NATIONAL BOARD

NATIONAL BOARD

Officers
Officers
President: Daniel
President: Daniel Pipes
Pipes
Chairman: Steven
Chairman: Steven Levy
Levy
Vice Chairman:
Vice Chairman: Joshua
Joshua Katzen
Katzen
Treasurer: Lawrence
Treasurer: Lawrence Hollin
Hollin
Secretary: Gregg
Secretary: Gregg Roman
Roman
Executive Committee
Executive Committee
Chairman: Steven
Chairman: Steven Levy
Levy
Lawrence Gould
Lawrence Gould
Irwin Hochberg
Lawrence Hollin
Lawrence
Joshua Hollin
Katzen
Joshua Katzen
Andrew Lappin
AndrewLippman
Harley Lappin
Harley Pipes
Daniel Lippman
Daniel
Judy Pipes Rosen
Friedman November 13, 2018
JudithRosenblum
Scott Friedman Rosen
Scott Rosenblum
James H.M. Sprayregen
James P.
David H.M. Sprayregen
Steinmann Mark S. Hoplamazian
David P. Steinmann
National Board of Governors President and Chief Executive Officer
National
Wilma G. Board
Aeder of Governors 71 South Wacker Drive
Wilma G.
Yehuda Aeder
Baskin
Yehuda
Sam Baskin
E. Beller
Chicago, IL 60606
Sam Bershad
Jack E. Beller (312) 750-1234
Jack Bershad
Howard Bleich mark.hoplamazian@hyatt.com
Howard
Susan BleichBleich
Gardos
SusanPaul
Marc Gardos Bleich
Blum
Marc Paul
Richard Blum
Calmas RE: Anti-Hate Hyatt Hotels Should Ban AMP
Richard M.
Howard Calmas
Casper
Howard
Janet M. Casper
Doerflinger
PatrickE.Clawson
David Edman Dear Mr. Hoplamazian,
Janet Doerflinger
Roger A. Gerber
David E.G.Edman
Donald Ginsberg
Georgette
Stanley D. Gelbard
Ginsburg I write to you on behalf of the Philadelphia-based think tank, Middle East Forum (MEF). In
Roger A. Gerber
Benjamin H. Gordon September, you made an admirable choice when you announced that hate groups would no
Donald
Brian G. Ginsberg
Grodman
Stanley
Gaye D. Ginsburg
Slater Gross longer be welcome at Hyatt Hotels.
Benjamin
Robert H. Gordon
Immerman
Brian
Ira M. Grodman
Ingerman
Robert Immerman
Richard Irving We support your decision, and ask that in light of this new direction, you consider banning
Ira M. Ingerman
Georgette Joffe events in your hotels hosted by the hate group American Muslims for Palestine (AMP).
Richard
James Irving
Kahn
James Kahn
Arthur Karafin
ArthurKudish
David Karafin For the last four years in a row, AMP has hosted its annual conference at the Hyatt Regency
David Kudish
Joshua Landes
Joshua Landes
O’Hare in Chicago. This year, the group’s upcoming convention is scheduled for November
Murray S. Levin
MurrayJ.S.Levine
Robert Levin 22-24, at the same location. We and our Muslim allies strongly believe Hyatt should consider
RobertLevinson
David J. Levine AMP to be a hate group and we urge you to cancel its reservation. Here’s why:
DavidB.Levinson
Peter Levy
Peter B.Spitz
Margo LevyMarbut
Margo Spitz
Michael Marbut
Mooreville AMP Promotes Blatant Anti-Semitism—Even From Its Own Staff
MichaelNevyas
Herbert Mooreville
Herbert
Irene Nevyas
Pipes The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has accused AMP of “provid[ing] a platform for anti-
Irene Pipes
James Pollack Semitism under the guise of educating Americans" about Palestinians. Indeed, AMP is known
James Pollack
Adrienne Price
Adrienne
Pamela Price
Rose for hosting events in which its own staff members peddle anti-Semitic tropes and portray
Pamela Rose
Howard Rosenbloom violence against Israeli Jews as acceptable.
HowardT.Rosenbloom
Jeremy Rosenblum
JeremyRotenberg
Josiah T. Rosenblum
JosiahH.Rotenberg
Mark Rubin For example, during an AMP protest in December 2017, AMP-New Jersey president (and
Mark H.
Milton S.Rubin
Schneider former national board member) Sayel Kayed took the opportunity to proclaim, “Death to the
Melvin Salberg
William Seltzer
Milton Shafran
Joseph S. Schneider peace accords!” In a 2018 lecture, Kayed endorsed the protracted periods of violence against
EdwinShifrin
David Seave Jews in Israel known as the Intifadas. And, in the same speech, Kayed agreed with an audience
William
Orna Seltzer
Shulman
JosephL.Shafran
Lindy Snider member who repeated the previously-debunked anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Ashkenazi
David Shifrin
Marilyn Stern Jews are not true Jews, but ethnic Russians, descended from “Khazars.”
Orna Shulman
Jonathan Torop
Murray A.
George H. Violin
Shusterman
Lindy V.
David L. Snider
Wachs Similarly, in a May 11th speaking engagement, AMP National Policy Director Osama Abu
Marilyn Weiss
Michael Stern Irshaid echoed the exact same conspiracy theory by telling his audience that most modern Jews
JonathanWolf
Maxine Torop
GeorgeS.A.Zuritsky
Joseph Violin are “not [real] Jews.”
David V. Wachs
Harry C. Wechsler
Michael Weiss AMP Supports Overseas Terrorism
Maxine Wolf Osama Abu Irshaid’s endorsement of such conspiracy theories is not surprising, given that he
Ele Wood
Joseph S. Zuritsky previously served as the editor of Al Zaytounah, the official newspaper of the Islamic
Association of Palestine (the precursor to AMP), which the U.S. government states is part of
the Gaza-based terrorist organization Hamas’s “propaganda apparatus.” Accordingly, Irshaid does not shy away
from supporting violent terror: in 2014, he wrote that Hamas is “an army for liberation” whose fighters “rise up for
the blood of martyrs.” In another post, Irshaid praised Hamas's "steadfastness and sacrifice," and claimed, "Gaza is
victorious...The descendants of the Muslim David are rubbing the dust with the nose of the descendants of the
Jewish Goliath."

