Dem lawmakers have history of praise for group whose leader said he was 'happy to see' Hamas attack Israel
Sens. Baldwin and Brown said they condemn CAIR's 'blatantly antisemitic comments'
By Joe Schoffstall , Aubrie Spady Fox News
Published December 10, 2023 4:00am EST
Several Democrat members of Congress have a long history of public support for an organization whose leader recently ignited a firestorm over controversial comments regarding Hamas' deadly attacks on Israeli citizens.
Nihad Awad, the executive director and co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), recently said that he was "happy to see" the October 7 Hamas invasion of Israel and that the Jewish state did not have a right to self-defense because it is an "occupying power."
"The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege — the walls of the concentration camp — on Oct. 7," Awad said at the 16th Annual Convention for Palestine in the U.S. on Nov. 24. "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 free to walk in."
He continued, "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."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/congressional-dems-history-praise-group-happy-hamas-attacks-israel
