(TAMPA, FL, 10/7/2024) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its Florida Chapter (CAIR-FL), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today marked one year since the Oct. 7 attack and the start of the Gaza genocide by telling President Biden that it is “long past time” for him to use American leverage to force the Israeli government to accept a comprehensive ceasefire deal that ends the genocide in Gaza, frees all captives and political prisoners, averts an all-out regional war and addresses the root cause of decades of recurring violence: the illegal occupation of Palestine.

CAIR also reiterated the civil rights organization’s condemnation of both attacks on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7 and its condemnation of the Israeli government’s U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza, as well as ongoing indiscriminate attacks on the occupied West Bank and Lebanon. Israel’s bombing campaign has likely killed almost 200,000 people in Gaza according to The Lancet and rendered Gaza almost uninhabitable. The stated death toll is almost 42,000, mostly women and children. Its bombing in Lebanon has killed at least 2,000 people in just two weeks.

In a statement, CAIR said:

“On the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7th attacks and the start of the genocide in Gaza, we reiterate our condemnation of such violence and demand that President Biden use American power to end this year-long disaster. It is long past time for President Biden to force Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a comprehensive ceasefire deal that ends Israel’s genocide in Gaza, frees all captives and political prisoners, and lays the groundwork to end the decades-long occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people so that the region has a chance for a just peace.

“President Biden’s Middle East policy has been a disastrous failure since not only the Oct. 7th attack in Israel and the start of the genocide in Gaza, but from the moment he took office. By ignoring the Israeli government’s expansion of illegal settlements, its attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque, and its nearly daily killing Palestinians – including the murder of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh – President Biden sent a clear signal to Palestinians that their lives do not matter and to Israel that its crimes do not matter.

“To make matters worse, Brett McGurk and the other would-be Lawrences of Arabia in the Biden administration openly pursued a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel while sending clear signals that a Palestinian state would not be a necessary part of the deal, enflaming tensions further.

“Instead of responding to the attacks on Oct. 7 and the Israeli government’s subsequent threat to commit a genocide against ‘human animals’ in Gaza by changing course, President Biden has spent a year enabling the Israeli government’s expanding war crimes, violating U.S. laws that requires an arms embargo on Israel, and ignoring the majority of Americans who oppose sending more weapons to Israel. Now the entire region is in chaos.

“Here at home, anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia are out of control in the worst-ever recorded wave of hate to hit Muslim and Arab communities in the United States. The U.S. government, major media outlets, corporations and political leaders have contributed to a massive wave of anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia in the U.S. over the past year. 

“After a year of attacks on free speech, American institutions must respect the right of everyone in America, including workers, organizations and students, to speak out against the genocide in Gaza. We call on employers, educators and other public figures to do their job: respect free speech and adopt a zero-tolerance attitude toward doxing, harassment, bullying, and attacks on anti-genocide voices, particularly Muslims, Arab, and Palestinians who have been targeted.

“Most Americans oppose hate against any community, support free speech for all communities, and want to end U.S. support for war crimes overseas. Conflict here in America and violence in the Middle East will likely continue until the United States addresses the root cause: decades of Israeli occupation, apartheid, and now genocide. The past year and the many decades of death and destruction must come to an end, and President Biden is the one who must take a long overdue step towards ending it, starting in Gaza.”

About CAIR-Florida:

CAIR-Florida is the state’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, foster dialogue, safeguard civil liberties for all, empower American Muslims, and form coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

La misión de CAIR-Florida es mejorar la comprensión del Islam, fomentar el diálogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprensión mutua.

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CONTACT:

Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, CAIR-FL Media and Outreach Director, Ph. (305) 502-6749. E: [email protected]