This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2760

Congressman Joe Sestak continues to dissemble about CAIR fundraiser -vows to speak and maintain radical Islamist staffer

March 13, 2007

Joe Sestak Continues To Dissemble About His Appearance At CAIR Fundraiser

By Beila Rabinowitz

March 13, 2007 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - On Sunday Congressman Joe Sestak [D - Penn] addressed a tense town hall meeting during which he repeatedly attempted to convince the predominantly Jewish audience that his planned April 7 appearance as keynote speaker at a Council on American Islamic Relations [CAIR, a Saudi funded front group for Hamas] fundraiser was not what it appears to be.

Throughout the event the Congressman adamantly maintained the ridiculous contention that he would only be "speaking to his constituents" at the banquet, and that his presence there was in no way connected with the fundraisers taking place at the same time, at the same venue.

The additional complication, that Sestak employs CAIR Philly's communications director [Adeeba Al Zaman] as a staff member, makes it even more difficult for him to deny the close relationship his office has with the radical Islamist organization, which caused one member at the Sunday event to express concern that her presence on Sestak's House staff could jeopardize national security.

Questions revolving around Sestak's ties to CAIR can never be resolved while he continues to offer employment to a member of the organization and we demand that he sever that relationship as a first step towards rebuilding his credibility on this matter.

http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=sestak31307.htm

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MIM: CAIR Philadelphia solicits money for Sami Al Arian convicted terrorist and head of the U.S. wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

http://www.cairphilly.org/index.php?Page=aalert070215&Side=about

Action Alert ›

WRITE LETTERS IN SUPPORT OF DR. AL-ARIAN

Imprisoned Florida professor collapses on 23rd day of hunger strike

February 15, 2007

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling on American Muslims and other people of conscience to write letters in support of Dr. Sami Al-Arian, a former Florida professor currently on a hunger strike in federal detention to protest his treatment by U.S. authorities.

Family members report that Al-Arian collapsed on the 23rd day of his fast and has been moved from Virginia to a medical facility in North Carolina.

Al-Arian began his hunger strike more than three weeks ago after being given a sentence of up to 18 months for refusing to testify before a grand jury in Virginia. His attorneys say an earlier plea agreement freed him from further cooperation with the government. Supporters say the government's actions amount to a form of harassment.

SEE: Al-Arian Goes on Hunger Strike (Arab American News)

In 2005, a Florida jury rejected federal charges that Al-Arian operated a cell for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Al-Arian later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was scheduled for release and deportation in April.

SEE: No Guilty Verdicts in Al-Arian Trial (Tampa Tribune)

The American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT), a national coalition of major American Muslim organizations, recently said the new prison sentence given to Al-Arian amounted to unconstitutional "double jeopardy."

The AMT statement said in part:

"It is becoming increasingly clear that the government is seeking to impose legal and physical penalties on Dr. Al-Arian that it could not obtain through the judicial process. . .We call on all fair-minded Americans who care about the preservation of the integrity of our nation's legal system to speak out about this apparent abuse of prosecutorial power. We also call on federal authorities to cease their harassment of Dr. Al-Arian and to release him as scheduled so that he and his family can resume their lives in another country."

SEE: U.S. Muslims Call Al-Arian Imprisonment 'Double Jeopardy'

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be firm, but POLITE.)

1. CONTACT the following officials to request that Dr. Sami Al-Arian be released from detention and allowed to leave the country with his family. (Make sure to include your name, address and ZIP Code in the letter)

The Honorable Judge Gerald Lee U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia 401 Courthouse Square Alexandria, VA 22314

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Department of Justice U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001

Fax: (202) 307-6777 E-Mail: [email protected]

President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20500

Comments: 202-456-1111 Fax: 202-456-2461 E-Mail: [email protected]

Sample Letter:

Dr. Sami Al-Arian is currently on a hunger strike in federal detention to protest his treatment by U.S. authorities. Family members report that Al-Arian collapsed on the 23rd day of his fast and has been moved from Virginia to a medical facility in North Carolina. He began his hunger strike more than three weeks ago after being given a sentence of up to 18 months for refusing to testify before a grand jury in Virginia. His attorneys say an earlier plea agreement freed him from further cooperation and that the government's actions amount to a form of harassment. I therefore respectfully request that you support the immediate release of Dr. Al-Arian so that he and his family may resume their lives in another country.

2. CONTACT your own elected representatives through: http://capwiz.com/cair/dbq/officials/

3. SEND COPIES of all correspondence to CAIR at: [email protected] or fax: 202-488-0833

4. COPY TO Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. E-Mail: [email protected] or fax: (202) 225-0072

This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2760