Video Released About Temple Terrace Mayor Joe Affronti and His Terror-Related Awards-they should be returned and ties severed
(Temple Terrace, FL) Americans Against Hate (AAH), the anti-bigotry, counter-terrorism watchdog group, has released a video concerning Temple Terrace, Florida Mayor Joe Affronti and the awards he received from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and United Voices for America (UVA), two organizations with innocuous sounding names but with significant ties to terrorism.
CAIR is a creation of Hamas and, according to the U.S. Justice Department, has been involved in financing Hamas. UVA is headed by former CAIR leader Ahmed Bedier, who has acted as a spokesperson for Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist Sami al-Arian and who hosts a radio show that has been used to promote the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.
On November 25th, AAH Chairman Joe Kaufman sent Mayor Affronti a letter calling on him to return the awards he received from the two extremist groups. The Mayor responded to Kaufman stating that "Bedier has not been with CAIR for more than a year" and that he (Affronti) had been "very impressed" with his interaction with UVA members.
In his response to Kaufman, the Mayor completely ignored the issue of CAIR and Hamas and of Bedier and al-Arian. There was no mention of the fact that Bedier used his radio show to promote Hezbollah.
Kaufman stated, "It is unfortunate that Mayor Affronti ignores Ahmed Bedier's and CAIR's ties to terror. The Mayor should recognize his wrongdoing and give back the awards he received immediately."
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Americans need to call for the return of these awards and for Mayor Affronti to explain any refusal to do so. It is time to hold our politicians accountable to a higher standard and the flag of the United States of America, our Constitution, and to totally thwart any infringement on them, such as ties to radical Islam.
