A new watchdog report alleges that the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, “the largest and most financially significant branch of the national CAIR network,” paid $1,000 to anti-Israel campus activists disciplined by their universities.
The report—conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute and the Intelligent Advocacy Network—states that CAIR-CA “started an education fund to ‘help students targeted for their pro-Palestine advocacy on college campuses’ and solicited over $64,000 in donations.”
The organization’s program materials “offer interest-free educational loans and unrestricted $1,000 grants for students who ‘lost scholarships, housing or other support because of their advocacy.’”
According to the report, CAIR-CA “awarded $20,000 in loans and scholarships to 20 students in October 2024.”
The report places these payments within what it describes as CAIR-CA’s broader “institutional support for campus protest ecosystems.” It also notes that CAIR of San Francisco-Bay Area publicly encouraged direct aid to California encampments.
In an April 2024 social media post, the chapter wrote, “Not a student but want to help? Visit your nearest encampments. Donate food and supplies. Invite others to join you.”
Hussam Aylous, CEO of CAIR-CA, was a featured speaker at the University of California, Riverside encampment “in his official capacity as a representative of” the California chapter and “led a sermon on Day 2 of the UCLA encampment” in the same capacity, the report states.
Other findings allege underreporting of political lobbying spending to the IRS, misuse of refugee-aid funds and concealment of millions in government grants on IRS Form 990s.
