Muslim civil rights and advocacy group also condemns Trump administration’s recent sale of $510 million in weapons to Israel, including 500 and 2,000 lb. bombs used to massacre civilians
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today urged members of Congress to oppose the so-called “Bunker Buster Act,” legislation reintroduced by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) that would hand over the authority to President Trump to the transfer of U.S. B-2 bombers and massive bunker-buster bombs to the Israeli government despite its warmongering across the region and genocide in Gaza.
Rep. Gottheimer has repeatedly failed to advance this legislation since he first introduced H.R. 7148, the original Bunker Buster Act, in 2022. Now, following the conclusion of Israel’s unprovoked 12-day war against Iran, CAIR warns that the bill represents a reckless, destabilizing escalation that could further drag the United States into a catastrophic regional conflict.
Relatedly, CAIR separately condemned the Trump administration’s recent $510 million weapons sale to Israel, which includes more than 7,000 U.S.-made 500-pound and 2,000-pound bombs. The arms sale, previously paused by the Biden administration, comes as Israel ramps up its genocide in Gaza and openly prepares for another war with Iran.
This week, the Israeli military dropped a 500-pound U.S.-made MK-82 bomb on a crowded beachfront café in Gaza where a child’s birthday party was taking place. More than 40 Palestinians were killed, including women and children, and dozens more were wounded.
Independent analysis by The Guardian confirmed the use of the MK-82, a general-purpose bomb that causes massive blast damage and spreads lethal shrapnel indiscriminately. International legal experts have warned that the strike would constitute a war crime.
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw said:
“The Bunker Buster Act is a sociopathic, Israel First bill that would enable the Israeli government to unilaterally unleash even more death and destruction across the Middle East without any U.S. oversight or control. Giving the Israeli government new weapons capable of destruction on a massive scale risks more regional chaos and death. No responsible lawmaker should hand the Netanyahu government the means to instantly kill even more people or launch another unprovoked war in the Middle East.
“The U.S. should be investigating how a 500-pound American-made bomb was used to massacre children at a café in Gaza—not rushing to approve the sales of thousands more. Congress would reject this arms sale and end Israel’s campaign of genocide.
“It is time to end all U.S. weapons transfers to Israel and stop fueling a genocide that shames our nation and violates the most basic principles of international law and human decency.”
CAIR condemned President Trump’s recent attack on Iran as an “illegal and unjustified act of war” that “prioritizes the wishes of Benjamin Netanyahu over the American people and threatens to drag our nation into a wider war in the region.”
CAIR also warned that another Israeli strike on Iran could ignite a regional war involving multiple nations that have pledged support for Tehran if it is attacked again. The organization has consistently opposed efforts to manipulate U.S. foreign policy to serve the war aims of the Netanyahu government at the expense of American lives, security, and global credibility.
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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