The Washington-based Muslim nonprofit, one of the nation's biggest businesses, agreed to settle lawsuits filed by former board members and employees this week, rather than opening a book to reveal foreign funding sources, the Post learned.
Evidence in previous court proceedings provides a link between the Foundation Council of the US and the Islamic Relations Foundation and Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Cair Inc. settled with Lori Saroya on Thursday months after US Magistrate Judge David Schultz determined that all the assets owned by the group were within “acceptable scope of discovery.”
Saroya filed a federal government's defamation complaint against Cair last year after the group dropped the lawsuit against her, accusing her of embarking on a “defamation campaign” against the organization.
Seek a federal investigation
Lawmakers have requested a federal investigation of the nonprofit, and in 2022 it received more than $5.3 million in donations and grants.
“Cair's leadership has a long history of spitting sleazy anti-Semitism and anti-Zionist rhetoric, including openly praising Hamas terrorists who brutally attacked Israel in October. [2023]said Josh Gottimer, a Democrat from New Jersey.
Looking at the court proceedings that provide the link, he added: “The allegations that Cair receives funding from Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood are deeply concerned, if true, and require immediate investigation.”
Founded in 1993, Cair linked in 2008 when US authorities successfully indicted five leaders of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, a now-repeated nonprofit organization, and gave the Terror group more than $12 million from the US.
Once the HLF was compromised, the new group with no obvious ties to Hamas had to become a cash funnel. US officials concluded that it was a CAIR during previous group prosecution, as cited in a report on George Washington University's Program on Extremism.
The evidence from the trial against HLF showed that Ghassan Elashi, the treasurer of the charity, became a member of the founding committee of Cair's Texas Chapter, and that HLF transferred funds to Cair for “consulting services.”
Prosecutors also presented evidence that Hamas provided “seed money” to Care, according to a Congressional hearing.
Private amount
“The history is very clear,” said Lorenzo Vidino, director of the GWU program on extremism.
“Cair was created by this core group in the US in the early 1990s. There is a workshop FBI eavesdropping on how group leaders can deal with the media, create veneers for respect, and use the language of civil rights.”
Cair is currently the largest Muslim civil rights group in the country, with 33 chapters, including two in California.
Following Hamas strike against Israel, in which Israel left 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023, Keir executive director and co-founder Nihad Awad was seen in a video celebrating the attack.
“The Gaza people only decided to destroy the siege, the wall of the concentration camp, on October 7th,” he told the Chicago Conference for Palestinian American Muslims.
“Yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege, throwing the bondage of their own lands and walking freely to land they weren't allowed to walk.”
“Yes,” he continued. “The Gaza people have the right to self-defense and have the right to protect themselves. And yes, Israel as a right to occupation does not have the right to self-defense.”
The Biden administration broke the ranks in the group, but it tapped alongside other nonprofits to create a national anti-Semitism strategy following AWAD's comments.
“Cair is part of the family of an organization that includes SJP. [Students for Justice in Palestine] “They're making the most of the extremism program,” said Lorenzo Vidino, director of George Washington University's Extremism Program.
“There's been a lot of scrutiny of the SJP Congress, especially when you're in the director of Sear, which is a good thing,” he said, “We need to have a Congressional investigation.”
Former Brain City Council member Saroya worked as director of the Minnesota branch of Care from 2007 to 2016 before becoming a national branch development director and a member of its board of directors.
She resigned two years later, citing a culture of sexual harassment and posed questions about the foreign funds the group had received in her lawsuit.
When approached for comment on Thursday, Cair sent links to two web pages. They dispelled rumors about Cair and “Cair: AA Principled and Condersed Force but Antisemisis,” but did not directly address the lawsuit.
Saroya's lawyer, whose settlement amount has not been disclosed, declined to comment Thursday.
The amount of the settlement with Saroya has not been revealed.
“The parties have reached a financial settlement to resolve Saroya's claim against Cair,” the statement both approved said.
“The amount of Cair's payments to Saroya is confidential. Additionally, Cair has withdrawn and removed the statement regarding Saroya and the 2021 lawsuit from its website.
