On 7th February (local time), a video went viral on social media allegedly showing Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) Kentucky official Noora Shalash assaulting Jews inside a Mid-town Manhattan building. In the video, the woman, allegedly yelled, “I demand jihad, I want ISIS to kill all of you.”
The authenticity of the viral video was not independently verified by OpIndia. CAIR International has claimed that the woman in question has not worked with them for over five years. However, the organisation had shared a post in 2020 calling her a CAIR official.
🚨 ALERT: JEW HATRED IN NYC 🚨
— Jew Hate Database (@jewhatedb) February 7, 2025
New York City 🗽
“F*ck the Jew” 😡
A woman chased, assaulted, and threatened Jews inside a Midtown Manhattan building! This is the reality of Jew hatred in 2025. pic.twitter.com/dRnT4SKCE5
Who is Noora Shalash
According to a profile of Noora Shalash on the Israeli conservative news website VIN News, she serves as the Director of Government Affairs for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Kentucky. Born in Amman, Jordan, Shalash was raised in Lexington, Kentucky. She has been actively involved in advocating civil rights for American Muslims through her organisation.
— Jew Hate Database (@jewhatedb) February 7, 2025
Earlier, she worked as a Senior Sales Leader at Coach and as a Sales Specialist at Victoria’s Secret. From 2016 to 2020, she served on CAIR Kentucky’s Board of Directors.
CAIR International, in a post, claimed that she had not worked with the organisation for over five years. CAIR wrote, “This is a lie. This person has not worked with our CAIR-KY chapter in FIVE years. She has no role at our civil rights group. We condemn and reject the antisemitic comments in the video, just as we condemn and reject anti-Palestinian racism and anti-Muslim hate. Racism is wrong, no matter the source or the target.”
However, a post by CAIR from 2020, which is less than five years ago, mentioned her as ‘CAIR-KY Dir Gov Affairs’.
OpIndia investigated the video and found that Noora Shalash had posted a photograph on Facebook wearing the same dress seen in the video. The photograph was published on 6th February with the caption, “New Jersey, so far, is the most disgusting place I’ve ever been to.”
CAIR and its problematic connections to terror outfits
CAIR identifies itself as a Muslim civil rights organisation in the United States that claims to protect ‘civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims’.The fact, however, is that CAIR is an Islamist group that has spoken against India and Hindus on several occasions. The organisation has been vehemently pushing Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu propaganda in India.
In 2022, CAIR released a report titled “Still Suspect: The Impact of Structural Islamophobia”, in which it said that there has been a rise in discrimination against Muslims living in the United States.
In its report, CAIR claimed that it had received 6,720 complaints nationwide last year involving a range of issues, including immigration, travel discrimination, law enforcement, government overreach, hate and bias incidents, custody rights, school incidents, and free speech incidents.
The CAIR claimed that government discrimination and bias continue to have a disproportionate effect on American Muslims and further demonstrate that Islamic communities continue to be viewed with suspicion. The report also listed the impacts of severe structural and interpersonal Islamophobia in the United States.
Ironically, CAIR, which always complains about alleged Islamophobia in the United States, has been aggressively promoting Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu propaganda in India. We are aware of how CAIR had extended support for the extremely Hinduphobic ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva‘ conference.
Not only this, but in December last year, CAIR had reportedly taken offence at the display of the names of the LeT terrorists and scenes from the deadly 26/11 terror attack that were displayed on a mobile billboard truck in New Jersey. While calling the movement of the vehicle ‘deliberate and well co-ordinated’, CAIR criticised the broadcast of 26/11 footage as ‘messages of hate.’ This was despite the fact that the mobile billboard truck did not display anything contentious but the truth.
In January 2022, CAIR launched Hinduphobic propaganda based on a report by alleged journalist Rana Ayyub. In a press release, CAIR demanded the movie theatres not to release Sooryavanshi, a Hindi movie. In the press release, CAIR alleged the movie spreads “disgusting and dangerous” anti-Muslim propaganda inspired by the ‘fascist Hindutva movement.’
The organisation has also called for the release of 49-year-old Pakistani terrorist Aafia Siddiqui, who is currently serving 86 years in prison for attacking US Army and FBI personnel in Afghanistan.
It is noteworthy that CAIR has links with the Palestinian Islamist fundamentalist terror organisation Hamas. Hamas has a long history of violating human rights. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organisation by several countries, including The European Union, the United States, Canada, Israel, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom etc.
