The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a letter sent by eight U.S. Senators to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding transparency and accountability for the 2022 killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.
CLICK HERE: READ THE LETTER
The letter, led by Vermont Democratic Senator Peter Welch and co-signed by Senators Bernie Sanders, Tim Kaine, Jeff Merkley, Patty Murray, Chris Van Hollen, Brian Schatz, and Raphael Warnock, raises serious concerns about the lack of progress in the case and presses the State Department for a full explanation of its actions, communications with the Israeli government, and assessment of the U.S. Security Coordinator’s (USCC) conclusion that the killing was “unintentional.”
Specifically, the following letter introduces several urgent and previously underexamined concerns regarding the U.S. government’s handling of the case:
- It questions the methodology and specific basis for the USSC’s conclusion that Abu Akleh’s killing was “unintentional,” including whether the shooter was identified, whether Israeli military personnel present during the incident were interviewed, and what evidence supports the claim that the journalist or others near her posed a threat.
- The letter also demands to know what accountability, if any, has occurred for the killing; what concrete “next steps” Israel has taken as previously promised; and whether any investigation conducted was truly “thorough, impartial, and transparent.”
- It requests an update on the status of any DOJ inquiry into the killing and whether the Israeli government has cooperated.
- The letter underscores the Senators’ concern over the lack of meaningful accountability more than three years after a U.S. citizen was killed and urges the administration to insist on a thorough, transparent, and impartial investigation.
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Department Director Robert S. McCaw said:
“We commend these senators for standing up for justice and demanding that the U.S. government uphold its obligation to protect American lives. Shireen Abu Akleh was a U.S. citizen, a professional journalist, and clearly marked as press when she was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper. More than three years later, there has been no accountability.
“The State Department and Department of Justice cannot apply the law selectively. The United States must show the same urgency and resolve in prosecuting those responsible for killing Palestinian-American citizens as it has for Jewish Americans in Israel.
“There must be one standard of justice for all Americans. This impunity must end. No American, regardless of race, religion, or where they live, should be abandoned by their government when they are murdered abroad.”
The Senate letter comes amid rising calls for DOJ action on a broader pattern of unprosecuted killings of American citizens by Israeli forces and settlers. In a September 6, 2024 letter, CAIR formally urged then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate and prosecute Israeli officials, soldiers, and settlers responsible for the killings of Shireen Abu Akleh, peace activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 80-year-old Omar Assad, Rachel Corrie, and others.
On April 7, 2025, CAIR submitted an additional letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding a DOJ investigation into the killing of 14-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Mohammad Rabea, who was reportedly shot by Israeli settlers and left to bleed to death by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank village of Turmus Ayya.
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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