A video circulating widely online appears to show Zahra Billoo, executive director of the California chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations, telling supporters to be “strategic” about expressing anti-Zionist views publicly while reserving harsher rhetoric for private settings.
In the clip, Billoo warns against posting statements such as “I hate all Zionists” on professional platforms like LinkedIn, saying: “Not strategic. Right? … You may say that sitting around Kahwah (coffee) House on a Friday night, but you’re not going to say it on your LinkedIn.” She adds that activists should think in terms of “strategic versus reckless.”
The remarks sparked backlash online, with critics accusing the CAIR-CA leader of encouraging supporters to conceal anti-Jewish hostility rather than reject it outright. Guy Benson reacted by writing on X: “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.’”
The controversy is also renewing scrutiny over California state funding tied to organizations associated with CAIR-CA. Critics pointed to California Governor Gavin Newsom after reports that his administration approved $40 million dollars in funding connected to the group.