Following the terrorist attack on Oct. 7, the largest pogrom since the Holocaust, the White House decided the real problem was Islamophobia.
As part of its plan to counter Islamophobia and garner support from Muslim and Arab Americans, the White House collaborated with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The administration granted CAIR a major role in developing its “National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia.” (RELATED: Council On American-Islamic Relations Leader Says He Was ‘Happy’ On Oct. 7)
Now, Team Biden is facing backlash after a video Nihad Awad, CAIR’s executive director surfaced. In the video from Nov. 24, Awad likened the atrocities of Oct. 7 to escaping from a concentration camp.
“Yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their land that they were not allowed to walk in,” Awad said to applause at last month’s American Muslims for Palestine conference.
After the tirade, Awad said that there was still more work to be done. Trotting out an infamous trope, he implied that Jews had infiltrated the highest levels of government.
The White House frantically removed any references to CAIR from its website, but, by then, the damage had been done.
It also claimed the group had no involvement in crafting its Islamophobia strategy.
“We condemn these shocking, antisemitic statements in the strongest terms,” deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told Jewish Insider. “Every leader has a responsibility to call out antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head.”
Bates’ comments come after a JI report documenting a November speech delivered by Nihad Awad, co-founder and executive director of CAIR, in which he said of Oct. 7 that he “was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their land that they were not allowed to walk in.”
Bates pointed out that “October 7th was the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust,” and noted that “the atrocities of that day shock the conscience, which is why we can never forget the pain Hamas has caused for so many innocent people.” Awad’s speech, which was first reported by the Middle East Media Research Institute, did not mention Hamas.
The White House faced criticism in May when its release of the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism included a fact sheet that said CAIR would educate religious communities about protecting houses of worship from hate, given the organization’s history of antisemitic remarks. Today, CAIR’s name was deleted from that fact sheet, which the White House attributed to Awad’s comments.
“CAIR was not listed in the strategy. They were one of several independent organizations listed in a supplemental document,” a White House official told JI, referring to the online fact sheet. “The White House removed their commitment from the supplemental document today as a result of the comments.”
Administration officials insist that CAIR will not be included in any future conversations about religious tolerance.
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