December 19, 2006
For Immediate Release
Contact: Joe Kaufman (
info@americansagainsthate.org)
U.S. SENATOR BARBARA BOXER GIVES AWARD
TO CAIR EXTREMIST
AAH CALLS ON SENATOR BOXER TO WITHDRAW AWARD
(Coral Springs, FL) Americans Against Hate (AAH),
a civil rights organization and terrorism watchdog
group, is calling on United States Senator Barbara
Boxer to rescind the award she has presented to the
Executive
Director of CAIR-Sacramento Basim Elkarra. The
award, a certificate of achievement for "outstanding
service," was given to Elkarra earlier this month.
As Executive Director, Basim Elkarra has defended
someone that trained for jihad in a Pakistani terrorist
camp; he has defended an imam that urged a Pakistani
crowd to wage attacks on America; and he has defended
an imam that was attempting to build an Islamic school
for the purpose of teaching children how to commit
violent acts against Americans. As well, Elkarra has
described Israel as a "racist" and "apartheid"
state, and he has moderated an event that featured
a Hamas operative who spent five years in an Israeli
prison and who is currently on trial in the U.S.
The organization Elkarra is affiliated with, CAIR,
has a number of ties
to Islamic extremism. Four officials from CAIR
have been charged with terrorist activity, two convicted
and two deported. CAIR is currently the defendant
in a lawsuit put forward by the family of FBI Agent
John O'Neill for the group's role in the 9/11 attacks.
CAIR solicited funds for two "charities"
whose accounts were frozen by the Department of Treasury
for financing Hamas and Al-Qaeda. And CAIR's parent
organization, the Islamic
Association for Palestine (IAP), was shut down,
shortly after it was found liable for the murder of
an American boy during a Hamas attack.
AAH Chairman and founder of CAIR
Watch, Joe Kaufman, stated, "Both Elkarra
and the organization he represents exhibit behavior
that is unworthy of such an honor as Senator Boxer
has bestowed. We therefore demand that Senator Boxer
withdraw the award immediately."
Joe Kaufman is available for interview. E-mail: info@americansagainsthate.org.