The Israel-Hamas war has brought out the true feelings of many around the world. While the majority of Americans have stood solidly behind the people of Israel since the horrific attack on October 7 by Hamas, massive pro-Palestinian marches have occurred in Europe and here in the U.S. Antisemitism has been revealed in places like Hollywood and Washington D.C. like never before. It has even appeared in places tasked to fight hatred of all kinds. One of those places is in Maryland, in what might be considered a rather unlikely place.

Zainab Chaudry is the director of the Maryland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). She is also a member of the Maryland Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention. On Tuesday, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown suspended Chaudry for recent social media posts that harshly criticized the actions of Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. Chaudry's opinions on the conflict concerned other state officials as "extreme and divisive."

Yes! Democratic Maryland Attorney General @OAGMaryland Anthony Brown BOOTS Jew hating, anti-Israel Zainab Chaudry, head @CAIRNational Maryland chapter, from his hate crimes commission. I know her WELL. CAIR thugs are walking hate crimes against Jews, Muslim reformers, Americans. pic.twitter.com/kt4ovvrzK7

— Asra Nomani (@AsraNomani) November 22, 2023

Brown encouraged the other 19 members of the Commission to take care when posting public comments that nothing they say could be misconstrued as possible hate speech. He also stated that he would be developing a values statement that would ensure the commission was upholding its core mission while also ensuring the free speech of commission members. Brown issued a statement following Chaudry's suspension, stating:

“The Commission must serve as a model for the entire State on how to respond to incidents of hate and bias. The Commission is facing its first test. How we respond has deep implications. I take this very seriously, and I will do everything possible to bring people together to move forward the critical work of this Commission.”

But for Zainab Chaudry, it seems that it all depends on what the definition of "hate speech" is and who it is directed toward. She assumed the role of victim herself and said in an interview with The Washington Post, 

“I’m not surprised that there is this pushback of my advocacy on Palestinian human rights. There is this automatic retaliation or scapegoating of individuals who express any support for Palestinian rights.”

Washington D.C. area Jewish organizations applauded Chaudry's suspension. A spokesman for the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, Alan Brody, stated, “The [Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington] believes there is no room on the Commission for anyone who publicly posts such hateful rhetoric, promotes misinformation and displays open contempt for other faiths and nationalities, including fellow panelists."

Chaudry maintains that she does not regret any of her social media posts that include what she describes as Israel killing Palestinian children. She also criticizes Western media portraying, who she says are "Palestinian freedom fighters," as "terrorists." But one of the most egregious posts was a photo from 1936 of Nazis parading through Germany with a caption reading, "When you become what you hated most."   

Maryland attorney general suspends hate crime task force member claiming babies murdered by Hamas were 'fake'

“Anti-Israel activist Zainab Chaudry made numerous antisemitic social posts” https://t.co/aY8Qcgkj1k

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) November 22, 2023

The group from which Zainab Chaudry hails, CAIR, has a rather sketchy history. It was founded in 1994 and bills itself as a civil rights group for Muslims. One of its founding members, Omar Ahmad, had been a public relations director for the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP). The IAP has been described by the FBI as "a front organization for Hamas that engages in propaganda for Islamic militants." CAIR has received money from the Palestine Committee, a Muslim Brotherhood-associated group, and the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), which was convicted in 2008 for giving $12 million to Hamas.

Chaudry refuses to recant any of her incendiary and divisive social media comments. She also stated, “My organization has been consistent in condemning the targeting of innocent civilians whether they be Israeli or Palestinian." Again assuming a victim role and injecting a bit of whataboutism, she claims she is being held to a different standard than other commission members, who have spoken about atrocities committed against Israelis but do not condemn violence against Palestinians. She added that because of this, she questions the commitment by the commission to address anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate. 

Since the war between Israel and Hamas began, it has been revealed that for many people, there is some sort of "acceptable" level of antisemitism. For some, when they are called on it, they walk it back. For others like Zainab Chaudry, they don't seem to see it as hate speech, just what it is. 

No word on how long Chaudry's suspension from the commission will be or if it is permanent. 

It is profoundly disappointing to see a member of the Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention use their platform to advance inflammatory rhetorics and harmful policies that cause great pain to the Jewish community.

I am a firm believer that to counter hate we must… https://t.co/NnaSwVfgjM

— Joe Vogel (@JoeVogel_) November 21, 2023