The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today said a deadly Israeli attack on the only Catholic church in Gaza shows “Israel’s brutal disregard for religious sites and the indiscriminate nature of its genocide.”
Israel attacked the Holy Family Church in Gaza killing two people and injuring others. The parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, who used to receive daily calls from the late Pope Francis, was injured. Christians and Muslims were sheltering at the church, including children with disabilities. A child, two women, and an elderly person were among the wounded.
[NOTE: A report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, said Israel has destroyed more than half of all religious and cultural sites IN Gaza, including more than 90 percent of school and university buildings in Gaza.]
Pope Leo offered prayers for the recovery of the injured and the consolation of those who grieve.
Israel has slaughtered more than 58,000 people in Gaza – and possibly many more – mostly women and children.
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“This attack on a church – and all the other deadly attacks on Gaza mosques, schools, universities, historic and cultural sites, cemeteries, medical facilities and personnel, civilian infrastructure, journalists, first responders, women, children, the elderly, and the disabled – once again demonstrates Israel’s brutal disregard for religious sites and the indiscriminate nature of its genocide.
“People of all faiths must speak out against Israel’s genocide, and our government must end its complicity with Israel’s slaughter, mass destruction, forced starvation, and ethnic cleansing.”
Yesterday, CAIR condemned the massacre of some 20 starving Palestinians after guards of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) reportedly threw stun grenades and used pepper spray at an aid concentration site.
So far almost 900 people have been slaughtered and thousands have been wounded while trying to access food.
Washington, D.C., based CAIR also condemned the seizure of the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank by the Israeli government.
Earlier this week, CAIR condemned an attack on CNN journalists covering the murder of Saif Musallet in the occupied West Bank.
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