House during the signing of the Abram Accords, a very significant historical moment. In your view, how have these accords impacted the dynamics of the conflict between Israel and Hamas? Well, first, I just wanna say that the contrast between the previous administration and the current one couldn't be more stark in terms of commitment to peace, also show of strength. And it's horrific that this administration was negotiating a $6 billion release of funds when it should have been monitoring and warning the Israelis and conducting intelligence. This apparently has been planned for two years by Hamas, is what they've been saying. And so the previous administration, in terms of these accords, I do think that the reaction so far from the Arab world, I'm glad to see that we haven't seen from these governments, ironically, the type of level of celebration that we see on our own American college campuses, that there has been some restraint. So I think that the Abraham Accords have borne fruit. I pray that this continues. I'm very worried about the response and the escalation. I'm glad to see that the Israeli government is giving advanced notice to evacuate civilians. The Gaza regime certainly did not do that to the Israelis. Kerry Sheffield, as always, really appreciate your perspective. Thank you. 10 days now, and the House of Representatives has not had a speaker. Republicans today nominating Jim Jordan by a slim margin. This after Steve Scalise could not get the votes and dropped out. NTD's Melina Wisecup joins us now from Capitol Hill with some updates. So Melina, tell us more about Jim Jordan's victory. Is it looking like the GOP has somewhat of a plan to take this to the floor, perhaps? Well, Steve, unfortunately right now, it does not look like there is any plan set in stone. Yet again, we've been in the same position all week. Republicans have been in closed doors right behind me. Since earlier this morning, they started with an organizational meeting, and then that was followed by two internal votes. And that result was quite surprising. Chairman Jim Jordan only won that first round by 124 votes compared to 81 with his challenger, Austin Scott, who's a lesser known candidate from Georgia. And it's even more surprising considering the fact that that other candidate, Austin Scott, said he actually didn't even want to become speaker in the first place. He was simply running because he says he can't bear to see the House not functioning. And that's the only reason why he was running. But he did win 81 votes, nearly the same as Jim Jordan. So it still shows the House is still super divided on this, and there are still, we're told, members are saying, around 50 members who aren't willing to back Jim Jordan. And that's surprising also considering the fact that key players like former Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been in supportive of Jim Jordan all day with hopes of trying to get some of his supporters to back Jordan. Take a look at this. Forcing Jim Jordan? I think Jim Jordan would make a great speaker. And we heard from him yet again when he was leaving the meeting, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and he said that he still is optimistic that Jim Jordan can get the votes. Right now, what Jordan is working on is he's going to be trying to talk to those, some 50 members who are still opposing him and really trying to get them on his side so that they can come back again, do another internal vote, and hopefully get the 217 votes he needs before bringing this to the House floor. But some members are really eager to go ahead and get this on the House floor. Here's what some of them told us shortly before this two-round of voting this afternoon. You know, Jim's gonna have to demonstrate that he can get the votes of all the members the same way Steve had to do that. So we'll see. We should go across the street, make it official, and then get back to work. They're gonna see how quickly they can get people back so we can get it done on the floor. My colleagues and I really want to have a speaker by the end of the day, and I believe everybody's working towards that. So that was just before members were heading into this two rounds of voting that they just came out of, and they were optimistic, they were eager to get this on the floor. But unfortunately, when we caught up with them leaving this meeting, they're not in any position to take this to the floor. And they're even saying that they're not even going to stay over the weekend to hash this out, instead coming back on Monday. Now, if they do leave over the weekend and come back on Monday, we'll be right back here at square one again, unless Jim Jordan has garnered enough support to eventually bring this to the floor. But we could very well see Jordan not get the support just like Scalise did, see Jordan step aside, and then have a whole nother rush of new candidates for Republicans to vote on. So that's what we'll be looking at throughout the weekend, Steve. NTD's Melina Wisecup reporting from Capitol Hill. Thank you so much, Melina. And coming up, Harvard alumni lawmakers going after their former school for not condemning the anti-Israel letter. This is pro-Palestine students calling for violence against Jews. And why are some American institutions and public figures remaining silent about the terror attacks by Hamas? A writer joins us to explore the positions that Hollywood celebrities and media organizations are taking on the war, and that and more when we return. Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra, coming to Lincoln Center, David Geffen Hall, October 22nd. Tickets at ShenYunSymphony.com. One in five children worldwide are faced with the reality of living without food. No family dinners, no special treats, no full bellies. All around the world, parents are struggling to feed their children. Toddlers are suffering from acute malnutrition, which stunts their growth. Kids are forced to drop out of school so they can help support their families. COVID, conflict, inflation, and climate have ignited the worst famine in our lifetime. And we're fed up. Fed up with the fact that hunger robs children of their childhood. Fed up with the lack of progress. Fed up with the injustice. Help us brighten the lives of children all over the world by visiting getfedupnow.org. 