The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) urged Muslim and Arab Americans to boycott the federal government’s iftars, including the White House Iftar that was hosted by President Obama on the evening of Monday, July 15, because of “the government’s condoning of the current slaughter of Palestinians in Palestine and the spying of American Arabs and Muslims domestically.”

“In the government’s silence, Israel is committing a massacre in Palestine including more than an all-out ground assault. Our American tax dollars have contributed to over 100 civilian casualties as of Monday morning, of which 70 percent are estimated by the United Nations to be women and children,” the civil rights organization said in a statement. “This deplorable situation, brought on by Israel’s U.S.-sanctioned illegal occupation of Palestine, has received no direct action from President Obama. Yet, as this humanitarian crisis continues abroad, we do not believe it is appropriate to attend iftar dinners sponsored by government agencies while lives are being lost.”

ADC also cited the recent revelation that the National Security Agency was spying on leaders in the Muslim and Arab American communities as another reason to boycott iftars hosted by the government.

“We ask that all government iftar invitees stand together on behalf the community and reject the normalization of the continuous breach of our fundamental rights,” ADC advised American Muslims. “Political engagement is important and having a seat at the table is crucial — but only when that seat is intended to amplify our voice as a community, not tokenize or subdue it.” 

ADC added that instead of hosting a Ramadan iftar, the president should work on halting the attack on Gaza and stopping racial profiling by the NSA in order to empower Muslim and Arab Americans.