Former Democrat State Senator Becomes Lawyer For Major Muslim Activist Group

Former Democrat State Senator Becomes Lawyer For Major Muslim Activist Group

by | Dec 18, 2024 | News

By Staff Reporter |

The Democrat who formerly represented Arizona’s 29th legislative district, Martín Quezada, is now the lawyer for the major Muslim activist group, Council on American-Islamic Relations of Arizona (CAIR-AZ).  

Quezada joined up with the chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy nonprofit over the weekend during their annual banquet. This career move follows his 2022 loss in the race to become Arizona’s treasurer against incumbent Kimberly Yee, and failure to achieve confirmation on a nomination from Governor Katie Hobbs.

Quezada has a long history of sympathizing with Muslim causes.

In 2016, Quezada voted against the state’s first law prohibiting the state from initiating any Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. 

In a 2021 speech for CAIR-AZ, Quezada accused the Israel government of being a “Zionist state” enacting terrorism. Quezada also called for President Joe Biden to cease funding to the Israeli military. 

“All of those billions of dollars, that is directing military aid that is going to occupation forces that are committing terrorism against the people of Palestine right now,” said Quezada at the time. “This — what we are witnessing — is oppression and occupation in action right now. This is murder in action right now.”

Last year, Quezada failed to be confirmed as the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (AROC) director due to his extensive support for the BSD movement. Quezada had purged a number of anti-Israel posts from his timeline in preparation for confirmation, notably one post in which he urged followers to listen to a speech from Michigan Rashida Tlaib demanding the freeing of Palestine.

His timeline has recommenced its criticisms against Israel, last week retweeting a viral post which read “‘Violence isn’t the answer’ unless you’re Israel, the American government, the police, military-trained vigilantes, or a for-profit healthcare system.”

In 2022, Quezada screened a documentary, “Boycott,” detailing various states’ efforts to overturn laws prohibiting BDS actions by the state. 

That same year, during his campaign for the state treasurer’s seat, Quezada rejected claims that he was antisemitic. 

“First of all, the antisemitism charge, flat-out wrong, and it’s ridiculous to even suggest that,” said Quezada. “I am not antisemitic, hard stop, full period right there.”

CAIR-AZ’s executive director, Azza Abuseif, was the state director for NextGen America in Arizona. Abuseif and her family came to the U.S. as refugees from Sudan. Abuseif also serves as a lead organizer for Women’s March Phoenix, and formerly served as board president for the Arizona Democracy Resource Center.

CAIR-AZ provides free legal services to those who believe they have been discriminated against for being Muslim, and they advocate for the inclusion and acceptance of the Islamic religion.

The nonprofit maintains a running list of Islamophoic individuals and organizations, including: Ann Coulter, ACT For America, the Anti-Defamation League, Bill Maher, Fox News, Glenn Beck, National Review, and Steven Crowder.

The national affiliate, CAIR, is an entity of the Muslim Brotherhood linked to activities engaged in by Hamas, the terrorist organization behind last year’s terrorist attack on Israel. 

CAIR leaders celebrated the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.

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Senate Candidate Ruben Gallego Denounces Iran After Years Of Siding With Them

Senate Candidate Ruben Gallego Denounces Iran After Years Of Siding With Them

by | Oct 4, 2024 | News

By Staff Reporter |

Congressman Ruben Gallego, the Democratic candidate vying for Krysten Sinema’s seat, denounced Iran’s largest missile attack against Israel on Tuesday. Iran fired nearly 200 missiles in a two-wave attack, which U.S. and Israeli defenses largely repelled.

During his time in Congress, Gallego repeatedly voted against funding Israel’s defense against Iran, sanctioning Hamas, and disengaging from or condemning Israel boycotts—rather than punishing Hamas, the terrorist entity controlling the Gaza Strip. 

“Today, Iran carried out a second significant attack on our key democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel, endangering the lives of innocent civilians,” said Gallego. “The U.S. remains steadfast in its support of Israel in the face of Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.”

Iran’s attack comes nearly a year to the day after their last major terrorist attack that escalated fighting between the two nations. 

Even though Israel suffered mass casualties of its civilians under that attack, Gallego voted against a bill providing funding to Israel the next month. 

The congressman did the same two years prior in 2021, rejecting emergency funds to cover Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. Earlier that same year, Gallego voted against sanctions on Hamas.

And that year, Gallego enjoyed an $84,000 trip to Qatar paid for by a special interest nonprofit seeking to strengthen trade relations. The Qatari government supports terrorism against Israel, including entities opposed to the Jewish faith responsible for terroristic attacks against the country: the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

When the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel picked up in 2019, Gallego voted against efforts to condemn or prevent participation. That same year, Gallego voted to give funding to the Palestinian Authority, a primary financier of terrorism against Israel. 

The year after Hamas broke a short-lived peace with Israel a decade ago — it fired off rockets at Israel for a revenge killing on a Palestinian after its members kidnapped and killed three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank — Gallego voted to delay presidential authority to waive, suspend, or reduce sanctions on Iran for two years pursuant to an agreement on the nuclear program of Iran. 

For years, Gallego supported the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an entity of the Muslim Brotherhood linked to Hamas activity. That all changed within the last year. Gallego pivoted on his sentiments about CAIR last December in response to remarks made by the organization’s executive director and co-founder about the Hamas attack on Israel, Nihad Awad. The CAIR leader said the terrorist attack was a cause for celebration he was “happy to see” occur.

“Statements made by CAIR’s Executive Director regarding the Hamas attack on Israel are despicable and downright antisemitic, and I strongly condemn them,” said Gallego. “The October 7th attack was utterly evil, and any effort to describe it any other way is disgusting. He must resign.”

In June, Gallego voted for an amendment to the 2025 budget prohibiting the State Department’s reliance on death toll statistics given by the Gaza Health Ministry. CAIR condemned this vote.

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