Does It Really Matter?

Jaylani Hussein

In the land of excessive weird, my weird-shit-o-meter went off the scale last week. In a press conference on November 24th, CAIR-MN's executive director, Jaylani Hussein,  claimed the Somali community being targeted in Minnesota is the direct result of an "Israel First" campaign by the current administration, and not as the result of recent fraud charges in a variety of social programs. I just don't understand his logic, and as I read his statement, I was even more confused. As reported in MSN.com:

"Fraud is a serious issue. We are all taxpayers, and any money that is stolen, whether federally or locally or state county, impacts all of us,” Hussein said about 14 minutes into the press conference. “But I want us to also note that in these stories, what is missed is the fact that the victims, oftentimes are poor children, poor families who rely on that support, and we ask and we urge for accountability and transparency.” 

Later, Hussein went back to discussing the “America First or Israel First topic,” while also defending Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, two right-wing media personalities who platform or promote antisemitic and white nationalist voices. 

We believe this is an Israeli First public campaign targeting a very vulnerable community, the Somali-American community, and a very vulnerable congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, as an effort to try to win back the many young Americans who believe that America should not be getting into wars for other countries,” Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of CAIR’s Minnesota chapter, alleged at a Nov. 24 press conference. 

Hussein then tied the so-called “coordinated campaign” to conservative podcasters Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, claiming that the “Israel First” agenda is similarly going after right-wing voices critical of America’s support for Israel. 

“I know for sure that this campaign mirrors the same campaign targeting Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, major influencers on the conservative side, who have gained tremendous support in the younger generation of Republicans who are refusing to accept that America will continue to take [on] the wars of Israel, destabilize the Middle East, lose American soldiers, lose their own tax dollars while committing carnage and lossage in the lives of Muslims,” said Hussein. 

Okay, it sounds kinda like he's blaming Israel for the perpetration of fraud on the communities in need, that the Somalis were actually the fall guys for Israel's control of US immigration policy. At the same time, however, he seems to be defending Tucker and Owen.  Why?  That's the part I just don't get. 

I'm just a wee bit confused here. How is this going to benefit the 2% of Minnesotans who happen to be Somali? If you really wanna see something interesting, The Minnesota Reformer has a great piece on Somali citizen status. About 90% of Somalis living here are natural born or naturalized citizens of the United States. It's much different from what you're hearing on the news. 

In the end, what really matters is that a few bad actors have undermined the peaceful existence of this community by perpetrating fraud on such a grand scale that is staggering to imagine. Let's not mention the part where Ladan Mohammed Ali took $120,000 in a paper bag to the home of a juror in the FEEDING OUR CHILDREN fraud trial. Although, coming from a place where baksheesh was SOP, this should not be a big shocker. I always thought of it as misunderstanding our culture... where stuff like that is done in back rooms and under tables, rather than on the front porch. Cultural difference, right?

In TC Jewfolk, Rabbi Adam Spilker of Mount Zion Temple spoke about his hesitancy to speak out and why he disregarded it: 

“Whereas 10 years ago we stood side-by-side with the Muslim community after the bombing at Dar Al-Faroow and other similar situations, and they too with us after the Tree of Life shooting, our relations are strained,” Spilker said. “And there were people I knew were going to be at this event who have not spoken to October 7 and to have not responded to my outreaches since October 7. 

“It gave me pause for thought, and then I acted on what I know is my values, which is that we have to speak out for our neighbors here. And I did so, and I pray that it might also thaw some of the relations, and help some in the Muslim community realize that we need to be focusing on relationships here and not in Israel and Gaza."

Clergypeople in support of the Somali community

Regardless, the Jewish community leaders joined faith leaders of all the religious communities to support the Somali community against the draconian immigration bullshit President Felon is slinging our way. Statements from the major Jewish organizations in town absolutely protest what is happening to the Somali community. Not all that long ago in a place not all that far away, similar shit happened to us. No one came forward then. Nor did anyone come forward after October 7th. But we really never expect anyone to do that. 

The Jewish Community Relations Council:

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas (JCRC) condemns President Trump’s remarks referring to Minnesota’s Somali community as “garbage.”

That is dehumanization – and when such language comes from elected leaders, ideas that should remain at the extreme margins of society are pulled into the civic mainstream.

Minnesota’s Somali community – like all communities – is diverse, complex, and not a monolith. Treating any group as one undifferentiated mass is itself a form of dehumanization.

As Jews, we carry the memory of what happens when people are spoken about as less than human. Our history is scarred by moments when Jews were depicted as filth, vermin, or disease. In our present, Zionists and Jews are dehumanized in public discourse. These echoes cannot be ignored.

