Press Release: U.S. MUSLIMS SAY 'SIEGE' OF PALESTINIANS MUST END

WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/23/2006) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on the Bush administration to use Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's visit this week to the United States to address urgent issues that are harming America's image and interests in the Middle East and throughout the Muslim world.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the current suffering caused by the Israeli and international "siege" imposed on the Palestinian people is a humanitarian disaster that will only deepen divisions and hostility in the region.

In its statement, the Washington-based group said:

"We urge President Bush to tell Mr. Olmert that the American people will not support unilateral actions such as settlement land grabs, Apartheid-style walls or denial of basic humanitarian needs that block progress toward a just resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mr. Olmert should also be told that he cannot expect American taxpayers to continue financing Israel's illegal and counterproductive actions, which impede the peace process.

"It is in our nation's interest to recognize that the issue of Palestine is a core concern of Muslims worldwide and that our past one-sided approach to the conflict has only served to damage America's image in the international arena...

Last week, I attended the funeral for Daniel Wultz, the young boy from Weston, Florida, who was the unfortunate victim of a suicide bombing that took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, one month ago. I stood there, amongst hundreds of people, to pay my respects to the friends and family of this beautiful boy. Sadness and anger welled up inside me – sadness for what Daniel’s loved ones had to go through and anger for the event that took this 16-year-old’s life and for the powerful who allow those responsible – both directly and indirectly – to walk free on this earth, including within the United States. One organization, in particular, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), demands attention for its past and current history connecting it to the main group involved in the attack – Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

Two Sundays ago, an e-mail was sent out by CAIR denouncing the website, Little Green Footballs (LGF), for what CAIR said were two threats aimed at Muslims found in the comments section of a blog entry on the site. One of the comments was no doubt a threat. It stated, “The next time someone in a truckstop or a Starbucks or a library or any public place says ANYTHING even resembling support for the Muslim ‘cause’ WILL be sent to either the hospital or worse. . .just waiting to bash someones face in. no more games.” To the website’s credit, the dangerous comment was removed. The other quote, which was a strongly worded statement against the religion of Islam and those the author referred to as “Muslim savages,” was allowed to stay and was later debated.

While CAIR proudly displayed the offending quotes and, at the same time, unjustly and irresponsibly labeled LGF an “internet hate site,” a vital piece of information was missing from the e-mail. The blog entry, from where the quotes came, was an announcement of the death of Daniel Wultz...