Transcript [00:01] [applause] [00:02] Dr. Small, Representative Hannic, thank [00:04] you for being here. Ladies and [00:06] gentlemen, you have an opportunity right [00:08] now to hear from the foremost thought [00:11] leaders on a primary piece of our [00:13] legislation tomorrow, the Deterrent Act. [00:15] You heard a little bit earlier today [00:17] when I had to do my little hat dance [00:19] about one of our legislative priorities [00:22] tomorrow. We're going to talk about that [00:24] here right now. So, please put your [00:26] listening ears on, get out a pen and [00:28] paper if you want because we're going to [00:30] dig deep uh concerning the issue of [00:33] foreign influence in our schools. So, I [00:35] know we have a lot of ground to cover. [00:36] Let's get into it. Um Dr. Small, as the [00:39] video said, you've done extensive [00:41] research on foreign funding of [00:43] universities. Representative Panic, [00:46] you've also worked to translate these [00:48] concerns into actual laws. I want each [00:51] of you to answer this question. How [00:53] significant do you think foreign [00:55] influence is specifically with respect [00:57] to shaping the climate on campus towards [01:00] Jewish students? [01:04] >> Hi. [01:05] >> Hi. Welcome. [01:06] >> First, I'd like to take a minute to [01:09] thank Kufi. [01:13] When I was co-sponsoring the [01:15] International Holocaust Remembrance [01:17] Alliance definition against [01:18] anti-semitism, [01:20] I don't know that you know this, but I'm [01:22] the only Jewish member in the entire [01:24] Georgia legislature. [01:29] [applause] [01:33] This bill was personal for me because it [01:36] would impact me. [01:38] And so [01:41] before the first time it went through it [01:44] passed the house. I actually spoke on er [01:46] pum as an esther about a time such as [01:50] this [01:52] and it passed the house but it didn't [01:54] make it to the senate. The second time, [01:56] my second session, [01:58] there was a letter by Pastor Haggy and [02:01] other Georgia pastors [02:03] which insisted [02:06] that their congregants, many of whom [02:09] serve in the Georgia legislature, [02:11] support the IRA definition. [02:14] It would never have happened. It would [02:17] never have passed. But my co-sponsor [02:20] John Carson from Cobb County and [02:22] Evangelical from Cobb County, we worked [02:25] together and we were able to get it [02:28] done. But I whether you knew me or not, [02:32] you had my back and I am here because I [02:36] have yours. [02:37] >> Thank you. [02:40] [applause] [02:40] >> That's the power of KUFI. That's the [02:42] power of KUFI at work at the state and [02:44] local level. That's because each and [02:46] every one of you here. So to answer the [02:48] question now, [laughter] [02:50] yes, foreign funding is influencing our [02:52] education. In [clears throat] Georgia, [02:54] the Foundation for Defense of [02:56] Democracies, using Charles's research as [02:59] well, found that hundreds of thousands [03:01] of dollars was flowing through both K [03:04] through 12 and and universities in [03:09] Georgia. And we knew it was a problem [03:12] because I posted it on my Twitter page [03:15] and within hours the Qatari ambassador [03:19] to the United States [03:21] that the head guy started coming at me [03:25] and the moment he did I knew we were [03:29] right. We were on to something. Why [03:31] would they try to silence? Because [03:32] that's what they were trying to do. They [03:34] cautioned me to be careful a couple [03:37] times [03:39] that [03:40] if I if this meant nothing, if this [03:42] report had nothing, they would have [03:45] ignored it. But instead, they went after [03:48] me. And I'm a lawyer. I play back. [03:53] And so it went on for several rounds [03:58] between the ambassador and his def his [04:00] deputy chief of missions. uh enough that [04:03] I had to bring in the FBI. [04:08] But at the end, how it always comes out [04:11] is them expressing their anti-semitism [04:14] when they said [04:16] to me and a friend who's here actually, [04:18] Cheryl, that you people spread [04:22] disinformation like you people always [04:24] do. [04:26] At which point [04:29] I just said we knew we would get here. [04:30] >> Thou do protest too much. Yes. And so we [04:33] pushed the bill, not just we, me, it's [04:37] Georgia Solidarity Network, which is [04:39] made up of people from Georgia, David [04:42] Zalic, the Seeligs who are seated here, [04:46] uh Jeremy Barry, Alli Medof, people who [04:49] are concerned about our public schools [04:52] and the funding within them, got [04:55] together and put together the language [04:58] for this bill, which they handed to me [05:01] and to my co-sponsor, Representative [05:04] Houston Gaines from Athens, Georgia, [05:07] who's also very pro-Israel and running [05:11] for