The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, and its New York chapter (CAIR-NY) today called on U.S. authorities to bar the entry of genocidal Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who reportedly plans to visit to United Nations headquarters in New York.
CAIR’s call follows reports that the Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation has filed a criminal complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice alleging that Ben-Gvir bears criminal responsibility for war crimes, torture, crimes against humanity, and incitement to genocide committed against Palestinians. The complaint reportedly urges the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation and pursue legal action while Ben-Gvir is on U.S. soil.
Ben-Gvir is expected to attend an international conference for police chiefs and interior security officials at U.N. headquarters in New York on July 7-8.
[NOTE: For years, Ben-Gvir infamously kept a photo in his living room of Baruch Goldstein, the Israeli-American who massacred 29 Muslim worshipers at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron in 1994.]
In a joint statement, CAIR and CAIR-NY said:
“No top official of the genocidal Israeli government should enjoy impunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity, or acts of genocide. If our nation is truly committed to the equal application of international law and human rights principles, Israel’s genocidal National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir should be barred from entering the United States.
“For years, Ben-Gvir has directly overseen the torture and murder of kidnapped Palestinians in prisons he controls and advocated for the mass murder of Palestinians in Gaza. The rule of law cannot apply only to America’s adversaries while exempting officials from so-called allies.”
Washington, D.C., based CAIR noted that Ben-Gvir has repeatedly made statements advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and harsher treatment of Palestinian detainees. Human rights organizations have accused Israeli authorities of widespread abuses against Palestinian civilians and detainees during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
In a recent statement, CAIR called on Congress to condemn a video posted by Ben-Gvir depicting him longing to hang Palestinians using a new racist law passed by the Israeli Knesset.
CAIR also called for the United States to impose sanctions on Ben-Gvir and other members of the Israeli government responsible for the apartheid state’s prisons after a Palestinian journalist and others kidnapped by Israel recounted details of sexual assaults, including the use of various objects and dogs to sodomize them.
During the Biden administration, CAIR called on the Biden administration to condemn Ben-Gvir’s call for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.
SEE: CAIR Demands Biden Admin Condemn Top Israeli Official’s Call for Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza
END
CONTACT: Afaf Nasher, Esq. CAIR-NY Executive Director, ANasher@cair.com; CAIR-NY Communications Team, comms@ny.cair.com; 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