Ramadan 2024: White House Cancels Iftar Dinner After Many Muslim Americans Decline Invitation Amid Gaza Crisis

The White House has cancelled a Ramadan iftar dinner on Tuesday, April 2, after many Muslim Americans declined the invitation in protest of US President Joe Biden’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza, reported Al Jazeera quoting people familiar with the matter.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that instead of an iftar dinner, the Muslim “community leaders” on Tuesday requested a meeting.

This comes after the Muslim community members warned their leaders against attending the White House Ramadan meal. The deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Edward Ahmed Mitchell, confirmed AJ that the annual event has been called off after many Muslim leaders declined to go.

“The American Muslim community said very early on that it would be completely unacceptable for us to break bread with the very same White House that is enabling the Israeli government to starve and slaughter the Palestinian people in Gaza,” said Mitchell, reported AJ.

Also Read | World Central Kitchen pauses Gaza operations after 7 workers killed.

Earlier on Monday, it was reported that the White House was preparing a community inftar like it does every year during Ramadan.

Over the past two decades, US presidents have hosted iftars with dozens of prominent Muslim Americans. Mirroring other religious and cultural events at the White House, Ramadan meals have served as a celebration of the Muslim community and are traditionally open to the press.

On Tuesday, the Israel strike killed seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers. WCK confirmed that seven of its workers were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike on a convoy of trucks delivering food in Deir al-Balah in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The Israel Defense Forces said it is investigating the incident.

The Health Ministry in Gaza announced on Monday that the death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 32,845. During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 63 Palestinians and wounded 94 others, the ministry said in a press statement.