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And if you're to that point where you can't take it anymore like I was, do your research, find out who the best is, and get it done. Bonatti succeeds where others fail. Anyone who's ever sold a home will tell you it's really hard and it's one of the biggest financial decisions you'll ever make. That's why who you work with matters. Together with HomeLight, we take care of every detail. Welcome back to the Capitol Report. I'm Steve Lance. A group of lawmakers who graduated from Harvard are now criticizing the institution. This after over 30 student groups at Harvard wrote a letter this week blaming Israel for the deadly attacks by Hamas. The lawmakers wrote a letter to Harvard saying, this statement is abhorrent and we demand that you immediately condemn it publicly and clarify that Harvard University strongly opposes this dangerous antisemitism. Harvard President Claudine Gay condemned the attacks by Hamas three days after they happened. She also said that the letter doesn't speak for the university. Now lawmakers Elise Stefanik, Ted Cruz, Dan Crenshaw, and others are all calling on the president to condemn the student's letter. All of the lawmakers are Harvard alumni. Meanwhile, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri calling for the DOJ to investigate pro-Palestine movements on college campuses to investigate who is funding them. As pro-Palestinian groups continue to gain footholds on college campuses, where's the line when it comes to calls for violence? To discuss, we have Sharice Trump, the executive director of Speech First. Sharice Trump, thank you so much for joining us. Yeah, thanks for having me. Sharice, from your vantage point, what did the tensions look like between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian student groups on college campuses? There have always been a combination of both on college campuses. However, the ones that really always wanted to censor speech or compel speech tended to be the pro-Palestinian groups. We've seen a long history of this on campuses with students advocating for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel. And we've seen them actually attempt to compel even Jewish organizations to participate in this movement or lose club funding when these groups do regain control of the student government associations. That was just a couple of years ago. We saw this at Pomona College and a number of schools across the country. So there has been a more outspoken version and ones who want to demand more from the other group. And we've seen that pretty much one-sidedly on the campuses. So how would you say student groups have been reacting to the unfolding Israel-Hamas war on some of these United States college campuses? Yeah, well, I'll say, in knowing that there are a lot of pro-Palestinian groups, I'm not surprised that students are coming out saying that they stand on the side of Palestine. What surprises me the most is that they actually would defend the actions of Hamas and say whatever means necessary for decolonization after seeing the videos and the various footages of the atrocities that have been committed against the Israeli people, against innocent civilians. This is an obvious terrorist attack on the Israeli people. And the fact that there would be so much denial, so much cognitive dissonance on the campuses, I think is really truly appalling. And what you saw at Harvard Law School where you had over 31 organizations who sided on the side of Palestine in this and the side of Hamas and defended their actions, you've seen this across the country now at Columbia. I think over 20 or 30 different colleges now have groups that have signed these letters supporting Hamas as martyrs and saying that they died for a good cause. You see flyers for events where there's imagery of hang gliders coming in over protests in favor of Palestine. The Palestinians are not known for their habitual hobby of hang gliding or paragliding. So obviously this is in direct reference to the attacks on the music festival where many, over 260 civilians were killed and gunned down. It is disappointing and appalling that we have not seen any really decent reaction from the university leadership at these campuses where these students have signed these types of letters. So what is to be done when First Amendment rights ultimately lead to violence or hate speech? Who needs to get involved? Who needs to step in? Or does anybody? Yeah, well, the irony here is that these far left groups are typically the ones that say speech is violence. They're the ones trying to shut down pretty much any speech or idea that they disagree with and saying that it is violence. But when they themselves actually call for literal violence, they believe that it's their free speech rights to make those calls. And that is what the DEI administrators have been doing on campuses. There's videos at University of Washington of DEI administrators defending a pro-Hamas rally where they're calling for the killing of Jews. And the DEI administrators are defending their right to free speech as Jewish students are crying, talking about the fact that these students want to eliminate them from the face of the earth. So this is really the disconnect here when it comes to understanding the difference between protected speech and actually calling for violence. And this is what administrators, it's not difficult for them to figure out how to walk this line properly. It's because they are afraid of the woke mob and it