ADC applauds Helen Thomas for her legendary service,

ADC Thanks Ms. Helen Thomas for Legendary Service 

Washington, DC | June 9, 2010 | www.adc.org |  Helen Thomas, 89, Dean of the White House Press Corp, and lauded as a "Pioneer Journalist" and Trailblazer for female journalists," apologized for her May 27, 2010, response when she was asked "Any comments on Israel...?" and she responded "Tell them to get the [] out of Palestine." Upon further prodding, Ms. Thomas stated that "Remember these people are occupied and it's their land..." and those who are the occupiers should "...go home" to "Poland, Germany...And America and everywhere else."

In her apology, Ms. Thomas wrote:  "I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians.  They do not reflect my heartfelt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance.  May that day come soon."

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) thanks Ms. Thomas for her legendary service, and acknowledges Ms. Thomas' apology.  ADC believes that Ms. Thomas should be judged on her "50-plus years of probing journalism, and not on a 30-second sound bite," as stated by Mr. Zool Zulkowitz, who represents American Jews defending Ms. Thomas.  Mr. Zulkowitz further said that, "We are clear what Helen Thomas meant to say, which is that Israel should cease its occupation of Palestine..." And, as Mr. Paul Jay wrote: "Not all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitism...Helen Thomas' isn't."

As President Obama recognized in his historic address in Cairo on June 4, 2009, the Palestinian people - Muslims and Christians - have endured the pain of dislocation for more than 60 years.  "Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead.  They endure the daily humiliations - large and small - that come with occupation.  So let there be no doubt:  The situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable ..."

It is our hope that other journalists would rise in Ms. Thomas' place and espouse her courage in asking the hard questions.  As Ms. Katrina Vanden Heuvel wrote yesterday in the Washington Post: "...isn't there room for someone who made a mistake, apologized and wants to continue speaking truth to power and asking tough questions?"   We certainly hope so.  We also hope that we will continue to celebrate Ms. Thomas' lifetime of courageous, frontline journalism; and that she will not be intimidated by the recent hateful accusations or deterred from her insightful questioning and reporting.  

                                                                                ###

Contact: Sara Najjar-Wilson, President 

               media@adc.org 

               202-244-2990

NOTE TO EDITORS: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), which is non-profit, non-sectarian and non-partisan, is the largest Arab-American civil rights organization in the United States. It was founded in 1980 by former Senator James Abourezk to protect the civil rights of people of Arab descent in the United States and to promote the cultural heritage of the Arabs. ADC has 38 chapters nationwide, including chapters in every major city in the country, and members in all 50 states.

The ADC Research Institute (ADC-RI), which was founded in 1981, is a Section 501(c)(3) educational organization that sponsors a wide range of programs on behalf of Arab Americans and of importance to all Americans. ADC-RI programs include research studies, seminars, conferences and publications that document and analyze the discrimination faced by Arab Americans in the workplace, schools, media, and governmental agencies and institutions. ADC-RI also celebrates the rich cultural heritage of the Arabs.

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize and that puts world's evil on notice

President Obama’s genuine desire for peace earns Nobel Peace Prize

By Ray Hanania

President Obama’s first call in coming to office was to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

He then made an epoch speech to the Arab and Muslim world to repair the damage caused by his rightwing and narrow-minded predecessor President George W. Bush.

Obama has pushed the Israelis to force them to accept peace based on returning Arab lands, even though the Israelis have surrounded the wagons and have allowed Israel’s most racist elected official, foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman to become their spokesman. In fact, Israel’s Lieberman is the new face of hate in the world.

He is shifting from the illegal American war and occupation in Iraq to the genuine fight against terrorism and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

And Obama has vowed to the American people that despite this country having wasted hundreds of billions on politically motivated wars driven by oil money greed, he will fight to make their own country a place where every American will be guaranteed the right to adequate healthcare, something most Americans now lack.

You don’t even need to read the announcement from the Nobel Committee explaining why they have given this year’s Peace Prize to President Barack Hussein Obama.

Obama is more than just a president seeking justice. His name has come to symbolize a movement of change. Change from a past driven by racist bigotry and hatred to a future of justice where the Rule of Law actually has relevance and justice is based on issues of principle and fairness, not on partisan political influence.

