Isaac Herzog is ‘the public face of a far-right, racist, and increasingly violent government’
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/17/2023) – Join CAIR’s click-and-send action alert calling on your members of Congress in the House and Senate to boycott on Wednesday, July 19, Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address to a joint session of Congress due to the Israeli government’s escalating human rights abuses against the Palestinian people.
On Friday, CAIR openly called on Congress to join their congressional colleagues who already announced that they would be boycotting Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address to a joint session of U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
[NOTE: In June, CAIR welcomed pledges by members of Congress to boycott a Joint Meeting of Congress honoring India’s far-right, anti-Muslim Prime Minister Narendra Modi.]
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) tweeted that there is “no way in hell” she is attending Herzog’s address. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said she is “not planning to” attend the speech. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) said he “probably going to be boycotting” Herzog’s address. Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) is also not attending the event.
SEE: Progressives plan boycott of Israeli president’s speech to Congress (AXIOS)
In a statement issued on Friday, CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“We commend those members of Congress who have decided to skip the speech by Israeli president Isaac Herzog, who is the public face of a far-right, racist, and increasingly violent government that is even targeting American citizens of Palestinian heritage.
“Just as Indian President Modi should not have been embraced by Congress given his government’s extremism and human rights abuses, Israeli President Herzog should not be given a platform to whitewash the systematic and escalating human rights abuses that even Israeli human rights groups have described as apartheid.
“We urge other members of Congress to both boycott the speech and call on the Israeli government to end the occupation and oppression of Palestinians, including Palestinian-Americans.”
Last week CAIR welcomed a new report by the UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine that documents and calls for the end of Israel’s “open-air” imprisonment of Palestinians in the areas it illegally occupies.
CAIR also called on the Biden administration to launch a transparent investigation of a violent assault Israeli soldiers perpetrated against a Palestinian-American from Tennessee who filmed them abusing other Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Last month, CAIR called on the U.S. Department of State to take concrete actions to protect Palestinian-American under attack by Israeli settlers.
CAIR recently condemned an Israeli settler’s desecration of a Quran, Islam’s holy text, during attacks on Palestinian civilians.
Also last month, CAIR called on the U.S. Department of State to take concrete actions to protect Palestinian-American under attack by Israeli settlers and called on the Biden administration to take action after the Israeli government approved plans to expedite the construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank.
CAIR has called on the Biden administration to demand “real justice” after an announcement that Israeli soldiers will not face criminal prosecution for the death of an elderly Palestinian-American man who they dragged from a car, bound and left unresponsive on the ground overnight after apparently suffering a heart attack.
Washington, D.C., based CAIR has previously called on the Biden administration to stand up to the new Israeli government composed of openly racist and genocidal far-right politicians.
Last year, CAIR welcomed an investigation by a UN commission of inquiry into the Israeli government’s system of apartheid against Palestinians.
In an open letter, five former European ministers labeled Israel’s policies against Palestinians as “the crime of apartheid.” Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Presbyterian Church USA have labeled Israel an apartheid state. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing also recognized that Israel is committing apartheid against Palestinians.
A group of Israeli law professors says changes introduced by the current far-right Israeli government “validate the claim that Israel practices apartheid.”
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com