Maryland attorney general suspends hate crime task force member claiming babies murdered by Hamas were 'fake'
Democrat Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown took action against a member of his own hate crime task force on Tuesday after numerous antisemitic social media posts by the member surfaced, including a claim that the babies murdered in the brutal Oct. 7 Hamas attack were "fake."
Zainab Chaudry, an anti-Israel activist who serves as the director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR) Maryland office, made the posts in the weeks following Hamas' attack, which saw more than 1,200 people killed, including children and babies, as well as numerous rapes and destruction of property.
"The Office of Attorney General learned last week about personal social media posts of a member of the Maryland Commission on Hate Crimes Response and Prevention, Zainab Chaudry, Executive Director of the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations – Maryland Office," Brown said in a press release.
"Attorney General Brown has determined that Ms. Chaudry’s social media posts risk disrupting the work and mission of the Commission, so he is announcing steps that he took today to ensure that the vital work and mission of the Commission can continue without interruption," he said, adding that Chaudry's membership on the commission would be "temporarily suspended."
He went on to say that his office would "develop a draft values statement" concerning personal communications by commission members, and called on those members to "to exercise great care in their communications and conduct."
In a Facebook post dated Oct. 26, Chadry wrote, "I will never be able to understand how the world summoned up rage for 40 fake Israeli babies while completely turning a blind eye to 3,000 real Palestinian babies."
In an Oct. 17 post, Chaudry wrote, "[T]hat moment when you become what you hated most," and included two photos of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, one showing it lit up with the Israeli flag in solidarity with Israel following the attack, and another from a ceremony in 1936 when it was decorated with the flag of Nazi Germany during the Olympics that year.
In another post from Nov. 6, Chaudry appeared to suggest the mere existence of Israel as a nation was the cause of the ongoing war, writing it was an "inconvenient fact." She included an image of the words "it all started in 1948," the year Israel was founded as a nation.
Others from the weeks following the attack showed Chaudry sharing a quote celebrating "martyred Palestinians," and a post citing what appeared to be an Islamic prophesy that said "garrisons who defend the lands of Islam will be in Ashkelon," an Israeli city north of the Gaza Strip.
When reached for comment, Chaudry told Fox News Digital that the "Nazi post" was originally shared "by a close Jewish friend," before going on to accuse the Israeli government of wanting to commit genocide against Palestinians. She also said she condemned the killing of Israeli and Palestinian civilians.