Israel is not just a “Jewish State” in Obama’s eyes, but a nation that must also abide by the Rule of Law. Hypocrisy has no place in Obama’s administration, which is why his words have placed special notice on Israel which has more nuclear weapons than any other power outside of the United States and Russia. And yet Israel refuses, like Iran, to abide by the International rules seeking to limit and monitor and inspect nuclear weapons.

Although Obama has not achieved any of his mighty goals, the fact that he has set them is what earns him the special honor. It takes a real courageous man in this world to stand up to the forces of hatred and bias to advocate for fairness for all.

Obama’s policies may or may not achieve their stated goals, but they have already changed the dynamics of one important region of the world in the Middle East.

The Nobel Peace Prize award will put a special pressure on Israel to stop pretending that it supports peace. It throws cold water on the face of Israel’s arrogant and reticent society that it cannot pretend to seek peace and embrace politics and politics of racism, apartheid, bigotry and war.

Israel cannot pretend to support peace and continue to occupy the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and continue to imprison 1.4 million civilians in the world’s largest and most oppressive prison system called the Gaza Strip.

Israel cannot claim the right of defense when it is in offense against justice, the Rule of Law and peace, and it cannot hide behind lies it perpetrated through the manipulation of a friendly international media to assert that Hamas started the Nov. 2008 war. In fact, everyone knows that Israel started that war for one reason, to exact punishment on Hamas before Obama could be sworn in as president.

For the first time in World History, the facts are clear and all of the crimes in this world have been placed together shoulder-to-shoulder. Israel’s phony claims of being the victim when it is in fact the aggressor and oppressor are exposed.

Barack Hussein Obama is what the late great President John F. Kennedy is said to have been but could never become. He is the light of hope that might open the door to a world that is genuinely at peace and where all men and women are created equally and where the concerns of the poor are as important as the concerns of the wealthy.

As an American and a Palestinian Arab Christian, I am proud of this year’s choice for the Nobel Peace Prize, and in a way I feel a special part in that award as if the peace prize has been awarded not to just one man, but to an entire world of people who have not completely given up on hope.

(Ray Hanania is an award winning columnist and Chicago radio talks how host. he can be reached at www.RadioChicagoland.com.)

Arab delegates of the Olympic Committee can begin change in anti-Arab American foreign policies

Hanania column on International Olympics and American Arab empowerment

Arab World has opportunity to confront bigotry in America

By Ray Hanania

This week, the Arab World will be participating in a vote that on its face may seem insignificant to the many problems that plague the Middle East but could begin a process of changing the United States.

The vote will take place Friday in Copenhagen where the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will decide which of four cities between Madrid, Tokyo, Rio and Chicago will win the right to host the Olympics in 2016.

Compared to the votes in the United Nations where the pro-Israel bloc continues to block peace, hold back the advances of the Arab World and continues to denigrate the rights of Islamic countries, the IOC vote Friday may seem insignificant.

In fact, though, the vote could begin a process not of changing the United Nations, but rather creating an opportunity to enact change in the United States, the one nation that holds the key to the future of the Middle East.

The IOC consists of 111 members, 12 of whom representative the Arab World  from Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Each country has one member on the IOC except Egypt and Morocco, which have participated the longest and most successful in past Olympic competitions, each have two members.

Those 12 Arab delegates can be the deciding factor in awarding the Olympics to Chicago.

Why is Chicago important? Unlike other nation’s competing for the Olympics, Chicago’s presentation is made by the city, not the country. Chicago officials beginning with its Mayor Richard M. Daley, have been lobbying to get President Barack Obama to make an appearance in Copenhagen to help swing the vote in Chicago’s favor.

As an American, I want the IOC to grant the 2016 Olympics to Chicago. But, as An American of Arab heritage, I also want the United States and Chicago to recognize their failure in respecting not only the principles of justice and fairness in the Middle East, but to end the practice and reality of the city’s discrimination against it’s citizens who are of Arab heritage.

In voting this week, the 12-member Arab delegation should use its power to condition their decision on how the winning city will respect its expatriate citizens.

That is a difficult thing to ask since none of the countries of the Arab World have ever recognized the real potential and the value that Americans of Arab heritage represent. The Arab World has always acted in a vacuum on Middle East issues believing that the decision-making process in American begins at the top levels of government.

The truth is, American power begins at the grassroots level. The “trenches” where American Arabs have been waging a long and difficult fight against discrimination for most of their existence in this nation.

Particularly in Chicago, one of three American cities with the largest population of Arabs, the American Arab community has been the most abused.

