NEW YORK— Ahead of today’s hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Federal Courts subcommittee, “Hidden in Plain Sight: Confronting the Muslim Brotherhood Network in America,” where Democratic committee members announced they will not attend, Sara Friedman, CEO of the World Jewish Congress-American Section, released the following statement:

“The Muslim Brotherhood is widely regarded as a danger to democratic societies. In the United States, government agencies have gone so far as to designate branches of the group as a terrorist organization because of the direct threat it poses to global stability.

America is great because it provides opportunity and safety to all those who adhere to its social contract. Refusing to confront or even discuss that threat of extremism does not make it disappear or make the broader Muslim community any safer. Rather, it allows destructive networks to spread and become more deeply entrenched.

History has repeatedly shown that democracies which fail to confront anti-democratic movements ultimately place their own future at risk.”