The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a radical Islamic organization, complained Tuesday about an Israeli flag that was observed hanging inside a church that has been serving as a polling place in Maryland.
CAIR, whose director, Nihad Awad, celebrated the October 7, 2023, terror attacks by Hamas against Israel, has links to prominent Democrats, and participated in the Biden-Harris administration’s effort to formulate a “strategy” on antisemitism, despite its well-document history of extremist views.
In addition, as Breitbart News has noted:
In 2007-8, CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the terror financing trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. That case, in turn, led the FBI to discontinue its work with the organization. In 2009, a federal judge ruled that the government “produced ample evidence to establish” the ties of CAIR with Hamas, the Palestinian terror organization. The United Arab Emirates labeled CAIR a terrorist organization in 2014 (a decision that the Obama administration opposed).
CAIR has a record of complaining about Israeli flags that happen to be flying in non-Muslim houses of worship on Election Day.
Earlier this year, CAIR complained about an Israeli flag in a polling place inside a synagogue in Virginia.
The latest complaint concerns the city of Rockville, Maryland, where there is also a large Jewish community.
CAIR noted in a press release:
Today, the Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on the Maryland State Board of Elections to remove an Israeli flag that appears to be hung inside a polling station in Montgomery County, Maryland.
According to complaints received by CAIR, a voter in Rockville went to their polling place, Neighborhood Church, and reportedly observed the flag hanging inside.
…
“It is unconscionable that the flag of a foreign government actively committing genocide is displayed at any polling place during U.S. elections,” said CAIR’s Maryland director Zainab Chaudry. “This could be viewed as an act of voter intimidation targeting Muslim and Arab-American voters. Houses of worship and other sites serving as polling locations should avoid placing any political symbols in the view of voters.”
Some churches fly Israeli flags as well as American flags as a symbol of faith-based support for the Jewish state.
In this case, the church’s Instagram page reveals that the sanctuary contains the flags of a wide variety of nations, including France, Germany, Ireland, China, Argentina, Chile, Mali, and others, in addition to the Israeli flag.
The Israeli flag was the only one that CAIR singled out as an allegedly “political symbol” meant to intimidate voters.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
