6:41 a.m., December 10, 2023
Democrats have long praised the group, whose leader said he was “pleased to see Hamas attacking Israel.”
Several Democratic members of Congress have a long history of public support for an organization whose leader recently sparked a firestorm over controversial comments about Hamas' deadly attacks on Israeli citizens.
Nihad Awad, the executive director and co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), recently said that he was “glad to see the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7” and that the Jewish state had no right to do so Self-defense because it is an “occupying force.”
“It was only on October 7th that the people of Gaza decided to break the siege – the walls of the concentration camp,” Awad said at the 16th Annual Palestine Conference in the US on November 24th. “And yes, I was happy to do that.” See how people break the siege and throw off the shackles of their own country and go freely to their land that they were not allowed to enter.
He continued: “And yes, the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense – they have the right to defend themselves. And yes, Israel as an occupying power does not have this right to self-defense.”
Awad's comments forced the White House to exclude CAIR from its website as a committed partner in the fight against anti-Semitism. A White House spokesman also strongly rebuked his comments in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“We condemn these shocking, anti-Semitic statements in the strongest possible terms,” the White House spokesman told Fox News Digital. “Hamas' horrific, brutal terrorist attacks on October 7 were, as President Biden said, 'abhorrent' and represented 'unadulterated evil.'
“Meanwhile, dozens of federal lawmakers across the U.S. have previously expressed support for CAIR, as outlined on the organization's website, and some remained silent when asked by Fox News Digital about the co-founder's stance on the horrific attacks that killed 1,200 People were killed and others were captured.
Sen. Krysten Sinema, I-Arizona, who is facing re-election in the 2024 cycle, previously praised CAIR's work in “advocating for a more just society” and also accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from former CAIR directors and chairs Arizona- Chapter of the group.
“This organization's inspiring service is a testament to your success in building a nurturing, supportive and responsive organization,” said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who is currently facing bribery charges.
In 2019, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, praised the group “for empowering American Muslims nationwide in political and social activism in our country,” as written on CAIR's website.