(Fox News) A member of the far-left “Squad” facing a tough challenge from within his own party recently attended a fundraiser co-hosted by an Islamic leader who said he was “happy to see” the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who represents New York’s 16th Congressional District, attended the May 1 fundraiser at a private residence in Fairfax, Virginia, and didn’t seem to mind the presence of Nihad Awad, a highly controversial and antisemitic figure who serves as the national executive director and co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Awad faced sharp scrutiny last year after expressing his pleasure with the Hamas attack that resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,200 Israelis, including women and babies, and claiming Israel “does not have a right to self-defense.”
Just noticed: Among the co-hosts of a fundraiser for Rep. Jamaal Bowman on Wednesday was Nihad Awad, the CAIR leader whose comments celebrating Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel were condemned by the White House. https://t.co/WpaxaFSNjc pic.twitter.com/hOMjjgfiRS
— Matthew Kassel (@matthewkassel) May 3, 2024
“The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege – the walls of the concentration camp – on Oct. 7,” Awad said during the 16th annual Convention for Palestine on Nov. 24 near Chicago. “And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their land that they were not free to walk in.”
He continued, “And yes, the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, have the right to defend themselves. And yes, Israel as an occupying power does not have that right to self-defense.”
The Biden administration later scrambled to distance itself from CAIR following Awad’s comments, stating it was removing the group from its publicly listed pledge to fight antisemitism.
At the time, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital in a statement, “We condemn these shocking, Antisemitic statements in the strongest terms.”
