January, 07 2009, 02:30pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com;
CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com
CAIR Asks Sec. Rice to Help American Children Trapped in Gaza
A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to help evacuate two American children trapped under Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip.
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is seeking State Department help for the two American children, ages six and three,
whose father gradated from George Washington University in Washington,
D.C. The children were born in the District. Friends of the family
contacted CAIR seeking help. (Photos of the family are available from
CAIR.)
WASHINGTON
A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to help evacuate two American children trapped under Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip.
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is seeking State Department help for the two American children, ages six and three,
whose father gradated from George Washington University in Washington,
D.C. The children were born in the District. Friends of the family
contacted CAIR seeking help. (Photos of the family are available from
CAIR.)
Reached by phone in Gaza, the father said Israeli bombs had fallen
as close as 100 feet from the family's house in Beit Hanoun. He said he
has been in touch with the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, but that no
evacuation of American citizens was offered.
An unknown number of other American citizens are similarly
vulnerable to Israeli attacks in Gaza. CAIR has attempted to contact
American officials in the area.
In a letter to Secretary Rice, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad
wrote: "We ask that you intervene personally to ensure that these
American children, and all other U.S. citizens and their accompanying
family members, are safely evacuated from areas under Israeli
bombardment."
Yesterday, CAIR condemned two reported Israeli massacres of
Palestinian civilians. One incident involved the killing of more than
60 members of an extended Palestinian family. Another attack on a
United Nations school in Gaza left more than 40 civilians dead.
SEE: Israel Strike Kills Up to 60 Members of One Family (Telegraph)
SEE: Israeli Shelling Kills Dozens at UN School in Gaza
More than 650 Palestinians have already been killed in recent
Israeli attacks. Israeli bombs have also targeted mosques, schools,
universities, medical personnel, homes, and a Baptist church.
Israel has barred journalists from entering Gaza to report on the
results of its attacks or on the humanitarian crisis caused by its
blockade of food, medicine and other essential supplies.
SEE: Israel Puts Media Clamp on Gaza (New York Times)
CAIR has outlined 10 positive, pro-active steps American Muslims and
other people of conscience can take to help end Israeli attacks on the
Gaza Strip, restore the cease-fire and the flow of humanitarian aid and
promote a more balanced U.S. policy in the Middle East.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a grassroots civil rights and advocacy group. CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—a co-sponsor of Sanders' Medicare for All Act—similarly toldHuffPost in a Tuesday interview, "The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the healthcare system."
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