Congress right now. [05:13] And we took it in the House and then [05:16] through the Senate to pass it. And we [05:19] got some push back, but it passed. [05:22] >> So, because people want to know [05:27] [applause] [05:32] People want to know who is funding our [05:34] public schools. And we have a right to [05:37] know. Frankly, we have a duty to know [05:40] who is funding our public schools. [05:42] Because when teachers start taking [05:44] Israel off of a modern map entirely, [05:48] >> it's not random. [05:49] >> No. Or when they praise suicide bombing [05:52] as an okay alternative, [05:55] we know we're in trouble. [05:57] And Dr. Small, it's been your research [05:59] that's been at the forefront of this uh [06:02] so much so that the administration took [06:04] action as a result. So what did that [06:05] reveal? [06:06] >> Right. So first of all, I'm very honored [06:08] to be here with Kufi. So it's really a a [06:10] pleasure and an honor to be here. Thank [06:12] you. [06:12] >> Thank you for taking the time. We're [06:13] honored. Um, so when I'm speaking these [06:16] days, I usually start my talk about how [06:20] Reverend Martin Luther King, 5 days [06:22] before he was assassinated, gave a talk, [06:25] a speech called sleeping through a [06:27] revolution. [06:29] >> And he was speaking about how churches, [06:32] the universities, our communities were [06:34] segregated, but young people were [06:37] integrating and there was a new movement [06:39] in America and that the elite [06:41] institutions were asleep. [06:43] And ladies and gentlemen, we are [06:45] sleeping through a revolution. [06:48] >> And the revolution is this. We speak [06:51] about Qatar. [06:52] Qatar is a small country with less than [06:55] 350,000 citizens. The royal family of [06:58] Qatar. This is not a democracy. Has a [07:01] spiritual oath to the Muslim [07:03] Brotherhood. They follow all the [07:05] religious edicts, rulings, and fatwas of [07:08] the Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood [07:10] sounds like a benevolent, nice [07:12] organization, but the Muslim Brotherhood [07:15] is committed to the destruction not only [07:19] of Israel, but to the United States of [07:22] America. [07:23] Their goal is to move Israel away from [07:25] the United States of America, to [07:28] alienate it, to distance it, and destroy [07:30] it. [07:32] And then, ladies and gentlemen, 50 years [07:34] ago, their strategic goal was to use [07:37] anti-semitism [07:39] as a way to fragment and destroy the [07:42] great democracy of the United States of [07:44] America. Start with the little Satan and [07:47] finish with the great Satan. This is the [07:50] ideology. This is the strategic goals of [07:52] the Muslim Brotherhood. [07:55] Recently in November 2025, [07:58] we played a significant role working [08:00] hard with this administration. They had [08:03] a executive order designating the Muslim [08:06] Brotherhood in four countries as a [08:09] terror organization. This is a very [08:11] important step. [08:15] [applause] [08:17] And just to show the magnitude of this [08:20] problem, we're a small research center. [08:23] our amazing team of scholars and experts [08:26] in anti-semitism, the Muslim [08:28] Brotherhood, radical Islam, and forensic [08:30] accounting and terror financing. We [08:33] found over 100 billion with a B dollars [08:38] coming from the Muslim Brotherhood into [08:40] American higher education, not declared. [08:44] 10 billion to Cornell, over 1 billion to [08:48] Georgetown. Georgetown is the most [08:50] important university here in the center [08:53] of Washington. It has the most important [08:55] diplomatic training program not just in [08:58] the United States in the world funded by [09:01] the Muslim Brotherhood via Qatar. So the [09:04] insidious nature of changing our [09:07] students and scholars is serious. We [09:10] found over one $1 billion at Texas A&M. [09:14] Texas A&M had the the morality, the [09:18] ethics to withdraw their campus from [09:21] Qatar. So, we had a minor victory. [09:26] And [applause] [09:28] I'll just say we we found over hundred [09:31] billion dollars going to higher [09:32] education. One of the most pernitious, [09:36] disgusting stories came from the choices [09:38] program at Brown University. At Brown [09:42] University, Ivy League University. The [09:44] choices program creates curriculum for [09:47] American children K through 12. Over [09:51] 8,000 schools across the United States [09:53] of America take their curriculum and [09:56] incorporate it into their schools in [09:58] which Israel is off the map. Christians [10:03] and Jewish heritage in the Middle East [10:05] is removed from curriculum. [10:08] This is the insidious nature of the [10:10] Qatari regime. And thanks to our study, [10:13] they closed the campus. But what's