Not an intern or an obscure staffer…
The co-founder and executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) recently expressed his unambiguous reaction to the Oct. 7 terrorist attack committed by Hamas against Israel.
In an unearthed speech, Nihad Awad said he was “happy” on that fateful day when Hamas fighters invaded Jewish settlements to rape and murder men, women and children.
Without mentioning Hamas by name, Awad said Israel doesn’t have the right to self-defense.
“The people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, have the right to defend themselves,” he said in a Nov. 24 speech to members of American Muslims for Palestine. “Israel, as an occupying power, does not have that right to self-defense.”
Within hours of breaking “the siege” – as Awad called it – terrorists had massacred 1,200 Israeli civilians across a wide swath of the country.
A number of the deceased were found to have been burned to death.
Hamas took over 240 people hostage, including some American citizens. On Dec. 5, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that 15 hostages were found to have been or are believed to be deceased. Another 130 remain in Gaza in unknown condition.
The Washington Free Beacon’s Chuck Ross has more:
Those are eye-opening remarks from the leader of a group with deep ties to the White House and Democratic Party. The White House tapped CAIR earlier this year to take part in the Biden administration’s “National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism.” CAIR’s government relations director earlier this year visited the White House for a “listening session” on Islamophobia.
Shortly afterward, the White House unveiled a plan to counter Islamophobia, even as reports of antisemitism spiked.
Cynics argued it was evident that the administration was intimidated by mounting criticism coming from Muslim Americans.
Especially because their vote could determine the outcome of the election in Michigan, a crucial state in the Electoral College.
Besides the White House, congressional Democrats have a well-documented history of partnering with CAIR on different initiatives.
More than 120 members of Congress, mostly Democrats, in 2019 penned letters of support for CAIR, the Washington Free Beacon reported. Anti-Israel Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) submitted letters of support, as did mainstream Democrats, including Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.).
CAIR has blamed Israel for provoking the Hamas attack. The group urged lawmakers to “address [the] root cause of Mideast violence,” which it attributed to the “Israeli government’s apartheid policies.”
Awad’s remarks are perhaps no surprise given his and CAIR’s links to Hamas. Federal prosecutors in a 2009 terrorism finance case named CAIR an “unindicted co-conspirator” of Hamas. Awad, who cofounded CAIR in 1994, previously served as an official with Islamic Association of Palestine, another group that allegedly raised money for Hamas.
As of this article’s publication, no response had been received from the White House despite requests for comment.
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