Apology to Muslim-American Leaders: Biden Admits Hamas Death Toll Reports Were Unfounded

The Biden administration recently extended an apology to the Muslim American leaders for questions raised by the White House on a report that detailed the number of Gazans killed in the conflict with Israel. The report, which was released last week, resulted in a swift and furious backlash from various Muslims around the world and criticism from many U.S. Muslims that the Biden administration was effectively questioning the veracity of the report. The White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki apologized for the statement by the White House that said they were “troubled” by the report that was released from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. She acknowledged the fact that the language used by the White House was “unusual” and “incorrect in its framing” of the report that happened to contain a detailed account of civilian casualties in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The criticism felt by U.S. Muslims over the White House’s statements and the subsequent apology has been palpable. Many felt as though the statements were an implicit attempt to discredit the report’s findings. Asma Mahdi of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was quoted as saying the original statement by the Biden administration “ amplifies an age-old and sadly consistent American attitude of skepticism toward Muslim voices calling out state violence and civil rights infringements.” The Biden administration has now walked back its previous statements, claiming that their initial response was an attempt to “elicit more details and better analysis” and not an attempt to discredit or question the findings. The White House also made sure to add that they “unequivocally condemn the provocative rocket attacks” from Hamas. It remains to be seen how the Muslim American community will respond to the apology and if the Biden administration’s actions will be considered satisfactory. For now, all Americans can hope for is a more respectful and effective dialogue about the conflict in the Middle East.