The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on members of Congress to condemn the Israeli military’s targeting of Christians, including Israeli soldier’s disrespectful and mocking photo with a statue of the Virgin Mary and an attack by Israeli troops on Christians celebrating St. George’s Day in the West Bank.
CAIR also called on Congress to condemn a video posted by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir depicting him longing to hang Palestinians using a new racist law passed by the Knesset.
In a statement, CAIR said:
“Once again, the Israeli apartheid government is showing its true face to the world. Attacking Christian worshippers outside a holy site, desecrating Christian religious symbols, looting homes after forcing their owners to abandon them, all with American taxpayer dollars.
“The members of Congress who vote to fund the Israeli military and insist that American Christians have a religious obligation to support Israel should the first ones in line to condemn Israel’s attacks on Christians. It is long past time for Congress to stop funding and enabling the Israeli apartheid government’s crimes.”
In a photo posted today, an Israeli soldier is seen sticking a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon. Israeli forces, in addition to desecrating Christian and Muslim religious symbols, have also been looting homes in the areas of south Lebanon they have ethnically cleansed.
SEE: From jewelry to photos: Israeli troops loot S. Lebanon homes | Daily Sabah
Yesterday, a convoy of Israeli army vehicles stormed the old area of Al-Khader, where hundreds of Palestinian Christians had assembled around St. George’s Monastery to mark the saint’s feast day. Israeli soldiers then used tear gas and stun grenades to attack the celebrants. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that its teams had transported one wounded person to the hospital after he was beaten inside the monastery.
SEE: Israeli army attacks West Bank Christians marking St George Day
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has posted a video saying he ‘dreams’ of nooses, featuring a montage of AI-generated images of nooses. The video is in reference to the death penalty law targeting Palestinian detainees.
SEE: Ben-Gvir ‘dreams’ of nooses in video posted to TikTok | Israel-Palestine conflict | Al Jazeera
CAIR noted that the Washington Post today reported that support for Israel is collapsing in both the Democratic and Republican parties.
SEE: The pro-Israel political consensus is collapsing in both parties – The Washington Post
Recently, CAIR condemned Israel’s reported destruction of a historic Christian monastery and a nuns’ school in southern Lebanon, calling the incident part of a broader pattern of escalating attacks on Christian and Muslim communities in the region.
SEE: CAIR Condemns Israel’s Destruction of Christian Monastery, Nuns’ School in Lebanon
CAIR also recently called on all Americans, especially Republican elected officials and Christian political organizations, to condemn escalating attacks on Christians in Palestine and Lebanon, including an Israeli man’s assault on a French nun in Jerusalem and Israel’s destruction of churches and Christian villages in Lebanon.
CAIR also called on the Trump administration and Congress to stop ignoring and enabling Israel’s longstanding “war on Christians” after Israeli occupation forces were shown smashing a statue depicting Jesus in Lebanon.
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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