A video posted on social media has ignited backlash over comments from a leader in a Muslim advocacy organization and the millions it has reportedly received in California state funds.
Zahra Billoo, executive director of the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)-CA, is seen in the video clip posted on X, urging supporters to be “strategic” in how they express controversial views publicly versus in private. While outlets like Fox News note that the video and the context of Billoo’s remarks have not been verified, the clip posted by Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Christopher Rufo quickly went viral.
SCOOP: CAIR-CA leader Zahra Billoo advises her followers that they can express hatred against Jews in private, but should not write “I hate all Zionists” on their social media profiles, in order to be “strategic.”
Gavin Newsom gave her group $40 million. pic.twitter.com/4ipO6tbM7f
— Christopher F. Rufo
(@christopherrufo) May 6, 2026
“Now imagine your LinkedIn profile says, ‘I hate all Zionists,’” Billoo said in the video. “Not strategic. Right? … You may say that sitting around Kahwah House on a Friday night, but you’re not going to say it on your LinkedIn.”
She further told supporters to think in terms of “strategic versus reckless.”
Rufo, a contributing editor of City Journal, noted in the post that “Gavin Newsom gave her group $40 million.”
“The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) presents itself as an innocuous Muslim civil rights group—a reputation it reinforces with litigation and claims of anti-Muslim bigotry. But the group finds itself under increasing scrutiny for alleged connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoot, Hamas,” a City Journal report noted.
“But as other states move to sideline CAIR, California is embracing this alleged terror front. CAIR-CA, the organization’s largest statewide affiliate, is flush with taxpayer cash. In the last five years, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has rubberstamped at least $41 million in funding to the group. The vast majority of that money, it turns out, comes from the federal government. These federal dollars are flowing into CAIR-CA’s coffers even after it was the target of a recent Department of Justice investigation,” the report continued.
Newsom, whose office did not directly address the viral video, according to Fox News, posted a message about rising antisemitism.
A 46-year national high in antisemitic assaults should alarm EVERY American.
We must confront hate and antisemitism directly and reject hate wherever it appears.
Every person deserves to feel safe in our country. https://t.co/N086c8xVvq
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) May 6, 2026
Billoo’s comments in the viral video drew rebukes on social media.
Unbelievable! @GavinNewsom how do you explain supporting hate groups??
— RockKelleyRustFactory (@rockkelleyrust) May 6, 2026
Insane.
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) May 6, 2026
No condemnation of hate, just carry right on hating but lie about it!
Pull the plug on their funding— Rosie Bloom (@RosieBloom3) May 7, 2026
