‘How many of you felt the euphoria?’ British-born Sami Hamdi asked a London mosque following the terror attack, according to the Telegraph
ICE on Sunday detained British-born Muslim activist Sami Hamdi over his open support for Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel and plans to deport him from the country. Mainstream media outlets from CBS News to CNN to the New York Times have described Hamdi as a “journalist” targeted for criticizing Israel.
Hamdi told a mosque in London to “celebrate the victory” just days after Hamas massacred 1,200 people in Israel, asking, “How many of you felt the euphoria?” He also accused Israel of manufacturing evidence of Hamas’s sexual violence against Israeli women, saying Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu “had to make a lie about rape,” according to the Daily Telegraph.
Hamdi is the managing director of The International Interest, which “advises on geopolitical environments and risks across the globe,” a description on its website says. He has appeared on British television stations as a Middle East commentator, but his most recent bylined piece was published in Arabian Gulf Business Insight in March 2024.
Mainstream media outlets failed to mention Hamdi’s radical beliefs and in many cases cited the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR’s leader, Nihad Awad, said he “was happy to see” Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, which led the Biden administration to sever ties with the organization. CAIR has drawn congressional scrutiny over its ties to Hamas.
The Times, for instance, referred to Hamdi as “a British political commentator and critic of Israel.” The paper noted Hamdi “is the managing director of the International Interest” and cited his credentials as “a commentator on the British television news channel Sky News and other outlets.”
USA Today described Hamdi as “a British Muslim journalist” and “political commentator,” relying on CAIR to claim ICE detained him over his “criticism of Israel” and quoting the group to declare it a “blatant affront to free speech.” The paper went on to question “why the administration believes Hamdi supports terrorism.”
CNN also told its readers that Hamdi is a “British commentator,” repeating CAIR’s claims that the administration targeted him in “retaliation for his criticism of Israel.”
Hamdi “is a journalist and commentator who appears on British TV networks to analyze developments in the Middle East,” the CNN story reads. “Recently, he has spoken about the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza and international plans for the post-war governance of the enclave.”
CNN quoted CAIR to accuse the Trump administration of “[a]bducting a prominent British Muslim journalist … because he dared to criticize the Israeli government’s genocide.”
A separate Reuters story that CNN also posted on its website describes Hamdi as “an analyst and commentator on British TV networks” with no mention of his support for terrorism.
CBS News reported Hamdi is a “journalist and political commentator.” The outlet also relied primarily on CAIR to claim “Hamdi has gone on speaking tours in the U.S. numerous other times” and that his arrest by federal authorities was “due to his criticisms of Israel.”
ICE detained Hamdi at San Francisco International Airport as he traveled through the United States on a CAIR-sponsored speaking tour. During his brief time in the United States, Hamdi spoke at CAIR’s annual gala in Sacramento and was scheduled to appear at another CAIR event in Florida prior to his arrest.
A senior State Department official familiar with the process said the agency became aware of Hamdi’s pro-Hamas statements and visa status on Friday and prepared an “immediate revocation, which triggers apprehension and removal from the U.S.” before coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security to detain Hamdi before he boarded a flight to Tampa.
The State Department issued a statement Sunday making clear it decided to revoke Hamdi’s visa over his open support of terrorism, not because he is critical of Israel.
“The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who support terrorism and actively undermine the safety of Americans,” the State Department said. “We continue to revoke the visas of persons engaged in such activity.”
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