Investigation: Head of CAIR Action Also Sits on California District School Board
Basim Elkarra, who leads the lobbying arm of the alleged Muslim Brotherhood front organization, served as president of the Twin Rivers school district in 2024-2025 and continues to sit on its board
An investigation by Jewish Onliner has found that Basim Elkarra, who serves as Executive Director of CAIR Action—the 501(c)(4) political lobbying arm of the Council on American-Islamic Relations—simultaneously holds a seat on the Twin Rivers Unified School District Board of Trustees in Sacramento County, California. The discovery comes amid mounting scrutiny of CAIR Action’s operations and its alleged connections to foreign influence networks.
Elkarra, who represents Area 5 of the Twin Rivers district overseeing approximately 25,000 students across 49 schools, served as board president during the 2024-2025 school year. His current term extends through June 2028. The dual role raises significant concerns, as Elkarra holds responsibility for the educational welfare of thousands of vulnerable children, while simultaneously directing a national political lobbying organization facing serious legal and regulatory scrutiny.
The findings take on added significance in light of recent revelations about CAIR Action’s operations. In November 2025, X implemented its user location feature, revealing that CAIR Action’s account was connected to the platform through the Turkish App Store. The information went viral after being shared by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Elkarra’s personal X account, created in February 2009, was also connected through the Turkish App Store. Following the rollout of the X user location function and subsequent findings about CAIR Action and Elkarra, CAIR Action quickly reconnected to X through the web, while Elkarra’s account now says it is connected via the, “West Asia App Store.”
Unlicensed Operations and Foreign Ties
The school board position represents just one dimension of growing concerns surrounding Elkarra and the organizations he leads. A new report by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) and the Intelligent Advocacy Network found that CAIR Action is “operating without the licenses, registrations, or legal authority required in any of the 22 states where it raises money or conducts political activity.”
According to the report, CAIR Action has never obtained the Basic Business License required to legally operate in Washington, D.C., where it is incorporated—a deficiency confirmed by the D.C. Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. “Every solicitation and every action conducted from that jurisdiction therefore carries legal risk,” the report argues, noting potential violations including wire fraud, deceptive solicitation, and false statements to the IRS.
The NCRI investigation also documented a pattern of foreign-state alignment involving Turkish government-linked institutions. The report details how CAIR chapters have received sponsorships from Turkish Airlines—a partially state-owned entity—and held programming at the Diyanet Center of America, which is owned and operated by Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs. Multiple senior CAIR officials have appeared on TRT World, Turkey’s state-run international broadcaster.
Controversial Background
Elkarra’s tenure in Islamic advocacy organizations has been marked by repeated controversies. In 2006, Senator Barbara Boxer withdrew a certificate of accomplishment from Elkarra, citing concerns about CAIR’s alleged ties to Hamas. In 2010, Congressman Ami Bera returned $250 in campaign donations from Elkarra after questions arose about CAIR’s affiliations.
Before assuming his current role as CAIR Action Executive Director in September 2024, Elkarra served for two decades as Executive Director of CAIR-Sacramento Valley from 2004 to 2024. According to the New York Post, he was also named as past Treasurer and Head of the Unity & Justice Fund, a political action committee whose official address matches CAIR Action’s Washington, D.C. headquarters. The fund donated $120,000 to the mayoral campaign of current New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
CAIR Designated as Terror Group in Texas & Florida
CAIR and its political arm face escalating scrutiny at both state and federal levels. Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis both recently designated CAIR as a terrorist organization.
Moreover, House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) issued an exclusive statement to Jewish Onliner responding to the outlet’s investigation that exposed CAIR’s coordinated campaign across six states to influence K-12 curricula, calling CAIR’s partnerships with schools “deeply troubling given CAIR’s ties to terrorism and antisemitism.”
Jewish Onliner reached out to CAIR Action and the Twin Rivers Unified School District for comment but did not receive a response by time of publication.
Thank you Jewish onliner. What i like about the work you do is that you are bringing to attention the strategy of "entryism" by the Muslim Brotherhood, and now also adobted by other Islamist organisations. Keeping in mind that this post is read by people who support the back message behind posts like this, maybole the consequence of the concept of " entryism" is useful.
This strategy, of "entryism" is not in itself evil, since, jewish people adopt the same, however when they are in positions of influence in, for example, school boards they will push/ advocate for policy which aligns with our western culture. Whilst muslims aligned with the MB will advocate for their ideaology which will harm our culture. Thank you for your posts. I will also shout out to RAIR which does similar work.