more [10:17] alarming, we're a small organization. We [10:19] receive calls from parents across the [10:22] United States of America saying to them, [10:24] "Now it makes sense. This is why they [10:27] took their children, children, four, [10:30] five, six year old children out of [10:32] schools because they couldn't believe [10:34] what their kids were learning in this [10:37] great democratic country. So this is a [10:39] very serious threat. not just to the [10:41] Jews in Israel, but to the very nature [10:44] and foundation of our society. And we [10:46] can see after October the 8th, after [10:49] decades of funding from anti-American, [10:52] anti-democratic, [10:54] sexist, anti-semitic [10:56] foundations, you can see the elite, the [11:00] best educated students at the best [11:03] universities in this country coming to [11:05] encampment supporting kamas. Kamas is [11:08] the Palestinian chapter of the Muslim [11:10] Brotherhood. How is it possible that [11:12] young men and women, kids, teenagers at [11:17] the best Ivy League universities are [11:19] coming out in favor of not only [11:22] anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli [11:24] politics, but anti-American politics, [11:27] something is twisted and our enemies [11:28] know, influence the universities, you [11:32] influence the society. And now we're [11:34] beginning to see the rise of the [11:36] graduates, two generations of graduates [11:38] entering into our political parties, [11:41] into our civic culture. You see that [11:44] this is about America, people, right? [11:46] Everybody wants you to be distracted, [11:47] thinking like, "Oh, Israel, stop caring [11:49] so much about this is about America. [11:51] They want to deceive you and think that [11:53] you're being distracted by a foreign [11:55] nation." When in actuality, this is [11:57] about destroying your nation. And that's [12:00] that's why we all care deeply about it. [12:02] Um, Dr. Small, I I'll start with you. [12:06] How should, and this will really help [12:07] our members because we're expecting [12:09] maybe some push back on this issue [12:10] tomorrow concerning academic freedom. [12:13] So, how should we be able to distinguish [12:16] between like legitimate international [12:20] academic relationships because we we [12:22] don't want the pendulum to swing [12:23] completely the other way and we've [12:25] isolated ourselves. [12:27] uh and foreign influence operations that [12:29] are designed to you know do exactly what [12:31] you just described. [12:33] >> So it's it's a very important issue. So [12:37] number one there should be transparency. [12:40] Let universities and their faculty and [12:42] their students travel the world [12:43] developer relations develop research [12:46] with colleagues around the world. Higher [12:48] education is so crucial to liberal [12:51] democratic society. But I think we [12:55] should give pause. How can universities, [12:57] which are the cornerstone, perhaps the [13:00] most important institution in our [13:02] democratic society, who train young [13:04] people on how to be citizens, how is it [13:07] possible that the best universities can [13:10] take billions of dollars from entities [13:14] that want to destroy a liberal [13:16] education, that want to destroy [13:19] democracy. So there should be [13:20] transparency and I think there should be [13:22] legislation that you can't take money [13:25] from entities that want to destroy our [13:27] society and destroy our universities. [13:29] That's that's just a basic common sense. [13:32] >> It makes sense. [13:33] >> Yeah. [applause] [13:38] So in addition to to transparency [13:43] which of course the deterrent act [13:45] demands and tries to fix uh the [13:50] loopholes that are in the original law [13:52] from you know 1965 that have allowed the [13:54] hundreds of billions of dollars in. What [13:56] do you think policymakers need to be [13:58] doing differently at the local level? [14:00] you you all through your legislation in [14:03] Georgia and through your research have [14:04] uncovered that this is not just a higher [14:06] education issue. This is happening K [14:09] through 12 in public schools all across [14:12] America, not just Georgia. What do [14:15] policymakers, and I'll start with you, [14:16] need to be doing differently here on [14:18] this issue? [14:20] >> Well, our bill is the first in the [14:22] country, and by the way, it was signed [14:24] into law five days ago. I mean, it it [14:27] took effect five days ago. [14:31] >> [applause] [14:32] >> It will require K through 12 to also [14:36] disclose because when these kids are [14:39] getting into college, they've already [14:42] been primed. So this isn't necessarily [14:45] new to them, this far far-left [14:50] worldview. This isn't new to them. They [14:52] are learning