The Arizona branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has prepared form letters to help Arab- and Muslim-Americans shut down expressions of support for Israel from their colleagues at workplaces and schools.
“Your team, here at CAIR-AZ, has prepared templatized documents to advocate for you and your loved ones at work and school. Your voice is powerful. Use these letters to keep that power in your hands. Please reach out to CAIR-AZ if you feel you have been discriminated against,” said Azza Abuseif, executive director of the Mesa-based chapter.
The campaign is part of the national CAIR response to “Israel’s assault on Gaza.” Many schools and universities have recently “released one-sided statements of support for Israel that have been emailed to students, families, and community members in their school districts,” according to a CAIR advisory.
“The schools’ statements fail to acknowledge the dispossession of the Palestinian people under the illegal Israeli occupation and apartheid system or their humanity as they are bombarded and killed by Israeli forces,” the advisory states.
CAIR, described by National Review’s Andrew McCarthy as a “media-savvy Hamas apologist masquerading as a civil-rights organization,” has failed to acknowledge the carnage caused by Hamas in the name of the extinction of Israel and Jews.
Instead, CAIR-Arizona’s form letter to employers, states:
As you may be aware, I am an employee of Arab and/or Muslim heritage. The recent developments in the Middle East are, without question, ones that have had massive implications on my personal life and my community. It goes without saying that my community is in a state of grief. This reality is one that you conveniently neglected when you decided to circulate a company-wide email in support of Israel.
The pro-Palestinian form letter goes on to assert that pro-Israel comments following the brutal terrorist attacks are replete with “racial hostility and discrimination.”
“I expected a workplace that would uphold mutual respect, and, at the very least, concern for employee-wide wellbeing. When I read the company’s recently circulated statement, I realized this was not the case and my expectations were fundamentally violated,” the form letter states.
It goes on to note workplace anti-discrimination laws, adding that a company expressing sympathy for Israel in the wake of the October 7 attacks is “effectively compromising the safety and sense of equal belonging” in the workplace.
“You have a legal obligation to ensure that no race or nationality, within your purview as an employer, experiences hostility, discrimination, or repression,” the form letter asserts; warning, “A pro-Israel statement, at this juncture, violates this standard and recklessly incites hostility against all those who do not belong to the group you expressed support for as a company.”
It demands silence from the employer on the subject of Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel, and further demands contrition and acceptance of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ position.
“We strongly urge you to send a response that considers the repercussions encapsulated here and reinforces your unwavering commitment to the respect and fair treatment of everyone from all backgrounds. We also invite you to hold sincere conversations with those who wish to express how recent events have impacted them and their families,” it states.
The form letter to superintendents and/or principles of individual schools takes the same tack. It’s a template for parents of Arab and Muslim students noting expectations that their “heritage and race would be treated with inclusivity and mutual respect.”
According to the template:
As of recently, following the events that are unfolding in the Middle East, it has become apparent that the expectations we held of our children’s school environment was defied. Our children have come home with feelings of alienation and dismissal as they sat through speeches given by their teachers that expressly communicated support for Israel. We are also in receipt of a school-wide email, circulated by [ name of email sender], that equally expresses support of one side of a political event that is not only a contentious one, but one with deep-rooted implications on an entire, core demographic of the school. This is irresponsible, at best, and at worst, exacerbates the persistent anti-Arab, anti-Muslim attitude that our community has been experiencing for decades. For the school’s Superintendent and teachers to come out in expressing solidarity for one-side recklessly incites hostility towards students of Arab and/or Muslim heritage who continue to grieve all while facing school-sanctioned alienation.”
The letter includes more veiled legal threats and demands that, given the “near irreparable harm the school’s position will have on children from Arab and/or Muslim backgrounds, we urge you to correct this massive oversight,” and then calls on officials to muzzle any statements of support for Israel in the name of equity.
“We invite you to make a statement clarifying your position and reaffirm the school’s unwavering commitment to fostering an environment that upholds values of equality, fairness and respect for students of all backgrounds and lived experiences,” it says.
Dan McLaughlin wrote last month in National Review, the templates include no mention of the Hamas attacks, yet they complain about “one-sided” communications. “Administrators of colleges and K–12 schools should understand where this war propaganda is coming from, and treat it as such.” he said.
CAIR-Arizona has not returned several calls from The Arizona Sun Times seeking comment.
– – –
M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
