CAIR-Chicago to Hold Press Conference with Interfaith and Elected Leaders Condemning anti-Muslim & anti-Arab Social Media Posts Shared by IL Senator Feigenholtz; Demand Resignation from Office

- For Immediate Release and Distribution -

(CHICAGO, IL, 10/31/2024) - On Friday, November 1, 2024, CAIR-Chicago, the Chicago chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, will host a press conference with Jewish, Muslim, and community leaders, alongside elected officials, calling for IL Senator Sara Feigenholtz to resign from office and her immediate removal from legislative committees leadership, following social media posts promoting hatred of Muslims and anti-Arab rhetoric, some of which has since been deleted from X (formerly known as Twitter). 


Senator Feigenholtz endorsed a post on X by a well-known Islamophobe that called Westerners who praise Islam "bootlickers" suggesting "they move to an Islamic country and stick their heads in the dirt multiple times a day for enlightenment" and compared Muslim women to "cattle." She responded, "You are one badass truth-teller." She also shared a quote on Facebook by a former Israeli official suggesting that Arabs do not love their children and force Israel to kill them, during an active mass killing spree of Palestinians by Israel that has claimed the lives of thousands of children: "We cannot forgive [the Arabs] for forcing us to kill their children..."

According to a report last month by 'Save the Children', the world’s first and leading independent children’s organization, occupied Palestinian territory is now ranked as the deadliest place in the world for children: about 30% of the 11,300 identified children killed in Gaza were younger than five and Gaza currently has the highest rates of child malnutrition globally.

WHAT: Press Conference Demanding removal of IL Senator Feigenholtz from Committee leadership

WHEN: Friday, November 1, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. (CST)  

WHERE: CAIR-Chicago's Azima Center, 17 North State Street, Suite 1500, Chicago, IL 60602

LIVE COVERAGE: Tune in via CAIR-Chicago's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/cairchicago


WHO:

• CAIR-Chicago, CIOGC, Muslim Civic Coalition 

• Jewish Voices For Peace (JVP)

• Hindus For Human Rights

 • Robert Dixon, Illinois' 6th Senate District Constituent

• Elected Officials

In a statement, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said:

"In 20 years of this work, the statements shared by Senator Feigenholtz stand out as among the most extreme I have seen from a public official. It is beyond shocking to see an elected official so blatantly promote hatred of Muslims and Arabs, particularly during an active genocide. Her comments cross major red lines and act to both justify the mass murder, as well as potentially incite hate crimes locally. Rhetoric like this contributed to the murder of 6-year-old Palestinian American Wadee Al Fayoumi here in Illinois last year. Her comments and sentiments call into question her ability to fairly represent Muslim and Arab constituents and families in Illinois' 6th Senate District. Worse yet is using her public access to undermine their safety. We call on her to apologize and resign from office. We call on IL Senate President Don Harmon to immediately relieve her of committee leadership positions. Anything less suggests that the promotion of hatred against Muslims is accepted and rewarded by our state senate.”

In a public statement shared Thursday, the Jewish Council of Urban Affairs stated:

"JCUA is troubled to learn of a deeply offensive social media post by Illinois State Senator Sara Feigenholtz. In a since-deleted tweet, Sen. Feigenholtz amplified blatantly Islamophobic, bigoted rhetoric that denigrates and dehumanizes Muslims. This hateful speech has no place in our public discourse — let alone shared by our elected officials." 

CAIR-Chicago’s mission is to defend civil rights, fight bigotry, and promote understanding.  

CONTACT: Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR Chicago, 202-870-0166, arehab@cair.com; Maggie Slavin, Operations Manager of CAIR-Chicago, 815-590-3991, mslavin@cair.com; Hafsa Haider, Communications Coordinator of CAIR-Chicago, 561-317-7509, hhaider@cair.com