Disturbing news came out yesterday: California Gov. Gavin Newsom held an hour-long meeting last month with representatives of the Council on American–Islamic Relations, or CAIR, a radical Islamist organization that has been vociferously denounced by even Joe Biden’s White House.
Newsom’s meeting came just weeks after CAIR’s national executive director, Nihad Awad, unleashed a despicable tirade in which he said that he “was happy to see” the events of Oct. 7, during which Hamas murdered 1,200 innocents.
“The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege, the walls of the concentration camp, on Oct. 7,” said Awad. “And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege.”
In response to Awad’s speech, the White House issued a statement to “condemn these shocking, antisemitic statements in the strongest terms.” The White House also removed CAIR’s name from a document concerning the administration’s strategy to combat antisemitism. That signaled the White House’s disavowal of the deeply problematic organization that it had previously controversially embraced.
But Gavin Newsom sees the situation differently. For him, this is the time to form even stronger bonds with CAIR.
CAIR’s California chapter said in a press release that Newsom met with “key staff, doctors, lawyers, community Leaders, and advocates from across the state.” During the meeting, CAIR representatives demanded that Newsom call for Israel to cease any attacks against Hamas and asked that he preserve anti-Israel college students’ ability to continue their protests.
The CEO of CAIR’s California chapter, Hussam Ayloush, praised Newsom in a statement. “We were pleased by the Governor’s commitment to ensure his Muslim, Palestinian, and Arab constituents are heard as the violent siege on Gaza continues,” said Ayloush, “and that CAIR-CA had the platform to request the administration be proactive in ensuring the dignity of Palestinians.”
Ayloush’s reaction to Hamas’ attacks has been deeply alarming. The Jewish Insider reports that Ayloush referred in October to Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians as “our Warsaw Uprising moment.” He said later that it was “a lie” that Hamas’ attack upon civilians had been “unprovoked,” according to the Washington Free Beacon.
Gavin Newsom has lowered himself to groveling before radical Islamists, all for the sake of projecting an image of all-out progressivism.
This time, the cause Newsom is sycophantically embracing is so despicable that it might just come back to hurt him.
This article is an excerpt from The American Spectator’s Spectator P.M. newsletter. Subscribe today to read future letters from our staff!
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