Maryland AG suspends hate crime task force member over antisemitic posts

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has taken action against Zainab Chaudry, a member of the Maryland Commission on Hate Crimes Response and Prevention, following the emergence of several antisemitic social media posts, suspending Chaudry from her role.

Chaudry, who is also the Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) Maryland office, came under scrutiny for her comments made in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attack, which resulted in over 1,200 casualties, including children and babies, Fox News reported.

"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,” wrote Chaudry on an October 26 Facebook post.

Attorney General Brown announced that Chaudry’s social media activity, which included the denial of the deaths of Israeli babies in the attack, posed a significant risk to the integrity and mission of the Commission. Consequently, he has temporarily suspended her membership to prevent any disruption to the Commission's work.

Brown’s office is also set to develop a "draft values statement" to guide personal communications of Commission members. He emphasized the need for members to be cautious in their communications and conduct, given their roles in addressing hate crimes.

Chaudry’s controversial posts, revealed in recent weeks, included the aforementioned Facebook entry on October 26, where she expressed disbelief in the global response to the deaths of Israeli babies.

Another post on October 17 juxtaposed images of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, displaying the Israeli flag in solidarity with Israel and a historical image from the 1936 Olympics when it was adorned with the flag of Nazi Germany.

In a November 6 post, Chaudry implied that the very existence of Israel since 1948 was a root cause of ongoing conflicts, framing it as an "inconvenient fact." She also shared posts glorifying “martyred Palestinians” and referenced Islamic prophecy about defending lands of Islam, specifically mentioning Ashkelon, an Israeli city.