Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden touted an endorsement from a group of leading Muslim officials who have accused Jews of dual loyalty to America and praised anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
A group of nearly 50 Muslim elected officials across the country expressed support for Biden in a late-July letter sponsored by Emgage, an anti-Israel Muslim-American group funded by liberal billionaire George Soros. Emgage has drawn scrutiny in recent years for defending terrorist groups and collaborating with Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organizations.
Biden, in a July video message to Emgage and its supporters, said he was honored to receive the endorsement and inspired by the group’s "one million Muslim voters" campaign, a nod to Farrakhan’s 1995 Million Man March on Washington, D.C. Biden also said he wished "we taught more in our schools about the Islamic faith" during his video message.
The Emgage letter is signed by local, state, and federal officials who have endorsed Israel boycotts and come under fire for anti-Semitic rhetoric. This includes Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), who claimed that Israel and its American supporters have "hypnotized the world."
While Biden has vowed to govern as a pro-Israel president, the Democratic Party’s alliance with anti-Israel leaders has complicated Biden’s message, as evidenced by his pledge to confront Israel over the building of Jewish homes in disputed areas. The Washington Free Beacon reported on concerns Biden would be pulled left from pro-Israel voters earlier this month, when it was revealed that Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, worked with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the nation’s top anti-Israel groups and advocates for boycotts of the Jewish state.
"With Joe Biden, we will have a seat at the table and will address and heal the deep wounds that fracture our country," the Muslim officials wrote in their letter to supporters of Emgage PAC, which claims to be the largest Muslim PAC in the country.
In addition to Omar, the letter was signed by many elected officials who have joined forces with the anti-Israel activist community.
Rep. André Carson (D., Ind.), one signatory, has refused to denounce his ties to Farrakhan and would not rule out future meetings with the anti-Semitic leader.
Former representative Keith Ellison (D., Minn.), now the Minnesota attorney general, is also a Farrakhan supporter. "Keith would go on all the time about ‘Jewish slave traders,’" associates recalled of Ellison when he was an activist at the University of Minnesota in the 1980s.
Several signatories have longstanding ties to CAIR, which was embroiled in a 1990s scandal over illegal funding to the terrorist group Hamas.
Sharif Street, a Pennsylvania state senator who signed the letter, has spoken at CAIR events.
Abdullah Hammoud, a Michigan state representative, has advocated against laws meant to counter the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS), which seeks to wage economic warfare on Israel. Hammoud also has accused Israel of war crimes.
Other supporters on the letter—including Dearborn City Council members Dave Abdallah and Mike Sareini—were part of a delegation that went after Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.) in 2019 for her support of an anti-BDS bill.
A Republican official said that a Biden administration will court anti-Israel leaders.
"It’s a sad indication that under a Biden/Harris administration, anti-Semites would have a seat at the table. President Trump proudly stands with Israel and has made good on the broken promises of past career politicians, like Joe Biden," said Steve Guest, rapid response director for the Republican National Committee. "This is one of the many reasons why America needs four more years of President Trump."