https://www.yahoo.com/news/squad-member-caught-fundraiser-hosted-080004175.htmlRep. Jamaal Bowman, who represents New York's 16th Congressional District, attended the May 1 fundraiser at a private residence in Fairfax, Virginia, and didn't seem to mind the presence of Nihad Awad, a highly controversial and antisemitic figure who serves as the national executive director and co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Awad faced sharp scrutiny last year after expressing his pleasure with the Hamas attack that resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,200 Israelis, including women and babies, and claiming Israel "does not have a right to self-defense."
The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege – the walls of the concentration camp – on Oct. 7," Awad said during the 16th annual Convention for Palestine on Nov. 24 near Chicago. "And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their land that they were not free to walk in."
He continued, "And yes, the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, have the right to defend themselves. And yes, Israel as an occupying power does not have that right to self-defense."
