A top legislator who admitted to physically abusing his family and was fired from a previous work for sexual misconduct is a member of a human rights organization working to stop politicians from meeting with “abusive” international lobbyists.
Politics for the Muslim World Then ( DAWN ) advocacy director , Raed Jarrar acknowledged that he “pushed, slapped, choked, and hit” his ex- family,  , anti- war advocate Alli McCracken,  , in a 2022 email reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
The history of misconduct allegations against him from ladies may raise concerns for DAWN, a human rights organization founded by murdered Saudi dissident and Washington Post view source Jamal Khashoggi, even though Jarrar today denies that he abused McCracken and claims the notice was coerced. DAWN’s executive director is Sarah Leah Whitson, a vocal critic of Israel who once , lamented , that the Jewish state was not experiencing enough suffering during the COVID pandemic.
The organization is known for its campaign to stop members of Congress from meeting with U. S. lobbyists who work for “abusive, unrepresentative, and unaccountable” foreign clients. DAWN’s” Lobbyist Hall of Shame” specifically singles out lobbyists for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Israeli companies.
DAWN also holds itself up as an , advocate , for “women’s rights and equality” in the Middle East, protesting “discrimination against women, exploitation of women migrant workers, sex trafficking and sexual slavery”.
In a$ 1 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife McCracken in 2023, Jarrar goes into more detail about the most recent abuse allegations against him.
Jarrar, who was let go from Amnesty International in 2018 after allegedly sexually harassing a female employee in an unrelated case, claims McCracken and several of her friends are trying to” cancel” him by fabricating that he is a” chronic abuser.” McCracken counters that she has proof of the abuse, including a letter from Jarrar admitting to physically assaulting her.
Jarrar, a longtime critic of U. S. foreign policy, was barred from entering Israel due to his involvement in the anti- Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement in 2018. As DAWN’s advocacy director, he has worked with lawmakers such as Rep. Adam Schiff ( D., Calif. ) and Rep. Ilhan Omar ( D., Minn. ) on human rights legislation.
In court filings, McCracken and her co- defendants, activists Emily Siegel and Gabriella Haddad, expressed” concern about Jarrar’s ongoing leadership in their community of advocates fighting for human rights”. They claimed that Jarrar’s defamation lawsuit was an attempt to” stifle their speech and demand that they pay a price for it” ( p.
McCracken declined to comment on this article. A comment request was not received by Jararrar.
A request for comment was not received by DAWN.
Jarrar and McCracken, a former Code Pink activist who now works at Amnesty International, wed in 2018. Their nuptials were profiled by the New York Times under the headline:” Love, Not War, Resonates for Two Activists”.
For two people who are deeply committed to social justice and antiwar work, where everything seems to happen at a rapid pace, love appeared in an instant, the Times reported, adding that the two met at a social justice conference.
However, the marriage broke down four years later when Jarrar, according to McCracken, began to physically abuse.
McCracken sent a picture of bruises on her arm, which she claimed were caused by Jarrar, to her sister on June 2, 2022.
” He beat me up … Tell dad”, wrote McCracken, according to messages submitted in the court case.
She filed for divorce soon after. A few months later, Jarrar wrote McCracken an apology letter outlining the alleged abuse.
” I am deeply sorry about the physical abuse that I inflicted on you while I was away in April and May,” said Jarrar. ” I look at my hands and think about how I pushed, slapped, choked, and hit you. There is no justification for my actions.
He added that he was” not only … remorseful for the physical violence, but I also realize the verbal violence was horrendous”.
Jarrar’s apologetic tone was short- lived. After McCracken posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Jarrar “violently abused” her “multiple times”, Jarrar denied the charge and claimed he was coerced into writing the apology letter.
Last June, Jarrar sued his ex- wife and two of her friends, anti- war activists Siegel and Haddad, claiming that they “engaged in a campaign designed to embarrass and humiliate]Jarrar], injure his relationship with his minor children, and effectively’ cancel’ him”.
He claimed that McCracken had sent” several male friends to intimidate the plaintiff into executing an apology letter,” whose terms were entirely diktated by defendant McCracken.
Jarrar’s complaint aims to paint McCracken, not him, as the instigator of her own injuries. He claimed she “encouraged” him to “leave bruises” on her during sexual encounters.
McCracken, Siegel, and Haddad have hired First Amendment lawyer Greg Lipper, and set up a fundraising campaign to finance their legal defense. A comment request was not received by Lipper.
Jarrar has brought legal action to refute what he claims are false accusations made by women before. It also is n’t the first time he’s accused women of provoking his behavior.
Jarrar was fired from Amnesty International in 2018 after allegations that he had sexually harassed a young female coworker at a retreat. The woman said she attended an after- party with Jarrar where he” tried to kiss her”, “pushed ]her ] against the door with his body” and told her they” could fuck” in a hotel room. The alleged victim, who rebuffed his advances, described him as “odd” and an “older man” with a “round, hard stomach”.
Witnesses claimed throughout the evening that Jarrar had been acting inappropriately toward the young woman. Another female employee complained to human resources that she was concerned that Jarrar was a “doer” who “would not take” no” as an answer.”
However, when Jarrar was questioned about the incident by human resources, he claimed the alleged victim “propositioned him” by telling him that she was “from the hood, I could fit your entire dick in my mouth.” Jarrar said she “offered oral sex, which ]he ] declined”.
Investigators did n’t find Jarrar’s version of events credible.
” Having observed both Jarrar and the]alleged victim ] during the interviews, it is very difficult to imagine]the alleged victim], who is a very petite young woman in her twenties who seems to lack self- confidence, making physical advances toward Jarrar, who is in his forties, physically much larger than]her], and who seems assertive”, wrote the human resources investigator.
Jarrar filed a lawsuit against Amnesty after his termination, alleging that the organization retaliated against him because he opposed the organization’s “practice of employing unpaid interns.” In a letter to his former Amnesty colleagues, he also argued that there were “racist and lslamophobic]sic ] undertones in the accusations”. In 2022, the lawsuit against Amnesty came to an undisclosed settlement.
