A Hilton Hotel in Houston, Texas recently canceled a conference on Palestine, which was to feature a number of prominent anti-Israeli speakers. As reported by the Western Journal, the event, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights National Conference, was to be hosted at the hotel from October 27 to October 29 under the theme “Seize the moment.”
As it turns out, a Hamas attack that killed over 1,400 people may not have been the most opportune moment for the conference to seize upon.
The decidedly less-than-illustrious lineup for the event included the foremost among the anti-Israel activism crowd, such as Democrat Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who recently led a protest at the United States Capitol demanding a ceasefire.
Also scheduled to appear were Women’s March leader Linda Sarsour and leftist academic Marc Lamont Hill. Hill, in particular, once declared support for the destruction of the state of Israel, stating “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The river and sea in question are the River Jordan and Mediterranean, implying that the entirety of the land currently occupied by Israel should be subsumed by the future Arab state.
Conservative activist Laura Loomer was, reportedly, one of the first to draw attention to the event, spurring significant online outcry. After apparently being inundated with complaints from Loomer’s followers, Hilton ultimately made the decision to cancel the conference.
In a statement concerning their rationale for canceling the event, Hilton cited security concerns as one of the primary factors, stating, “given escalating security concerns in the current environment, the hotel has determined that it cannot serve as the venue for this event because of the potential risks to our team members and guests.”
Oftentimes, it has been the case that the left has been the only ideological faction in America capable of pressuring companies to reconsider their support for particular events. Yet, in this case, it seems that organized and motivated conservative groups may be capable of accomplishing similar feats.