Comments from CAIR Leader Leave White House Scrambling

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is an organization that has been surrounded by controversy for years.

CAIR co-founder and national executive director Nihad Awad has now poured gasoline on this fire with comments that were made during a recent conference.

The comments were so outrageous that the White House is now scrambling to cut ties.

Can’t Say That

There is a video going ballistic on social media right now that features Awad saying he was happy after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.

In the video, in part, he stated, "The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege, the walls of the concentration camp on Oct. 7. 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 land that they were not allowed to walk in.

"And yes, 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."

CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad at AMP Convention: I Was Happy to See the People of Gaza Break the Siege on October 7; They Were Victorious; the People of Gaza Have the Right to Self-Defense - Israel Does Not #Hamas #Gaza #Palestinians @CAIRNational @NihadAwad pic.twitter.com/WDbSRjFJo0

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) December 7, 2023

Awad claims the video was spliced together to make him look bad.

He issued a long statement trying to cover for the comments, stating, in part, "What I actually said while discussing international law: Ukrainians, Palestinians, and other occupied people have the right to defend themselves and escape occupation by just and legal means, but targeting civilians is never an acceptable means of doing so, which is why I have again and again condemned the violence against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7 and past Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians, including suicide bombings, all the way back to the 1990s—just as I have condemned the decades of violence against Palestinian civilians."

The White House has since removed CAIR from its online pledge regarding anti-Semitism and is now disassociating itself from the group.

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates stated, "The horrific, brutal terrorist attacks committed by Hamas on October 7th were, as President Biden said, ‘abhorrent’ and represent ‘unadulterated evil.’ October 7th was the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust.

“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.

"There are families who are in agony mourning loved ones, and there are also families in agony as they do everything in their power to free loved ones being held hostage.

“Every leader has a responsibility to call out Antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head."

Donald Trump wanted this group designated as a terrorist organization, and he was mocked by the left.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), if you recall, made her now infamous “some people did some things” comment regarding the 9/11 attacks while making an appearance at a CAIR event.

We have numerous members of Congress in the Democrat Party who regularly attend and speak at CAIR events.

Where is the accountability… that is all I want to know.

This is a terrorist-supporting organization and we have members of Congress actively involved with them… where is the accountability?