New York Congressional Candidate, Running on a Plan To Combat Campus Anti-Semitism, Took Max Donation From Nonprofit Leader Bankrolling Pro-Hamas Protests

New York Democratic congressional hopeful Laura Gillen has centered her campaign around fighting campus anti-Semitism as violent anti-Israel protests take colleges by storm. She also accepted thousands of dollars in donations from David Rockefeller, whose nonprofit has funneled millions to Hamas-friendly groups.

Gillen has repeatedly denounced the campus protests and in September announced her anti-Semitism action plan. She vowed, if elected, to work to leverage federal aid to colleges to force changes in codes of conduct and increase funding to the Office of Civil Rights, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and law enforcement to better respond to threats to synagogues. She also advocated for social media platforms to strengthen content moderation.

"The situation unfolding at Columbia University should be shocking, but sadly antisemitism has been unmasked on campuses across the country," Gillen wrote in an April 22 post. "College presidents need to condemn this hate mongering and ensure the safety of all students."

But in June, Gillen accepted a campaign contribution of $3,300—the maximum allowed—from David Rockefeller, a trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and another $3,300 from his wife, Susan Rockefeller.

Since 2018, the fund has funneled more than $3.4 million to Hamas-friendly groups, the Washington Free Beacon previously reported.

Defense for Children International-Palestine, which serves as a critical cog in Hamas’s propaganda machinery, has received $165,000, for example. The Israeli government designated it as a terror organization in October 2021, arguing that it effectively operates as an extension of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, another terror group.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund has also doled out $580,000 to the Education for Just Peace in the Middle East, a group that has been accused of abusing its charity status to bankroll Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups.

Jewish Voice for Peace, which organized an October 2023 anti-Israel raid on a congressional office building that resulted in over 300 arrests, received funding as well. The group also helped organize and fund campus protests—efforts Gillen has specifically condemned.

"We have all seen the appalling scenes at U.S. universities: chants of 'globalize the intifada' and signs espousing support for Hamas," she wrote in August. "To ensure college administrators implement and enforce codes of conduct on discriminatory acts, the federal government must leverage its funding."

Gillen’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

In May, Congress launched an investigation into the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and nine other funders or supporters of the nationwide anti-Israel protest movement. The Biden-Harris administration has stonewalled the probe, refusing to provide documents in a timely fashion, the Free Beacon reported.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund did not return a request for comment.

This is not the first time Gillen accepted funding from an anti-Israel billionaire. She received a $40,000 salary in 2023 as a fellow of the George Soros-funded dark money behemoth Our American Future Foundation, according to her financial disclosures.

Soros funds several anti-Israel organizations, including Jewish Voice for Peace and the Tides Center. Community Justice Exchange, a Tides project, provided "money bail, court fees and fines" and other legal services to anti-Israel protesters who blocked bridges and highways in April.

Two of Soros’s sons and his daughter-in-law also contributed to Gillen. Jonathan and Jennifer Soros gave $3,300. Robert Soros donated $2,900 to her 2022 campaign to unseat Rep. Anthony D’Esposito. She lost that race by 3 percentage points, but will face the Republican again in November.

Gillen argued that pointing out Soros funding for her campaign fuels "anti-Semitic violence."

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