Joe Kaufman has sent us a copy of the speech he will give this afternoon in protest of today's meeting of Minnesota Democratic Fifth District congressional candidate Keith Ellison and Florida gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis with their friends at CAIR in Pembroke Pines, Florida. The speech contains some useful background on CAIR that might help the Minneapolis Star Tribune get a bead on the organization:

The Council on American-Islamic Relations or CAIR was founded by three leaders of a front for the terrorist organization Hamas, in June of 1994. Since its creation:

*Four of CAIR’s officials have been charged with terrorist activities, in relation to Hamas and Al-Qaeda. Two of those officials are behind bars in the United States; the other two have been deported. One of them, Ghassan Elashi, was just sentenced, this past Thursday, to seven years in prison. Another CAIR official was listed by the U.S. Attorney’s office as a potential co-conspirator to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

*CAIR has solicited money for two terrorist “charities” which were shut down shortly after the attacks on 9/11 for raising millions of dollars for Hamas and Al-Qaeda. Leaders of both these organizations were representatives of CAIR.

*CAIR has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit put forward by the family of the former Chief of the FBI’s Counter-Terrorism Section, John P. O’Neill, for his murder during the 9/11 attacks.

*CAIR’s parent organization, the Islamic Association for Palestine, in 2005, was shut down after it was found liable for the murder of an American boy, David Boim, during a Hamas terror operation in Israel.

After hearing all of this, one could easily ask the question, “Why would this organization still exist?” It’s a good question – one that I have no real answer for.

We’re in a War on Terrorism – That’s what our government has said, since the attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. We’re fighting that war in Afghanistan. We’re fighting that war in Iraq. But what our government – and much of our populace – hasn’t yet quite grasped is that the war begins at home!

Yes, there have been organizations that have been shut down in America – their assets frozen. And yes, there have been individuals that have been taken into custody in America – many individuals. But not enough groups have been shut down, and not enough individuals have been taken into custody, for if that were the case, CAIR would have been gone five long years ago.

My friends, we are here to protest two individuals who have taken money from leaders of CAIR. But they’re not just any individuals – no. They are two people that are seeking high political office within the United States. One is a Minnesota State Representative, Keith Ellison, who is running for United States Congress. And the other is a U.S. Congressman, Jim Davis, who is running for the Governorship of the beautiful state of Florida.

Congressional Candidate Keith Ellison has taken campaign donations from CAIR’s National Chairman Parvez Ahmed, CAIR’s National Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor, and CAIR’s co-founder and National Executive Director Nihad Awad, who in March of 1994 declared, “After I researched the situation inside and outside Palestine, I am in support of the Hamas movement more than the PLO.”

***

Within this building, a CAIR sponsored event is taking place, with Keith Ellison as its Keynote Speaker. One of the individuals hosting the event is a man by the name of Altaf Ali. He is the Executive Director of CAIR-Florida. I have had personal dealings with this man. Exactly one month after 9/11, on October 11, 2001, I debated Mr. Ali about the attacks, on a local radio program. During the show, this individual derided me for being Jewish and repeatedly refused to answer the question of whether or not the people that perished in the World Trade Center were innocent.

What kind of monsters are Keith Ellison and Jim Davis looking for support from?!

Shame on you, Representative Ellison, and shame on you, Representative Davis. By accepting this money, you have shown that you are on the wrong side of this war....

Posted by Scott at 10:37 AM  |    |