by Steven Emerson
(algemeiner) A Southern California imam called Israelis “child killers” and urged Muslims to “sacrifice whatever resources we can in defense of that land,” in a talk live-streamed last Thursday on YouTube.
Sheikh Tarik Ata’s remarks came after Jews were targeted in at least two antisemitic attacks in Los Angeles.
The video remains available on the Orange County Islamic Foundation‘s YouTube channel, called ShuraTV.
Ata is a Foundation board member. He also serves on the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California‘s board. The Council includes 74 Southern California mosques and Islamist organizations, including local chapters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Muslim Students Association (MSA) and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC).
“And so we see our brothers and sisters in Jerusalem defending [the Al Aqsa Mosque],” he said in the live-stream. “…They’re putting their life on the line, men and women. Standing, shielding [the Al Aqsa Mosque] from that apartheid regime. The Israeli soldiers. The IDF. The child killers. And they’re willing to sacrifice their blood.”
Ata claimed he was “not calling people to go and sacrifice themselves, spill their blood to attack anyone,” but he repeatedly demonized Israelis and their supporters, while offering some absurd fantasy talk painting Muslims as the only people who treat Jews well.