Is Bernie Sanders quietly distancing himself from Emgage?
Ali Abunimah Power Suits 15 October 2020
Man emerges from behind a curtain
Bernie Sanders was once proud to be associated with controversial Muslim
American group Emgage, but that no longer appears to be the case. (Lorie
Shaull)
Senator Bernie Sanders appears to be downplaying his ties to Emgage, the
Muslim American organization under fire for its close ties to the Israel
lobby and for endorsing and funding hardline pro-Israel candidates.
On 12 October, Sanders tweeted out that he would be holding a town hall with
Muslim leaders the following evening.
Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, Minnesota Attorney General
Keith Ellison and former Michigan gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed
were given top billing.
Tweet posted by Bernie Sanders on 12 October and then deleted.
Sanders tweet also announced that the event would feature guests from
Emgage Action, MPAC and MPower Action.
Emgage also promoted the event.
But amid pushback online Sanders deleted the 12 October tweet.
This also came after the US Council of Muslim Organizations, a coalition of
more than 30 groups, last week dropped Emgage from its membership, after
Emgage had refused requests to end relationships with pro-Israel and
anti-Muslim groups.
Sanders Twitter account still shows earlier and later tweets promoting the
town hall.
But those tweets omit reference to Emgage, MPAC and MPower.
Quiet erasure
During the event itself on Tuesday night, there was no mention by name of
any of the Muslim organizations previously billed as participating.
Speakers from all three groups did still take part but none were identified
with their organizations.
They included brief comments from Kifah Shah of MPower Change, Iman Ali of
MPAC and Nada al-Hanooti, the executive director of Emgage Michigan.
The event featured even more Emgage personnel, who posed questions: the
groups deputy organizing director Aysha Ahmed and Farrukh Shamsi, an Emgage
Texas board member and alum of the Muslim Leadership Initiative, a program
run by an organization with close ties to the Israeli military.
The quiet erasure of Emgages name is in sharp contrast to how Sanders
previously embraced the organization.
During the Democratic primary campaign in February, Sanders called it an
honor to receive the endorsement of Emgages political action committee.
And in August 2019, Sanders tweeted that he was looking forward to joining
my friends at Emgage Action at a Muslim community conference in Houston.
At Tuesday nights town hall, by contrast, Sanders did not acknowledge
Emgage at all.
Sanders political organization did not respond to a request for comment, so
it is unclear if the names of the organizations were omitted from Tuesdays
event in a hasty effort to sidestep the growing backlash against Emgage.
You could smell the rage
That backlash gained momentum with an in-depth investigation of the group
published by Middle East Eye last week.
The writer Azad Essa, who began researching his piece in February, tweeted
on Tuesday that Emgage had a poor reputation among community organizers and
activists due to its lack of grassroots presence in Muslim communities
and its links with Zionist organizations and normalizing projects.
For months, many leading activists and community organizers simply refused
to talk about Emgage on the record, Essa added. They were afraid. Others
suggested they were trying to give them a chance to change.
That all shifted in September, after The Electronic Intifada published an
exposé of the ties Emgage leaders have maintained with hardline Israel lobby
groups.
This triggered a storm among Muslim activists, according to Essa.
It gave life to their impression that Emgage was protecting the Biden
campaign from meaningful dialogue and engagement with the community. You
could smell the rage.
The Electronic Intifadas reporting gave many activists the impetus to set
the record straight and speak openly about Emgages tactics and nefarious
links that were hurting the community, Essa said.
Notably, longtime Emgage board member Farooq Mitha was appointed as the
Democratic presidential nominees Muslim engagement adviser in March
making him in the eyes of critics a gatekeeper rather than a representative
of community concerns.
Sarsour speaks out
MPower Change the group that took part in the Sanders town hall along with
Emgage and MPAC is headed by Linda Sarsour, a prominent Palestinian
American activist in the Democratic Party.
Sarsour came under renewed pressure after the US Council of Muslim
Organizations excluded Emgage.
The Drop Emgage campaign, which has in recent weeks been endorsed by 250
Palestinian and Muslim activists, specifically urged MPower Change to cut
its ties with Emgage.
Sarsour has for weeks kept silent about Emgage, ignoring repeated requests
for comment from The Electronic Intifada.
On Tuesday, however, Sarsour broke her silence in a post on Facebook.
She said she had been too consumed by canvassing to defeat the fascist
President Donald Trump to comment on a swirling controversy in the community
she aims to represent.
Sarsour acknowledged that Emgage leaders have made grave missteps and the
critiques laid out by activists and organizers are valid.
But she stopped well short of breaking her organizations ties with Emgage
MPower Change is still listed as a partner in Emgages Million Muslim
Votes campaign.
Sarsour asserted that Emgage is reckoning with the pasts of some of its
leaders.
She also suggested that Emgages many endorsements of candidates aligned
with the Israel lobby group AIPAC may be because Emgage didnt have enough
information about them even though those candidates strong support for
Israel and opposition to the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS)
movement is readily available public information.
Sarsours response proved less than fully persuasive to some observers.
I just dont understand how you can claim that you dont have time to talk
about Emgage as you continue to work with and do events with them,
journalist Laila al-Arian wrote. That is clearly taking a stance.
Journalist Sana Saeed who in 2014 drew broad attention to the Israeli
Muslim Leadership Initiative that several Emgage leaders have participated
in challenged Sarsour to explain how working with people who undermine
the Muslim community, by working with those who support fascist policies,
helps us against fascism.
Saeed added: And what good are any principles or political ethics if we can
drop them or bend them for vaguely defined opportunities?
No blacklist of Israel lobby groups
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Emgage hit back against the US Council of Muslim
Organizations, accusing it of engaging in ideological cancel culture.
Emgage insisted that there should be no public blacklist of organizations
that we or any USCMO members would be prohibited to work with.
Emgage leaders, it would appear, reserve the absolute right to continue
their open alliances with Israel lobby groups like the Anti-Defamation
League and the American Jewish Committee, which have been at the forefront
of efforts to silence and smear supporters of Palestinian rights.
Emgage deleted responses from its Facebook page refuting or challenging its
statements, while leaving up comments praising the organization.
As of this writing, some newer comments challenging the factual accuracy of
Emgages statement were still visible.
