Biden White House disavows CAIR in response to director's vile remarks

The Biden White House is scrambling to distance itself from the Council on American-Islamic Relations after footage went viral of its executive director expressing glee over the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks.

Extra to condemning the views expressed last month by CAIR's Palestinian executive director Nihad Awad, the White House has attempted to scrub its past ties with the Muslim advocacy group.

What's the background?

Blaze News previously reported that Awad said in his Nov. 24 speech at the American Muslims for Palestine conference that the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel made him "happy."

"The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege, the walls of the concentration camp, on Oct. 7," said Awad. "And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their lands that they were not allowed to walk in."

Those terrorists to whom Awad appeared to be referring to did not simply "walk free into" the Jewish state, but invaded, armed for war, and massacred thousands of unarmed civilians and dozens of Americans.

"And yes," continued Awad, "the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, have the right to defend themselves. And yes, Israel as an occupying power does not have that right to self-defense."

Awad went on to criticize the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, suggesting that "unless we free Congress [from AIPAC], we will not be able to free Palestine."

Awad's hateful rhetoric painting terrorism in a positive light does not appear to be exceptional among the group's leadership.

Zainab Chaudry, the director of CAIR in Maryland, was temporarily suspended last month from her position on the state's new hate crime task force after referring to the Oct. 7 terror attacks as "the uprising in Palestine"; suggesting Hamas terrorists were akin to "Ukrainian freedom fighters"; claiming Israel is a Nazi state; and calling the Israeli babies murdered by Hamas "fake."

Hussam Ayloush, the executive director of CAIR in Los Angeles, said in a Dec. 1 address to the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, "Israel does not have the right to defend itself as an occupier. ... Not, it doesn't. This is not a rhetorical thing. It doesn't, legally, under international law."

"Imagine we tell Nazi Germany: 'You have the right to defend yourself against French resistance, or Polish resistance, or Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto,'" continued Ayloush. "People would laugh at you if you said that."

Backpedaling

After the video of Awad's remarks went viral online this week, CAIR went into damage control.

Awad claimed in a statement that his admission of happiness concerning Hamas' incursions into Israel had been taken out of context.

"During my remarks at a conference two weeks ago in support of Palestinian human rights, I condemned violence against all civilians and all forms of bigotry, specifically including Islamophobia and antisemitism," said Awad. "Despite my clear remarks, an anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian hate website selected remarks from my speech out of context and spliced them together to create a completely false meaning."

Awad stressed that he condemns and has long condemned violence against Israelis but repeatedly qualified his condemnation, specifying that violence against Israeli civilians is wrong.

CAIR's backpedaling appears to have been in vain.

Democrats desperate for distance

Biden spokesman Andrew Bates told Jewish Insider, "We condemn these shocking, antisemitic statements in the strongest terms."

Bates underscored that the Hamas terror attacks resulted in "the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust" and that the "atrocities of that day shock the conscience, which is why we can never forget the pain Hamas has caused for so many innocent people."

"The horrific, brutal terrorist attacks committed by Hamas on Oct. 7 were, as President Biden said, 'abhorrent' and represent 'unadulterated evil,'" said Bates, reported the New York Times.

The spokesman added that "every leader has a responsibility to call out antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head."

The White House stealthily edited CAIR's name off a May 25 document acknowledging the Muslim advocacy group as one of several groups "commit[ted] to counter antisemitism and build cross-community solidarity by organizations across the private sector, civil society, religious and multi-faith communities, and higher education."

A White House official told Jewish Insider that "CAIR was not listed in the strategy. They were one of several independent organizations listed in a supplemental document. The White House removed their commitment from the supplemental document today."

Bates' statement was cited as the reason for the removal.

The Biden White House has not yet attempted to hide that a CAIR director was among its guests for a May 3 "listening session with Muslim community leaders to discuss efforts to counter Islamophobia."

However, the White House has stressed that "CAIR is not consulting on the development of the Islamophobia strategy, period."

It appears President Joe Biden has little to lose politically in kicking CAIR to the curb given that Muslim American leaders have already begun to rally their communities against him.

Jaylani Hussein, director of CAIR in Minneapolis, suggested that those upset over Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war are willing to risk former President Donald Trump possibly winning in the 2024 election, even though they similarly find him loathsome, reported Axios.

"We recognize that, in the next four years, our decision may cause us to have an even more difficult time," said Hussein. "But we believe that this will give us a chance to recalibrate, and the Democrats will have to consider whether they want our votes or not."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!