{"id":2206217,"date":"2024-03-26T05:04:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T09:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dem-rep-jahana-hayes-stands-by-letter-she-wrote-praising-hamas-friendly-group-cair\/"},"modified":"2024-03-26T05:05:31","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T09:05:31","slug":"dem-rep-jahana-hayes-stands-by-letter-she-wrote-praising-hamas-friendly-group-cair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dem-rep-jahana-hayes-stands-by-letter-she-wrote-praising-hamas-friendly-group-cair\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrat Representative Jahana Hayes continues to support the letter she penned applauding the Hamas-affiliated organization CAIR"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdem-rep-jahana-hayes-stands-by-letter-she-wrote-praising-hamas-friendly-group-cair%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2206217&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Connecticut\u2063 congresswoman Jahana Hayes is standing by a letter she wrote in support of the Council on American-Islamic \u200bRelations (CAIR), despite\u2064 backlash over the \u2062group&#8217;s leader \u200dexpressing happiness about Hamas killing Jews. Hayes defended CAIR&#8217;s efforts against anti-Muslim hate while facing \u2063criticism for her endorsement. The controversy contradicts President Biden&#8217;s disavowal of \u200bCAIR due to its leader&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rnc-biden-officials-keep-lying-about-the-trump-admin-not-having-a-vaccine-plan\/\" title=\"RNC: Biden officials keep lying about the Trump admin. not having a vaccine plan\">controversial remarks<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Islamic advocacy group&#8217;s leader said he was &#8216;happy to see&#8217; Hamas kill Jews on Oct. 7<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption> \t\t\t\tRep. Jahana Hayes (Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images)\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Connecticut congresswoman Jahana Hayes (D.) is defending a letter she wrote praising the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic advocacy group whose leader said he was &#8220;happy to see&#8221; Hamas kill Jews on Oct. 7. The group does valuable work &#8220;to educate the community about anti-Muslim hate,&#8221; Hayes said.<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday, Hayes touted an endorsement she received from the Jewish Democratic Council of America, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JahanaHayesCT\/status\/1771913711084572943?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">saying<\/a>, &#8220;My work on behalf of my Jewish constituents speaks for itself.&#8221; When a strategist for her Republican opponent responded by noting Hayes&#8217;s praise for CAIR, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wis-democrats-wife-likes-tweet-saying-everyone-should-be-antifa-after-rep-nancy-maces-home-was-vandalized\/\" title=\"Wis. Democrat\u2019s wife likes tweet saying \u2018everyone should be Antifa\u2019 after Rep. Nancy Mace\u2019s home was vandalized\">congresswoman called<\/a> the criticism a &#8220;lie&#8221; and stood by a letter she wrote to the group in 2019. In her letter, Hayes said she &#8220;deeply appreciate[s] the support of this distinguished organization.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;My letter to CT CAIR was in recognition of their work to educate the community about anti-Muslim hate,&#8221; Hayes wrote in a Sunday <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JahanaHayesCT\/status\/1771924543801626813?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media post<\/a>. &#8220;It is literally my job to meet with my constituents\u2026even my Muslim constituents. Not letting you lie about me this time around.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hayes&#8217;s defense of CAIR puts her at odds with her party&#8217;s leader, President Joe Biden. In November, CAIR executive director Nihad Awad <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/israel\/cair-leader-says-he-was-happy-to-see-hamas-attack-israel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> he was &#8220;happy to see&#8221; Gazans &#8220;break the siege&#8221; on Oct. 7. The Biden White House <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/12\/08\/us\/politics\/white-house-cair-nihad-awad.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">disavowed CAIR<\/a> in response, with a spokesman saying Biden &#8220;condemn[s] these shocking, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jewish-democrats-criticize-conservatives-and-progressives-for-reckless-antisemitism-in-letter-to-biden\/\" title=\"Jewish Democrats Criticize Conservatives And Progressives For \u2018Reckless\u2019 Antisemitism In Letter To Biden\">antisemitic statements<\/a> in the strongest terms.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Neither Hayes nor CAIR responded to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Hayes&#8217;s letter to CAIR came ahead of the group&#8217;s 2019 gala in Washington, D.C. More than 100 members of Congress\u2014all but 2 of whom were Democrats\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/issues\/more-than-120-members-of-congress-issue-letters-of-support-to-leading-anti-israel-group\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">penned messages of solidarity<\/a> for the organization. CAIR used the letters to tout its support among congressional leaders.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Council on American-Islamic Relations has led the way in broadening the public understanding of Islam and strengthening relationships with the American Muslim community,&#8221; Hayes wrote at the time. &#8220;For the past quarter of a century, CAIR&#8217;s tireless defense of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/quebec-is-now-under-the-equivalent-of-covid-martial-law-no-one-is-allowed-on-the-streets-after-8pm-till-5am\/\" title=\"Quebec Is Now Under the Equivalent of COVID \u2018Martial Law\u2019 \u2013 No One is Allowed on the Streets after 8pm Till 5am\">civil liberties<\/a> has helped ensure that all Americans enjoy equal protection under the law regardless of their faith.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>In addition to her letter, Hayes <a href=\"https:\/\/jewishinsider.com\/2023\/12\/rep-jahana-hayes-met-with-connecticut-cair-chapter-earlier-this-month\/#:~:text=Hayes%20spokesperson%20Sidney%20Johnson%20told,they%20disagree%20on%20serious%20issues.%E2%80%9D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">met with CAIR<\/a> in early December, days before Awad&#8217;s comments on Oct. 7 surfaced. Hayes also defended the meeting, with her spokeswoman telling <em>Jewish Insider<\/em> that Hayes &#8220;has held several meetings with all constituents who have deep concerns about the ongoing war.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;She has a responsibility to listen to all of her constituents, even if they disagree on serious issues,&#8221; said the spokeswoman, Sidney Johnson.<\/p>\n<p>Hayes is not the only Democratic House member to face criticism for praising CAIR, which blamed Israel for provoking Hamas&#8217;s attack through its &#8220;apartheid policies.&#8221;\t<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Pennsylvania congresswoman Summer Lee (D.) <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/squad-member-summer-lee-to-fundraise-for-anti-israel-group-whose-leader-celebrated-hamas-attack\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">agreed to speak<\/a> at the annual fundraising banquet for CAIR&#8217;s Philadelphia chapter, with the group praising Lee as a &#8220;leading advocate&#8221; for an Israeli ceasefire. When Lee&#8217;s pro-Israel primary opponent, Bhavini Patel, called on the congresswoman to cancel the scheduled appearance, Lee <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/summer-lee-cancels-cair-speech-still-praises-the-pro-hamas-group\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">did so<\/a>. She nonetheless stood by CAIR, accusing her critics of trying to &#8220;demonize&#8221; the &#8220;country&#8217;s largest Muslim civil liberties organization.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hayes joined Congress in 2019 after defeating Republican challenger Manny Santos by 11 points. Hayes narrowly held on to her seat in 2022, defeating Republican George Logan by less than 1 point. Logan is again challenging Hayes in November.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rep. Jahana Hayes, a Connecticut congresswoman, stands by a letter praising the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The Islamic advocacy group&#8217;s leader expressed joy over Hamas killing Jews before Hayes&#8217;s endorsement drew attention<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2020,"featured_media":2206218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/house-minority-leader-jeffries-marks-11th-anniversary-of-sandy-hook-sc-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2206217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/house-minority-leader-jeffries-marks-11th-anniversary-of-sandy-hook-sc-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2020"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2206217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2206218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2206217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2206217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2206217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}