CAIR Organizes Anti-Israel Rallies With Islamic Jihad

CAIR Organizes Anti-Israel Rallies with Convicted Member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad

Joe Kaufman 

The mainstream media likes to paint CAIR as a mainstream Muslim group interested in protecting the civil rights of the Muslim community. The reality, though, is that CAIR is a support network for terror with both foundational and financial links to Hamas. This past month, CAIR’s true nature showed itself, as the group partnered with a convicted member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hatem Fariz, to run a series of Tampa, Florida rallies meant to curse Israel and excuse Hamas violence. The events were proof of why the media must end its cozy relationship with CAIR. To continue to promote this group only legitimizes hate and terror.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was established in June 1994 as a part of the US chapter of the global Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee, which at the time was headed by then-Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau Mousa Abu Marzook. Officials from CAIR have been convicted of terror-related crimes, and the US government named CAIR a co-conspirator to the financing of Hamas. The Florida chapter of CAIR has not strayed much from its national parent. In July 2014, CAIR-Florida co-sponsored a pro-Hamas rally in Downtown Miami, where rally goers repeatedly shouted, “We are Hamas” and “Let’s go Hamas.”

The Islamic Community of Tampa (ICT), a.k.a. Masjid al-Qassam, was founded by Sami al-Arian, a convicted terrorist who set up a Southwest Florida PIJ terror network, over three decades ago. ICT was a big part of the network. At a 2017 CAIR media brunch, then-CAIR-Florida Executive Director Hassan Shibly said that the group depends on ICT for “programs, fundraising” and more. He said, “Really, we couldn’t do the work without the tremendous support we get from the mosque.”

Throughout the middle of May, as Hamas and PIJ rained thousands of rockets down on Israeli civilian neighborhoods, CAIR collaborated with Fariz to organize a number of anti-Israel rallies. One, ‘SAVE SHEIKH JARRAH PROTEST,’ took place on May 15th. The title of the event alludes to Arab residents of East Jerusalem, who face eviction for refusing to pay rent, while living illegally in property purchased and owned by Jews prior to 1948. The event page for the protest states that the protest was created and hosted by Fariz and CAIR-Florida representatives Aida Mackic and Lara Ghannam.

According to Canary Mission, a website that documents hatred against the US, Israel and Jews, in November 2011, Ghannam tweeted a number of venomous anti-Jewish statements, including “I swear to God I hate yahood” and “I’m so tired and hungry. This day is moving slower than a jew writing a large check.”

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