AFA of PA ACTION ALERT
February 5, 2024
Issue
Oppose This Third Circuit Court Nominee
Details
President Biden has nominated Adeel Abdullah Mangi to be a judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the Virgin Islands. To put it mildly, this is a terrible nominee. It’s so bad seven of Pennsylvania’s eight GOP Congressmen sent a letter to President Biden asking him to withdraw the nomination. PA Congressmen Guy Reschenthaler, Dan Meuser, Mike Kelly, John Joyce, M.D., Glenn “GT” Thompson, Brian Fitzpatrick, Scott Perry, as well as New Jersey Congressmen Chris Smith, Jeff Van Drew, and Tom Kean, Jr. signed onto the letter.
- Mangi served on an advisory board at Rutgers Law School’s Center for Security, Race, and Rights from 2019 until June 2023. The Center has been tied to convicted terrorists, antisemitic beliefs, and dishonorable “activities” on the anniversary of September 11, 2001 during the time that Mangi sat on the advisory board.
- The director of the Center, Sahar Aziz, who invited Mangi to join the board, signed an open letter in 2021 that included the statement, “We are in awe of the Palestinian struggle to resist violent occupation, removal, erasure, and the expansion of Israeli settler colonialism.
- On September 11, 2021, while Mangi was on the Board of Advisors, the Center sponsored an event entitled “Whose Narrative? 20 Years since September 11, 2001.” Speakers at the event included Dr. Sami Al-Arian, who pleaded guilty to conspiring with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Dr. Rabab Abudlhadi, who once tried to host a webinar with a Palestinian plane hijacker as a guest speaker.
- The Congressmen’s letter also notes “Multiple Jewish organizations have publicly opposed Mangi’s nomination. This includes a joint statement from the Zionist Organization of America, Americans Against Antisemitism, StopAntisemitism, and Students Supporting Israel, as well as a letter from the Coalition for Jewish Values, representing over 2,500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in American public policy.
- The letter additionally notes “On numerous occasions in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Mangi was given ample opportunity to denounce examples of antisemitic rhetoric espoused by the Center. He failed to do so in his written responses and oral testimony to the committee every single time.
On January 18th this nominee was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee along party lines. It will now go before the full Senate for a vote.
Action Steps:
Ask Senator Bob Casey, Jr. and Senator John Fetterman to oppose this nomination by clicking here