Recently, Fairfax County School Board Representative Abrar Omeish was criticized for making comments on the recent conflict between Israel and Palestine, which ended on Friday in a cease-fire. Omeish has received death threats and requests for resignation after she tweeted the following:

She later added the following tweet:

In spite of her taking down the tweets, the threats have continued online, and now there is a petition to support her to remain in position as she exercises free speech. On Friday, the Virginia Council of Muslim Organizations released the following statement:

“Peace Be Upon You.”

“The Virginia Council of Muslim Organizations (VCMO) condemns the attempts to attack and silence Fairfax County School Board Representative Abrar Omeish for personally criticizing the Israeli government’s recent attack on Palestinian civilians.

We must never forget that the First Amendment guarantees our right to speech, and protects our diverse faith communities. The ongoing attempts to condemn Ms. Omeish’s comments are chillingly similar to the criticisms and outright physical attacks on other faith communities by those who detest seeing the solidarity of all our minority faith communities.

The indiscriminate violence against worshippers at the Al Aqsa Mosque – one of the holiest sites in Islam – was truly shocking, especially during the holy month of Ramadan. It is genuinely sad that Israel’s government chose to increase the oppression of both Palestinians Muslims and Christians in Gaza and spark these kinds of actions that only further inflame the fragile situation instead of seeking a peaceful resolution to disputes.

VCMO member institutions value the superb cooperation we have had working with local leaders of various faiths, and jointly pursuing justice and equity in all parts of our community. God willing, we can continue our pursuit of justice while still accepting that we may hold different views on some issues.

However, if we do not oppose this naked attempt to attack the Muslim community and its representatives in Virginia, we are simply empowering the bigotry that we ALL have fought so hard to eradicate.

We therefore cannot accept efforts to condemn an elected official simply for expressing her personal concern about human rights violations anywhere in the world. And we cannot allow this important discussion to be hijacked – or even influenced – by bigots who are anti-Islam today, but will be anti-Semitic, anti-Asian, anti-African American, and anti-whoever becomes their next target tomorrow.

We moreover cannot allow ourselves to be distracted from the critical work of equity and inclusion that all of our organizations strive for all across Virginia. We therefore stand with Abrar Omeish, and hope that everyone who seeks justice for all will do the same.

With Regards,

VCMO Board.”