Local government officials like Mayor Daley have played a game with a double-edged sword. On the political level, Chicago has played a major role in strengthening the hand of the pro-Israel community in America giving them considerable voice in local and regional government.

At the same time, Chicago has gone out of its way to undermine the power of American Arabs who have been as much or even more American than their counterparts supporting Israel.

This vote Friday in Copenhagen can either permit the status quo where Arabs are disenfranchised in the American political system, or it can begin a new initiative to force American governments like Chicago to recognize and respect the rights of American Arabs.

Arabs in America have served in this nation’s military from the first day that they came to this country in the mid-19^th Century. They have been loyal American citizens and also loyal to their heritage.

Yet, they have been disrespected by this country and victimized by American racism, fueled by the politics of the Middle East.

Worse, they have been abandoned by the Arab World. Their ability to help the Arab World counter the discriminatory policies in the United States has never been recognized by the Arab World.

When Arab delegates vote this Friday, they should keep in mind that if they support awarding the 2016 Olympics to Chicago, they should view this as an opportunity to demand that Chicago’s Mayor Daley end his discriminatory practices against Chicago’s Arab citizens and treat them as equals.

That means that Chicago should empower American Arabs the same way Chicago has empowered other citizens of other ethnic, religious and racial backgrounds.

Chicago has been deficient in giving jobs to American Arabs. There are 230,000 Arabs living in Chicago – according to Mayor Daley speech to the Ruler of Dubai earlier this year. That is 7.6 percent of the city’s population. Yet, Arabs have less than 1 percent of the thousands of jobs in city government. They have been patronized disrespectfully by politicians like Mayor Daley who want our votes but do not want to jeopardize their ties to other groups like the powerful pro-Israel lobby in Chicago and America.

The Arab delegates at the IOC can force Mayor Daley to do what is right and put ethics and principle above partisan politics.

Mayor Daley should be told he must do more to empower American Arabs in his city. Mayor Daley must be told he must do more to empower American Arabs in Illinois, the state in Which Chicago resides which is a powerful state among the country’s 50 states.

Mayor Daley must be told that the campaign to undermine American Arabs in his city must end.

If that happens, we will see the voices and empowerment of American Arabs rise in the United States, and in turn give the Arab World a greater voice in helping this country develop foreign policies that are based on the rule of law, ethics, principle and morality, rather than on partisan politics driven by the pro-Israel lobby and its extremist leaders.

It’s an easy price to exact from the United States. The question is, do the Arab delegates and the Arab World recognize that influencing American foreign policy through Americans of Arab heritage is far more beneficial and rewarding than trying to lobby this country from their far away Arab capitols?

(Ray Hanania is an award winning American Arab journalist, author and Chicago radio talk show host. He can be reached at www.TheMediaOasis.com.)

Fight will continue to defend rights of New York teacher ousted for political reasons

FIGHT TO PROTECT RIGHTS OF ARAB-MUSLIM SCHOOL PRINCIPAL WILL CONTINUE

Alan Levine, one of Ms. Almontaser’s lawyers, gave this statement in response to yesterday’s decision against the founding principal of an Arabic-language school for explaining the nonviolent origins of the word intifada:

“A federal district court in New York dismissed the lawsuit filed by Debbie Almontaser against the Mayor and the Department of Education. The decision is the latest chapter of a controversy that began with the selection of Ms. Almontaser to head the newly-created Khalil Gibran International Academy, an Arab dual-language school. Almost from the day she was appointed, Ms. Almontaser, an observant Muslim, was subjected to a virulent anti-Arab and anti-Muslim smear campaign. When she was interviewed by the New York Post in August 2007 and was asked about the Arabic meaning of the word “intifada,” which had appeared on t-shirts that were sold at an Arab Heritage festival, her response provoked a firestorm of controversy, even though the definition she gave, “shaking off,” was accurate. Her response also noted that the word had become associated with violence in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Nevertheless, City and school officials demanded her resignation. She subsequently filed a federal lawsuit charging that her First Amendment rights had been violated.

Given the skepticism that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals expressed about the DOE’s actions when it asked ‘whether a public employee, who is required by her employer to speak to the press as a condition of her employment, may be sanctioned for speaking accurately when her statement is, as her employer knows, inaccurately reported and then misconstrued by the press,’ we had hoped that Judge Stein would reconsider his earlier decision. However, we will appeal again to the Second Circuit. In addition, we will continue to pursue her claim before the EEOC, and eventually in federal court, that the DOE, in capitulating to the storm of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice that was directed at Ms. Almontaser in the media, discriminated against her on the basis of religion and ethnicity.

