Photo Credit: Rahul Lal | CalMatters
(SACRAMENTO, CA, 1/8/2024) – The California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) todayexpressed deep concern and opposition to recentinitiativestaken byCalifornia State legislatorswhichcomment on the ongoing Middle East crisis while deliberately ignoring the suffering of the Palestinian people under theIsraeli government’s indiscriminateattacksonGaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants—a majority of them being minors.
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OnWednesday,Jan. 3,the first day of the 2024 legislative session,Assemblymember James Gallagher introduced ACR 119. The resolution includes an outline of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the ensuing hostage crisis.
On thesame day, the Jewish Legislative Caucusreleased a letter tolegislatorsregardingthe Oct.7 attacks, rising antisemitism, and a proposed 2024 legislative package.
While both ACR 119 and the letter rightfully condemnterrorismandantisemitismand callfor the return of civilian hostages,bothnotablyomithow the Israeli government’s ongoing violence and what President Biden described as the “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza have killed over 22,000 Palestinian civilians, including over10,000 children, displaced1.9 million people, destroyed critical infrastructure like hospitals, schools, bakeries, mosques, and churches, and caused a life-threatening humanitarian crisis.Human rights organizations and advocates from all over the world havestatedthat Israel’s cuttingoff offood, water, fuel, and healthcareamounts to war crimes.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has lamented that”Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children. Hundreds of girls and boys are reportedly being killed or injured every day.”
In a new report, the Israeli Human Rights Organization B’Tselem stated, “The hunger in Gaza is not a byproduct of the war but a direct result of Israel’s declared policy.” Since Oct. 7, Israeli government officials and leaders have openly called for the flattening of Gaza and the mass murder of its residents, described as “human animals” or “not civilians” by various Israeli government officials and leaders.
Additionally, both ACR 119 and the lettercontainclaims thathave been proven inaccurateand have been used todehumanize Palestinians and justify the unfolding genocideand war crimes against them.Thelettersupports the false claim thatintifada—theArabic word for uprising—means”killingJews,”falsely states that the BDS movement’s goal is to “destroy Israel itself,” andabsolved the Israeli government of anyaccountabilityfor itsindiscriminate bombing of Gaza, andproclaimsthat all of the activists who use the commonPalestineslogan “from the river to the sea” intendto express “supporttheannihilation of the world’s onlyJewishnation.”
CAIR-CA asserts that selective actions or statements about the Mideast crisis made by a legislative body of representatives regarding the suffering of only Israeli civilians that ignore or even justify the suffering of Palestinians who have experienced an egregious humanitarian crisis, dispossession, occupation, ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and daily abuse and murder, not only over the last three months but over the past 75 years, are irresponsible, morally wrong, exacerbate Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian hate impacting the one million Muslims and Arabs in California, and is in direct conflict with lawmakers’commitments to irrevocably condemn all forms of violence.
Furthermore, we are alarmed that the lawmaker’s letter seems to encourage and commit tothe stifling of academic speechand political activism,which critiquescurrent and pastIsraelipolicies anddiscussestheviolence Palestinians experienced during the forming of the Israeli state, whichresulted in thedisplacement and dispossession ofnearly750,000indigenous Palestinians, the deliberate demolition of nearly 500 Palestinian villages and towns by Israel,and has since led to apartheid and discriminatory policiesand years of human rights abusesagainst Palestinians.
In a statement, CAIR-CA CEO Hussam Ayloush said:
“We aredisappointed and disturbedto see our elected officialsengage in legislative acts whichselectively condemn only attacks on Israeli civilians while ignoring or even justifying the ongoing attacks on Palestinian civilians who are experiencing a man-made humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“Every life should matter, not just Israeli ones.By asking the legislature to supportinitiativesthatonly highlight the devastation ofOct.7 and ignore the 75 years of Palestinian dispossession and suffering, as well as the ongoing mass devastation in Gaza,lawmakers are asking their colleagues topoliticize human rights and human lives, alienate their constituents and California’s AMEMSA communities, and fuel a growing rise of Islamophobic sentiment within California.
“Our collective pursuit of justice should encompassa fair, compassionate, and balanced approachthat acknowledges and supports all victims of violence, including both Israeli and Palestinian civilians. This resolutionand the letter by the Jewish Legislative Caucushad the opportunity to transcend divisive rhetoric and genuinely uplift the affected communities in their quest for dignity, security, and a safe future. Instead, it has deepened the divide and intentionallyturned a deaf ear tothe voices of our communities.”
SEE:
- CAIR-LA Demands Santa Ana Mayor Issue Apology for Biased Behavior During City Council Meeting
- CAIR Received ’Staggering’ 2,171 Complaints Over Past Two Months as Islamophobia, Anti-Palestinian Hate ’Spin Out of Control’
CAIR-CA has previously called out local, state, and federal lawmakers for making similar biased, one-sided statements that further pushanti-Palestinian and anti-Muslimrhetoric. Hate incidents targeting the Muslim and Arab communities have been on the rise across the country since Oct. 7.In its most recent report, CAIR National released data showing it received a total of 2,171 reports of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bias in the two months following Oct. 7—a staggering 172% increase. These reports include incidents of harassment, workplace discrimination, and bullying of K-12 students from peers, teachers, and administrators.
CAIR condemns all forms of Islamophobia, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian hate, and antisemitism in the strongest possible terms and calls on our national leaders to take immediate action to stifle these increased attacks on American citizens.
CAIR-CA is a chapter of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT:CAIR-LA Digital Communications ManagerEnjyEl-Kadi, eelkadi@cair.com, (714) 851-4851 ;CAIR-CA Policy ManagerNazeehahKhan,nkhan@cair.com,(916) 596-9158ext110