Meanwhile, at the 2014 AMP conference (which also took place at the Hyatt O’Hare), AMP Associate Director of
Outreach & Grassroots Organizing Taher Herzallah declared: “Israelis have to be bombed, they are a threat to the
legitimacy of Palestine, and it is wrong to maintain the State of Israel. It is an illegitimate creation born from
colonialism and racism.”

Then, there’s AMP Chairman and co-founder Hatem Bazian, who speaks at all AMP annual conventions. Last year,
Bazian was widely criticized for retweeting two vile anti-Semitic images that referred to Jews as "Ashke-Nazis" and
accused them of rape, murder and organ trafficking.

AMP Constantly Hosts Hateful Speakers

At the 2017 convention (also hosted at the Hyatt), AMP hosted such speakers as extremist preacher Kifah Mustapha.
In a video introduced as evidence during a terror financing trial in 2008, Mustapha can be heard praising Hamas
terrorism, chanting: “O mother, Hamas for Jihad. Over mosques' loudspeakers, with freedom. Every day it resists
with stones and the dagger. Tomorrow, with God's help, it will be with a machine gun and a rifle.” In October 2015,
during the outbreak of the “stabbing intifada” in Israel, Mustapha posted on Facebook in support of the attacks.

Mustapha is not the only extremist AMP invites to speak on its behalf. At a 2013 AMP fundraising dinner, the group
hosted Tariq Ramadan, a prominent extremist activist. Ramadan is currently in prison in Paris, awaiting trial for
allegedly raping three women. In 2017, Ramadan released a 10 minute video on Facebook expressing support for an
imam who had endorsed female genital mutilation (FGM).

AMP also gives platforms to anti-gay activists. In 2017 AMP protest in front of the White House, the featured
speaker was Omar Suleiman. Suleiman is a notorious bigot who has called homosexuality a "repugnant shameless
sin," In one of Suleiman’s sermons, he claimed that women who are too close with their brothers are likely to
commit incest. He further warned, without condemnation, that women who commit adultery risk being killed by a
family member.

In light of the above information, we urge the Hyatt to revoke its welcome to extremist organizations such as AMP.
We would be happy to introduce you to our Muslim allies, such as Muslim Reform Movement, the American
Islamic Forum for Democracy, the American Islamic Congress, and the Center for Islamic Pluralism—organizations
that work to promote the progressive, pluralistic American values Hyatt Hotels seeks to honor. These Muslim
organizations are our partners in combatting extremism and hate speech and can help Hyatt understand how to
identify hate groups.

Please get in touch if you have further questions. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Samantha Rose Mandeles, Islamist Watch Coordinator

Middle East Forum
Phone: (703) 999 5502
mandeles@meforum.org