Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 25, 2020

Democratic Party activist Linda Sarsour urges Muslim Americans to vote for Joe Biden, during Emgage Michigans virtual gala on 20 September. (via YouTube)

Muslim American and Palestinian rights groups are under growing pressure to cut ties with Emgage, the US Muslim organization whose leaders maintain cozy ties with Israel lobby groups.

On Tuesday, American Muslims for Palestine broke its official silence on the matter, saying that it was aware of and is addressing the grave allegations about Emgage.

This comes two weeks after The Electronic Intifadas expos of Emgage leaders connections with anti-Palestine organizations.

AMP takes a simple, strong, and principled position prohibiting covert and overt alliances and normalization with Islamophobic or Zionist organizations and elements, as well as any hateful individuals and groups, American Muslims for Palestine said.

All members of the US Council of Muslim Organizations adhere to these principles and this was made patently clear to Emgage when it sought membership in the USCMO, AMP added.

Both Emgage and American Muslims for Palestine are members of the US Council of Muslim Organizations.

AMP said it would wait until an official report by USCMO about Emgage, but that in the meantime it would continue to impose a prohibition on a collaborative relationship with Emgage.

It is unclear when this report will be issued.

As The Electronic Intifada has reported, Emgage leaders have collaborated closely with Israel lobby groups that are waging a relentless campaign against Palestine solidarity activism, especially the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

These groups include AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee.

Emgage board members and personnel have participated in the Muslim Leadership Initiative junkets to Israel operated by the Shalom Hartman Institute, an organization which has close ties to the Israeli military and shares a major funder with some of the most Islamophobic organizations in the United States.

Emgage has endorsed Joe Biden and its longtime board member and former Pentagon official Farooq Mitha serves as the Democratic nominees Muslim engagement adviser.

Raja Abdulhaq, executive director of Majlis Ash-Shura: Islamic Leadership Council of New York, welcomed AMPs statement as a powerful and principled position and urged other national Muslim organizations to follow.

But for many, American Muslims for Palestine and other USCMO members have not moved fast or far enough.

On Sunday, Hatem Bazian, American Muslims for Palestines board chair, published a note on Facebook reacting to the Emgage controversy.

Bazian said he had been involved in discussions with Emgage leaders and was unsatisfied with their responses thus far.

Bazian has been a leading voice warning about the dangers of faithwashing projects like the Muslim Leadership Initiative that co-opt US Muslim activists into pro-Israel propaganda.

But now Bazian is urging that the best approach is to postpone further discussions about Emgage until after the November election.

This drew a sharp response from commenter Laila al-Arian, who called it stunning that asking Muslim American groups to dissociate from Israel lobby organizations is seen as such a tall order.

Al-Arian added that it is clearly a strategic blunder to wait until after the elections to hold Emgage accountable and have them disassociate from Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian groups.

The Drop Emgage campaign is also pushing for stronger action.

On Wednesday, the campaign said American Muslims for Palestine had taken a critical step towards dropping Emgage USA entirely.

Drop Emgage called AMPs move a step in the right direction.

More than 200 Palestinian and Muslim activists have signed Drop Emgages open letter demanding that Emgage sever all ties with Israel lobby group and respect the Palestinian BDS call.

Drop Emgage is now urging the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim American Society and others to immediately suspend all collaboration until Emgage meets demands to end its normalization activities with Zionist groups.

CAIR is among several Muslim American groups taking part in Emgages voter mobilization drive.

In August, CAIR redacted criticisms of Emgages ties to Zionist groups made by Palestinian scholar Sami al-Arian from a video of an online seminar.

A request for comment was acknowledged by CAIR, but no response has been received.

Another group partnering with Emgage is MPower Change, led by Linda Sarsour, a high-profile Palestinian American activist in the Democratic Party.

Sarsour participated in a virtual gala hosted by Emgages Michigan chapter last Sunday.

I came here to support the leadership of Nada al-Hanooti and her work as the Emgage executive director of the Michigan chapter, Sarsour began offering praise while deftly avoiding a full-throated endorsement of Emgage as a whole.

But Sarsour did not address any of the controversy surrounding Emgages connections to anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic groups, focusing instead on urging Muslim Americans to vote for Biden no matter what misgivings they may have.

Give me Joe Biden. Joe Biden is a neoliberal, he is a conservative Democrat, and yes he does not align with us on many issues, Sarsour said.

In return for electing Biden, Sarsour promised to stay on these streets and fight harder than I ever have, even harder than I fought under the Trump administration.

Sarsour offered a version of the perennial election-time pitch: Vote for the Democrats now because this is the most important election in our lifetimes. Well hold Obamas/Clintons/Bidens feet to the fire later.

But according to Black Agenda Reports Margaret Kimberley, We will hold their feet to the fire, is one of the saddest or perhaps funniest of all quadrennial proclamations.

Anyone who actually votes for a Democrat yet ends up pushing back against them is in a very distinct minority, Kimberley adds. Most Americans have been so bullied by the system that their political activity is already limited to voting.

Liberation cant come from electoral politics, Kimberley writes. The mass movement comes first and electoral successes may follow.

One conclusion is that if voting gives people any leverage at all, it is by demanding concessions from politicians before the votes are cast, not after.

Another, as the Emgage debacle shows, is that trying to build a mass movement around Muslim American identity cannot succeed if it fails to adopt and abide by clear principles on the question of Palestine.

Sarsour and MPower Change have not responded to requests for comment.

Read the original post:
US Muslim groups face pressure over ties to Israel-friendly Emgage - The Electronic Intifada

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