GOP U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake called on her rivals in the critical race to condemn the anti-Israel Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its Israel-hating keynote speaker, U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (R-MI-12).
Tlaib, a Palestinian American member of the House’s radical “Squad” and ardent supporter of the leftist Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, is scheduled to speak at the Arizona chapter of CAIR’s annual banquet, slated for November 18 in Mesa.
“A day after the Hamas attacks in Israel, which left at least 33 Americans dead & as many as 20 held hostage, CAIR called for a Jihad,” Lake wrote on her X account, linking to The Arizona Sun Times story. “Echoing their parent organization, CAIR-AZ has invited Rashida Tlaib, Congress’ leading terrorist sympathizer, to speak at their gala in Mesa on Nov. 18.”
Lake then noted that her U.S. Senate opponents, U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) and incumbent U.S. Senator Kyrsten Simema, a former Democrat turned independent, “have accepted money from, & championed, CAIR for their entire political careers.”
“I am calling on them to join me in condemning both their DC colleague & their friends in CAIR for their calls to violence,” the former Arizona gubernatorial candidate wrote.
A day after the Hamas attacks in Israel, which left at least 33 Americans dead & as many as 20 held hostage, CAIR called for a Jihad
Echoing their parent organization, CAIR-AZ has invited Rashida Tlaib, Congress' leading terrorist sympathizer, to speak at their gala in Mesa on… pic.twitter.com/xKDyj6tJN2
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) October 25, 2023
Sinema received more than $5,700 from donors affiliated with CAIR through 2018, according to Islamist Watch’s Money in Politics site. Nearly half of that came from Deedra Abboud, former director of the Arizona chapter of the CAIR and unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate. She lost to Sinema by nearly 60 percentage points in the 2018 Democratic primary.
A Phoenix resident has launched a petition urging the Sheraton Mesa at Wrigleyville to cancel next month’s annual CAIR banquet featuring Tlaib.
“We are honored to have US Representative Rashida Tlaib as our keynote speaker for this year’s banquet!” the group notes on its webpage in promoting the banquet titled, “Muslim-American Legacies: Past, Present and Future.”
The bombastic member of the Squad has been accused by even some of her most ardent liberal peers of “fanning the flames” in the Israel-Hamas war.
“As a concerned citizen of Phoenix, AZ, I am deeply disturbed by the upcoming event scheduled at Sheraton Mesa at Wrigleyville West,” states a creator of the petition, identified as Y.J. “The hotel is set to host the 2023 Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Conference on November 18th, featuring Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) as a speaker. Ms. Tlaib’s history of antisemitic remarks and her response to attacks on our ally, Israel, are disgraceful and cannot go unchecked.”
The change.org petition originally sought 1,500 signatures. As of late Thursday afternoon, 3,492 people had signed on. A new goal has been established.
As The Sun Times reported this week, Gallego quietly deleted a 2021 press release from his official House website that expressed human rights concerns about Israel’s tactics during the conflict with Hamas after the Islamic terrorist group launched its devastating surprise attack against Israel on October 7.
The press release from Gallego came in response to a period of violence in Israel and Palestine in May of 2021. Palestinian protesters were initially upset by the intention of an Israeli court to evict six Palestinian families from contested territory, and some ultimately threw stones at Israeli police. This provoked an Israeli police response that included the use of tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun grenades during a raid at the Al-Aqsa mosque. The conflict concluded after about two weeks.
In his 2021 statement, Gallego condemned the violence and urged “Palestinian and Israeli leaders” to “take immediate steps to de-escalate” and “achieve a ceasefire” to “prevent further bloodshed.” He highlighted the evictions as the cause of the violence, but also demanded Hamas stop its rocket attacks, and celebrated the United States’ support for Israel.
Gallego did not return a call left with his office. Sinema could not be reached for comment in her Washington, D.C. or Phoenix offices.
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Kari Lake” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo “Ruben Gallego” by Ruben Gallego. Photo “Kysten Sinema” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
