The Israeli Diaspora Ministry has called on the Defense Ministry to weigh designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) a terrorist organization, according to a November 19 letter obtained by The Jerusalem Post, in support of efforts by American officials such as Texas Governor Greg Abbott in sanctioning the group.
The proposal, led by Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli and director Avi Cohen-Scali, also urged for CAIR officials to be denied entry into the country should they seek access.
“Due to the direct and documented ties between CAIR and Hamas infrastructure, broad scope of anti-Israel activity, and increasing radicalism of the conduct and rhetoric of the organization’s officials, we believe there is a need to examine the State of Israel’s designation of CAIR as a terrorist organization,” read the letter.
The Diaspora Ministry alleged that Hamas and CAIR have close ties, and that in light of Abbott's November 18 designation of CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as international terrorist and criminal organizations, Israel's own policy should be reviewed.
Citing an August 2024 Diaspora Ministry report on CAIR, the letter explained that the organization had its roots in a 1993 Philadelphia meeting that had been wiretapped by the FBI.
According to Lorenzo Vidino’s October 2023 Hamas Networks in America: A Short History, participants in the meeting referred to Hamas in code and resolved to create a moderate organization to further its objectives.
CAIR's Hamas ties cited by Israel and Texas governor
CAIR was formed soon after the meeting, and FBI officials believed it to be the product of the meeting’s decisions.
The meeting was also attended by members of the Holy Land Foundation and the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), both of which were found in court to have fundraised for Hamas.
The Ministry report alleged that senior officers of the IAP and HLF became officers of CAIR.
The Ministry asserted that CAIR officials had supported Hamas, made justifications for “armed resistance,” were sympathetic toward the October 7 massacre, and accused Israel of genocide, making it legitimate to bar these officials from the country.
According to the amended 1952 Entry into Israel Law, those supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, denying the Holocaust or October 7 Massacre, or supporting the prosecution of Israeli security personnel at international legal forums, can be denied visas.
CAIR mocked the publication of the letter by Chikli on Wednesday night, asserting that Israel received “billions in American taxpayer dollars every year” and “spends millions” on the “ministry’s propaganda budget,” but was only reusing an “old Hamas/Muslim Brotherhood conspiracy theory.”
The organization argued on X (formerly Twitter) that it had displayed for decades a universal condemnation of all terrorism, with special mention of Hamas. This condemnation of terrorism ran over three decades, said CAIR, which included a December 2023 condemnation of the October 7 massacre.
CAIR has denied being an affiliate or offshoot of any foreign actor, including the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, and contended that such associations were made out of Islamophobic animus.
Abbott argued that CAIR had ties to Hamas and cited the Philadelphia Meeting. He also noted that the organization was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 HLF terrorism funding case.
CAIR has argued that the label of unindicted co-conspirator has no legal implications.
Along with the Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA), it announced a lawsuit against Abbot and his attorney general last Thursday, calling the decision defamatory and unconstitutional.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of designating certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as foreign terrorist organizations, “including those in Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt.”
Within 30 days, US senior officials are to submit a report to the president on the matter.