CAIR to Hold D.C. News Conference with Family of U.S. Citizen Kidnapped, Beaten by Israeli Forces in Gaza | CAIR Responds to Biden Admitting Israeli Campaign in Gaza is ‘Over the Top’
On Monday, Feb. 12, (noon ET), the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) plans to hold a news conference with the sons of Samaher Esmail, an American citizen and grandmother from New Orleans who was recently kidnapped, beaten, and denied access to medicine by Israeli forces in the West Bank.
During the news conference, Esmail’s sons Suliman and Ibrahim Hamed will urge the U.S. government to more forcefully demand her release from Israeli detention and return her home to the U.S. for medical treatment.
SEE: U.S. citizens detained by Israel in West Bank, Gaza, families say (Washington Post)
Yesterday, CAIR also called the Biden administration to demand the release of two U.S. citizens reportedly kidnapped overnight in Gaza by Israeli forces and to save other Americans trapped or held hostage in Gaza by securing a ceasefire.
Despite the State Department contacting Esmail’s family on Thursday, it has indicated it will not check on her well-being until early next week. Her Israeli Arab attorney, who managed to visit her on Wednesday, reported that she was covered in bruises along her wrists, arms, and back. She was semi-coherent, losing consciousness twice during the interview. The family has been informed that Israeli forces are denying her access to her prescription medicine, raising fears that she may succumb to injuries and an untreated medical condition.
WHAT: Press Conference on Behalf of American Samaher Esmail, Kidnapped, Beaten, Deprived of Medicine by Israeli Forces
WHEN: Monday, February 12, at 12 PM ET
WHERE: CAIR National Office, 453 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20003
WHO: Ibrahim Hamed and Suliman Hamed, son of American Samaher Esmail, who was kidnapped, beaten, and deprived of medical treatment and medicine by IDF; CAIR Government Affairs Department Director Robert S. McCaw; CAIR Communications Department Manager Ismail Allison
CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-999-8292, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com
Media will have an opportunity to interview speakers following their introductory remarks.
Live Stream: The press conference will be live streamed on https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational
BACKGROUNDER:
On Monday, CAIR called for the release of Esmail. On Wednesday, the CAIR also sent a letter to the State Department, urging expedited action in demanding her release.
Congressman Troy A. Carter (D-LA-2) also reported on Twitter (formerly known as X) that his office is concerned about Esmail and is “in contact with the American Embassy and the State Department to inquire why a U.S. citizen is being held.” This incident was also covered by Louisiana NBC news station WDSU6 in the article titled: “Family: New Orleans grandmother kidnapped, beaten in West Bank of Palestine.“
Sky News reports that Israeli forces have detained two American brothers – Borak Alagha, 18, and Hashem Alagha, 20, two brothers born in the Chicago area – and their Canadian father in an overnight raid on their home in Gaza.
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com
