Nation’s largest Muslim civil rights group calls on President Biden to clearly condemn murder and suspend military aid to Israel
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate and prosecute the Israeli officials, soldiers and illegal settlers responsible for committing violent crimes against Palestinian-Americans, including the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and Turkish-American peace activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers today in the Occupied West Bank.
SEE: American activist shot dead during protest in West Bank – CNN
In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw wrote in part:
“For years, American Muslim and Palestinian-American organizations have been calling for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to address crimes against Palestinian-Americans killed by Israeli government and adjacent actors.
“Now that the Department of Justice has demonstrated its ability and willingness to prosecute Hamas crimes against Israelis and Israeli-Americans in the Middle East, it is imperative that the Justice Department bring the same uncompromising legal rigor to bear in prosecuting crimes committed against Palestinian Americans by Israeli soldiers and settlers. Just as it is wrong to kill Israeli American civilians overseas, it is wrong to kill Palestinian American civilians overseas, and all perpetrators of such crimes must be held accountable.
“If the Justice Department continues failing to hold Israeli politicians, soldiers, or illegal settlers accountable for the torture, land theft, and murders they have committed against Palestinian Americans, the department will send the message that killing Americans overseas will not be punished if those Americans are of Palestinian descent. The DOJ must act swiftly and decisively to uphold justice for all American citizens, regardless of their ethnic background…
“…The DOJ has a legal obligation to ensure that all American citizens, regardless of whether they are Palestinian or Israeli Americans, are protected under the law, and to prosecute those who commit crimes against them.
“We respectfully urge the DOJ to take immediate action in these and other cases to ensure that justice is served and that the rights of American citizens are upheld. We are ready to assist in any way possible and look forward to your response.”
In August, CAIR said Secretary of State Antony Blinken should resign after reports that he ended the investigation into the Israel military’s Netzah Yehuda battalion for war crimes and human rights violations in the occupied West Bank, including the killing of 80-year-old Palestinian American Omar Assad.
In June, CAIR joined more than 60 national organizations in a letter to members of Congress urging them to support U.S. Representative Andre Carson’s Justice for Shireen Act (H.R. 3477), which would require the FBI and U.S. State Department to publicly report on the circumstances surrounding Shireen Abu Akleh’s death.
In 2003, CAIR called for a suspension of aid to Israel after an Israeli bulldozer crushed American activist Rachel Corrie to death as she protested the destruction of a Palestinian home.
Yesterday, CAIR said the Biden administration must respond to a new report by Amnesty International saying that Israel’s “wanton destruction and collective punishment” in Gaza must be investigated as a war crime.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@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