Jewish magazine Tablet slammed the Biden administration Monday for citing the Council for American-Islamic Relations, a group with a history of anti-Semitic statements and actions, as a partner in its "National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism."
The Biden administration announced the plan last month and included a fact sheet citing CAIR as one of the organizations that "announced commitments to counter antisemitism and build cross-community solidarity."
"To put it nicely, CAIR’s record on Jewish matters has been a source of controversy and tension," Tablet staff writer Armin Rosen wrote in the article.
CAIR last month defended City University of New York Law School graduate Fatima Mousa Mohammed’s tirade against Israel during the school’s graduation ceremony. Mohammed called for a "revolution" against "white supremacy" and "indiscriminate" murder by the Jewish state.
Simcha Eichenstein, a Democratic state assemblyman from Brooklyn, called the CUNY speech "hate-filled and dangerous."
"Keep this in mind next time our elected leaders highlight their commitment to fighting antisemitism," Eichenstein said in a tweet.
CAIR’s cofounder and executive director, Nihad Awad, has "a decadeslong history of statements in support of Hamas and religious warfare against Israel," according to Tablet. According to the Anti-Defamation League, Awad worked as public relations director for the Islamic Association of Palestine, which claimed "the only way to liberate Palestine, all of Palestine, is the path of Jihad." Awad said in 2014 Israel is a "terrorist state" and is "the biggest threat to world peace and security."
Awad said in 2006 that he did not "support Hamas today."
"It is not just the predictable cadre of right-wingers or conservative partisans who are suspicious of CAIR’s agenda, leadership, and overall culture," Rosen said.
The White House fact sheet released last month said CAIR would "launch a tour to educate religious communities about steps they can take to protect their houses of worship from hate incidents, such as instituting appropriate security measures, developing strong relationships with other faith communities, and maintaining open lines of communication with local law enforcement."
According to Tablet, the White House told Jewish groups after the plan’s release, "It’s factually incorrect to suggest [CAIR] are part of the strategy. They are not part of the strategy—there are zero mentions." Instead, the White House said CAIR was "listed in a supplemental document as one of the many independent organizations making commitments to help counter antisemitism."