CAIR-Pittsburgh: In Pittsburgh and beyond, tensions grow as protests over Israel-Hamas war spread – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Christine Mohamed, executive director of the Pittsburgh Council on American Islamic Relations, countered that criticism of the Israeli government is not antisemitism.
“Speaking out against the violations of international law … the loss of innocent life, how does that make you a Hamas supporter?” she said. “I’m tired of that question and that rhetoric being pushed out there.
“What is more American than standing up for what is right, or free speech, or our right to free assembly?”
CAIR: Students occupy H Street as U-Yard encampment reaches day three – GW Hatchet
For demonstrators and encampment supporters, moving in and out of the barricades isn’t as easy. In a statement, the Council of American-Islamic Relations said student demonstrators told them officials have limited the mobility of medics and legal assistants in and out of the U-Yard encampment.
CAIR-Missouri: Dozens arrested from protest at Washington University in St Louis – Al Jazeera
The Missouri chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Missouri) condemned the “heavy-handed response to a peaceful protest”, saying students “must be allowed to exercise their First Amendment rights and to oppose Israel’s genocide, ethnic cleansing and forced starvation in Gaza”.
CAIR-CT: UConn issues policy as Gaza solidarity protests continue: no tents, quiet 24 hours a day until semester end – Hartford Courant
“We urge the university administration and the Governor not to use the police to suppress this lawful demonstration,” said Farhan Memon, chair of CAIR-CT. “Institutions like UCONN should be beacons of free expression and dialogue. The use of militarized police to handle student protests is not only disproportionate but deeply concerning. It is crucial that these educational institutions remain spaces where civil liberties are respected and where students can engage in critical conversations without fear of reprisal,” CAIR-CT said in a press release.
“CAIR-CT urges UConn and other educational institutions to protect the rights of their students, engage in open dialogue, listen to their concerns, and strive for peaceful solutions that reinforce the values of free expression and civil liberties.”
CAIR-NJ: NJ legislators condemn ‘stand with humanity’ billboards as hateful – Cat Country 107.3
The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called Singer and Kean “disingenuous and dishonest” to characterize a billboard supporting Palestine’s humanity as “anti-Semitic.”
“As we’ve long held, anti-Zionism and criticisms of Israel are not anti-Semitic. Any attempt to smear Palestine solidarity movements and speech as anti-Semitic is an affront to free speech and an attempt to quash Americans’ civil rights. Holding that criticism of Israel is antisemitic also implies that supporting Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, in which more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, is Semitic, which in itself is actually anti-Semitic,” CAIR-NJ spokeswoman Dina Sayedahmed said in a statement.