A Jewish NGO known as “J Street” has invited the head of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) to speak at its conference being held today and titled “” According to the conference schedule, Mr. Salam Al-Marayati will be appearing in the following conference workshop:
How Jews, Christians and Muslims Can Work Together For Peace
Greg Khalil, President and Co-Founder, The Kairos Project
Salam Al-Marayati, Executive Director, Muslim Public Affairs Council
Mark Pelavin, Associate Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Maureen Shea, Former Director, Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations; Former Churches For Middle East Peace Chair
Moderator: Ron Young, Co-Founder, National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace
The J Street web site describes the organization as:
… the political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement. J Street was founded to promote meaningful American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. We support a new direction for American policy in the Middle East and a broad public and policy debate about the U.S. role in the region.
MPAC itself was established in the mid-1980’s by individuals whose backgrounds are likely rooted in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and since its inception has acted in concert with the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood. Although proclaiming a love for the Jewish people and engaging in interfaith dialog, MPAC has made frequent anti-Semitic statements that assert or imply an organized Jewish campaign to defame and exclude U.S. Muslims. MPAC has also gone beyond criticism of Israel, engaging in demonization of the Jewish state. Such demonization includes accusations of “rape of the Palestinians” in regard to the Al-Aqsa mosque, comparisons with Nazis, accusation of apartheid and genocide, accusations of “butchery”, and suggestions that Israel is seeking the eradication of Islam from its territories. Mr. Al-Marayati suggested on a talk radio show on September 11 2001 that Israel might have been behind the 911 attacks. stating:
If we’re going to look at suspects, we should look to the groups that benefit the most from these kinds of incidents, and I think we should put the state of Israel on the suspect list because I think this diverts attention from what’s happening in the Palestinian territories so that they can go on with their aggression and occupation and apartheid policies.