The Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-DFW), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is calling on Collin County residents and all concerned Texans to contact Sheriff Jim Skinner and Collin County Commissioners and urge them to cancel a planned “counter-terrorism” training trip with the Israeli military, scheduled for June 15–20. 

TAKE ACTION: Click here to call or email Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner and the County Commissioners to demand this trip be canceled.

According to county staff, the trip is not an official function of the Sheriff’s Office and will be funded by outside sources, with personnel using vacation time to attend. Sheriff Skinner claimed the purpose of the trip is “public safety,” citing plans to tour public-security facilities and attend lectures and trainings “on lessons learned from Hamas’s attacks on October 7, 2023.”

SEE: Collin County sheriff, deputies headed to Israel for counter-terrorism training

Israel’s military has been widely criticized by human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, B’TSalem and Human Rights Watch for documented war crimes and human rights abuses, including racial profiling, torture, unjustified use of force, heightened surveillance, and violence against Palestinians.

One example is a report issued by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on October 10, 2024, which found that since October 7, Israeli security forces have deliberately killed, detained, and tortured medical personnel in clear violation of international law.

Despite these violations, thousands of U.S. law enforcement personnel including police, ICE, Border Patrol, and FBI agents have been sent to train with Israeli forces. 

“It is unacceptable for our law enforcement officers to train with a military engaged in well-documented human rights abuses. These exchanges only serve to import violent, repressive tactics that disproportionately harm communities of color here at home as we’ve seen during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, ongoing Pro-Palestine protests since 2023, and now in response to the stop the deportation protests,” said CAIR-DFW Executive Director Br. Mustafaa Carroll. 

CAIR-DFW is calling on Collin County Commissioners and County Sheriff’s Office to immediately cancel this trip and urges all residents and concerned community members to demand accountability from Collin County leadership. 

CAIR-DFW’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.       

La misión de CAIR-DFW es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.   

CONTACT:

Mustafaa Carroll, CAIR-TX, DFW Executive Director, mcarroll@cair.com, (832) 549-1042