Nothing in yesterday’s decision questions the underlying facts concerning the DOE’s actions: Ms. Almontaser was the target of hate-filled attacks because she was an Arab and a Muslim and because she said something that public officials disagreed with. Our Constitution and statutes are designed to insure that prejudice and controversial speech do not cost people their jobs. We are confident that the courts will ultimately vindicate those basic human rights.”

Those pimping for the U.S. Census should be honest, its about their money not our community empowerment

The U.S. Government has done a great job hiring Arabs in our community to shill for their cause, to continue to oppress our community. The focus on the effort is the U.S. Census.

I want you to notice something. Everyone one pimping and pushing for the American Arab community to "participate" in the U.S. Census are all PAID by the U.S. Government to tell us to fill out the census form.

They lie that filling out the census form and "writing in our race" Arab in the little line at the bottom of the form is a way for us to be empowered. And when someone questions their lies, they slam and slander Arabs who argue that we have been misled by lazy, do-nothing Arab activists who have taken the short and easy route to money instead of fighting the long term challenge.

What is the long term challenge? Arabs should be listed officially on the census.

Here is who are now listed on the U.S. Census:

The census form asks for your Race, listing Hispanic, Latino or Spanish Origin. And they ask if you are Mexican, Mexican American (I didn’t know there were two categories of Mexicans), or Chicano? What kind of race is “Chicano?” What country do “Chicanos” come from? “Chicano-stan?”

They ask the same question again on the long form: Are you White? Black, African American or Negro? Are you American Indian or Alaskan Native and they even give you a place to write in your tribe name.

That’s not all. The form asks are you Asian Indian? Japanese, Native Hawaiian, Chinese, Korean, Guamanian or Chamorro, Filipino, Vietnamese, Samoan or Other Asian where they give you a space so you can print your “race” like Laotian, Thai, Pakistani, Cambodian “and so on.”

Oh, they don’t stop there. They ask are you “Pacific Islander” and ask you to print your race like Fijian, Tongan “and so on.”

Way at the bottom, in case they missed someone, someone not so important, they have the throw away line, to check here if you are “Some Other Race – Print Race.”

That is where I have to hand-write that I am “Arab.” And proud of it too, by the way.

Read the full original column that has Rashad al-Dabbagh, who works for the census, and some members of the Arab American Institute targeting me because I don't agree with their laid-back lack of activism against this problem. Click here to read the column?

The fact is that while these activists are cashing their checks and telling American Arabs, "Don't worry. You don't have to be listed on the census form, you can write it in so the AAI can complete their list," government agencies across America are discriminating against American Arabs specifically and directly because the U.S. Census DOES NOT list Arabs as "Arab" on the Census form.

The federal government requires police officers who pull people over for traffic stops to list the race of the person being stopped. But, they are required only to list those races AND ethnicities listed on the U.S. Census form.

Why is that important? If the race is listed on statistics, communities can easily see if they are being targeted for discrimination by police officers and then use that as "EMPOWERMENT" to demand that the police department hire American Arabs.

But American Arabs are NOT listed and police are not required to list us at all.

In every instance of EMPOWERMENT, not being listed on the U.S. Census means we are denied the ability to confront and stop discrimination, discrimination that is holding our community back.

And all that the activists who are PAID by the U.S. Census can do is attack me ands my argument and tell us little American Arab Sheep to "write your race on the form."

Well, writing your name on the form does not stop the discrimination and it DOES NOT force government agencies from the top of the Federal Government to the bottom of the local suburban government to recognize the rights of Americans Arabs.

When we ask school districts how many Arabs have they hired, the answer is "We are not required to list employees based on the race 'Arabs' and we only list race and ethnicity based on those identified in the U.S. Census."

I know what the problem is. It's easier for some in our community to take the handout from the government and keep the American Arabs in a stupor than to find the courage to stand up and change a system that needs to be change.

Arabs should and MUST be listed on the U.S. Census form and until we are, we will continue to be discriminated against, denied government grants, denied government jobs and marginalized in our society.