about it from kindergarten [14:55] on up. So parents need to be very active [14:59] in their school boards. They need to run [15:02] for for office. There is no spot an [15:08] elected office that is too small. [15:11] >> Every single elected position has power [15:14] of some sort. And we need people in [15:18] every position. [15:20] I only was a politics major to get out [15:23] of math and science. [15:25] I had no desire to run for office. I ran [15:29] for office because at the time there was [15:32] one Jewish representative in the entire [15:34] state of Georgia and he was stepping [15:37] down. [15:39] I could not let it go that there would [15:42] be no Jewish voices in my entire state [15:46] which is why I ran. You don't have to be [15:49] a politician from birth in order to make [15:53] a difference in your state. Please get [15:57] involved, not just vote. And I'm know [16:00] I'm speaking to the choir. [16:03] That's how important it is to be [16:05] involved on the local level. [16:09] That's where the damage is done [16:12] primarily. You may not realize this, but [16:15] your local officials have more of a [16:17] daily impact on your lives [16:20] >> than the than the federal ones do. Not [16:24] to say that they're not important, but [16:26] your day-to-day lives are governed more [16:28] by what local rules and laws are in [16:31] effect. So, pay attention. If you have [16:35] grandchildren in school, ask to see [16:37] their curriculum. [16:40] demand to see their curriculum [16:44] and make noise [16:46] >> because they don't like noise. [16:49] >> So, make a lot of it. [16:51] >> Thank you, [16:54] >> Dr. Small. Universities will often say [16:57] that, you know, increased federal [16:58] oversight threatens their institutional [17:01] autonomy or that this piece of [17:03] legislation, the deterrent act, is going [17:05] to create an undue burden for them. Um, [17:09] are those concerns legitimate or has [17:12] higher education kind of demonstrated [17:14] that that they can no longer effectively [17:16] police themselves? [17:17] >> Look, I think in this country we have [17:19] the Civil Rights Act. There's laws in [17:22] this country that forbid federal funding [17:25] of private or public institutions that [17:28] are discriminating against groups of [17:30] people. It's against the law. Clearly in [17:33] many universities across the country, [17:35] some of which we've done research on, [17:37] there is a problem of anti-semitism. [17:40] There is a problem of Jew hatred and [17:43] it's it's pervasive. So according to the [17:47] law, it would be illegal for the federal [17:49] government to fund entities that are [17:51] discriminator discriminating. [17:54] And I think if you back up and you look [17:57] at the ideology of the Muslim [17:58] Brotherhood, the spiritual head of the [18:01] Muslim Brotherhood was a gentleman [18:03] called Ysef Kawadawi. Yseph Kawadawi his [18:06] entire life preached that the true [18:09] believer according to his twisted view [18:12] the true Muslim is obligated to complete [18:15] the work of Hitler. [18:17] >> Wow. [18:18] >> This is not the military wing or the [18:21] extremist wing. This is the core element [18:24] of the ideology of the Muslim [18:26] Brotherhood. If you look at the kamas [18:29] charter, the Palestinian chapter of the [18:31] Muslim Brotherhood, they take the [18:33] protocols of the elders of Zion, the [18:35] words and ideas that led to the [18:38] Holocaust. Professor Ali Weisel, who I [18:41] had the privilege of starting Isgap [18:43] with, always taught that anti-semitism [18:47] may begin with the Jewish people, but it [18:49] never ends with the Jewish people. We [18:52] understand that anti-semitism also [18:55] begins with words and ideas. The [18:58] Holocaust didn't begin with the [18:59] crematoriums and the railroad tracks. [19:01] They began with words and ideas. and the [19:04] very words and ideas of the Muslim [19:06] Brotherhood [19:08] and pathetically I have to say also the [19:11] extreme left that is finding voice and [19:14] traction in this country are also using [19:17] words that morally justify morally [19:21] require anti-semitism [19:24] and this has to be rooted out because we [19:26] know the violence it doesn't just affect [19:28] a small group of Jewish people or Israel [19:31] it's attacking the very fabric of our [19:33] soc society. Once this hatred is [19:35] unleashed, it knows no boundaries. [19:38] So this to me is the crisis. The ideas [19:42] that are being taught at universities [19:44] are filtering down. Imagine for a moment [19:48] how deeply normalized anti-semitism is [19:51] become, especially in our elite [19:53] institutions, in our media of record and [19:56] in our top universities. Imagine for a [19:59] moment instead of COVID masks and kafir [20:04] hiding the identity