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Boycott planned for Obama Iftar dinner

A number of prominent Muslim American are vowing to boycott Monday’s Ramadan dinner at the White House — citing domestic spying on Muslims and the Israeli attack on Gaza.

Boycott and protest efforts are actively underway in the wider Muslim American and Arab American communities — with one of the best-known civil rights groups in such circles joining calls to skip the annual Iftar dinner this year.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said Monday that it would not participate in the Monday White House event — and encouraged others to do the same.

ADC “calls upon members of the Arab and Muslim communities to join us in the boycott, including tonight’s White House Iftar hosted by President Barack Obama, given the government’s condoning of the current slaughter of Palestinians in Palestine and the spying [on] American Arabs and Muslims domestically,” the group said in a statement.

Israel — a top American ally in the Middle East — is currently embroiled in a conflict in Gaza with the group Hamas. And last week, journalist Glenn Greenwald revealed that the U.S. government has tapped the email of five prominent Muslim American activists and scholars.

The spying revelations and the ongoing Gaza conflict have prompted widespread anger within the Arab and Muslim advocacy community.

A draft letter obtained by POLITICO is circulating among academics, scholars and activists — calling for a boycott of the Iftar event.

Some organizers of the letter—which is separate from the ADC boycott—are expected to join a protest near the White House Monday night highlighting complaints over Guantanamo Bay and spying.

"In acknowledging the harm that has befallen our community of Muslims, Americans, and all other groups that have faced the policy burdens associated with national security policies, we write this letter to categorically reject attendance at the White House Iftar. In contrast to other potential policy changing initiatives where community leadership successfully engages the government and influences the development of beneficial social and foreign policies, this dinner represents nothing more than an attempt to whitewash state violence, absolve government institutions from taking responsibility and creating mechanisms of accountability and transparency for the civil rights violations that have been perpetrated towards Muslims and Muslim Americans, and Americans at large, beginning from even before the onset of the War on Terror," the letter states.

The White House said Monday that it welcomes the debate but that the event would go forward in the spirit of recognizing the contributions of Muslim Americans to the country.

“There are immigrants to this country from a variety of regions in the world who are Muslim. And it is important for every American to understand that they are critical to the success of our country and interwoven into the basic fabric that makes the United States of America such a unique place to live,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest at the daily press briefing.

“Tonight’s dinner is an opportunity to pay tribute to that contribution. And we certainly respect the differences that some people may have on these matters. But we would not want that to overshadow the efforts of the president and other senior administration officials to pay tribute to the contribution that so many American Muslims play in their communities,” Earnest added.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first practicing Muslim to be elected to Congress, said in a statement Monday he won't heed the call for a boycott and plans to attend the dinner.

"While I certainly share the concerns of the people who have called for the boycott, I disagree with the tactic. It will not close Guantanamo Bay, guarantee a cease-fire between Israel and Palestine or undo the NSA’s targeting of Muslims," Ellison said. "A boycott of the White House Iftar dinner tonight won't help advance an agenda on the policy matters we care about. If the boycott was successful and no Muslims showed up, then no one would talk about the issues on behalf of our community. "

It may be difficult to gauge the extent of any boycott since in recent years the White House has not included all Iftar guests on its publicly-released lists of invitees.

UPDATE (Monday, 5:38 P.M.): This post has been updated with Ellison's statement.