September 9, 2005

Commissioner Ilene Lieberman
115 S. Andrews Avenue, Room 417
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301
954-357-7001, Fax-954-357-7295
ilieberman@broward.org

Commissioner Lieberman,

I looked at your response to me (dated September 1, 2005) with great concern. Your letter reads like a paid commercial for CAIR. In fact, you go as far as to nearly quote word for word from CAIR's website. This is very troubling, given CAIR's numerous ties to terrorism.

In your letter, you paint CAIR as a distinguished organization with stellar credentials. You state, "Contrary to your assertions, CAIR has always taken a principled position against terrorism," and then you go on to list terrorist-related events that CAIR has spoken out on. But in doing so, you disregard numerous CAIR-related matters that fall contrary to your assertions:

1. CAIR or the Council on American-Islamic Relations was created in 1994 by a known Hamas front, the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), a group that was founded by the number two leader in Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzook. In this same year, CAIR's Executive Director (who is still CAIR's Executive Director), Nihad Awad, publicly proclaimed his support for Hamas.
2. Soon after CAIR was created, the group would go on to defend the mastermind of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman. CAIR described his conviction (for his part in the conspiracy to blow up New York City landmarks including the United Nations building and the FBI headquarters) as a "hate crime." Since then, the group has defended numerous other terrorists, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Sami Al-Arian.
3. Numerous officials from CAIR have been convicted in and/or deported by the United States for their part in terrorist-related activities. This includes Hamas fundraiser Ghassan Elashi (convicted), Al-Qaeda fundraiser Rabih Haddad (deported), leader of the 'Virginia Jihad Network' Randall Todd "Ismail" Royer (convicted), and terror promoter Bassem Khafagi (deported).
4. CAIR is currently the defendant in a lawsuit put forward by the family of FBI agent John O'Neill, for O'Neill's murder during the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. CAIR's parent organization, IAP, recently lost its own $156 million lawsuit for the murder of an American boy, David Boim, in Israel during a Hamas terrorist operation.

I had spoken with your office, as well as all of the other Commissioners' offices, concerning this specific information. It is evident that you have disregarded every last bit of it.

As you are aware, I have been vocally opposed to CAIR's usage of Broward's library facilities, since before the group began its six part lecture series on August 6th. In your letter to me, you state that you look forward to CAIR "continuing at the Broward County Main Library for the remainder of its series." Tomorrow night is scheduled to be the final installment of these lectures. Commissioner Lieberman, I ask that you reconsider your statement and act to immediately shut down this series. By doing so, you will show that you are committed to the safety and security of your constituents. By not doing so, you will prove your allegiance not with that of your constituents, but with the enemy of the United States. For the sake of Broward County, the county you were elected to represent, I hope you choose right.

Sincerely,

Joe Kaufman
Chairman
Americans Against Hate

September 1, 2005

Joe,

While I appreciate your concerns in regards to the lecture series at the Broward County Main Library, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a non-profit organization whose members are a diverse cross-section of the American-Muslim community representing students and professionals from diverse backgrounds including the medical, educational, and legal fields.

CAIR is the largest grass-roots civil liberties advocacy organization for American Muslims. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Contrary to your assertions, CAIR has always taken a principled position against terrorism. CAIR has joined other major Muslim groups in America to condemn 9/11 less than three hours after the horrific incident occurred. Each gruesome act that shocked Americans, from the murder of Dan Pearl to the bombings in London, has equally shocked Muslims and brought swift and unequivocal condemnations from CAIR. The violence committed by a few in the name of Islam is a complete antithesis to the peaceful expressions of faith by the mainstream majority of Muslims, especially the members of CAIR.

Additionally, CAIR’s work and its position are well documented, and their track record provides credibility to their campaign of promoting mutual understanding in our society. The members of CAIR are proud Americans who continue to be hopeful in the face of intolerance and prejudice against the American-Muslim community.

Finally, the Broward County Library staff has indicated that the six programs are completely informational in content. CAIR has indicated that 20 - 30 people may be attending. There is no exhibit associated with these programs. The library has co-sponsored this series, in that CAIR was allowed, just as other non-profit groups are allowed, to book the meeting room. Flyers were prepared flyers and the series was placed in the library's "Bookings Program Guide". No library funds of any kind were allocated for this program or to individuals presenting. This is what the library would do for any non-profit organization that presents informational programs of a cultural nature.

Accordingly, program series is continuing at the Broward County Main Library for the remainder of its series.

Sincerely, Ilene

Ilene Lieberman
Commissioner, District 1
115 S. Andrews Avenue, Room 417
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301
954-357-7001, Fax-954-357-7295
ilieberman@broward.org
www.broward.org