VIDEO: Antisemitism and the Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) Event in Orlando, FL

On April 15th, the Heritage Florida Jewish News requested a ‘Press Pass’ by email, to attend the April 20th Emgage Action Gala at the Crowne Plaza Hotel where controversial Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib was the keynote speaker.  Our email request for the press pass went unanswered so a ticket was purchased and confirmed on April 17th.

At the check in table, my name and Heritage press credentials were presented and admittance to the event was denied, without cause or reason.   The only excuse given was, “No media allowed” rudely given by one of the organizers who refused to give her name.  However, nothing on the ticket receipt or advertising flyers said “No Media Allowed.”

My assignment was to report on Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s speech, but now we will explore possible reasons why Emgage Action would behave in such a antisemitic way towards the Heritage Florida Jewish News and its readership.

Front Page Magazine journalist Joe Kaufman reported in a March 19, 2019 article about Emgage founder Khurrum Wahid,

“ Khurrum Basir Wahid is a Pakistani-born South Florida attorney, who has built his name on representing high profile terrorists.

His past clients include: Rafiq Sabir, who received a 25-year prison sentence for conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaeda; al-Qaeda operative Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who received a life sentence for plotting to assassinate President George W. Bush; Sami al-Arian, who sought to create a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) infrastructure within the Tampa, Florida-area; and Miami imam Hafiz Khan, who was convicted of sending $50,000 to the Pakistani Taliban with the intent to murder American troops overseas.”

“The Miami New Times reports, Wahid himself was placed on a federal terrorist watch list in 2011. The publication states, “[S]ometimes, a clash between his work and personal life is inescapable. Last year, he landed on a federal ‘selectee’ list – a terrorist watch list. Now he gets a pat down at the airport before flying and can’t print boarding passes at home.”                                  

Besides his controversial law practice, Wahid is the Co-Chairman of Emgage Action (formerly Emerge USA), an Islamist group he founded, in 2006, that attempts to pass its extremist agenda off as political advocacy. The group is part of the South Florida Muslim Federation, a consortium of South Florida’s radical Islamic organizations and terror-related mosques. Ammar Ahmed, the South Florida Director of Emgage, in February 2010, following a debate he participated in at a school, wrote on Facebook, “I hate white people” and joked that he “should have threatened to blow up the school.

The mosque Wahid attends is the Islamic Foundation of South Florida (IFSF). Wahid, as well, is the Registered Agent for IFSF’s corporation. On IFSF Youth Group leader Abdur Rahman al-Ghani’s Facebook page, al-Ghani labels Jews “demonic,” calls the US the “World’s Number One Terrorist Organization,” and says Muslims “will overtake the World.”

Perhaps the examples listed above provide a clue into the corporate culture of Emgage Action and their supporters.  Rep. Tlaib’s positions on BDS, Israel, and the Jewish people have made her a controversial figure among our freshman congressman and women and the nation.

An April 11,2019 Clarion Project article reports,

“Tlaib is known for being a supporter of the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Movement against Israel, which according to the definition of anti-Semitism adopted by the State Department, is an anti-Semitic movement.”

The Times of Israel in a February 20, 2019 article reports, “

“In a video published on the Facebook page of the Israel Advocacy Movement, founder Joseph Cohen displayed a screen capture of the code used for Tlaib’s website which showed it was created using Wix.com.

“That’s right, the Palestinian queen of BDS has a website that was built and bought from Israel,” Cohen says.   Many of the haters of Israel have no idea that Israeli technology is present in just about every cell phone and computer on the market.

“Tlaib, whose parents are from the West Bank village of Beit Ur al-Fauqa, where much of her family lives, is one of the first-ever US lawmakers to support the anti-Israel boycott movement. She also says she supports a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has called for cutting US aid to the country.”

“Tlaib has gained notoriety for putting a ‘post it’ note labeled “Palestine” over the State of Israel.  This political theater signals Rep. Tlaib likely believes Israel does not have the right to exist.  The policy making implications of such a radical view from a sitting United States Congresswoman is chilling.   In this picture, on the far left, is radical Palestinian activist Rasha Mubarak of Orlando, FL.  Keep your eye on Rasha Mubarak, it is rumored she has her sights on running for public office in Orlando.

Most disturbing is Rashida Tlaib’s social media posts where she says of her most radical supporters, “Every single one of you inspire me to stay true to my roots and who I am.” FB post March 31, 2018.

Two of Rep. Tlaib’s more radicalized supporters are Ahlam Jbara and  Mwafaq Jbara.

Ahlam Jbara is an avid supporter of Rasmeeh Odeh, who was arrested for orchestrating a bombing in an Israeli supermarket where two people were killed.  Another social media post show Ahlam Jbara baked Rasmeeh the murderer a birthday cake.  Ahlam also glorified  another Palestinian terrorist Muhammad Ali who stabbed three IDF soldiers in Jerusalem.

Mwafaq Jbara is a Palestinian terrorist who speaks fondly of meeting the co-founder of Hamas while being incarcerated at Megiddo prison in Israel.  Meggiddo prison is known for housing the most dangerous of Palestinian terrorists.  Jbara’s social media posts are a who’s who of high level terrorists.  Most disturbing is in one post he says, “If you see the roof of an Israeli bus flying in the air you will know it’s Yahya.”  Yahya is on of the chief bomb makers for Hamas.  Mwafaq Jbara is also seen posing with terrorist Rasmeeh Odeh.  Mwafaq Jbara and Rep. Tlaib are also Facebook friends.

We wanted to ask Rep. Tlaib about her friends support of terrorists and the killing of Jews but never got the chance.

The Israel Advocacy Movement made an excellent video exposing Rashida Tlaib’s close associates troubling past.

These associations present a pattern of behavior that should concern all American’s concerned with the State of Israel and our countries Middle East foreign policy.

In law enforcement circles, all the facts and evidence uncovered by the Israel Advocacy Movement is an indicator that Rep. Tlaib has troubling associations she should answer for.   Any individual with such connections would likely be denied even low level security clearances.

Conclusion

Once the the fiery rhetoric of antisemitism becomes accepted in the public square it only grows.  The facts and evidence presented in this article paint a disturbing picture of Rep. Rashida Tlaib,  her politics and nefarious associates.

The Zionist organization of America is calling on pro-Israel organizations and “decent Americans” to urge the removal of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) from the Democratic party and Congressional committees.

In an insightful statement (this link is not working) ZOA National President Morton A. Klein and Chairman Mark Levenson declared,

“Someone who knowingly and enthusiastically consorts with the most virulent anti-semites, blood-soaked terrorists and conspiracy theorists is clearly beyond the pale, or no one is beyond the pale.”

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