(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/23/22) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a congressional letter signed by 57 members of the U.S. House Representatives calling onthe State Department and the FBI to investigate the murder of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
Sent on Thursday, the congressional letter was led by U.S. Representatives André Carson (D-IN), Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Lou Correa (D-CA), and addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and FBI Director Christopher Wray.
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw said:
“We applaud the members of Congress who have called on the FBI and the State Department to conduct a transparent and thorough investigation into the murder of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, an American citizen.
“The Israeli military’s recent announcement that it will not bother to conduct a criminal investigation into the murder of Ms. Abu Akleh represents only the latest evidence that an Israeli sniper was responsible for her murder.
“It is now up to the Biden administration to ensure that the government of Israel be held accountable for this brutal killing. Our nation must treat the murder of Ms. Abu Akleh with the same level of seriousness it would if an American journalist had been murdered by a Russian sniper in Ukraine or an Iranian sniper in Syria.”
SEE: Al Jazeera: Israel will not investigate Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing
Last week, CAIR renewed its call on President Biden to condemn attacks by Israeli forces on mourners and pallbearers at the funeral of Abu Akleh and for the FBI to lead an investigation into her assassination.
Immediately following Abu Akleh’s assassination, CAIR urged the White House to condemn and withhold aid from Israel following the announcement of plans to build some 4,000 new racially-segregated housing units on occupied Palestinian land.
TEXT OF THE LETTER:
Dear Mr. Secretary and Director Wray
We are writing you regarding the recent death of Shireen Abu Akleh, a 51 year-old Palestinian American. Ms. Abu Akleh, a journalist for Al Jazeera, was fatally shot in the West Bank city of Jenin on May 11, 2022. We request the State Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launch an investigation into the death of Ms. Abu Akleh.
AP News reported that Ms. Abu Akleh was fatally shot in the head on the outskirts of the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank. Her producer, Palestinian journalist Ali Samoudi, was hospitalized in stable condition after being shot in the back. It was also reported that Palestinian journalists who were with Ms. Abu Akleh and Mr. [Samoudi] at the time said that they made their presence known to Israeli soldiers, and they did not see militants in the area. The Israeli military claimed that the victims were caught between gunfire between Palestinian militants and Israeli Defense Forces. However, media and eyewitnesses had conflicting reports. Shaza Hanaysheh, another Palestinian journalist among the reporters, also said that there were no clashes or shootings in the immediate area. News reports from the Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, and Aljazeera also highlight these conflicting reports.
As Members of Congress, we are deeply concerned by the death of Ms. Abu Akleh. Journalists worldwide must be protected at all costs. The U.S. State Department called Ms. Abu Akleh’s death “an affront to media freedom.” We welcome the actions and statements taken so far by the U.S. Department of State supporting a thorough investigation. However, given the tenuous situation in the region and the conflicting reports surrounding the death of Ms. Abu Akleh, we request the State Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launch an investigation into Ms. Abu Akleh’s death. We also request the U.S. Department of State determine whether any U.S. laws protecting Ms. Abu Akleh, an American citizen, were violated.
“As an American, Ms. Abu Akleh was entitled to the full protections afforded to U.S. citizens living abroad. We, the undersigned Members of Congress, urge you to uphold the values that our nation was founded on, including human rights, equality for all, and freedom of speech. We have a duty to protect Americans reporting abroad. We look forward to your timely response.
BACKGROUNDER ON ISRAELI APARTHEID:
A landmark report by Amnesty International detailed the Israeli government’s decades-long human rights abuses against the Palestinian people in both the Occupied Territories and Israel itself as a system of “apartheid.”
CAIR welcomed the international human rights organization’s comprehensive report, which notes that “almost all of Israel’s civilian administration and military authorities” are involved “in the enforcement of the system of apartheid against Palestinians across Israel,” in the Occupied Territories and “against Palestinian refugees and their descendants outside the territory.”
Last year, CAIR called on Congress to support “Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act,” H.R. 2590, following the release of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report accusing the Israeli government of committing crimes of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians.
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.
Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational
Subscribe to CAIR’s Email List
https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters
Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed
http://twitter.com/cairnational
Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel
Follow CAIR on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/cair_national/
Donate to CAIR
https://action.cair.com/a/donate
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.
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 Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com