
News Link • Charlie Kirk
Top pro-Israel TPUSA donor terminated support for Kirk in days before death, sources say
• https://ronpaulinstitute.org, by Max BlumenthalConsisting of six sterile, two-floor office buildings, the campus is itself a tribute to the ultra-wealthy donors who placed the 31-year-old Kirk at the helm of a political empire whose combined annual assets exceeded the municipal budget of a typical small American city.
At the front of the TPUSA complex is the Bill and Rebecca Dunn Freedom Center, named for the late commodity trader Bill Dunn. Adjacent buildings feature plaques commemorating the mega-donors who have fueled the rise of the conservative movement, from the Uhline family to the Koch Brothers to evangelical Christian asset manager Foster Friess.
Catty-corner from the Freedom Center is the Pearson Building. According to a TPUSA insider, this structure was to be emblazoned with the name of one of Kirk's largest and most committed backers, the tech mogul Robert Shillman. A pre-eminent funder of right-wing Zionist and anti-Muslim causes across the Atlantic, Shillman's millions helped transform Kirk from a young age into one of Israel's most effective gentile assets.
However, as Kirk drifted from the official, Netanyahu-enforced line on Israel in the past year, expressing frustration with onerous demands from Zionist donors and hosting the leading conservative critics of Israel at his TPUSA events, Shillman apparently grew resentful.
A TPUSA insider has told The Grayzone that Shillman recently cancelled plans to erect the plaque bearing his name inside the conservative organization's office complex. Those who contribute $1 million or more to TPUSA become eligible for an honorary plaque, but Shillman's donations were said to be considerably higher.
Few donors have done more than Shillman to fuel the influence of the Zionist movement's anti-Muslim, pro-Likud wing inside the US. "With this pen, and a checkbook, I provide ammunition!" the billionaire proclaimed during a gala of the right-wing Zionist Organization of America in 2021.
Besides nurturing the career of Kirk, Shillman has sponsored the David Horowitz Freedom Center, named for the neocon operative who Kirk described as his "mentor." Anti-Islam activists from Frank Gaffney to the English hooligan Tommy Robinson, to Dutch politician Geert Wilders and Canada's Rebel Media have benefitted from Shillman's support as well.