The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and a variety of other Muslim and pro-Palestinian groups in the United States failed to condemn the Hamas terror attack on Israel on Saturday, and instead offered their support.
The Palestinian terror attack happened on the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret, the final day of the annual High Holy Day cycle.
In a statement, CAIR expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people, and did not condemn violence against Israel. Over 300 Israelis were murdered, and over 1,500 wounded, in an unprecedented terror attack on civilian targets.
CAIR called for “maximum pressure on Israel” and added: “Furthermore, we urge Arab and Muslim countries that have normalized relations with Israel to reconsider their approach.”
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).
Other Muslim organizations and pro-Palestinian groups took similar stances. The Times of Israel reported:
Pro-Palestinian, student and Muslim activist groups in the US backed Hamas’s terror offensive against Israel and condemned the Jewish state on Saturday, after terrorists from Gaza murdered hundreds of Israelis, sowing havoc across much of the country and prompting retaliatory IDF strikes.
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The US Council of Muslim Organizations, an umbrella group, said, “The recent unprovoked and continuous attacks by Israel on Palestinian towns, cities, and refugee camps have resulted in tragic loss of Palestinian lives.”
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The national chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine [SJP], the leading pro-Palestinian college group, said, “Callous oppressors only know the language of destruction.”
Notably, President Joe Biden’s White House consulted CAIR in crafting its new strategy on antisemitism, which protected extreme anti-Israel criticism. CAIR is also close to many Democrats.
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 new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.