The head of the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Zahra Billoo, was caught on video telling followers they could express their “hatred” for Zionists in private, while suggesting it may be more strategic to avoid doing so publicly.
SCOOP: CAIR-CA leader Zahra Billoo advises her followers that they can express hatred against Jews in private, but should not write "I hate all Zionists" on their social media profiles, in order to be "strategic."
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@christopherrufo) May 6, 2026
Gavin Newsom gave her group $40 million. pic.twitter.com/4ipO6tbM7f
"Now imagine your LinkedIn profile says, I hate all Zionists. Replace hate with whatever inappropriate must, like something I can't say here. Not strategic, right? Like, not strategic," she said. "Now you may say that sitting around Kahwa House on a Friday night, but you're not going to say it on your LinkedIn. And so one, we have to do the basics. We have to remember that Allah protects us. And then strategic versus reckless. And this is a ongoing process."
Fox News' Guy Benson argued that it was quite telling that her message wasn't one of peace and harmony.
"Notice, the message here isn’t ‘don’t hate people and don’t be bigots,'" he wrote on X. "The message is ‘we must hide our hatred and bigotry more strategically.’ Reminder: CAIR’s executive director openly celebrated the Islamist terrorist slaughter of 10/7/23, which killed dozens of Americans."
Notice, the message here isn’t ‘don’t hate people and don’t be bigots.’ The message is ‘we must hide our hatred and bigotry more strategically.’ Reminder: CAIR’s executive director openly celebrated the Islamist terrorist slaughter of 10/7/23, which killed dozens of Americans. https://t.co/ekjK3hxSGN
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 6, 2026
This comes after the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal reported that California’s CAIR chapter received roughly $40 million in taxpayer funding over the past several years, amid longstanding allegations tying the organization to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. The United Arab Emirates has even designated the group as a terrorist organization, citing security concerns. CAIR’s American chapters have repeatedly denied any ties to terrorist groups and dismissed the allegations as baseless.
EXCLUSIVE: California Gov. Gavin Newsom granted more than $40 million to the radical Islamist group CAIR-CA. Our investigative team traced the flow of funds and discovered that CAIR then funneled some of this cash to groups with alleged terrorist ties.https://t.co/ty0cJwNvGZ
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@christopherrufo) May 6, 2026
This comes as several Republican states have moved to ban the group, including Texas and Florida.