Press Releases

Influencers, Concerned Americans Call on Congress to Retract Praise for CAIR 

Washington D.C. –  Since the New Tolerance Campaign (NTC) launched its latest campaign on Jan 17., nearly 5,000 Americans have signed a petition calling on 120 members of Congress to walk back their unwarranted gushing letters of praise they sent to the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) to celebrate their 25th anniversary.

Given the stakes of America’s legislators putting support behind such a troubling group, many notable influencers have promoted the petition, including Clinton accuser-turned activist Juanita Broaddrick, Parkland survivor Kyle Kashuv, and author and activist Andrew Pollack.

In addition to providing a way for concerned Americans to tell Congress directly that they shouldn’t be endorsing CAIR, NTC is sending “CAIR Bears” (Care Bear toys) to the offices of eight key Members of Congress for each 1,000 petition signatures we receive. We already have 4 rounds of bears on their way to the Hill, and more are eagerly waiting to be shipped out. 

This effort is critical as CAIR has spent 25 years giving a platform to people with unapologetic anti-Semitic views. The group was an unindicted co-conspirator in one of our country’s largest terrorism financing trials, and continues to voice support for terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. The 25th anniversary gala, where the letters were presented, was headlined by Linda Sarsour, who was recently removed from the Women’s March leadership team because of her blatant anti-Semitism, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has been praised by white supremacist leader David Duke for an on-going streak of anti-Semitic comments that have shaken Congress. 

In light of the campaign’s momentum, New Tolerance Campaign issued the following statement:

“It is hard to believe that these 120 Members of Congress are all ignorant of CAIR’s problematic history. While America is a free country and they can endorse whomever they like, they are making a grave mistake elevating a group like CAIR. Doing so demonstrates terrible judgment and leadership. It is imperative that they stand against racism in all forms and retract their support rather than enable it as they’ve done by sending these letters. Anything less is un-American. We are encouraged that so many have already taken a stand by signing the petition, and optimistic that our elected officials will choose to do the right thing.”