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Commentary
Editorials
is CAIR A Terror Greun?
Downpour Stirs Rich Outpouring
IA e who follow the
Islamist movement fell
off our collective chair
on Nov. 15 when the
news came that the
United Arab Emirates'
ministerial cabinet
had listed the Council
on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) as
one of 83 proscribed
terrorist organiza-
tions, up there with the
Taliban, Al Qaida and
ISIS.
This came as a
surprise because the
UAE authorities themselves have
a record of promoting Islamism;
because CAIR has a history of rais-
ing funds in the UAE; and because
the UAE embassy in Washington
had previously praised CAIR.
On reflection, however, the list-
ing makes sense for, in recent
years, the Islamist movement has
gravely fractured. Sunnis fight
Shias; advocates of violence strug-
gle against those working within
the system; modernizers do battle
against those trying to return to the
seventh century; and monarchists
confront republicans.
This last divide concerns us here.
After decades of working closely
with the Muslim Brotherhood
(M.B.) and its related institutions,
the Persian Gulf monarchies (with
the single, striking exception of
Qatar) have come to see the M.B.
complex of institutions as a threat
to their existence. The Saudi,
Emirati, Kuwaiti and Bahraini
rulers now view politicians like
Mohamed Morsi of Egypt as their
enemies, as they do Hamas and its
progeny — including CAIR.
While the Gulf monarchs have
not become any less Islamist, they
have acquired a clear-eyed appreci-
ation of the harm that M.B.-related
groups can do.
orrential rains came, isolated major
flooding followed and a legion
of helping hands reached out —
underscoring how caring and responsive a
Jewish community we are blessed to have in
Metro Detroit.
How we as a community reacted to the
Aug. 11 storms that ravaged parts of Jewish
neighborhoods in Huntington Woods,
Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Ferndale and
Southfield wasn't surprising. Nor was the
resolve of affected families when crisis
became the operative word.
Most inspiring was how families put their
material losses in perspective and focused
on moving forward. Families also showed
heart-rending concern for neighbors amid
mounting cleanup bills and insurance claims
of their own.
Sadly, the death of a Beth Shalom con-
gregant was attributed to the storm. That
sobering reality alone took the edge off
grieving over lost possessions in flooded
basements.
As the JN cover story "After The Flood"
recounted on Dec. 4, Jewish Family Service
of Metropolitan Detroit quarterbacked an
array of immediate and long-term services
depending on need. Coordinated and sus-
tained financial and emotional support
provided by local and outside Jewish agen-
cies added to the incredible team effort. JFS,
The Backdrop
Having explained why the UAE
listed CAIR on its terror manifest,
we must ask a second question:
Is the listing warranted? Can a
Washington-based organization
with ties to the Obama White
House, the U.S. Congress, leading
news media outlets and prestigious
universities truly be an instigator of
terrorism?
CAIR can rightly be so charac-
terized. True, it does not set off
bombs. But as the UAE's foreign
minister explains, "Our threshold
is quite low ... We cannot
accept incitement or fund-
ing!' Indeed, CAIR incites,
funds and does much
more vis-a-vis terrorism:
• Apologizes for terrorist
groups: Challenged repeat-
edly to denounce Hamas
and Hezbollah as terrorist
groups, CAIR denounces
the acts of violence, but
not their sponsors.
• Is connected to Hamas:
Hamas, designated a ter-
rorist organization by the U.S. and
many other governments, indirectly
created CAIR, and the two groups
remain tight. Examples: In 1994,
CAIR head Nihad Awad publicly
declared his support for Hamas;
and the Holy Land Foundation
(HLF), a Hamas front group, con-
tributed $5,000 to CAIR; in turn,
CAIR exploited the 9-11 attacks
to raise money for HLF; and, this
past August, demonstrators at a
CAIR-sponsored rally in Florida
proclaimed, "We are Hamas!"
