On Tuesday, November 12th, Israel sent a missile into the Gaza home of senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commander Baha Abu al-Ata, killing him and his wife. The assassination was soon met with hundreds of rockets fired into Israel by PIJ operatives. This same day, Sofian Abdelaziz Zakkout, board member of Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade County, posted a graphic onto Facebook calling on all Palestinian terrorist factions to unify against Israel. The next day, Zakkout posted a memorial video for a fallen Hamas commander. Why does Crime Stoppers continue to associate with a known terrorist supporter, Zakkout?
Besides his involvement with Crime Stoppers, Sofian Zakkout is the founder and President of the American Muslim Association of North America (AMANA). AMANA’s history is filled with vitriol against and bigotry towards others. The group’s targets have included Jews, Christians and homosexuals. In July 2010, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned AMANA for featuring what the ADL called a “venomous” anti-Semitic video on the AMANA website. The video was produced by and featured white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Grand Wizard David Duke. Zakkout, himself, has praised Duke as “David Duke, a man to believe in!”
The terror unity graphic Zakkout posted, on the day of Israel’s conflict with PIJ, depicts five interlocked hands, each stamped with the logo of a different Palestinian terrorist faction, all surrounding a map of Israel draped in a Palestinian flag. The factions include four groups designated by the United States as terrorist organizations: Hamas, PIJ, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The fifth group, Fatah, is the main division of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which has also been named a terrorist group by the US.
The Hamas commander Zakkout memorialized, the following day, is Shaher Mahmoud Muhammad al-Madhoun a.k.a. Abu Abdallah. Al-Madhoun was shot dead (along with dozens of others) by an Israeli soldier, in May 2018, while attempting to cross the Gaza border into Israeli territory, an event staged by Hamas. A number of photos exist of al-Madhoun brandishing a rifle, while dressed in Hamas military fatigues.
Support for Palestinian terror is a constant theme with Zakkout. In August 2014, Zakkout declared, “Hamas is in my heart and on my head.”In July 2014, Zakkout led a pro-Hamas rally outside the Israeli Consulate in downtown Miami. On video footage from the event, Zakkout is seen smiling broadly as his rally goers repeatedly shouted, “We are Hamas.” They also chanted, “Let’s go Hamas” and “Hamas kicked your ass.” Above photos from the event, Zakkout wrote, “Thank God, every day we conquer the American Jews, like our conquests over the Jews of Israel!”
Regarding Jews, Zakkout has repeatedly referred to them as “monkeys and pigs.” In February 2016, Zakkout promoted on social media a report titled ‘How the Holocaust was faked.’ It begins: “The alleged ‘Holocaust’ of ‘6 million Jews’ at the hands of Adolf Hitler and National Socialist Germany during WWII is the biggest lie ever foisted upon humanity.” The piece was produced by The Realist Report, an anti-Jew, anti-black, anti-gay independent media outlet, which describes Hitler as “the greatest leader in modern Western history.”
Zakkout has, as well, threatened his fellow Muslims with death. In February 2015, over a graphic of deceased Hamas founders Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, he wrote, “It is an obligation to kill those who left our religion. It is an obligation to kill those who fight our religion and to intimidate our enemies and the enemies of the religion.”
When it comes to terror, Zakkout is not just a supporter of Palestinian-based terrorist groups. He also has an affinity for al-Qaeda. In March 2016, Zakkout posted onto his Facebook page a graphic memorializing deceased icons of terror that included Osama bin Laden, bin Laden’s mentor Abdullah Azzam, and al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
With all of the documented information and damning evidence against Zakkout, one has to ask how a well-known anti-crime group like Crime Stoppers could continue to associate with this dangerous man. Holocaust denial, threatening fellow Muslims with violence, support for Hamas and al-Qaeda, praise for David Duke – any one of these things should disqualify Zakkout’s membership in such an organization, let alone sitting on its Board of Directors.
As long as Sofian Zakkout is a part of Crime Stoppers, the group’s credibility will and must continue to be questioned. How can you call yourself a legitimate organization, when you have a proven supporter of terror and bigotry in your leadership?
If you wish to contact the following Crime Stoppers representatives to discuss the matter of Sofian Zakkout, this author implores you to do so. Please be respectful in any and all communications with them.
Barb Bergin, Crime Stoppers USA Chairman, bbergin@crimestoppersusa.com
Mike Blatman, Crime Stoppers USA Vice Chairman, mblatman@crimestoppersusa.com
Chuck Curtis, Crime Stoppers USA Secretary, ccurtis@crimestoppersusa.com
Dan Edwards, Crime Stoppers USA Treasurer, dedwards@crimestoppersusa.com
Heather Ramos, Crime Stoppers USA Florida Regional Director, hramos@crimestoppersusa.com
Carleen Vincent-Robinson, Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade County President, vincentc@fiu.edu
Suzette Rice, Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade County Executive Director, info@crimestoppersmiami.com
Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.
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