Muslim civil rights group calls on U.S. to stop enabling Israeli government’s occupation and human rights abuses of Palestinian people
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/11/2023) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a new report by the UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine that documents and calls for the end of Israel’s “open-air” imprisonment of Palestinians in the areas it occupies.
Washington, D.C., based CAIR also called on the United States to respond to the report by taking concrete action to end the Israel government’s decades-long policies of occupation.
The summary of the report states in part:
“In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese, finds that arbitrary and deliberate ill-treatment is inflicted upon the Palestinians not only through unlawful practices in detention but also as a carceral continuum comprised of techniques of large-scale confinement -physical, bureaucratic, digital- beyond detention. These violations may amount to international crimes prosecutable under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and universal jurisdiction…”
SEE: Dismantle Israel’s “carceral regime” and “open-air” imprisonment of Palestinians: UN expert
READ THE REPORT: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967
“We urge the Biden administration to respond to the clear evidence in this UN report by ending the blank check that the far-right Israeli government is using to perpetrate systematic, racist human rights abuses against the Palestinian people,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “While our nation rightfully condemns human rights abuses in many countries, we continue to wrongly fund and enable such abuses against Palestinians. This UN report is just the latest example of why the United States must change course.”
Earlier this month, CAIR condemned “war crimes” being committed against Palestinian civilians in Jenin refugee camp and called on the United States to take concrete action to stop the Israeli government’s escalating human rights abuses.
CAIR recently condemned an Israeli settler’s desecration of a Quran, Islam’s holy text, during attacks on Palestinian civilians.
Last month, CAIR called on the U.S. Department of State to take concrete actions to protect Palestinian-American under attack by Israeli settlers.
Also last month, CAIR called on the Biden administration to take action after the Israeli government approved plans to expedite the construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank.
CAIR has called on the Biden administration to demand “real justice” after an announcement that Israeli soldiers will not face criminal prosecution for the death of an elderly Palestinian-American man who they dragged from a car, bound and left unresponsive on the ground overnight after apparently suffering a heart attack.
Washington, D.C., based CAIR has previously called on the Biden administration to stand up to the new Israeli government composed of openly racist and genocidal far-right politicians.
Last year, CAIR welcomed an investigation by a UN commission of inquiry into the Israeli government’s system of apartheid against Palestinians.
In an open letter, five former European ministers labeled Israel’s policies against Palestinians as “the crime of apartheid.” Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Presbyterian Church USA have labeled Israel an apartheid state. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing also recognized that Israel is committing apartheid against Palestinians.
A group of Israeli law professors says changes introduced by the current far-right Israeli government “validate the claim that Israel practices apartheid.”
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