Staff Reports
President Joe Biden’s National Security Council (NSC) seems to have an uncanny knack for hosting the most questionable characters imaginable. Recently, it welcomed Shadi Zaza, the CEO of Rahma Worldwide—a Michigan-based group with a troubling history of cozying up to Hamas. It appears that meeting with leaders who have a track record of collaborating with one of the world’s most notorious terrorist organizations is now the new normal in Biden’s D.C. These meetings are no mere footnotes; they come with a hefty dose of irony considering they occurred mere days before Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israel.
Social media sleuths and Arabic news outlets uncovered Zaza’s connections, revealing that he engages in aid initiatives with Hamas officials. One wonders how the NSC staffers managed to overlook these ties. Their assertion that the meeting focused on opposing Syria’s Assad regime feels like a classic case of misdirection. Was this a meeting to address pressing issues, or just another example of how deeply muddled the Biden administration’s priorities have become? It would be hard to blame Republicans in Congress if they feel that venturing into the realm of supporting anti-Israel sentiments is par for the course in this administration.
The sheer audacity of allowing someone like Zaza into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building raises eyebrows and concerns alike. According to a senior GOP Senate aide, those responsible for this meeting either need a crash course in national security or are operating under an entirely different set of values that may very well align with the ideals of Hamas. It begs the question of how anyone thought this was a good idea, and who gave the thumbs up as part of the Secret Service-approved guest list.
Biden White House hosted leader of Hamas-linked group https://t.co/OSyNZg3XRx via @dcexaminer
— Joni Myers (@JoniMyers18) September 20, 2024
Adding fuel to the fire, Rahma Worldwide secured almost $175,000 in federal funding for a vaccine initiative at the same time Zaza was seen in Gaza meeting with Hamas officials for various aid efforts. The timing is nothing short of alarming. It appears that the U.S. government is, quite unwittingly, funding groups with ties to terrorism, beggaring belief that such organizations could be deemed somehow reputable. If that’s not a red flag, one has to question what would suffice.
While Rahma insists that it operates independently and focuses solely on humanitarian efforts, the facts suggest otherwise. Analysts point out that Rahma seems to be a crucial cog in a Hamas-aligned network based in the United States. The troubling connections don’t stop there: Rahma has worked in collaboration with groups like Aid 48, an organization suspected of being linked to Hamas. In this tangled web of aid and ambition, one can only wonder what it will take for accountability to become a priority for the Biden administration. With such clear connections to dubious sources, it’s high time for a thorough investigation.
