The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today reiterated its call for the dismissal of Secretary of State Antony Blinken and administration official Brett McGurk after the release of internal emails showing that Biden administration officials rushed weapons to the Israeli government despite knowing as far back as October of 2023 that Israel was targeting civilians.
SEE: Special Report: Emails show early US concerns over Gaza offensive, risk of Israeli war crimes
SEE: How the U.S. Worked Overtime to Deliver Weapons to Israel — ProPublica
In a statement, CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“These revelations confirm that key figures in the Biden administration have been knowingly violating American law, rushing to fund Israel’s war crimes, and lying to the American people. Secretary Blinken needs to go. So does Brett McGurk. President Biden must clean house, change course, and uphold U.S. law by freezing arms transfers to Israel and forcing Netanyahu to accept a comprehensive ceasefire deal.”
Cables between officials at the US Embassy in Jerusalem and the State Department reveal that Israel’s military asked for 3,000 more bombs from the American government. US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew, along with other top diplomats in the Jerusalem embassy, sent a cable to Washington urging State Department leaders to approve the sale, saying there was no potential the Israel Defense Forces would misuse the weapons.
The cable did not mention the concerns of State Department officials about the use of US provided weapons in attacks on civilian areas. Embassy officials argued that the bombs requested, known as GBU-39s, would not be used in attacks on civilian areas.
While the request was pending, shrapnel from those bombs was discovered at schools, mosques and other places civilians were sheltering.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@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