-- Ray Hanania

www.RadioChicagoland.com

AAI Condemns Congressman's Anti-Muslim Remarks, Calls on Congressional Leaders to Censure Rep. King

AAI Condemns Congressman's Anti-Muslim Remarks, Calls on Congressional Leaders to Censure Rep. King

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDirector of Communications: Christina Zola, 202-429-9210, ext. 21 or 202-494-9859

WASHINGTON - March 10, 2008 - The Arab American Institute (AAI) condemns remarks made by Congressman Steve King (R-IA) linking Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) to al-Qaeda and Islamist extremism and suggesting that the senator's election as U.S. President would jeopardize national security. AAI calls on Congressional leadership to formally censure these comments. AAI is deeply troubled that Senator Obama's name continues to raise suspicions about his religious affiliation and is especially concerned about how commonplace and acceptable it has become to defame and degrade Islam. Any notion that questions the fitness of any loyal American to elected office because of race or religion is unacceptable and must be addressed.

Congressman Steve King (R-IA) said this weekend that "if [Obama] is elected president, then the radical Islamists and their supporters will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11 because they will declare victory in this War on Terror."

The congressman went on to say that "[Obama's] middle name does matter...because they read a meaning into that in the rest of the world...They will be dancing in the streets because of his middle name [and] because of who his father was and because of his posture that says: pull out of the Middle East and pull out of this conflict." These disparaging and dishonest comments by Congressman King only demonstrate how anti-Muslim rhetoric and general Islamophobia have come to be accepted in our national discourse since September 11, 2001.

"We believe that Congressman King's comments and behavior go beyond politics and partisanship and must be addressed by Congress as a whole," said AAI President Dr. James Zogby. "It is outrageous when a radio talk show host spews such venom, but it is much worse and sends a dangerous message when such statements come from the ranking Republican member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law. He must be held accountable by his colleagues."

Founded in 1985, the Arab American Institute (AAI) is a nonprofit organization committed to the civic and political empowerment of Americans of Arab descent. AAI provides policy, research and public affairs services to support a broad range of community activities.

For more information on AAI, please visit http://www.aaiusa.org/page/m/69972188e345b449/q2xYul/VEsE/. 1600 K Street, NW, Suite 601 Washington, DC 20006phone (202) 429-9210 fax (202) 429-9214 http://www.aaiusa.org/page/m/69972188e345b449/OqYjqh/VEsF/ aai@aaiusa.org http://www.aaiusa.org/page/m/69972188e345b449/ZAHaMk/VEsC/

CAIR calls on racist Giuliani aide to resign

(WASHINGTON DC, 12/31/07) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called upon Republican presidential candidate, Rudy Giuliani, to repudiate anti-Muslim remarks made by one of his campaign workers in New Hampshire.

John Deady, co-chair of that state's Veterans for Rudy, told Britain's Guardian newspaper that Americans need to chase Muslims "back to their caves." When Deady was later asked if he was referring to all Muslims, he said: "I don't subscribe to the principle that there are good Muslims and bad Muslims." He added that he "wasn't necessarily referring to genocide." Deady later resigned his post.

SEE: Giuliani co-chairman quits after Muslim remark
SEE ALSO: Rudy Surrogate: "I Don't Subscribe To The Principle That There Are Good Muslims And Bad Muslims"

“There is no need to point out why these chilling comments have absolutely no place in the public or political discourse of a serious presidential campaign – that’s obvious,” said Ahmed Rehab, a spokesman for CAIR. “The troubling reality is they were made by a representative of Giuliani’s campaign and he has yet to repudiate them. His silence sends a terrible message.”

American Muslims have expressed concerns about the anti-Muslim views of several advisors on the Rudy Giuliani campaign. In September, CAIR criticized Rep. Peter King (R-NY), who is on Giuliani's Homeland Security Advisory Board, for claiming "we have too many mosques in this country."
SEE: NY Congressman Says 'Too Many Mosques' in U.S.

CAIR had previously called on Giuliani to drop Daniel Pipes, whose controversial discourse on Muslims is widely criticized as being agenda-driven.
SEE: Giuliani Advisor Supports Terror Group

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 33 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

- END - CONTACT: CAIR Media Relations Director Ahmed Rehab, 202-870-0166, E-Mail: arehab@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

CAIR praises judge's decision to throw out political Boim case

CAIR WELCOMES OVERTURNING OF $156M JUDGMENT IN CHARITY CASE

(CHICAGO, IL, 12/28/07) The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today welcomed a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to overturn a controversial award judgment against American Muslim charities in an Illinois civil suit.

