White House Dumps Council on American-Islamic Relations from Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia Materials

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https://www.mediaite.com/news/white-house-dumps-council-on-american-islamic-relations-from-anti-semitism-and-islamophobia-materials/

 

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Isaac Schorr Dec 8th, 2023

 

The Biden administration is distancing itself from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) after it was revealed that its co-founder and executive director Nihad Awad said the October 7 attack on Israel made him “happy.”

“The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege, the walls of the concentration camp on October 7th. And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their lands that they were not allowed to walk in,” said Awad at a conference in November.

 

As a result of Awad’s declaration of his joy, the White House has scrubbed the group from a fact sheet accompanying its National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism that listed CAIR as one organization committed to countering antisemitism and building “cross-community solidarity.”

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“CAIR was not listed in the strategy. They were one of several independent organizations listed in a supplemental document,” a White House official told Jewish Insider. “The White House removed their commitment from the supplemental document today as a result of the comments.”

The same official declared that “CAIR is not consulting on the development of the Islamophobia strategy, period.”

White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates issued the following statement on Awad’s comments on Thursday:

We condemn these shocking, Antisemitic statements in the strongest terms. The horrific, brutal terrorist attacks committed by Hamas on October 7th were, as President Biden said, “abhorrent” and represent “unadulterated evil.” October 7th was the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. The atrocities of that day shock the conscience, which is why we can never forget the pain Hamas has caused for so many innocent people There are families who are in agony mourning love[d] ones, and there are also families in agony as they do everything in their power to free loved ones being held hostage. Every leader has a responsibility to call out Antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head.

Awad has defended his comments by arguing that he was referring to only “the average Palestinians who briefly walked out of Gaza and set foot on their ethnically cleansed land in a symbolic act of defiance against the blockade and stopped there without engaging in violence.”