Thursday, June 26
6:00 pm
Edna Balz Lacy Family Park
700 Greer St.
While children starve and families dig through rubble in Gaza, Hotel Tango CEO Travis Barnes will be hosting a fundraiser—complete with expensive bourbon—for HVAF of Indiana and Brothers for Life, an Israeli organization supporting IDF soldiers wounded in combat. Twenty months into the U.S.-backed Israeli destruction of Gaza, it must be said plainly: These soldiers were injured while carrying out a genocide.
HVAF (Helping Veterans and Families) provides critical support to homeless veterans in Indiana, offering shelter, employment assistance, and basic necessities. Hotel Tango has fundraised for HVAF for over a decade—but 2025 marks the first time the company will divert funds to also support foreign soldiers complicit in genocide.
Meanwhile, organizations like Breaking the Silence—where former Israeli soldiers expose the atrocities and human rights violations they witnessed—have documented the brutal reality behind Israel’s military operations.
In a country that truly cared for its people, veterans wouldn’t rely on charity for survival. Yet the U.S. government abandons them, leaving nonprofits to fill the gaps. The statistics are damning:
- Veterans are 2 to 3.5 times more likely to be homeless than civilians.
- 43% of homeless veterans are people of color, despite making up only 18% of the veteran population.
- Nearly 20% of veterans live with a long-term disability.
- 1 in 5 veterans has a mental illness; suicide is the second-leading cause of death for veterans under 45.
- 11% of veterans who use VA benefits struggle with substance abuse.
- 1.5 million veterans are uninsured, and 1 in 12 skip medical care due to cost.
Instead of supporting those sacrificed for U.S. imperialism, our government spends billions on stealth bombers—like the $2.1 billion used to strike Iran under false pretenses. Just as lies justified the genocide in Gaza, the attack on Iran was based on decades of propaganda. Netanyahu has falsely claimed an “imminent nuclear threat” from Iran since 1992, despite zero evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program.
We refuse to stay silent. ANSWER Indiana will protest Thursday to tell Travis Barnes and his genocide-enabling allies exactly what Indianapolis thinks of this fundraiser. We demand an end to U.S.-backed genocide—and we condemn Hotel Tango’s support for Brothers for Life.
Join us at Edna Balz Lacy Family Park at 6 PM!