The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Congress to condemn Israel’s murder of teenage girl as she walked to school to take an exam in Gaza City.
CAIR said that the murder of Raghad Hassan Ashour, 16, is part just one small part of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its deliberate targeting of children. A new report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel found that some 30 percent of those murdered by Israel in the Gaza genocide were children.
Washington, D.C., based CAIR also joined the call for urgent international intervention to secure the immediate release of three pregnant Palestinian women currently detained in Israeli prisons.
SEE: Urgent Appeal: Rights Group Demands Release of Pregnant Palestinian Prisoners – Palestine Chronicle
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We call on all members of Congress to condemn Israel’s murder of Raghad Hassan Ashour on her way to take an exam in Gaza City. Her death is a heartbreaking reminder of the immense suffering being inflicted by Israel – with our nation’s support – on Palestinian children. The international community must act to end the killing of civilians, secure accountability for violations of international law, and protect the lives and dignity of all people in Gaza and throughout the illegally-occupied Palestinian territories.”
He noted that last week, CAIR welcomed a vote by the United Auto Workers (UAW) to divest from Israeli bonds over the genocide in Gaza.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil rights 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 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