Merry Christmas!
Emails Released on Decision to Not Allow a Menorah Lighting in Williamsburg
Antisemitism at the Universities: Crisis in Education, Moral Clarity from Congress
Another Green Energy Co. Failing after Getting Millions from U.S. Government
Merry Christmas!
Every week we update you here on our activities in Washington and around the country. There’s another word for this information – tidings, which means news. It’s a term usually trotted out only at Christmas time.
And then it takes on lustrous connotations.
In the English carol, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” we find these lyrics:
We wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy New Year.
Good tidings we bring
To you and your kin;
The word appears in another English carol, “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen.”
God rest you merry, Gentlemen,
Let nothing you dismay,
For Jesus Christ our Saviour
Was born upon this Day.
To save poor souls from Satan’s power,
Which long time had gone astray.
Which brings tidings of comfort and joy.
As you might have noted above, in the earliest versions of the carol’s first line the comma was in a different place than it is today. Because of the way people understood the word rest several hundred years ago, inserting the comma after “God rest you merry” created the meaning of “God keep you pleasant, bountiful, and prosperous.”
There’s a related word, tide, which means a season. Thus we have Christmastide, which, like tidings, we don’t use often today.
I’ve taken this etymological journey to arrive here: Amid all the bad news, and fake news, in our time, we can still celebrate the Good News of this season. We can recall that some things haven’t changed since the first Christmas, which was darkened by a wicked ruler, crooked tax assessors, and an unborn child at risk. And life was no easier centuries later when these carols were written.
What is important is that there was, and still is, Good News to celebrate.
At this Christmastime, I am grateful that all of us here at Judicial Watch can say to all of you, our friends and supporters, “God keep you pleasant, bountiful, and prosperous.”
Merry Christmas!
Emails Released on Decision to Not Allow a Menorah Lighting in Williamsburg
The celebration of Hanukkah has been marred by politicized cancel culture directed at this celebratory holiday. Judicial Watch just received 91 pages of records detailing the controversy that erupted in Williamsburg, VA, over a decision to not include a menorah lighting at the “Second Sundays Art and Music Festival” because of the conflict in Israel and Gaza.
We received the records from the city of Williamsburg in response to a December 8 Virginia Freedom of Information Act request for:
All emails sent to and from members of the Williamsburg City Council related to the lighting, proposed lighting, and/or cancellation of the lighting of a menorah at the 2nd Sundays Art and Music Festival that was to take place on December 10, 2023.
Jewish leaders were reportedly told that the festival board was not comfortable allowing the lighting at the festival. Shirley Vermillion, the festival’s founder, reportedly said the menorah lighting “seemed very inappropriate” given current events in Israel and Gaza.
Emails from individuals as far away as Massachusetts and California expressed anger at the decision.
On December 4 festival organizer Vermillion emails multiple officials with the subject line: “Emergency meeting please re’ Lovelight Placemaking’s decision to not move forward with menorah lighting being labeled antisemitic!”
Hi, all, I am getting ready for work… I’m not even sure when my last patient is today, but I will try reaching back to this group with a potential time that I will be coming to the police department right after work today. I was trying not to reach out to any of you all last night and I don’t have all of the proper emails on this email Anyway. I am so sad that misinformation is being given out to the public and the Jewish community are leading up all over the country and probably World. The Daily Press released an article without speaking to me, making it seem like a menorah lighting has been a regular occurrence at Second Sundays… You all know that we have never done that… When we chose to not take sides, religious or culturally and go forward with Rabbi, Mendy Heber’s request to add it to Second Sundays and wanted to include a firetruck doing a geld drop they decided to get really ugly. Clearly, his event needed to be a separate one… He wanted to tagalong to our event because there are thousands of people as a target audience for the menorah, celebration and geld drop Already in place of our 14 yrs of hard work building the festival. Where he was wanting to have the firetruck and the lighting area has to be kept open for cars entering and exiting that parking garage next to the community building… And just in general, the festival is absolutely full of patrons, especially this time of year… we have never chosen sides and truly it was my mistake to even seem open to the discussion in the beginning. I am not a TV or news watcher at all… I knew that there was a conflict going on… I have seen no footage, and when I presented it to my board, family and significant others. They quickly said have you lost your mind we absolutely are not going to two sides in anyway… We are sticking to our mission of only promoting Music &arts that we have done for 14 years. I am very sad that all of the comments are also now involving the city… It’s so blown out of control that nothing I or we say as an organization will make a difference. I need help and we need a plan because I am pretty sure that the Jewish community will show up in Forss on Sunday to protest… and I have received threat which is why I called the nonemergency number last night and said that I would come in today after talking to the police officer and let them see my phone and the messages.
