The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) has unleashed a barrage of campaign mailings over the past several weeks, many of which have been supportive of President Donald Trump, while others attack former Vice President Joe Biden and his contrasting vision for America.
The latest mailing that hit mailboxes this past Saturday not only target Biden but vice presidential nominee Senator Kamala Harris for her past support for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group tied to radical Islamic terrorism and for the promotion of an anti-Semitic agenda by some of its leaders.
The RPOF contends that “In a Biden-Harris administration, ant-Semites will have more than just a seat at the table...They’ll have control.”
The mailer focuses on the “close ties” Sen. Harris allegedly has with the “anti-Semitic organization CAIR” and has received funding from the group.
Republicans claim that Harris has had a “longstanding relationship with a radical Muslim advocacy group” in CAIR, claiming that she has “accepted thousands of dollars in contributions from CAIR PAC.”
CAIR
In 2007, CAIR was designated as "unindicted co-conspirators" in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism case where the terror group Hamas benefitted from the charity's fundraising.
CAIR Florida leader Hassan Shibley, a vehement opposer of Israel, once tweeted that “Israel & it’s supporters are enemies of God and humanity.” Shibly is also on record of refusing to denounce Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations, and for calling the Hamas terror tunnels found in the Gaza Strip as “being in defense of Palestine.”
God as my wittiness, Israel & it's supporters are enemies of God and humanity! How many more children must Israel kill 4 U 2 C?#Gaza
— Hassan Shibly (@HassanShibly) August 3, 2014
CAIR PAC-CA is listed as a major contributor to Harris’ past senate campaign and has also donated to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D).
On October 20, 2018, Senator Harris and a number of Democratic members of the U.S. Congress from around the country wrote individual letters praising CAIR for their efforts to “mobilize the Muslim community” and “dismantle Islamophobic rhetoric" since its founding in 1994.
“[P]lease accept my gratitude and admiration for your tireless work to promote peace, justice and mutual understanding. For nearly a quarter century, CAIR has worked diligently to dismantle Islamophobic rhetoric, mobilize the American Muslim community, and encourage civic engagement.
“The council has strived to improve understanding about Islam and move toward a future in which we welcome people of goodwill from all faiths and nationalities into our neighborhoods and our schools, as well as our hearts and minds.
In the face of intolerant and exclusionary policies, CAIR has steadfastly defended the constitutional rights of American Muslims who aspire to build better lives for their families and contribute to our communities and our great nation. Today, as we continue to promote tolerance and eliminate hate in our society, CAIR’s work remains as important as it was the day of its founding in 1994.
“Once again, thank you for your commitment to protecting civil liberties and making the promise of America real for all Americans. Best wishes for a memorable celebration.”
The RPOF also mentions the Biden/Harris campaign ties to outspoken anti-Israel and Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour, who is closely tied to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and supports the BDS movement.
Sarsour was denounced by the Biden campaign after she addressed the 2020 Democratic National Convention for her views on BDS.
“Joe Biden has been a strong supporter of Israel and a vehement opponent of anti-Semitism his entire life, and he obviously condemns her views and opposes BDS, as does the Democratic platform,” Andrew Bates, a Biden campaign spokesman said in response to Sarsour’s embrace of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. “She has no role in the Biden campaign whatsoever.”
The condemnation appeared to be superficial because just 3 days later, Team Biden walked back their denouncement of Sarsour and apologized for the harsh statement.
"I am sorry that that happened. And I hope that whatever trust was broken, that this conversation is one small step to help build back the trust, but that is not the last time we have this conversation," said Ashley Allison, national coalitions director for the Biden campaign, to a group of activists on a private phone call.
Two other Biden staffers apologized as well, one stating “ My apologies for what we did and what happened,” while the other said that it was an “egregious misstep” and that the spokesman remarks were merely a mistake made by the campaign as a whole.
"That's not how we do business… We are not in the business of condemning people and large swathes of the community, absolutely not," she said.
"And we are just not going to try and do better going forward, we are going to do better going forward. This will not be a situation that will happen again."
Sarsour was listed by the Obama-Biden administration as one of its “Champions of Change.”
Christian Ziegler, the RPOF vice chairman, told The Floridian that “no one has been a greater friend to Israel in the White House than Donald Trump,” adding that there is a “stark contrast” between the Trump administration and the Biden campaign as it relates to Israel.
From moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem to historic Middle East peace deal after historic Middle East peace deal, no one has been a greater friend to Israel in the White House than Donald Trump, “said Ziegler. “Which is a stark contrast to the Biden-Harris ticket -or if we are being honest, the Harris-Biden ticket - who have turned their back on Israel and will continue to do so in order to please their anti-Semitic Democrat Party bosses like Ilhan Omar.
There is no doubt this year - A vote for Biden is a vote against Israel and a vote for Trump is a vote for our great ally, Israel."
State Rep. Dan Daley (D), whose district has one of the largest population of Jewish-Americans in Florida, admonished the mailing, saying that it smelled of “racist undertones” and the continued effort by the Trump campaign to "divide” Americans.
Here is Rep. Daley’s statement to The Floridian:
In the 11th hour, all we see is more of the same as the Trump campaign continues to try and divide us. They know they are losing. Joe Biden has a strong record of supporting Israel - stronger than President Trump’s and that will continue to be the case when he’s elected President. It is also not lost on me that this piece smells of racist undertones in that this is the same nonsense they used against Andrew Gillum and are now resurrecting it against the next Vice President Kamala Harris.
If Biden wins the presidency, will his administration offer allegedly radicalized groups like CAIR and "anti-Semites" a"seat at the table?"
President Trump and former Vice President Biden are in a dead-heat in Florida with the latest public opinion polls showing them in a virtual tie.