• Settled a lawsuit: CAIR initi-
ated a libel lawsuit in 2004 over
five statements by a group called
Anti-CAIR. But two years later,
CAIR settled the suit with preju-
dice (meaning that it cannot be
reopened), implicitly acknowledg-
ing the accuracy of Anti-CAIR's
assertions, which included:
— "CAIR is a terrorist-support-
ing front organization that is par-
tially funded by terrorists";
— "CAIR ... is supported by
terrorist-supporting individuals,
groups and countries";
— "CAIR has proven links to,
and was founded by, Islamic terror-
ists"; and
— "CAIR actively supports ter-
rorists and terrorist-supporting
groups and nations:'
• Includes individuals accused of
terrorism: At least six board mem-
bers or staff at CAIR have been
denied entry to the U.S. or were
indicted on or pled guilty to or
were convicted of terrorist charges:
Bassem Khafagi, Randall ("Ismail")
Royer, Ghassan Elashi, Rabih
Haddad, Muthanna Al-Hanooti and
Nabil Sadoun.
• Is in trouble with the law:
a partner of Federation and the JCC, relied
heavily on such Jewish emergency relief
experts as Minneapolis-based NECHAMA
and Beersheva-based IsraAID: The Israel
Forum for International Humanitarian Aid.
The Detroit Chessed Project is always
there when a community need arises. Local
synagogues stepped up with Shabbat din-
ners and ritual burial of waterlogged sacred
books. Jewish Assistance Network, (248)
592-2650, proved a one-stop resource for
anyone seeking help, slicing through poten-
tial red tape and frustration. Countless local
merchants and others showed boundless
compassion toward the flood stricken.
Momentous as the figures are, the
$700,000 that JFS awarded in grants and the
$300,000 that Hebrew Free Loan approved
in loans together barely compensate for the
property loss. Insurance claims and Federal
Emergency Management Agency aid ran
well into the millions.
The numbers logged in the JN story are
unsettling because of the number of families
that JFS ultimately assisted (more than 300).
But they also are uplifting because of how
various agencies, synagogues, businesses
and individuals rallied seemingly overnight
when the floodgates opened.
The Great Flood of 2014 unwittingly spot-
lighted just how big Jewish Detroit's collec-
tive heart is.
❑
Keeping Watch num- mampc
A
mid political infighting that
has upended Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's fragile
coalition government and has forced
early March 2015 elections, Israel must
keep its security eye trained on Hamas.
The Gaza Strip-ruling terrorist orga-
nization isn't retreating anytime soon
despite the setbacks it suffered in this
summer's war with the Jewish state.
Hamas, teaming with the Jordanian
Muslim Brotherhood, continues to
try to smuggle weapons not only into
the coastal strip, but also into the
Palestinian Authority (P.A.)-controlled
areas of the West Bank.
In the wake of the Egyptian army
destroying tunnels joining Gaza and
Sinai and Israeli fighters obliterating
tunnels from Gaza into Israel this sum-
mer, Hamas has stepped up activity
along sea-smuggling routes. Thankfully,
the Israeli Navy has been a seafaring
bulwark, according to news reports.
Hamas' partnership with Jordan's
Muslim Brotherhood is particularly
troubling because both organizations
have twinned their hatred for Israel
with efforts to smuggle weapons into
the West Bank – a clear attempt to
disrupt or dismantle P.A. President
Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah leadership
there.
Arrests in connection with the sea
smuggling followed Israel's announce-
ment that it foiled a major transna-
tional Hamas network seeking to attack
Israeli targets in Jerusalem, the West
Bank and the West. More than 30
Hamas members tied to the plot were
arrested in September.
Targets included the Teddy soc-
cer stadium in Jerusalem and the
Jerusalem light-rail system. Also
planned were car bombings; infiltra-
tions into Israeli communities; attacks
on military sites; and the kidnapping of
Israelis in the West Bank and abroad.
Operatives trained mostly in Syria and
Gaza; many were recruited from Jordan.
It's important to remember that in
challenging the existence of the Jewish
state, Hamas also challenges the exis-
tence of the Jewish people. Those chal-
lenges together represent the ultimate
in anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic fervor.
❑
CAIR on page 36
December 18 • 2014
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