So very sorry to involve you. I’m so sad that my event and nonprofit, that we work so hard at keeping, inclusive and welcoming to all cultures, and people is being targeted in such an evil way.
On December 4, Mark Herrmann writes to Mayor Pons:
It looks like Shirley Vermillion is in over her head with the menorah controversy, and it’s going a little bit viral. Can the City give her some help with crisis communications? From the Daily Press story it sounds like there may be a couple valid explanations for their decision, but those are getting lost in the shuffle because of her other unfortunate comments.
As a Williamsburg native (long ago), I’d hate to see this reflect negatively on the City or on CW. If you have a lifeline you could throw her, I think that might be a good idea.
The records include a draft proclamation by Pons declaring December 7, 2023, Menorah Illumination Day after receiving a suggested proclamation from Rabbi Heber and attending an alternate menorah lighting ceremony at the College of William and Mary.
Williamsburg City officials moved to distance themselves from the decision. On December 4, City Manager Andrew Trivette writes in an email to City Council Group and Executive Team:
Lovelight Placemaking is scheduled to host Second Sundays this weekend. Apparently they received a request to also have the event be host to a local Hanukkah celebration, which they decided not to accept.
The decision has gotten a lot of local and national attention and many are confusing the decisions made by Lovelight Placemaking with the view, opinions, and decisions of the City of Williamsburg. The City was not consulted on the proposed Hanukkah celebration and had no role in the decisions made by Lovelight Placemaking.
In this email, he also suggests that officials refer correspondents to the City Council, using a standard response that includes:
[W]e became aware that a community organization made a decision regarding the content of its planned event. Lovelight Placemaking’s decision was theirs alone. The City of Williamsburg has no role in curating the artists, vendors, or participants of 2nd Sundays.
To several correspondents, however, City Councilman Caleb Rogers on December 4 writes in part:
I am hopeful the decision will be reversed as I recognize the celebration of Jewish holidays should not be seen as a political position, no matter where they happen in the world.
We will be in closer communication with the Lovelight company so that no group feels their beliefs are not welcome.
On December 7, Vermillion sends an email to city officials with the subject line: “We will be canceling 2nd Sundays for December 10 due to an extremely wet & windy weather forecast but I have not let the Artist know yet. Just wanted to give you all a heads up.”
The email reads:
I will be emailing the artists tonight or in the morning. I know you don’t do a public announcement I am working on a letter with some professionals.
Doug [Mayor Doug Pons] & I spent several hours on Tues (Doug called & Rabbi [Mendy Heber] invited him over – stayed for 3 hours or so then we both went over after I got off work & stayed for another 2-3 hrs- they insisted on feeding us dinner) at Rabbi Mendy & Esther’s house – they love 2nd Sundays & are devastated at how things went down. We’ll see … hoping the love can repopulate where hate ran rampant.
Among those objecting to the decision was the journalist and author David Harsanyi, who writes in part:
Though I’ve spent 20 years writing about anti-Semitism, I was still completely taken aback by Shirley Vermillion’s rejection of menorah lighting. It is utterly disgraceful. My wife and I moved to this community two years ago, and we still believe Williamsburg to be an outstanding place that takes its historical heritage seriously. But this incident is stain on that reputation. I’m no fan of crowds or tourists, to put it mildly, but even I enjoy attending 2nd Sunday. I would never go now. And I will urge everyone I know not to attend.
***
It turns out that Vermillion also told Rabbi Heber that board members would be OK with proceeding with the lighting if the event was held “under a cease fire banner.” That is outrageous, as well. What does this all look like if Vermillion held Muslims collectively responsible for the actions of Hamas? Imagine if Vermillion demanded Muslims hold up signs condemning al Qaeda? Vermillion is either an anti-Semite or an ignoramus – though, there is a not small chance she is both.
On December 4, a person named Danny writes to Mayor Doug Pons, copying the city council:
I plan on visiting your city at some point in the next few months, but I read in the NY Post your city is attempting to be judenrein [the Nazi German word for Jew-free] … As I am Jewish, can you assure me that I will be safe that I will not be banned, or worse lynched, as I celebrate Hanukah?
A person from Maryland on December 4 writes to city council members:
My wife and I have been visiting Williamsburg at least annually (sometimes more) for the last 45 years. We always stay in Colonial Williamsburg and make annual donations to Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. We always considered Williamsburg to be our own “special place”. Now, with these actions, I don’t feel welcome there…. This war in Israel is not a “Jewish” war it is an Israeli war.
