“Jason Miyares is contributing to the hate with tired Islamophobic tropes and promises of a witch hunt straight from the McCarthy-era,” reads a statement by American Muslims for Palestine, which organizes Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities in the US to fight in the Palestinian solidarity movement. On October 31, Attorney General Jason Miyares issued a statement that he was opening an investigation into AMP for “potential violations of Virginia’s charitable solicitation laws.” The AG also announced that his office would “investigate allegations that the organization may have used funds raised for impermissible purposes under state law, including benefitting or providing support to terrorist organizations.”
This last allegation references a decades-old lawsuit against AMP and AMP’s fiscal sponsor, AJP Educational Foundation, which have been accused of being an “alter ego” of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), a group alleged to have provided “material support” to terrorists. These legal battles have been spearheaded by Stanley and Joyce Boim, US citizens whose son was killed by Hamas in 1996.
“This latest attempt to smear and silence American Muslims who speak up for Palestinian human rights is not only defamatory, but dangerous,” writes the AMP.
Attorney General Miyares is a vehement supporter of Israel. Amid the state’s genocidal bombardment of Gaza, the AG organized Virginia sheriffs to donate “excess protective equipment, including over 1,000 protective vests, for civilians and first responders in Israel.”
“Israel is fighting for democracy and human rights in the face of absolute evil,” said Miyares. “That’s why I’m launching an effort to send them expired, surplus body armor and tactical gear.”