Jewish tradition insists that every person is created b’tzelem Elohim – in the image of God. The rabbis teach that to degrade a single human being is to diminish what is sacred in us all.  

Dehumanization is not merely offensive; it is dangerous. Across history and in our own time, treating human beings as “garbage” clears the psychological path toward violence. Before people are harmed, they are dehumanized.

The appalling fraud schemes in Minnesota demand serious solutions (including the ongoing investigations and prosecutions) but invoking those challenges to justify broad attacks on an entire community does nothing to solve the problem. It only deepens division and heightens the risk of lawless disorder.

We affirm the words of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who said this rhetoric “violates the moral fabric of what we stand by in this country as Americans.” We agree.

Minnesotans of every background must push such rhetoric back to the margins – and hold leaders accountable when they normalize it.

JCRC will continue advocating for a public square rooted in decency, truth, and shared responsibility.

 Jewish Community Action:

To our Somali neighbors: we see you, we cherish you, and we stand with you. Your safety, your dignity, and your place in this community matter deeply to us. 

Our children play together. We work together. We celebrate together, and we show up for each other when our communities are under attack. We are family, and we keep each other safe. 

You are our friends, our colleagues, our neighbors, our caregivers, our educators, our rideshare drivers and business partners. Minnesota is a stronger place because of the resiliency of the Somali people and our shared commitment to a better future. 

Right now, we must all meet this moment with compassion, courage, and unity. When any group in our community is unfairly targeted and harassed, we have a responsibility to show up for one another. As Rabbi Emma Kippley-Ogman said at a press conference last week, “Minnesota is made of all of us together, and we are not sending anyone away. We refuse to be divided because we are neighbors who stand together in love."

We stand with our Somali neighbors, but where were they when our people were slaughtered on October 7th? Why aren't their voices raised against the violence against Muslims in Sudan or Nigeria? Why are we the only ones experiencing a drive toward genocide against us, yet still reaching out to support others? Is it because we know what it's like? Or maybe it's because we still believe in being stronger together, even when the together is not reciprocated? 

I made the mistake of doomscrolling through comments on a post about the indigenousness of Jews in Israel, and way too many demands that we stop saying that and go back to Poland or Germany or "wherever we came from." That same person was raving about from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. And that, in turn, reminded me of The Voyage of the Damned. 

If no one wants Jews, and Israel/Palestine is Judenrein, where do we go?

All those people want us dead. It's just that simple, isn't it? And what really gets me is that they think they can take over start-up Israeli technology and have it all run. There is an element of fanciful thinking, wishful thinking that Israel's successes are inheritable. That's not reality, is it?

When they came for the Latinos, no one raised much of a voice.

When they came for the Somalis, few raised a voice.

When they came for the trans-soldiers and officers, no one dared raise a voice.

Except for the Jews. We stood with everyone. We protested and marched and made waves for what was right and just and civil. We wrote letters and postcards and stood on street corners. When we said never again, we meant for everybody. 

Then they came to celebrate the Hamas massacre of Israeli kids and kibbutzniks while calling for the annihilation of Israel and everyone came. 

But in the end, folks, we have to ask ourselves if any of it matters.

Once upon a time, I thought it did. I'm not so sure now. 

In researching this week's epistle, I came across The Pew Research Center's Religious Landscape Study comparing 2014 and 2024. Interesting number, to say the least. In rounded numbers, the population of Minnesota is between 5,800,000 to 6,000,000. 1% of that is approximately 60,000. Muslims, on the other hand, make up about 3%...180,000. If the number are right, we are a shrinking population in this state.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.....

 

Matt Sepic/MPR News

There was a fire at the Masjid Hamza Al-Mahmood Foundation and Baitul Hikmah Academy in Prior Lake last night. As of 9 p.m. tonight, the cause of the fire remains unknown. Violence against religious institutions is not unknown in Minnesota. Synagogues are routinely defaced, mosques have been targeted in the past. Just recently, a Catholic Church suffered a mass shooting of schoolchildren at mass. Was this a targeted incident? We don't know yet. It happened in winter when electrical, furnace, and heater fires are common place. Did some crazy person set fire to this houses of worship? Thankfully, it was in the middle of the night and no one was there. Will conclusions be jumped to? You betcha they will. 

And if it was arson, we'll raise money to help them rebuild because that's what we do. 

I promise to report on the cause of the fire as soon as it's known. 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Mebbe we should look into buying Greenland. 

Just a thought.