The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the reported desecration of a church in Lebanon by invading Israeli soldiers and a call by a top Israeli official for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Video posted online shows Israeli soldiers mocking Christian symbols and ceremonies in an orthodox church in the Lebanese village of Deir Mimas.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reportedly said Israel “can and must occupy the Gaza Strip…We don’t need to be scared of this word [occupation].” He also called for “voluntary migration” so Palestinians will leave Gaza and the West Bank. “It’s possible to create a situation in which Gaza will have less than half its current population within two years,” said Smotrich. He added that the ethnic cleansing of Gaza would serve as a “model” for the West Bank.
CAIR has condemned past calls by Smotrich and other Israeli officials for ethnic cleansing and genocide.
Israel has already slaughtered more than 44,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, and almost 4,000 people in Lebanon.
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“The ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the West Bank, the systematic mass destruction of homes and infrastructure, the slaughter of women and children, the forced starvation of besieged populations, the destruction of cultural and heritage sites, and the desecration of holy sites and symbols are all part of the campaign of genocide by the far-right Israeli government.
“The world must take the actions against Israel’s out-of-control government that the Biden administration refuses to take to end this genocide and restore faith in international institutions and laws.”
Yesterday, CAIR said the international community must demand that the far-right Israeli government allow food and other aid to reach those suffering under the Netanyahu government’s genocidal campaign of forced starvation in northern Gaza, including denying food to some 130,000 children under 10.
CAIR also called on the State Department to bar the indicted fugitive war criminal and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant from his planned entry to the United States next week.
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.
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | TikTok | Website | YouTube
Do you like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.
You are receiving this email due to your interest selection from commercial media databases. If you would like to join CAIR’s media list, please sign up here: https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters — For more information, email: info@cair.com, CC ihooper@cair.com
END
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