SEE: $156M Damage Award Thrown Out (AP)

In 2004, attorneys for 17-year-old David Boim, who was murdered at a Tel Aviv bus stop, sued local Muslim charities based on a complicated guilt-by-association argument. After today’s ruling, the case will return to trial court for further action.

The Judgment read, in part:

“Belief, assumption, and speculation are no substitutes for evidence in a court of law…We must resist the temptation to gloss over error, admit spurious evidence, and assume facts not adequately proved simply to side with the face of innocence and against the face of terrorism. Our endeavor to adhere to the dictates of law that this great nation has embodied since its founding must persevere…”

In a statement, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said:

“Today, our nation’s great tradition of respect for the rule of law has been upheld. This landmark ruling is a strong rejection of the recent disturbing trend of political lawsuits against American Muslims who have committed no crime other than providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

“Pro-Israel groups are engaged in a broad-based attack against domestic humanitarian efforts to aid Palestinians living in dire circumstances under the Israeli occupation. It is reprehensible that groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) would fund and encourage lawsuits that seek to repress First Amendment-protected activities by Palestinian Americans under the guise of fighting terrorism.

“The defendants in this case have endured a seven-year legal battle in which their reputations have been smeared and their assets confiscated. While the destruction of American Muslim groups who have committed no wrong-doing is irreparable, today’s decision, in which the rules of law were finally applied, helps restore the American people’s trust in the system.

“CAIR deplores the murder of David Boim and hopes that the actual wrong-doers are brought to justice.”

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 33 offices, chapters and affiliates nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.”

- END -

CONTACT: CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab, 312-212-1520; 847-971-3963, E-Mail: arehab@cair.com; CAIR-Chicago Civil Rights Director Christina Abraham, 312-212-1520, E-Mail: cabraham@cair.com

Immigrants coalition criticizes Lou Dobbs for continued racist talk

Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

36 S. Wabash, suite 1425 · Chicago, IL 60603 · 312.332.7360 voice · 312.332.7044 fax · www.icirr.org

For Immediate Release: Press Advisory
November 27, 2007


For more information contact:
Ashley Moy-Wooten, 773.987.7767 (cell)
Catherine Salgado, 312.332.7360 ext 235

Anti-racism activists join immigrant advocates to protest fear mongering by anti-immigrant TV pundit Lou Dobb’s anti-immigrant messages fuel fear and rancor, provide no solutions

What: Immigrant advocates join activists to protest anti-immigrant pundit Lou Dobbs. Lou Dobbs is on tour promoting his latest book and will be at Barnes and Noble bookstore promoting his messages of hate and lies. David Leonhardt of the New York Times calls Dobbs “the heir to the nativist tradition that has long used fiction and conspiracy theories as a weapon against the Irish, the Italians, the Chinese, the Jews and, now, the Mexicans.”

Immigrant advocates will remind Lou Dobbs that this is a land of immigrants that have contributed with their work and culture. “We need to stop the fear mongering that he is promoting and stop the hate against the immigrant community,” said Tom Cordaro from Pax Christi.

When: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 7:00 PM

Where: Corner of State St. and Jackson Blvd. outside Barnes and Noble bookstore

Chicago, IL
Who: Anti-racism activists, immigrant advocates, youth and community leaders from the Chicago area and suburbs
Visuals: Participants will carry signs and will be chanting.

-END-





Catherine Salgado

Communications Coordinator

Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

55 E. Jackson Blvd. Suite 2075

Chicago, IL 60604

312.332.7360 ext. 235

312.332.7044 (fax)

www.icirr.org

csalgado@icirr.org

CAIR Denounces Radio Talk Show Host Michael Savage

Contact: Ibrahim Hooper, +1-202-488-8787 or +1-202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; Rabiah Ahmed, +1-202-488-8787 or +1-202-439-1441, rahmed@cair.com; Amina Rubin, +1-202-488-8787 or +1-202-341-4171, arubin@cair.com, all of CAIR


Host does not 'represent the views of Citrix Systems or Citrix Online'


WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today thanked Citrix Systems, Inc. for agreeing to drop its advertisements from Michael Savage's nationally-syndicated radio program because of the host's anti-Muslim views.


CAIR recently reported that Savage, whose "The Savage Nation" airs on more than 300 radio stations nationwide, screamed attacks on Muslims, Islam and the Quran, Islam's revealed text, during his October 29, 2007, program.


