(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/14/2023) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today encouraged members of Congress to join the several House members who say they will boycott Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address to a joint session of Congress on July 19 due to the Israeli government’s escalating human rights abuses against the Palestinian people.
[NOTE: In June, CAIR welcomed pledges by members of Congress to boycott a Joint Meeting of Congress honoring India’s far-right, anti-Muslim Prime Minister Narendra Modi.]
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) tweeted that there is “no way in hell” she is attending Herzog’s address. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said she is “not planning to” attend the speech. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) said he “probably going to be boycotting” Herzog’s address.
SEE: Progressives plan boycott of Israeli president’s speech to Congress (AXIOS)
In a statement, CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“We commend those members of Congress who have decided to skip the speech by Israeli president Isaac Herzog, who is the public face of a far-right, racist, and increasingly violent government that is even targeting American citizens of Palestinian heritage.
“Just as Indian President Modi should not have been embraced by Congress given his government’s extremism and human rights abuses, Israeli President Herzog should not be given a platform to whitewash the systematic and escalating human rights abuses that even Israeli human rights groups have described as apartheid.
“We urge other members of Congress to both boycott the speech and call on the Israeli government to end the occupation and oppression of Palestinians, including Palestinian-Americans.”
He said that CAIR this week welcomed a new report by the UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine that documents and calls for the end of Israel’s “open-air” imprisonment of Palestinians in the areas it illegally occupies.
Mitchell added that CAIR yesterday called on the Biden administration to launch a transparent investigation of a violent assault Israeli soldiers perpetrated against a Palestinian-American from Tennessee who filmed them abusing other Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
He noted that last month, CAIR called on the U.S. Department of State to take concrete actions to protect Palestinian-American under attack by Israeli settlers.
CAIR recently condemned an Israeli settler’s desecration of a Quran, Islam’s holy text, during attacks on Palestinian civilians.
Also last month, CAIR called on the U.S. Department of State to take concrete actions to protect Palestinian-American under attack by Israeli settlers and called on the Biden administration to take action after the Israeli government approved plans to expedite the construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank.
CAIR has called on the Biden administration to demand “real justice” after an announcement that Israeli soldiers will not face criminal prosecution for the death of an elderly Palestinian-American man who they dragged from a car, bound and left unresponsive on the ground overnight after apparently suffering a heart attack.
Washington, D.C., based CAIR has previously called on the Biden administration to stand up to the new Israeli government composed of openly racist and genocidal far-right politicians.
Last year, CAIR welcomed an investigation by a UN commission of inquiry into the Israeli government’s system of apartheid against Palestinians.
In an open letter, five former European ministers labeled Israel’s policies against Palestinians as “the crime of apartheid.” Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Presbyterian Church USA have labeled Israel an apartheid state. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing also recognized that Israel is committing apartheid against Palestinians.
A group of Israeli law professors says changes introduced by the current far-right Israeli government “validate the claim that Israel practices apartheid.”
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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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