Ellison Jenn
Keith Ellison made history on Tuesday as the Congress’s first elected Muslim Representative, as well as Minnesota’s first African-American to be elected to the U.S. House.
Ellison ran as a pro-Israel candidate and was backed by many in the Jewish community, but also came under fire for his past association with the Nation of Islam. At the same time, the Minneapolis lawmaker was also strongly backed by The Council on American-Islamic Relations, which fundraised aggressively for him.
Now, watch for both Jewish and Muslim groups to work to strengthen their ties to the freshman legislator: CAIR has this statement of congratulations on its Web site; Minneapolis Jewish leaders plan to take Ellison on a [trip] to Israel in the coming weeks, according to JTA.
It will be interesting to watch as Ellison navigates these two relationships…
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