Members of the U.S. House of Representatives challenged the organizer of a protest in July that devolved into antisemitic vandalism and the burning of an American flag, pointing out relationships with radical groups and the Chinese Communist Party.
Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, led a letter on Monday signed by eight other Congress members to Manolo De Los Santos, executive director of The People’s Forum.
The left-wing organization describes itself as “a movement incubator for the rocking class and marginalized communities to build unity across historic lines of division at home and abroad.”
Congress members sought answers for the organization’s role in a demonstration on July 24 at Union Station in Washington, D.C., demanding a host of documents. The letter described The People’s Forum’s protests and their organizing of anti-Israel demonstrations across the country as part of “the broader ‘Shut it Down for Palestine’ (SID4P) movement, whose membership roster is comprised of radical anti-Israel organizations.”
The protest took place one day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress on July 24 that some legislators made a point of not attending.
The legislators identified a list of event partners that included the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Code Pink and The People’s Forum. They wrote: “Concerningly, these groups and their affiliates not only destroy property and cause violence on university campuses and federal lands, but also have ties to U.S. foreign adversaries like Hamas, Iran, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).”
The letter described how “The People’s Forum and its partner organizations under SID4P, including Students for Justice in Palestine and AMP, have well-documented connections to Hamas and Iran. For example, SJP and AMP founder Hatem Bazian raised money for KindHearts, which was investigated and had its assets frozen due to coordination with Hamas and Hamas officials.”
Congress members concluded with a list of document demands including The People’s Forum’s communications with event co-organizer ANSWER and Neville Roy Singham, a funder of the group that the letter characterizes as seeking “to promote radical leftist policies in the U.S. on behalf of China.”