Doc's Talk: American Muslims for Palestine's Web of Hamas Support

Thursday, December 15, 2011

American Muslims for Palestine's Web of Hamas Support

IPT News
December 14, 2011

http://www.investigativeproject.org/3346/american-muslims-for-palestine-web-of-hamas

Muslims convicted in America of supporting terrorist groups are heroes and the victims of injustice, a national convention of Palestinian activists was told. In addition, speakers said the fight for a Palestinian state will center on American college campuses.

American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)'s conference on Palestinian activism in America attracted more than 2,000 people Thanksgiving weekend in Chicago. Last year's AMP's conference revealed the organization's goal to delegitimize the State of Israel in America. This year's conference reinforced that message, while taking it a step further.

At the opening ceremony, Jamal Said, an imam at the Mosque Foundation in Chicago (Bridgeview Mosque) hailed "the activists and freedom fighters who gave up their personal ambitions and their own lives so our cause may live."

Said was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) Hamas financing trial. The U.S. Treasury froze HLF assets in 2001 after concluding its money went to Hamas. Last week, a federal appeals court upheld the conviction of five HLF officials in November 2008 who had been accused of illegally routing more than $12 million to Hamas.

During a session held in Arabic, Archbishop Atallah Hanna of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem supported Palestinians imprisoned by Israel for conducting acts of terrorism:

"There are more than 8,000 Palestinian prisoners in the prisons of the Occupation. They are the pick of Palestinian youth, of honorable strugglers, who served the Palestinian cause. They were sentenced to the prisons of the racist Occupation because they defended the cause of their people, because they resisted, because they struggled, because they waged Jihad, because they were not those who were silent, who kept apart, who stood with their arms crossed, in the face of what was committed against their Palestinian people. They are prisoners of freedom." [Emphasis added]

Hanna, an Israeli citizen, ended his speech assuring the audience, "We in Palestine, Christians and Muslims, stand in one trench to confront the Occupation… This Occupation will vanish. Palestine will be liberated and will return to its owners."

Other speakers attacked the designation of terrorist groups by the United States.

Othman Atta, the executive director of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, argued that such designations are "political decisions" made by Congress: "It is clearly a political decision. When the PLO was designated as a terrorist group – political decision – Hamas, Hizballah and other groups, when they're designated as terrorist groups, it is a political decision. They don't designate Israel, that has been occupying Palestinian lands for decades…."

Congress does not designate terrorist groups or individual terrorists. Statutes empower both the U.S. State Department and the Treasury Department to do so.

Atta is a frequent speaker at AMP events. Some of the members of the Islamic Center in Milwaukee were "involved in raising money in the name" of HLF "that is actually for Hamas," according to a November 2001 FBI memo.

During the same session Rafeeq Jaber, a founding board member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), argued that there are risks involved in "working for Palestine." Jaber then defended convicted terrorists, "So the risks are imprisonment, which is that we talked about here, the HLF, Sami Al-Arian, Dr. Ashqar, Muhammad Salah, and the list goes on and on and on for those people who worked here in the United States. And they suffer."

Sami Al-Arian, a former University of South Florida professor, pled guilty in 2006 to providing goods and services to the terrorist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Abdelhaleem Ashqar has been accused of racketeering for his alleged support for Hamas. He was acquitted by a jury on these charges in February 2007, but was sentenced to 11 years in prison for criminal contempt and obstruction of justice after refusing to testify before a federal grand jury investigating Hamas support in the United States. Co-conspirator Muhammad Salah was a member of Hamas and indicted for providing material support and resources to Hamas. In July 2007 he was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

Jaber's defense of terrorists is not surprising given his own support for Hamas. Jaber served as the president of the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP) from 1996-1998 and from 1999 until the organization shut down in 2005. IAP served as the primary voice of Hamas in the United States. Court documents show both IAP and HLF were created by the "Palestine Committee" in America, which was established by the Muslim Brotherhood to "support Hamas from abroad." HLF acted as "the fundraising arm for Hamas," and IAP served as a "media entity."

The audience also heard from Sarah Mufid Abdulqader, the daughter of one of the convicted HLF members, Mufid Abdulqader. Her father "traveled around the country on HLF's behalf to speak and raise funds," according to court documents.

"It's an honor to have a father that was put in jail," Sarah Abdulqader said, and she asked Allah "to free all political prisoners of Palestine in Palestine and in the United States."

AMP's board includes at least two members with ties to HLF. Salah Sarsour has helped raise money for Hamas and formerly worked for the IAP, law enforcement documents show. AMP's Osama Abu Irshaid was an editor of Al-Zaytounah, an Arabic newspaper that was published by IAP.

The Investigative Project on Terrorism previously exposed AMP's support for Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), an anti-Israel campus group that is growing at universities across the country. That support was highlighted during the conference.

Taher Herzallah, the national campus coordinator of AMP and a member of the University of California, Riverside SJP, shared his experiences as a convicted "Irvine 11" student during the conference session "Criminalizing Palestine in the United States." Ten pro-Palestinian students were convicted in September on charges relating to an organized series of disruptions during a February 2010 speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren at the University of California, Irvine. "Every time they make a move, we become more determined enemies," Herzallah said. "

"The universities – it's gonna be the front line moving forward, the front line. Why? Because this is the next generation," AMP Executive Director Hatem Bazian told the audience during a session on activism.

During the same session, a student from the University of Chicago's SJP praised AMP for its unyielding support. "They don't just fund us, you know money doesn't mean much in reality; it's the support," Sami Kishawi told the audience. "They're willing to give us an entire segment of their conference."

Kishawi claimed that "it's easier" to be "involved with the liberation of Palestine" as an American. "You are in a position of privilege, not just as a white American, but as Americans in general…Take advantage of it students. I stress to you on campus, as activists, take advantage of the school's Wi-Fi. Take advantage of the school's resources," he told the audience.

Munjed Ahmad, AMP vice chairman added "Why AMP? Because AMP is the, and I stress the, means to the end, the mean to the end. The end is that we will all be in Palestine, a free Palestine, in Masjid Al-Aqsa, remembering the days when we had to fight to be in Masjid Al-Aqsa, and we will be free there. That's the end." The Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem is built upon the Jewish Temple Mount. While Muslims have full freedom to worship at the mosque except for occasional security issues, Islamists still use it as a rallying cry against Israel.

And, "AMP," Ahmad claimed, "is the only organization in the United States that has decided to take this challenge under the banner of Islam."

Perhaps that's true today. But in doing so, AMP follows in the footsteps of the groups linked to terrorism that it defended during the conference. IAP, HLF and even Al-Arian's organization were all shown to be carrying "the banner of Islam" in their quest to replace Israel with a Palestinian state.

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk