[9mm_fan]

WASHINGTON - Fifty-four congressmen sent a letter to US President Barack Obama last week urging him to pressure Israel into alleviating the blockade on the Gaza Strip. The letter's signatories are from the left of the political spectrum.

The initiators are Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the only Muslim representative in Congress, and Jim McDermott of Washington, who are both democrats. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...840661,00.html

[Ifroham4]

If they so worry about human rights in the Middle East, all these people should have been the primary supporters to remove Saddam. Weird.

[softy54534]

More information, including the list of signers, at: http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/

Hamas' 54 Democratic Congressmen
"Keith Ellison, widely hailed as America's first Muslim congressman, could more accurately be described as CAIR and Hamas' man in Congress. Congressman Ellison has been a regular presence at CAIR fundraisers and at pro-Hamas rallies in the United States. As a former member of Farrakhan's Nation of Islam, Ellison has enough anti-semitic and Islamist credentials to satisfy anyone, and had expressed openly anti-semitic beliefs in the past....

None of this is up till now is shocking. But what Congressman Keith Ellison accomplished was to convince 53 other Democratic congressmen to join him in this venture. It is not particularly surprising to find the House's most radical anti-Israel voices signing their names onto Ellison's letter. It would be inconceivable if a letter aiding Hamas did not carry the signatures of Barbara Lee, Jim Moran or Jim McDermott, who helped Ellison spearhead the whole campaign. It is essentially inconceivable that any letter circulated in congress opposing Israel would not get their signature.

"Jim Moran had managed to blame even the Iraq War on the Jews and McDermott was actually named CAIR's Public Official of the Year. Neither is West Virginia Arab Congressman, Nick Rahall, who is the Democratic party's version of Darrel Issa, who is tied to CAIR as well, and previously voted against Israel's right to defend itself. Rahall is also the top recipient of CAIR donations. The likes of Diane Watson or Pete Stark aren't complete surprises either. Pete Stark has a history of being both anti-Israel and unstable. Neither is Carolyn Kilpatrick, who voted against Israel's right to defend itself, and against condemning terrorist attacks on Israel. Kilpatrick, like virtually every Democrat on the list, is also tied to CAIR....

"And it is instructive to note how many of the congressmen and congresswomen on the list are funded by CAIR money. Keith Ellison, John Conyers, Loretta Sanchez, Betty McCollum, Lois Capps, Bill Pascrell, Elijah Cummings, Bob Filner, Mike Honda, Barbara Lee, John Dingell, James Moran, Nick Rahall, Andre Carson, Mary Jo Kilroy, Carolyn Kilpatrick and Jim McDermott are among the top receivers of CAIR money in congress.

"Of the top 11 CAIR moneygetters in congress, Nick Rahall, James Moran, Darrel Issa, John Conyers, Dennis Kucinich, Jesse Jackson, Jr, John Dingell, Barbara Lee, Carolyn Kilpatrick, Shelia Jackson Lee and Jim McDerrmott-- 7 out of 11 signed on to Ellison's letter. That makes the Gaza letter a CAIR project. 5 on that list voted against condemning attacks on Israel...."

The list of signers by state follows, but it is too long to post here.

Attack him all you like for his connections to CAIR, etc., but in fairness to Rep. Ellison, he has denied he was ever a member in the Nation of Islam and has repudiated Farrakhan as an anti-Semite:

...Ellison responded quickly. He met privately with key Jewish supporters, spoke publicly at a synagogue in the suburb of St. Louis Park and repudiated Farrakhan in a May 28 letter to the Jewish Community Relations Council in Minneapolis.

While denying that he had ever joined -- much less led -- the Nation of Islam, he acknowledged that he had worked with the group for about 18 months to organize the Minnesota contingent to Farrakhan's 1995 Million Man March in Washington.

In the letter to the council, he apologized for failing to "adequately scrutinize the positions" of Farrakhan and other Nation of Islam leaders. "They were and are anti-Semitic, and I should have come to that conclusion earlier than I did."

...Even in those days, Ellison added, "I never said anything that was anti-Semitic, racist, homophobic in any way." But, he said, he was slow to judge those who did.

"I chalked it up to typical mainstream press attacking African American leadership," he said. "When you're African American, there's literally no leader who is not beat up by the press. . . .

"The change of heart I had is, I did start to look more closely, and I feel that African Americans, having been victims of slavery and Jim Crow, can never justify doing the same thing to anyone else; wrong is wrong everywhere," he said.

Based on such assurances, Jewish Democratic activists have rallied around Ellison. Samuel and Sylvia Kaplan, a Minneapolis couple who are influential fundraisers, said he reminds them of the late senator Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.). Phyllis Kahn, a fellow Democrat in the state legislature, said it is "inconceivable that he could have ever been an anti-Semite."

Mordecai Specktor, editor and publisher of the American Jewish World, Minnesota's Jewish weekly, strongly endorsed Ellison in a Sept. 1 editorial. "His association with the Million Man March -- there are some people in the Jewish community who cannot forgive him for that," Specktor said. "I decided that he had a sincere change of heart and mind."...
source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...1000951_2.html

[radikal]

So as one of the organizers he did not know who Farrakhan was and what he stood for? Either he stupid, ignorant or just lying.... the first two would his intelligence under question but I am more inclined to the latter.

[Slonopotam845]

Oh PLEASE, everyone and their mother knew the views of Farrakahn. He is a lying SOB and any Jew who voted for him should be embarrassed. Ellison and Obama have lived up to everything we on the forum predicted before they were elected.

Ellison does little besides talk about Gaza, visit Gaza, etc. His main role is to be the spokesman for the Palestinians in the US Gov't. As a convert, he feels he has a lot to prove.

[MannoFr]

In case any of you missed this video of Keith Ellison attending a pro-Palestine rally where Hamas sympathizers showed up, this is somewhat interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhOW_...layer_embedded

What this video shows me is that both groups support terrorism, it's just that one prefers to be diplomatic about it.

And I suppose as a result of this rally, Ellison has become more extreme so he could attract more lunatic supporters.

[Fegasderty]

What this video shows me is that both groups support terrorism, it's just that one prefers to be diplomatic about it.

And I suppose as a result of this rally, Ellison has become more extreme so he could attract more lunatic supporters.

Hamas treated Ellison pretty shabbily at that rally which was over a year ago. I'd be very surprised if he has become more extreme as a result of it.