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Patch included B’nai B’rith International’s response to the Congressional resolution aimed at preventing a sale of arms to Israel in its coverage of a pro-Palestinian protest held in New Brunswick, New Jersey and the response to President Joe Biden’s approval of the arms sale to Israel.
​NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — A rally in support of Palestinians will be held this Saturday afternoon in New Brunswick. The rally will begin at 4:30 p.m. at 126 College Avenue in New Brunswick.

The protest is organized by the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
That same group held a similar rally at 5 p.m. Friday, May 21, at Albert Hinds Plaza in Princeton, and also organized a massive rally last weekend on the streets of Paterson. Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh reported 4,000 people attended that protest.

Also on Friday, CAIR and other Muslim groups held a protest outside the Jersey City office of Senator Bob Menendez, calling on Sens. Menendez and Cory Booker to block the sale of weapons to Israel. 
That protest was expected to happen at 3 p.m. Friday at Mendendez’s office at 210 Hudson Street, Harborside in Jersey City.

Earlier this week, President Biden approved a $735 million arms sale to Israel. Congress reps such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) are all currently trying to block the arms sale.

Senator Bob Menendez is the chair of the Senate committee on Foreign Relations. Senator Cory Booker also sits on this committee. Neither Booker or Mendendez, both viewed as strong Israel supporters, are trying to block the arms sale, but Booker did publicly call for a cease-fire this week.

CAIR-NJ is a Muslim advocacy group, and in a statement this week, CAIR-NJ director Selaedin Maksut said: “The ‘unshakable’ friendship with Israel is shaking across America, and the world … In an unprecedented fashion, New Jerseyans of diverse backgrounds from across the state are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

However also on Friday, B’nai B’rith, a staunch defender of the state of Israel, said their group “vehemently rejects a Congressional resolution aimed at preventing the sale of arms to our ally in the Middle East: Israel.”
“Israelis have endured 11 days of indiscriminate rocket attacks from Gaza targeting civilians. These sales, which President Joe Biden has already approved, keep Israel safe,” said the group. “As Israel and Hamas announce a cease-fire agreement, efforts underway in Congress could hamstring the Jewish state in future defensive operations against Hamas and Hezbollah.”

Hamas is listed by the U.S. State Department as a foreign terrorist group.

“We reassert and reaffirm our support for Israel’s right to self-defense,” said B’nai B’rith. “This is an important moment for the United States to reassure its democratic ally in the Middle East of its staunch and unwavering commitment.”