Last week, the Sestak for Senate campaign sent a lawyer’s letter to Comcast in an attempt to force the Emergency Committee for Israel’s ad off the air. Comcast refused and the ad remains on the air. Reproduced below is our letter in reply to Sestak’s complaint, which substantiates the accuracy of our ad.
To Whom it May Concern:
I have received the Sestak for Senate campaign’s request that you cease and desist airing the Emergency Committee for Israel’s advertisement regarding Rep. Sestak’s record. This ad is neither false nor misleading. It relies on Congressman Sestak’s own words in addition to well documented events and statements.
To the Sestak campaign’s first point. In March of 2007, as Politico reported, “Freshman Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) has ignited a controversy after agreeing to be the keynote speaker at an April 7 banquet and fundraiser hosted by the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.” (Sestak Scheduled Speech to Muslim Group Causes Uproar by Josh Kraushaar, Politico, 3/19/07) Indeed, by serving as the keynote speaker at a banquet and fundraiser for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Rep. Sestak engaged in activity that by any standard must be considered fundraising – i.e. he raised money for the organization. No doubt if Sestak delivered a speech at a Sestak for Senate fundraiser, he would concede that he had “raised money” for his own campaign regardless of whether he solicited such donations in his speech. The notion that this portion of the event was “explicitly free of fundraising” is not credible on its face – attendees to see Sestak’s speech were required to make a $50 donation to CAIR.
To the second point – our ad simply states that the FBI called CAIR a “front group for Hamas.” This is factually true. The statement was made by FBI Special Agent Lara Burns during a retrial of the Holy Land Foundation case in 2008, and the charges made by federal prosecutors, and for which CAIR was named as an unindicted coconspirator, stemmed from activity that took place before Sestak’s appearance at the fundraiser. (Judge due to rule on Holy Land defense evidence challenge by Jason Trahan, Dallas Morning News, 10/14/08)
Furthermore, CAIR had come under scrutiny for ties to Hamas well before Sestak spoke at their fundraiser. As Newsweek reported in December 2006, California Senator Barbara Boxer had “rescinded an award to an Islamic activist in her home state because of the man’s connections to a major American Muslim organization that recently has been courted by leading political figures and even the FBI. “Boxer’s office confirmed to NEWSWEEK that she has withdrawn a ‘certificate of accomplishment’ to Sacramento activist Basim Elkarra after learning that he serves as an official with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). After directing her staff to look into CAIR, Boxer ‘expressed concern’ about some past statements and actions by the group, as well as assertions by some law enforcement officials that it ‘gives aid to international terrorist groups,’ according to Natalie Ravitz, the senator’s press spokeswoman.
“CAIR, which has 32 offices around the country and bills itself as the leading Muslim-American civil-rights group, has never been charged with any crimes, nor have any of its top leaders. But a handful of individuals who have had ties to CAIR in the past have been convicted or deported for financial dealings with Hamas—another reason cited by Boxer for her action.” (CAIR Play by Mark Hosenball and Michael Isikoff, Newsweek, 12/29/06)
The controversy surrounding Rep. Sestak’s appearance at the fundraiser makes clear that he was well aware of CAIR’s ties to Hamas – ties that were so close that other US Senators from his own party had expressed such concerns publicly. Further, the effort to dismiss this “single FBI agent” who characterized CAIR as a front group for Hamas ignores the fact that this particular special agent was speaking in federal court on behalf of the FBI and as the Special Agent most knowledgeable regarding the events in question.
To the third point made by the Sestak campaign, we are merely quoting the Senator’s own words as expressed in a letter Congressman Sestak himself signed. That letter plainly stated that the Israeli government’s actions amounted to “the de facto collective punishment of the Palestinian residents of Gaza.” Indeed, Congressman Sestak was well aware of how controversial this statement was at the time he made it. As Philadelphia’s Jewish Exponent reported then, “Sestak acknowledged that signing on to the letter was politically risky, and that it could be used ‘against me.’ But he said that it was more important to him to stand up for his convictions.” (Sestak Under the Gun After Signing On to Letter by Bryan Schwartzman, Jewish Exponent, 2/4/10)
Now that his decision to sign the letter is being used against him, he denies the substance of the words he used and seeks to keep our ad off the air.
To the Sestak for Senate campaign’s final point – we do indeed suggest that Congressman Sestak’s record shows he does not believe Israel is a close ally of the United States. Whether his campaign sees the issue differently is immaterial and certainly cannot be the standard by which our group or any other should be held. The Sestak for Senate campaign is welcome to air ads touting the letters that Sestak did or didn’t sign – and the law entitles us to do the same. Instead Congressman Sestak is attempting to stifle political debate in a statewide election by intimidating one of Pennsylvania’s most prominent businesses with threats of legal action.
We ask that Comcast continue to air this ad as it had previously agreed to do. Any further inquiries regarding the content of this ad may be directed to Robert Kelner, counsel to the Emergency Committee for Israel, at Covington & Burling LLP.
Best,
Noah Pollak
Executive Director, Emergency Committee for Israel