A person sends a message tweeted by Congressman Rob Wittman:
It is disturbing to see this Hanukkah celebration canceled in my district – everyone deserves to practice their religion freely without facing intolerance. I stand with the Williamsburg Jewish community, and I urge the event organizers to reverse course.
These documents show more details and reaction to the infamous cancellation of the menorah lighting event in Williamsburg. The cancellation of a public celebration of Hanukkah for political reasons should be concerning to all Americans.
Antisemitism at the Universities: Crisis in Education, Moral Clarity from Congress
Our nation’s elite universities have succumbed almost completely to the extremist Left. Micah Morrison, our chief investigative reporter, looks at what may turn out to be a historic inflection point for this crisis in Judicial Watch’s Investigative Bulletin:
Americans don’t look to Congress for moments of riveting moral clarity, but that’s what Representative Elise Stefanik, Republican of New York, delivered on December 6th. The occasion was a sleepy hearing of the Committee on Education and the Workforce. Testifying before the committee on the upsurge of antisemitism on college campuses were three leaders at the pinnacle of elite American education: University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, MIT President Sally Kornbluth, and Harvard President Claudine Gay.
Stefanik was stewing. She had been trying for the entire hearing to get the college presidents on the record condemning shocking reports of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel practices, only to be politely, smugly swatted away with legalisms and bureaucratic prattle.
The October 7 Hamas mass murders in Israel kicked off a new wave of antisemitism, but conservatives have long been pointing to increasing intolerance at America’s elite institutions, particularly when it comes to the treatment of right-leaning intellectuals. Harvard leads the way. Nearly a decade ago, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Harvard graduate, warned in a speech to the graduating class that “on many college campuses, it is liberals trying to repress conservative ideas, even as conservative faculty members are at risk of becoming an endangered species. And perhaps nowhere is that more true than here in the Ivy League.” A new study by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression ranked Harvard dead last for free speech out of 248 schools surveyed. The “speech climate” at Harvard, the study noted, is “abysmal.”
Professor Gay, the Harvard president, has been complicit in the war against conservative thought for years. The Wall Street Journal notes she had roles opposing law professor Ronald Sullivan for working on the defense team of a serial sex offender (Harvey Weinstein) and data science professor David Kane, who had the gall to invite controversial “Bell Curve” author Charles Murray to Harvard. Professor Kane’s contract was not renewed. You don’t have to be a fan of Weinstein or the “Bell Curve” to recognize a grievous assault on free academic discourse here.
In recent weeks, as well, Professor Gay has come under scrutiny for allegedly plagiarizing the work of legal scholar Carol Swain and others. Harvard brushed off the plagiarism charges, saying it found only “a few instances of inadequate citation” and no “research misconduct.” Swain is irate, telling media outlets that Gay “plagiarized my work as well as several other people.”
Representative Stefanik, also a Harvard graduate, has been fighting the culture wars from Congress. Her goal at the hearing seemed simple: get the university presidents to condemn campus upheaval, particularly the calls for the genocide of the Jews. Mass murder, genocide—bad. It doesn’t seem complicated.
But the university presidents had another view. Genocide is a matter of “context,” they explained. The genocide of the Jews is a “context dependent decision,” in the words of U. Penn President McGill.
It was a fascinating C-SPAN moment. To a conservative observer, decades of the academic Left’s proselytizing Marxist moral relativism—the dominant mode of thought in American higher education for a generation—came rushing to the witness table and out of the mouths of the presidents. And to even a casual observer, it was clear that Rep. Stefanik was struggling to keep her head from exploding.
You can watch the exchange here.
Some key moments:
ELISE STEFANIK: Ms. Magill, at Penn, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn’s rules or code of conduct, yes or no?…
LIZ MAGILL: It is a context dependent decision, Congresswoman.
ELISE STEFANIK: It’s a context dependent decision? That’s your testimony today? Calling for the genocide of Jews is, depending upon the context, that is not bullying or harassment?…
LIZ MAGILL: If the speech becomes conduct, it can be harassment, yes.
ELISE STEFANIK: Conduct meaning committing the act of genocide? The speech is not harassment. This is unacceptable, Ms. Magill. I’m going to give you one more opportunity for the world to see your answer. Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn’s code of conduct when it comes to bullying and harassment, yes or no?
LIZ MAGILL: It can be harassment.
ELISE STEFANIK: The answer is yes. And Dr. Gay, at Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules of bullying and harassment, yes or no?
CLAUDINE GAY: It can be. Depending on the context.
ELISE STEFANIK: What’s the context?
CLAUDINE GAY: Targeted as an individual, targeted as — at an individual, severe, pervasive.
