Threats of violence forced the Muslim civil rights group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), to abandon its planned banquet for today at the Marriott Crystal Gateway hotel in Arlington, Virginia, where they had held banquets for over ten years. CAIR stated on Oct. 19: “Anonymous callers have threatened to plant bombs in the hotel’s parking garage, kill specific hotel staff in their homes, and storm the hotel in a repeat of the Jan. 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol if the events moved forward.”
Reuters reported that at least two pro-Israel advocacy groups urged members to call on Marriott to cancel the CAIR gathering, including the Endowment for Middle East Truth and the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA). “Please join ZOA in calling Marriott to demand that they cancel this dangerous CAIR event,” the ZOA said in an “action alert” on Oct. 19.
A spokesperson for the hotel stated: “After careful consideration, we have determined that we are unable to move forward with an event planned for this weekend due to significant risks to the safety of event attendees, guests and associates.”
Also on Oct. 17, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) said that a Hilton hotel in Houston had abruptly canceled its booking for an annual conference on Oct. 27-29. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott praised Hilton’s decision, writing on social media, “Texas has no room for hate & antisemitism.” The USCPR cited the case of the murder of a 6-year-old Muslim boy in Illinois and stated: “The governor’s rhetoric, and actions by the hotel echo and inflame the sharp increase in hate incidents that are targeting Arabs.” The ZOA praised both Hilton and Marriott for the decisions.
