(WASHINGTON, D.C. – 10/7/2023) – The United States Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), the nation’s largest American Muslim civil society umbrella organization, reaffirms its unwavering support for the Palestinian people and their right to freedom from the Israeli occupation.

The recent unprovoked and continuous attacks by Israel on Palestinian towns, cities, and refugee camps have resulted in tragic loss of Palestinian lives.  We condemn Israel’s targeted and indiscriminate killing of civilians, including innocent children, women, and the elderly, and we denounce the inhumane siege imposed on the nearly 2 million inhabitants of Gaza, a clear violation of international law and an implied declaration of open war on the Palestinians which oblige them to be in constant self-defense.

The silence surrounding these grave injustices is nothing short of complacency.  It is our firm belief that justice is the cornerstone of lasting peace.  No security measures can bring true peace in the absence of justice.

We call upon the United States government, which provides military, economic, financial, political, diplomatic, and limitless support to Israel, to exert pressure on the occupation regime to immediately cease these atrocities.  It is evident that the longstanding policy of unbridled support for Israel has failed to bring peace to Israelis and Palestinians.  To achieve stability in the region, a serious reevaluation of a fair and balanced policy is imperative.

Furthermore, we urge Arab and Muslim countries that have normalized relations with Israel to reconsider their approach in pursuit of peace and stability in the region.  We must remember that the concept of “land for peace” has been long proposed, only to be ignored and dismissed by Israel, causing humiliation and disgrace to those who proposed it.  Normalizing relations should never come at the expense of the Palestinian people’s rights to their lands.  There can be no true peace that disregards the sanctity and Muslim rights of the Aqsa Mosque and Al-Quds Alshareef.  These holy places belong to the 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide and should never be disregarded or dismissed.  We hold the Muslim countries, individually and collectively, responsible for the safety and sanctity of Al-Quds and the holy places.

In solidarity with the Palestinian people and in the spirit of international justice, we call upon the United States government, Arab and Muslim governments, and the global community to exert maximum pressure on Israel to halt its provocations and adhere to international demands to respect Palestinian rights to their lands, properties, and lives.  Only when these rights are recognized can genuine and lasting peace be achieved for all parties involved.

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The U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO) is the nation’s largest American Muslim civil society umbrella organization.

Founding members of USCMO include American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), Muslim American Society (MAS), Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA), Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), The Mosque Cares (Ministry of Imam W. Deen Mohammed).  CURRENT MEMBERS: https://uscmo.org/council_members/

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (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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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com

My brothers and sisters, it is shocking to read that CAIR and USCMO support a statement condemning Israel as the provocateur of the targeted and indiscriminate killing of civilians, including innocent children, women and the elderly, and an inhumane siege of the nearly two million residents of Gaza – with ZERO mention of the Hamas-led invasion and atrocities upon Israel on October 7, 2023, necessitating Israel’s call up 350,000(+) reserve IDF members and a subsequent, formal declaration of war against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.

The Hamas assault on Israel was a highly-coordinated, planned and apparently well-funded operation undertaken mercilessly against the innocent men, women and children of Israel, with Hamas being the party doing the killing, raping and torturing of 1,000(+) persons (with the numbers continuing to increase).

What we are witnessing is the clear and unambiguous war between the forces of evil led by Satan, and the power and glory of God Almighty.

Praise God that this battle has already been won by Jesus – our Victor, Lord and Savior – upon the cross!  The Father loves and protects His children.  He desires for ALL, including Jews and Palestinians, to be born again into the kingdom of God with eternal life through Jesus!  We have nothing to fear when we place our faith in Christ.  We are called to stand for righteousness and to continually pray.  The evil one may temporarily have powers upon the earth as the “prince of the power of the air,” but our victory is in Christ Jesus!

I present this article not to suggest in any manner that the power of the evil one can prevail (certainly not!); however, in light of the 10/7/2023 (and continuing) Hamas/Hezbollah attacks upon Israel, Christians are called to stand against the powers of evil and intercede in prayer for God’s chosen People and the land of Israel.

Some scripture to consider:

Isaiah 5:20 (NKJV)
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; [w]ho put darkness for light, and light for darkness; [w]ho put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

Luke 17:26-30 (ESV)
The Coming of the Kingdom
Jesus tells the disciples:  “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.  They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.  Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”

John 3:16-18 (ESV)
“For God so loved the world, that [H]e gave [H]is only Son, that whoever believes in [H]im should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send [H]is Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through [H]im.  Whoever believes in [H]im is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

John 14:6 (NKJV)
“Jesus said to [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”

Romans 13:8-10 (NKJV)
“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.  For the commandments, [y]ou shall not commit adultery, [y]ou shall not murder, [y]ou shall not steal, [y]ou shall not bear false witness, [y]ou shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, [y]ou shall love your neighbor as yourself.  Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore[,] love is the fulfillment of the law.”

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, [and] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Praise Jesus forevermore!