CAIR Gave $1,000 to Students Disciplined for Pro-Palestinian Protests

Funds were directed to students participating in pro-Palestinian protests both before and after the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023.

By United with Israel Staff

A new report in the New York Post reveals that a Muslim nonprofit quietly distributed $1,000 payments to student activists who were disciplined for organizing anti-Israel disruptions on American campuses.

The report, produced by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) and the Intelligent Advocacy Network (IAN) and reported by the Post, found that funds were directed to students participating in pro-Palestinian protests both before and after the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023.

According to the findings, the payments came from a program called the “Champions of Justice Fund,” created by the California branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The groups behind the report describe the initiative as a form of “institutional endorsement” for students who faced consequences for their activism.

Financial records cited in the report show that CAIR’s California network played a major role. The San Francisco and Los Angeles offices together raised more than $100,000 for campus activists, while CAIR’s national headquarters publicly sought $64,000 specifically for these efforts.

According to CAIR’s website, the funds were distributed as interest-free loans of $1,000 to students who had lost scholarships, housing, or other support due to their activism. In October 2024, CAIR-California provided a total of $20,000 from the “Champions of Justice Fund” to 20 student protesters in the form of loans and scholarships.

“These programs support students after acts of criminality and violence, creating a reward structure for building the most militant face of the movement. This is how ideologies metastasize,” NCRI founder Joel Finkelstein told The Post.

NCRI and IAN also told The Post they want a full forensic review of CAIR-California’s finances. The state branch took in more than $17 million in 2023 from private donors, businesses, and government sources, according to its most recent public filings.

A lawyer for CAIR-California rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing.

“The false claims alleged are part of a larger defamation campaign targeting Muslim Americans by fringe anti-Muslim groups,” said Amr Shabaik, the legal director of CAIR-California.

He added that every dollar is tracked and used appropriately. “All contributions CAIR-California receives are reported, accounted for, and used strictly for their intended purpose and subjected to rigorous internal auditing and reporting.

“That is why both private and public funders have worked and continue to work with CAIR-California.”