of faculty and [20:06] students chanting for the death of Jews [20:10] of Israel and their fellow faculty and [20:13] students and and and staff members at [20:15] their universities. [20:17] Imagine instead of if it was Middle East [20:19] studies or literary criticism or [20:20] philosophy that was at the encampments [20:23] having the discourse about the Jews in [20:25] Israel that instead of money coming from [20:29] Qatar money was coming from Nazi Germany [20:31] or apartheid South Africa and instead of [20:34] kafir and covid masks there were white [20:37] sheets and the professors were from the [20:39] biology department and the professors of [20:42] eugenics teaching racism and the removal [20:46] of people from campus. campus, we [20:48] wouldn't tolerate this. But this is now [20:50] normalized. So the cancer of hate has [20:56] now entered into the most important [20:57] institutions in this great country. And [21:01] I think tragically the responsibility of [21:04] everybody in this room is to speak out [21:07] and defend the great democracy of this [21:10] country and the respect we must have for [21:13] all citizens. [21:14] >> Thank you. I have one last question for [21:16] both of you. Same question but different [21:19] topic and in a minute or less because I [21:20] know we're pushed for time but it's [21:21] important. So looking ahead five years, [21:24] I'm going to ask you with respect to [21:26] policy, lawmakers, lawmaking, people [21:28] that have jobs like you, and I'm going [21:29] to ask you with respect to academics, [21:32] universities, and institutions. Looking [21:34] forward the next five years, what is the [21:36] one thing that we can do or the most [21:38] important thing to ensure that our [21:42] systems be them the representative [21:44] government that we're supposed to have [21:46] or the schools that are teaching the [21:48] policies in the classroom that are going [21:50] to become the laws of tomorrow. What can [21:52] we do to make sure that our institutions [21:56] remain a place of genuine inquiry and [21:59] not ideological indoctrination? Starting [22:01] with you, [22:03] The political parties don't agree with [22:05] each other on a whole host of things. On [22:08] this one, most of them do. So, support [22:12] the people in the middle. [22:15] >> Help us, help you. Encourage people to [22:19] be bipartisan, especially when it comes [22:21] to this type of policy to make sure that [22:24] these are pro-american policies, not [22:27] anti-American [22:29] policies. The people in the middle are [22:32] the ones that believe in that. So, [22:35] please help them and encourage them. [22:38] That's my suggestion. [22:40] >> Dr. Small. Yes, that's good. You You do [22:43] realize she is a Democrat and she is [22:45] here and she will probably get heat for [22:47] being here even though we're [22:48] nonpartisan. So, thank you for doing [22:50] that [22:53] because she is in the middle and we need [22:55] to help her and people like her. Dr. [22:57] Small, last word. So I would say uh in a [23:00] sense I am I was born Jewish. I didn't [23:05] have much say in the matter. I'm Jewish [23:06] because my mother's Jewish. I inherited [23:09] a wonderful culture. I'm very proud to [23:11] be Jewish, but I didn't have any say in [23:12] the matter. To live in a democracy, [23:16] every generation has a choice. And we [23:19] have to choose to defend and strengthen [23:21] our democratic institutions including [23:24] higher education which is the foundation [23:25] of our society, our community, our [23:28] churches, our synagogues. We have to [23:30] defend democratic principles and try to [23:33] even expand them. The deterrent act [23:36] despite the rhetoric defends our higher [23:40] educ our our institution of higher [23:41] education. It defends this country from [23:43] foreign intervention. [23:45] it just there's a cap at $50,000 [23:49] that everything above that has to be [23:52] disclosed. Not hindered, just disclosed. [23:55] We need disclosure and transparency for [23:57] democracy to work. And we have to [23:59] protect our country, our children, our [24:02] grandchildren [24:04] um from anti-democratic actors that [24:06] clearly state this is not our [24:09] imagination. The Muslim Brotherhood [24:10] strategic goal is to destroy democracy, [24:14] to destroy America, and this country, [24:17] 250 years old, we just celebrated, is [24:20] something worth defending and [24:21] protecting, and you're at the forefront. [24:24] So, thank you. [24:25] >> Well, next year we're going to be [24:27] celebrating with you both after we pass [24:29] the Deterrent Act this SE session. So, [24:32] we're going to help you get that done. [24:33] Thank you so much for coming. Thank you [24:35] for joining us. We're honored to have [24:36] you. [24:37] >> Honored. Thank you.
