Kamala Harris/Others Should Retract Their Support/Praise of Anti-Israel/Pro-Hamas Group CAIR
News Press Release
October 15, 2020

Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) President Morton A. Klein and Chair Mark Levenson, Esq. released the following statement: 

The Zionist Organization of America calls on Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and other legislators to repudiate the Hamas-linked, anti-Jewish organization CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations), an organization that Harris and others  endorsed in 2018. CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in one of the largest terrorism-funding cases in American history and CAIR continues lying about Israel and inciting hatred of the Jewish state, falsely accusing Israel of being the cause of COVID-19 outbreaks in the Gaza Strip and Judea/Samaria in a statement earlier this year.

In a campaign featuring an online petition directed at Harris and California colleague Sen. Dianne Feinstein, CAIR California wrote: “A COVID-19 outbreak is currently devastating the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Israel’s brutal siege and illegal occupation have led to a scarcity of medicine, food, and security in the region.” 

CAIR continued: “Over 100 cases have been confirmed since March 30, 2020 in Palestinian territories. The declining quality of life and human rights violations due to the Israeli occupation, coupled with the Trump Administration’s withholding of humanitarian aid, are directly impacting resources available for Palestinians to use to defend against the virus.” https://ca.cair.com/losangeles/campaign/urge-senators-kamala-harris-and-dianne-feinstein-to-support-sending-aid-to-palestinians-amidst-covid-19/ 

The truth of the matter is, Israel has supplied COVID-19 tests and personal protective equipment to Palestinian Arabs in both the Gaza Strip and the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and Israel has allowed medications and other necessities into both areas – despite the fact that Gazans continue to fire rockets and send flammable devices into Israel which have burned thousands of acres in Israel, and the Palestinian Authority continues to incite hatred of Jews and financially incentivize murderers and terrorism. 

Harris was one of about 100 lawmakers who wrote letters praising CAIR in 2018 in conjunction with the CAIR Los Angeles Chapter’s annual gala. In her letter Harris expressed her “gratitude and admiration for your tireless work to promote peace, justice, and mutual understanding.” She added above her signature: “CAIR’s work remains as important as it was the day of its founding in 1994.” 

According to CAIR’s California Chapter’s 2020 voting guide, Harris voted in-line with CAIR’s positions on nine of ten legislative items highlighted in the guide. https://ca.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CAIR-2020-Voter-Guide-v10092020D.pdf 

According to a profile on Harris at ivoterguide.com, CAIR rated Harris at 100% for 2017-2018. https://ivoterguide.com/candidate?elecK=802&raceK=12640&primarypartyk=-&canK=29783 

CAIR was founded in 1994. According to the Investigative Project on Terrorism: “The Muslim Brotherhood created a support network in the United States to help Hamas politically and financially. It was called the Palestine Committee…it included prominent members of CAIR.”

From zoa.org: CAIR is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial and Hamas financing case that resulted in the FBI discontinuing its working relationship with the organization. CAIR officials have voiced support for terrorist movements, harbors (admitted) ambitions for replacing the Constitution with the Quran, and has employed personnel who have been implicated in crimes consistent with these aspirations. For example, in 2013, Mustafa Carroll, executive director of CAIR’s Dallas-Fort Worth branch, stated, “If we are practicing Muslims, we are above the law of the land.” CAIR agitated the removal of a Los Angeles billboard that declared Osama bin Laden to be “the sworn enemy,” claiming the billboard was “offensive to Muslims.” 

In 2009, a federal judge concluded that the government had found “ample evidence” to link CAIR with Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic terrorist organization and off-shoot of the Muslim Brotherhood that has murdered hundreds of Israelis in scores of suicide bombings and hundreds of other attacks and which calls in its Covenant for the destruction of Israel and the global murder of Jews. CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad has a long history of pro-HAMAS statements, according to critics. https://zoa.org/2017/08/10372245-israel-hating-islamic-lobby-cair-van-jones-media-matters-defend-nsc-chair-mcmaster/ 

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