06:41 AM, December 10, 2023Dems have historical past of reward for team whose chief mentioned he was once ‘satisfied to peer’ Hamas assault IsraelSeveral Democrat participants of Congress have a lengthy historical past of public reinforce for a corporation whose chief lately ignited a firestorm over debatable feedback relating to Hamas’ fatal assaults on Israeli electorate.
Nihad Awad, the chief director and co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Family members (CAIR), lately mentioned that he was once “satisfied to peer” the October 7 Hamas invasion of Israel and that the Jewish state didn’t have a proper to self-defense as a result of it’s an “occupying energy.””The folks of Gaza handiest made up our minds to wreck the siege — the partitions of the focus camp — on Oct. 7,” Awad mentioned on the sixteenth Annual Conference for Palestine within the U.S. on Nov. 24. “And sure, I used to be satisfied to peer other folks breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their very own land and stroll unfastened into their land that they weren’t unfastened to stroll in.”He endured, “And sure, the folks of Gaza have the suitable to self-defense — have the suitable to protect themselves. And sure, Israel as an occupying energy does no longer have that proper to self-defense.”
Awad’s feedback pressured the White Area to scramble and scrub CAIR as a dedicated spouse to struggle antisemitism on its web site. A White Area spokesperson additionally strongly reprimanded his feedback in a commentary to Fox Information Virtual.”We condemn those surprising, Antisemitic statements within the most powerful phrases,” the White Area spokesperson advised Fox Information Virtual. “The horrific, brutal terrorist assaults dedicated through Hamas on October seventh had been, as President Biden mentioned, ‘abhorrent’ and constitute ‘unadulterated evil.'”In the meantime, dozens of federal lawmakers around the U.S. have prior to now expressed reinforce for CAIR, as featured at the group’s web site, and a few remained silent when requested through Fox Information Virtual concerning the co-founder’s stance at the horrific assaults that left 1,200 lifeless and others captured.
Sen. Krysten Sinema, I-Ariz., who’s dealing with re-election within the 2024 cycle, prior to now applauded CAIR’s paintings as “advocating for a extra simply society” and likewise authorized 1000’s of greenbacks in marketing campaign donations from former administrators and chairs of the crowd’s Arizona bankruptcy.”This group’s inspiring carrier is an affidavit for your luck in making a nurturing and supportive, responsive group,” mentioned Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who’s lately dealing with prison bribery fees.In 2019, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, praised the crowd “for empowering American Muslims national in political and social activism via our nation,” as written on CAIR’s web site.