ELISE STEFANIK: It’s targeted at Jewish students, Jewish individuals. Do you understand your testimony is dehumanizing them? Do you understand that dehumanization is part of antisemitism? I will ask you one more time. Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules of bullying and harassment, yes or no?….
CLAUDINE GAY: Antisemitic rhetoric, when it crosses into conduct, that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation. That is actionable conduct….
ELISE STEFANIK: So, the answer is yes, that calling for the genocide of Jews violates Harvard code of conduct, correct?
CLAUDINE GAY: Again, it depends on the context.
ELISE STEFANIK: It does not depend on the context. The answer is yes. And this is why you should resign. These are unacceptable answers across the board.
The response to the Stefanik moment was swift. U. Penn President Magill resigned. But MIT and Harvard circled the wagons. The MIT governing board noted its “full and unreserved support” for President Kornbluth. Harvard’s leadership issued a public letter expressing its “confidence” that President Gay “is the right leader to help our community heal.”
Here at Judicial Watch, we’re investigating antisemitism on college campuses, including the role of oil-rich, antisemitic, Hamas-supporting Qatar in funding American universities. We won’t quit. Nothing good came from the Hamas massacre in Israel, a story that is still unfolding. But at least it seems to have exposed the depth of the problem with American education here at home.
Another Green Energy Co. Failing after Getting Millions from U.S. Government
We shouldn’t be surprised that behind the environmental mania of the Biden administration are millions of your tax dollars flowing to favored people and their failed enterprises. Our Corruption Chronicles blog reports on the latest boondoggle:
Reminiscent of the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars Obama dispersed to failed green energy ventures, a struggling solar energy company that received millions from the Biden administration is about to fold. The northern California firm is called SunPower and it is dedicated to energy storage and solar power. Last summer the Department of Energy (DOE) gave it a $6.7 million grant and earlier this year it received a $1.4 million contractfrom the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This week SunPower shares are down sharply following a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing warning of “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue operating.
Public funds poured into its coffers as part of an aggressive—and costly—plan to make America green. It began when Biden was vice president and, though the Trump administration halted funding such dubious projects, the money resumed flowing under Biden despite documented failures that have fleeced the American public out of huge sums. They include bankrupt solar panel manufacturer Solyndra, among the most marked failures in the Obama-Biden administration’s effort to force costly alternative energy on consumers. The northern California company received an outlandish $529 million from the government despite the “serious concerns” of U.S. Treasury officials about the risky investment. The controversial deal was suspiciously rushed through for a politically connected entrepreneur that raised large amounts for Obama’s campaign. Judicial Watch investigated the Solyndra scandal and sued both the Obama and Biden administrations for records involving the costly back door deals that led to the loss of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.
A number of other green energy endeavors also failed to take off after receiving hefty investments from Uncle Sam. Among them is Fisker Automotive, a southern California startup that went under after getting nearly $200 million of the $528.7 million that the Obama-Biden administration promised it. The electric car company assured that thousands of jobs would be created in the region hit hard by unemployment and touted innovative plans to develop two lines of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that could go up to 300 miles on a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery. When the government’s multi-million-dollar allocation was announced Biden, then vice president, put the company on a pedestal, saying “the story of Fisker is a story of ingenuity of an American company, a commitment to innovation by the U.S. government and the perseverance of the American auto industry.” Obama Energy Secretary Steven Chu guaranteed Fisker would “save hundreds of millions of gallons of gasoline and offset millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions…” It never materialized.
Another green business that went under after receiving generous government funding under the Obama-Biden administration is ECOtality, another California company that was supposed to make charging stations for electric cars. After getting nearly $100 million from Uncle Sam, it collapsed. A startup called Vehicle Production Group (VPG) went bankrupt after losing $50 million in taxpayer funds awarded under Obama-Biden. VPG was supposed to create special vans for the disabled that run on compressed natural gas. Here is how the Obama administration justified funding the experiment with public dollars: “This project invests in a socially and environmentally responsible product that will create new jobs, promote the use of alternative fuels, and help the U.S. maintain its competitive edge in the automotive industry.” The DOE eventually took the page down, but the wording is straight from the agency’s announcement promoting VPG. Another scandal-plagued green auto program known as Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) received tens of millions of dollars under Obama-Biden with no results.
The Obama administration also launched a multi-million-dollar program to create “green jobs” that will never exist. Back in 2013 a federal audit revealed that the government has blown half a billion dollars to train workers for the fantasy positions to fulfill Obama’s promise of creating 5 million green jobs over the next decade, which predictably has not materialized.
Until next week,
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