The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today expressed support for U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s call for U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to resign, citing concerns about his failure to adequately defend American citizens and interests while serving in Israel.
VIDEO: U.S. Sen. Van Hollen Calls for Huckabee’s Resignation
Sen. Van Hollen recently stated that an American ambassador’s responsibility is to “protect and defend the citizens and interests of the United States,” and that Mr. Huckabee has instead become a “mouthpiece for the Israeli government” as violence escalates in the occupied West Bank and Israeli extremists openly promote plans for a so-called “Greater Israel.”
In a statement, CAIR’s Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry said:
“We agree with Senator Van Hollen, an American ambassador represents the United States, not the government to which he is assigned, and certainly not an ideological project rooted in dispossession, occupation and religious extremism.
“Ambassador Huckabee’s tenure has raised legitimate concerns about his inability to protect Americans’ interests, particularly Palestinian Americans, with the same urgency and determination that should be afforded to every U.S. citizen abroad.
“American passports do not come with an asterisk excluding Palestinian Americans from equal protection. If nine Americans were killed in another foreign territory without accountability, Washington would rightly demand answers. Palestinian-American families deserve exactly the same commitment.
“American citizenship cannot mean one thing in Europe and another in Palestine. When Americans are killed, attacked or threatened overseas, our government has a duty to demand credible investigations and accountability regardless of who the alleged perpetrators are.
“An ambassador should be prepared to challenge a foreign government when American lives, rights and national interests are at stake. Mr. Huckabee has made it abundantly clear that he’s unwilling to do that because of his personal ideological and theological allegiance to the Israeli government’s agenda.”
CAIR noted that Sen. Van Hollen and dozens of Senate colleagues have previously raised concerns about the deaths of multiple American citizens in the occupied West Bank and the lack of meaningful accountability in those cases.
Those killed by Israeli forces have included Palestinian Americans, American activists and journalists whose families have repeatedly sought answers and justice from U.S. officials.
CAIR said the issue extends beyond individual cases and reflects a broader question about whether U.S. officials apply equal standards to American citizens regardless of ethnicity, religion or where an alleged killing occurs.
CAIR also criticized Mr. Huckabee’s history of invoking religious and biblical claims in discussions of Palestinian land and Israeli territorial expansion.
The Muslim civil rights organization said U.S. foreign policy must be grounded in American law, human rights and national interests rather than the personal theological beliefs of individual officials.
CAIR said the United States must also oppose escalating Israeli settler violence, forced displacement, illegal settlement expansion and rhetoric calling for the annexation of additional Palestinian and Arab territory.
The organization called on the Trump administration and the State Department to ensure that American diplomatic personnel vigorously defend the rights and safety of all U.S. citizens abroad and do not subordinate those responsibilities to the interests of any foreign government.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, [email protected], 410-971-6062;
CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, [email protected], 202-744-7726;
CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, [email protected], 202-770-6280