is why they are tiptoeing so much and beating around the bush. Sharice, lastly, how are lawmakers, other leaders and politicians addressing the distinction in your eyes between Hamas's actions and subconsciously giving them cover as they use the Palestinian people as shields? Yeah, well, this is what ends up happening if you believe that the ends justify the means. Hamas militants and terrorists definitely have stated that they see anyone who dies for their cause as a martyr who will be rewarded in the afterlife. So it should be no surprise to us when we see jihadists put civilians in the line of danger, in the line of fire in order to defend themselves because they, again, have convinced themselves that this is all in, you know, all in the means to the end that they are seeking. This is all in good nature for themselves. And one thing you see, that they actually have their headquarters in underground below a hospital. That's intentional so the Israeli military will not strike them directly. This should not be a complicated question of who the bad guy is here, but universities, administrators, far left radicals seem to be making it into a more complex question than it is in order to further their own political agendas. Sharice Trump, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate your perspective. Thank you for having me. We're starting to see what stands American institutions and public figures are taking on the war between Israel and Hamas. Why are some remaining silent to discuss the positions that Hollywood celebrities and media corporations have been taking? We spoke with Leigh Banessis. She's a Harvard School graduate in entertainment and political writer for The Jewish Voice and Look Online. Leigh Banessis, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for having me. Of course, Leigh. Why do you think that so many, I guess you would say normally outspoken celebrities in Hollywood have remained silent on the recent Hamas terror attacks in Israel? I think that they're afraid of being canceled. They're afraid of being threatened, their lives being threatened. They're afraid of losing their liberal Hollywood connections. They're afraid that they're gonna lose Instagram followers or paychecks will dry up or they'll stop to be an influences in Hollywood. They're afraid they're gonna be boycotted. And the general consensus is always to take a liberal stance in Hollywood. Traditionally, liberalism is, you know, very outspoken on atrocities and crime. So how do you think this narrative has kind of shifted and been influenced over the years? And does political correctness, I guess you would say, have an influence here? I think that they're confusing the oppressors who are the Palestinians or Hamas with the victims who are the Israelis. They think that the Palestinians and Hamas are the victims and they've changed the whole narrative. So even after a massive carnage where people are beheaded and there's infanticide and rape causes that people like Angelina Jolie takes up for refugees, they're silent in this situation. And you have someone like Mark Ruffalo who constantly speaks out against Israel. And in this situation said he's neutral, he's not taking sides, and he feels bad about the besiegement and bombardment of Gaza. Their whole narrative is to present Israel as the oppressor instead of as the victim. And this penetrates throughout Hollywood. Steven Spielberg hasn't even said a word about this. Someone who's produced a movie about the Shoah and about genocide has not come out. A Jewish, an avid Jewish supporter who received the Genesis Prize in 2021 has not said a word about this. It's unfathomable. It's literally the pressure in Hollywood to be liberal is so great that it doesn't matter what happens. They will not speak out. You know, we saw the White House Press Secretary Corinne Jean-Pierre unequivocally state that there are not two sides when it comes to this issue. Yet you do see other mainstream media networks airing people that have the other side. Where is the, I guess, balance? Is there a balance between free speech, objective journalism, and I guess, condoning terrorism? Well, I think in this case, when you have such a carnage like this, you don't present an opposing side. It's just like when the Holocaust happened. Nobody said, well, the Germans, this happened with the Germans. This is so clear cut to walk into villages with civilians and just slaughter them that there shouldn't be two sides. And then you have Elon Musk who has Twitter X letting Khomeini, the head of the Supreme Leader of Iran, use Twitter to galvanize support for terrorism, to say, I've never seen the Palestinians in 80 years so encouraged. I've never seen them so alive and encouraged. People are using social media to garner support for terrorism, and it's not being stopped. There's such a thing as free speech, and there's such a thing as inciting violence and carnage and slaughter, and that's what's going on now. Social media is being used to do that, and it's not being halted, which is outrageous to give these people a platform. You have this girl, Maya Khalifa, who is a big porn star on Twitter, and she said, can Hamas please move their camera horizontally so I could see the kidnappings and killings clearer? And since she said that, her Twitter following went up millions, and now she has a bigger voice than ever before, a greater voice than ever before. So, you know, freedom of expression is definitely a double-edged sword, and when it comes to carnage and slaughter, you have to, or encouraging people to commit jihad, you really have to limit it. I mean, there's lives on the line. Liba Nessus, thank you so much for joining us. Really important discussion. Thank you so much. That is all we have for you on The Capitol Report this evening. Thank you for watching. From the nation's capital in Washington, D.C., I'm Steve Lance. Have a nice weekend. See you back here Monday.