Amr Shabaik

On March 10, 2025, in a video posted on YouTube CBS News reported [00:02:34] that Shabaik had "worked with many students who organized encampments and protested against the war on SoCal [Southern California] campuses."

Nearly 200 anti-Israel college encampments were set up in North America in spring 2024. Activists harassed Jews with antisemitic slurs, expressed their support [00:02:45] for Hamas terrorism and called [00:04:45] for Israel's destruction. They blocked Jews from campus facilities and limited access to those with special wristbands or who said they weren't a Zionist.

On April 8, 2026, Shabaik said in a CAIR-LA statement that the acquittal of activists who refused to disperse from an anti-Israel protest at the University of California, Irvine (UCI): "...affirms the fundamental right to...speak out against Israel’s genocide."

The term “genocide” was coined in 1942 and first used at the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals. Since Israel's founding in 1948, anti-Israel activists have accused Israel of "genocide" in an attempt to compare Jews to Nazis and delegitimize the creation of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel.

On June 26, 2025, in an article about GoFundMe blocking Gaza fundraisers that it said breached its terms of service, Al Jazeera quoted Shabaik as saying: "If you are actively preventing lifesaving aid – intentionally or unintentionally -– from reaching Gaza, it’s tough to say you’re not supporting a genocide."

On May 2, 2024, Shabaik said in a CAIR-LA statement about the arrest of anti-Israel protesters at an encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA): "We strongly condemn the arrest of the nearly 200 students participating in the encampment to protest against Israel’s genocide, ethnic cleansing, and forced starvation in Gaza."

The Israeli government has condemned accusations that its policies led to starvation in Gaza as an "outright lie" and a "modern blood libel." A crucial report alleging famine in Gaza has been proven to contain "systematic distortions" of data and other inconsistencies. Delivering humanitarian assistance has proven highly challenging given Hamas's record of stealing aid meant for civilians.

CAIR describes itself as a “grassroots civil rights and advocacy group” and “America's largest Muslim civil liberties organization, with regional offices nationwide.” Its official mission is “enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.”

CAIR reportedly has “significant ties” to the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as Hamas. A number of former CAIR employees have been convicted on fraud and terrorism-related charges that resulted monetary fines, jail terms and, sometimes, deportation.

CAIR was founded in 1994 and opened its first office in Washington, DC, with the help of a $5,000 donation from the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), a charity founded by Mousa Abu Marzook.

Marzook, who was listed as a "Specially Designated Terrorist" by the U.S. Treasury Department in 1995, is reportedly a senior member of Hamas.

In May 2007, CAIR was listed as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in a U.S.-filed action against the HLF for providing funds to Hamas.

CAIR was also listed as a terrorist entity by the United Arab Emirates in 2014.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped 251 and wounded thousands. War crimes included various systematic sexual crimes like gang rape and genital mutilation. Men and women were violated, even after being murdered. Victims who survived that day, including hostages, endured forms of humiliation and torture.

Gazans working in the targeted Israeli villages provided intelligence to Hamas on which families to kill and torture, including long-time employers. Many Palestinian civilians joined in and celebrated the attacks. Hamas livestreamed their crimes on social media, including to victims’ accounts for families to see. To learn more, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.

Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is America’s largest socialist organization. Its core ideology includes anti-American, anti-Israel, anti-Western and abolitionist elements. In August 2025, DSA passed “For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA,” making support for Israel an expellable offense. DSA has also called to “abolish I.C.E. and capitalism.”

Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks against Israel, DSA condemned Israel, expressed support for Hamas, endorsed anti-Israel rallies and called for members to engage in anti-Israel activism. It condemned Israeli retaliatory attacks against the IRGC and Hezbollah, as well as the U.S. attacks against the Houthi terror organization, whose slogan reads: "...Death to America / Death to Israel / A Curse upon the Jews...”

DSA first endorsed the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement in 2017 and it has also condemned sanctions against countries like Iran and Cuba.

The group endorses far-left politicians on the local, state and federal levels. DSA also promotes anti-Israel agitators, including DSA members Rashida Tlaib, Zohran Mamdani and Linda Sarsour.

Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), DSA’s youth section active in high schools and colleges, has co-organized anti-Israel protests across the U.S. since October 7, 2023, particularly the April 2024 pro-terror encampments on university campuses.