Keith Ellison: Pride Of Minnesota

(Coral Springs, FL) On Saturday, October 14, 2006, Americans Against Hate (AAH) will be leading a protest against the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Minnesota Candidate for U.S. Congress Keith Ellison, and Florida Gubernatorial Candidate Jim Davis. The protest will be taking place at the Southwest Focal Point Senior Center, in Pembroke Pines, Florida, which is playing host to a CAIR sponsored event featuring Ellison as Keynote Speaker.

The reason for the protest is to call attention to the fact that both Ellison and Davis have accepted campaign donations from CAIR officials. According to records, Keith Ellison received contributions from CAIR's National Executive Director Nihad Awad and CAIR's Government Affairs Director Corey Sawyer. As well, according to records, Jim Davis has received a contribution from the Communications Director of CAIR-Florida Ahmed Bedier.

AAH calls this a conflict of interest and a betrayal of the voters, as CAIR has been linked to convicted terrorists, terrorist acts and terrorist groups overseas. CAIR was incorporated in June of 1994 by three leaders of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), a Hamas front co-founded by the number two leader in Hamas today, Mousa Abu Marzook. Two of CAIR's former representatives are currently serving jail time for conducting terrorist activities with groups connected to Hamas and Al-Qaeda. And CAIR is currently the defendant in a lawsuit for the murder of an FBI Agent who was killed during the 9/11 attacks.

Both Awad and Bedier, two of the campaign contributors, have made disturbing statements with regard to terrorist organizations. Awad stated, in March of 1994, "...I am in support of the Hamas movement more than the PLO." And Bedier, in December of 2005, when asked if he believed Sami Al-Arian's association with Palestinian Islamic Jihad was immoral, said, "To a certain degree. Now, before 1995, there was nothing immoral about it." In addition, in July of 2006, Bedier co-hosted a radio show entirely devoted to praise for Hezbollah.

AAH Chairman and founder of CAIR Watch, Joe Kaufman, who will be speaking at the protest, stated, "It is beyond bad taste and completely unacceptable for candidates seeking high positions within the U.S. government to accept money from those individuals that support terrorist organizations and who are connected to a group whose former officials include convicted terrorists. This is nothing more than a betrayal of the voters of Minnesota and Florida."