Lawmaker’s appearance before group accused of antisemitism stirs ire
WASHINGTON >> U.S. Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania — already under fire for opposing resolutions opposing antisemitism and condemning Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack against Israel — faced new criticism Monday for agreeing to speak at an event sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Lee, D-Allegheny County, is to address the CAIR Philadelphia chapter’s annual banquet this Saturday.
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
The chairs of the Pennsylvania Jewish Legislative Caucus — state Sen. Judy Schwank, D-Berks County, and state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny County — issued their statement in which they urged Lee to “reconsider her participation in this event.”
“Too many of our neighbors are already afraid to wear their kippahs in public and are wondering if they must conceal their Jewish faith to be safe and free from harassment,” the lawmakers said. “They count on their representatives to lead by example and stand against all forms of hate.
“We have grave concerns about an elected official joining individuals who have made openly antisemitic comments and praised the actions of Hamas following the attacks of Oct. 7.”
“Congresswoman Lee is a major leader in our community,” said Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu, executive director of CAIR-Philadelphia.
Noting her support of a cease-fire in Gaza, he said Lee was “a perfect fit for our banquet and our communities are excited to engage with her.”
Lee, the first Black woman elected to Congress from Pennsylvania, did not respond to a request for comment. Her district includes the Pittsburgh synagogue that housed three congregations, Tree of Life, Dor Hadash, and New Light, when it came under attack several years ago by a shooter who killed 11 people there for services.
The Jewish Insider website reported that other scheduled speakers for Saturday’s event had a history of antisemitic comments and appeared to praise the Oct. 7 attack against Israel. Hamas broke an existing cease-fire, killed 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages.
Israel responded with a massive attack on the Gaza Strip, which is under Hamas control, and has been criticized for civilian casualties there.
CAIR came under fire after its executive director, Nihad Awad, responded to the Hamas attack in a November speech to the group American Muslims for Palestine, where he said he was “happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land.” Awad later said those remarks were taken out of context.
In December, White House spokesman Andrew Bates condemned Awad’s “shocking, antisemitic statements in the strongest terms.”
On Monday, a parade of Lee’s fellow Democrats criticized her decision to speak at the CAIR banquet.
Edgewood Borough Councilwoman Bhavini Patel, who is challenging Lee in the Democratic primary, called her scheduled appearance “appalling.”
“Summer Lee needs to cancel this appearance and apologize for agreeing to share a stage with them in the first place,” Patel said on the social media site X.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro questioned the appearance as well.
“Gov. Shapiro has been very clear that in the face of rising hate speech, leaders have a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity,” spokesman Manuel Bonder said. “The governor believes there is no place in our commonwealth — founded by William Penn, centered on the values of tolerance — for religious intolerance, whether it be antisemitism or Islamophobia. This hateful, antisemitic rhetoric cannot be tolerated — and it should be condemned, not elevated by our political leaders.”