After cancelation by pro-Palestinian activists, Israel Summit opens in Nashville with help of Dave Ramsey
Summit brings together supporters of Israeli sovereignty over entire land of Israel
A pro-Israel conference called Israel Summit, set to be held at the Sonesta Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, was forced to change venues after a pro-Palestine group "Palestine Hurra Collective Nashville" began calling the hotel to demand the event be canceled.
The pro-Palestine group posted a call for action to its Instagram account, asking supporters to contact the hotel and demand the cancellation of the summit.
“Call relentlessly until this event is shut down,” the group wrote in their Instagram post.
It even posted a script for supporters to use when speaking to the hotel, accusing Israel of genocide.
The Israel Summit, which is hosted by several pro-Israel groups, including The Israel Guys, HaYovel, Israel365, and Keep God’s Land, bills itself as a “gathering of pro-Israel advocates affirming Israel’s unconditional sovereignty over their entire land.”
Two weeks ago, the hotel contacted HaYovel to notify them that they were canceling the contract, stating that “police were concerned that the hotel, their guests, local businesses, and attendees to the Israel Summit would be in physical danger due to the threatening nature of the calls and messages they received,” according to a report by co-sponsor Israel365.
However, according to a Fox 17 report, Nashville police authorities denied instructing the hotel to cancel the summit.
“The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department did not advocate, in any shape or form, for the cancellation of the conference at the Sonesta Hotel,” the statement read.
The Nashville police said they assured the hotel they “were absolutely prepared to help the hotel create a safety and security plan.”
HaYovel issued a statement informing registered attendees that the event would “move forward with this event at a different venue.”
“Now, more than ever, it is important that America stands unconditionally with Israel,” the statement said.
A few days later, Christian financial advisor, Dave Ramsey, contacted The Israel Guys and offered to host the summit at the Ramsey Solutions event center in Nashville.
“Ramsey Solutions is proud to stand beside our friends from Israel by providing them a safe place to hold their event as our gift to them,” the organization stated.
First Liberty Institute, a law firm dedicated to defending and restoring religious liberty, sent the hotel a letter saying the cancellation “violates the terms of the contract between the Sonesta and HaYovel” and accused the hotel of “unlawful religious discrimination in a place of public accommodation in violation of Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
"I think that the hotel jumped the gun and decided that they were going to just sort of dump this Israel event a week before it was going to happen, which is very unfortunate for the hotel because that's in violation of Title II of the Civil Rights Act as well as Tennessee state law," Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel at First Liberty Institute, told Fox News.
Following the announcement of the change of venue, the hotel and HaYovel released a statement saying they had reached an "amicable resolution" of the situation.
"Sonesta and HaYovel are pleased to have quickly and amicably reached a resolution regarding the cancellation of a recent event that was to be hosted at the Sonesta Nashville Airport," the statement said.
The Israel Summit will take place from May 20-22 and will include a gathering of Israeli and pro-Israel speakers, as well as a music concert by Israeli artist Yair Levi.
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This article was updated to reflect the joint statement which was released by Sonesta and HaYovel on May 17.
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The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
