Judicial Watch Update!



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Merry Christmas!

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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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December 7, 2023, Menorah Illumination Day after receiving a suggested
proclamation
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
>
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> 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
>
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> 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
>
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> 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
>
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> 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
>
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> 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
>
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> 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
>
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>
> 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
>
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> 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
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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
>
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grant
> and earlier this year it received a $1.4 million contract
>
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> from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This
> week SunPower shares are down sharply following a Securities and
> Exchange Commission (SEC) filing
>
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>
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> 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
>
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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
>
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> 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
>
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> 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
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> 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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