CAIR Condemns Massacre of Palestinian Protesters

Palestinian civilians were killed while peacefully protesting the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and the anniversary of the ethnic cleansing from their homes.

Over 60 people were killed in the peaceful protest.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, has condemned the Israeli massacre of dozens of Palestinian civilians protesting both the move of the United States embassy to Jerusalem and the anniversary of the ethnic cleansing from their homes in Palestine.

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad, who is of Palestinian heritage, said:

“We condemn this massacre of civilian protesters -- including children, medical personnel and the disabled -- who seek to shake the conscience of an international community that has long ignored or excused Israel’s past dispossession of the Palestinian people and its continuing occupation of those few who were able to survive in their ancestral land.

“Perhaps this tragic mass killing – played out in full view of the world’s media – will spark a new call for justice similar to that sparked by the Soweto uprising against Apartheid.

“The unjust, unwise and counterproductive symbolic giveaway of Palestinian, Muslim and Christian rights in Jerusalem only serves to outrage the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims and to eliminate any role our nation has as a neutral mediator in any future negotiations to end the occupation.”

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.

Source: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)