My words at the December 18th rally against CAIR’s (Council for Islamic American Relations) “Adopt-A-Street” sign in Davie, Florida (Broward County).
Background: Broward County and the City of Davie are each asserting that the other is responsible for permitting CAIR to sponsor an “Adopt-A-Street” sign in Davie, Florida. A rally took place before the Broward County Commission Building in downtown Fort Lauderdale on December 18th during which government officials were asked to remove the sign.
“Night after night, I see Muslim national organizations like the Council for American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, cry out over and over about anecdotal victimization while saying and doing absolutely nothing about the most vile hate-speak and actions” (M. Zuhdi Jasser is chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy – his words are quoted in article below*)
As we stand here today, it must be pointed out that this is not the first time that CAIR has been exposed for what it truly is – an organization with close ties to HAMAS, an organization that was labeled by the US government as an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas funding trial, an organization that gives a platform to anti-Israel and anti-Semitic individuals who preach hatred.
In late 2008 the FBI formally cut off relations with CAIR.
And, just recently, the FBI stepped in with a warrant for documents obtained by the authors of the book Muslim Mafia, documents which supposedly present firsthand evidence that CAIR is a front for a well-funded conspiracy of the Muslim Brotherhood (the parent of al-Qaida and Hamas) to infiltrate the U.S. and help pave the way for Saudi-style Islamic law to rule the nation.
Under investigation by the FBI. Linked to the terror group Hamas – an organization that has murdered scores of innocent people – including teenager Daniel Wultz z”l who called Broward County his home. And they can adopt a street here in Broward County and have their name publicized for all to see as if they were some wonderful organization!?
Come on!?
Over the past few weeks, we have watched as the names of powerful members of the Broward County community have been stripped from buildings and removed from organizations because of alleged financial scandals. Yet, when asked to remove a sign publicizing an organization linked to terrorism – the answer received from the Public Information Officer of Davie was “no”. Why, you ask? Because of CAIR’s right to “freedom of speech”.
Freedom of speech?
This is an interesting argument given by the town of Davie which was just recently sued by the owners of the Davie based Club Eden, an adult entertainment establishment. The Club alleged that the town’s zoning rules were unconstitutional in that they banned adult establishments from all of Davie and, in essence, denied them the freedom of speech.
Personally, as a father and a teacher, I understood the town of Davie’s attempt to try to limit the adult entertainment industry’s freedom of speech. The current location of Club Eden is, in my opinion, too close to a school bus stop, residential neighborhoods, and popular shopping malls that I regularly visit with my children.
Under federal law, Davie had no choice but to allow the club to stay in business. However, the Davie Town Attorney said that while the club was a legal business under the First Amendment – which includes the freedom of speech – the city wanted to take them off one of the busiest streets in town and put them in a more appropriate location. A city should certainly be able to control what goes within her limits and where it goes on…And I guess the lawyers involved in the case agreed with this as it seems that a compromise has been reached. As was recently reported in the Sun-Sentinel, Club Eden will be moving to a new location in Davie, way off the beaten path.
So for those officials in the town of Davie who say that CAIR’s sign cannot be removed because of freedom of speech – I say to you: you have shown us that if you think it is in your city’s best interest, you will challenge an organization’s right to free speech as you did with Club Eden.
And, as you felt it was necessary to challenge an adult night club – I ask you: are you not obligated to challenge CAIR – an organization linked to the terrorist organization Hamas, an organization under investigation by the FBI?
I had hoped that your answer would be “absolutely!” But, alas, your answer is “no…freedom of speech!”
What exactly is going on here!?
Let’s be honest, we are not here because people are fighting like crazy to protect CAIR’s right to freedom of speech.
No, we are here today for the same reason that Iran has been able to ignore the sanctions imposed by the international community and continue building her nuclear weapons.
We are here today for the same reason that Iran was able to launch a missile earlier this week that has the ability to reach Israel.
We are here today because we have dismissed the threats by the President of Iran to annihilate Israel and each day we do so, Iran gets closer and closer to making those threats a reality.
We are here today because we have been afraid to publicly connect the dots that appear to connect the shooter at Fort Hood murdered innocent soldiers because of his connections to radical Islam.
We are here today because we have not raised our voices and said “ENOUGH”. Whether it is out of fear, the desire to be politically correct, or simply out of laziness – our silence is dangerous. Because it empowers those who are committed to wage jihad against us.
I don’t want to be here today. I am deeply troubled that I have to come before my government officials who we elected to protect us and keep our community safe and once again teach them about CAIR. We’ve done it before. We’ve stood before the School Board. We’ve protested the signs on the buses. This is not new.
But we obviously need to be louder, stronger, more committed. We are here today because too many people have remained quiet about their concerns over Muslim extremists – whether it be concerns pertaining to events on the other side of globe in Iran or right here in Broward County, Florida. The time for remaining silent is over. It is time to stand up for our freedom of speech and use our words to express our alarm and get our elected officials to hear us and take action to keep us safe.
Tonight, in the Jewish world, we light the last candle of Chanukah as we celebrate the victory of the Maccabees over those who were attempting to silence them and crush their Jewish culture. But, the Maccabees refused to give up. They stood up for what they believed. They took action. They cared. They were not afraid.
Today, I call upon every member of this community, no matter what your religious or cultural background – because this is an issue that affects us all – every single one of us – to rally together to say once and for all that the promotion and growth of Islamic extremism must be stopped globally and this can start locally right here in Broward County. We need to say loudly and clearly – take the sign down. The time for remaining silent, of turning a blind eye, of being afraid to speak up….that time is over.
CAIR, a group linked to HAMAS, a group under investigation by the FBI – CAIR should not be entitled to publicize their organization on our streets.
If Club Eden, an adult nightclub – with no connections to terror organizations – can be pushed to the deep dark corner of the City of Davie – the CAIR sign can and should be removed immediatey.
References:
press release pertaining to Town of Davie and CAIR sign: http://www.americansagainsthate.org/press_releases/PR-Braulio_Rosa.php
article pertaining to Club Eden: http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2009-11-03/news/0911020418_1_club-eden-strip-club-town-officials
article pertaining to CAIR and FBI: http://www.actforamerica.org/index.php/learn/email-archives/1728-fbi-turns-up-heat-on-cair
letter from FBI: http://www.wnd.com/files/FBIletter-CAIR.pdf
related blog post: http://rabbiandrewjacobs.org/2009/11/14/a-genuine-condemnation/
ADL’s statement on CAIR: http://www.adl.org/Israel/cair/default.asp
*very important anti-CAIR piece written by a prominent Muslim American: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/mar/29/20060329-084827-8739r/
