The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the historic decision by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to recognize Israel’s military assault on Gaza as a genocide and to call for concrete measures to help end Israeli atrocities.
The denomination’s General Assembly adopted a measure declaring that Israel’s war in Gaza constitutes “a genocide,” while also calling for an arms embargo, urging Presbyterians to refrain from purchasing products linked to violations of international law, rejecting both antisemitism and Islamophobia, affirming that criticism of the Israeli government is not inherently antisemitic, condemning attacks by all parties, and denouncing settler violence in the occupied West Bank. The measure was approved after committee consideration and advanced by the General Assembly this week.
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We welcome the Presbyterian Church’s decision to recognize the reality of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and to align its moral witness with the overwhelming evidence documented by international human rights organizations, United Nations experts, and legal scholars. At a time when too many political leaders refuse to acknowledge the catastrophic suffering inflicted on the Palestinian people, this action demonstrates principled leadership rooted in justice, human dignity, and faith.”
Earlier this month, CAIR welcomed a vote by the United Auto Workers (UAW) to divest from Israeli bonds over the genocide in Gaza.
CAIR noted that numerous human rights bodies – U.S.-based, international, Palestinian, and Israeli – have independently concluded that Israel’s assault on Gaza meets the legal definition of genocide. These include:
• United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry
• International Association of Genocide Scholars
• Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Doctors Without Borders
• Palestinian organizations including Al-Haq, Al Mezan, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
• Israeli groups including B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel
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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