To listen to Savage's bigoted statements, go to: http://www.cair.com/audio/savage_102907.asp


SEE: National Radio Host Goes on Anti-Muslim Tirade www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleID=23608&&name=n&&currPage=1&&Active=1


The Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group called on radio listeners of all faiths to contact companies that advertise on Savage's program to express their concerns about the host's anti-Muslim bigotry. (He has since stepped up his attacks on Islam and Muslims in response to CAIR's advertiser campaign.)


In a letter to CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, a Citrix official wrote:


"Citrix Systems, Inc. and Citrix Online, LLC are in receipt of numerous communications from representatives, members and constituents of your organization.


"On behalf of Citrix Systems and Citrix Online, I want to share with you and your organization that free speech is a valued constitutional right that is respected by Citrix Systems and Citrix Online; however we want to make clear that the opinions expressed on the Michael Savage program -- or any other program we advertise in -- do not in any way represent the views of Citrix Systems or Citrix Online.


"Separately, please know that effective Monday, November 5, 2007, Citrix Online ended its advertising relationship with the Michael Savage program."


Citrix is a global leader in application delivery infrastructure, including www.gotomypc.com, www.gotomeeting.com, www.gotoassist.com, www.gotowebinar.com.


"We appreciate Citrix's principled action to disassociate itself from Michael Savage's hate-filled rhetoric," said CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin. "We urge other local and national companies running ads on Savage's program to follow Citrix's example in support of religious tolerance."


Rubin added: "Free speech is a precious right that we fully support and strive to protect. We are not seeking to curb Mr. Savage's freedom of speech, but to demonstrate that Americans and American companies will not tolerate hatred and bigotry."


CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 33 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.


SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations

CAIR on IslamoFacism Week of Hatred

‘ISLAMO-FASCISM’ WEEK SPEAKER MEETS WITH EUROPEAN 'NEO-NAZIS' - TOP
Robert Spencer is main speaker for upcoming Islamophobic campus tour

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/21/2007) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) revealed today that the main speaker for an upcoming series of "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" lectures at university campuses nationwide recently offered a keynote address at a European gathering that included representatives of racist or "neo-Nazi" political parties.

Author Robert Spencer, who is scheduled to appear beginning next week at universities such as Brown, DePaul and Dartmouth, is regarded by American Muslims as one of the nation's worst Islamophobes. His virulently anti-Islam website promotes the idea that life for Muslims in the West should be made so difficult that they will leave.

Spencer recently spoke at a so-called "Counterjihad Brussels 2007" conference in Belgium attended by those with links to far-right parties such as Filip Dewinter of Vlaams Belang (Belgium) and Ted Ekeroth of Sverigedemokraterna (Sweden). Both parties have been accused of either having a racist platform, a neo-Nazi past or having links to neo-Nazis and other racists.

Vlaams Belang is the successor to the Vlaams Blok party, which was banned in 2004 for being an illegal racist political faction. (Vlaams Belang's founders were Nazi collaborators in World War II.)

Of Sverigedemokraterna, the International Herald Tribune wrote: “Sverigedemokraterna, or the Sweden Democrats, have been part of this country's political landscape for almost 20 years, but they were considered too close to the Nazi-inspired far-right to contend for large numbers of votes.” (7/7/06)

SEE: European Organizations Gather in Brussels to Organize Resistance to Islamization and Shariah


SEE: Court Rules Vlaams Blok is Racist


Robert Spencer's Jihad Watch Board Vice President "Hugh Fitzgerald" wrote on that hate site: "Only one group, only one belief-system, distinguishes itself by appearing incapable of fitting in. And that is Muslims, and Islam ... if one really knew what Islam contained ... then how could any decent person remain a Muslim?"

He also recommended that western nations be "Islam-proofed the way a house is child-proofed," compared Muslims to Nazis and urged that they be boycotted: "[I]t should not be hard to find ways to limit the spread or practice of Islam. And if in addition to whatever local, state and federal government officials do, private parties simply conduct their own boycott of goods and services offered by Muslims, in the same way that they would have refused to buy, in 1938, a German Voigtlander camera..."

Other speakers on the "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" tour include Ann Coulter, who refers to Muslims as "rag heads," and Daniel Pipes, a supporter of the internment of Japanese-Americans in World War II and of the views of French racist Jean-Marie Le Pen.

“All those who value religious tolerance and diversity should be concerned about the growing links between European racists and American Islamophobes,” said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.

Publicity for the tour got off to a bad start when it was revealed that the poster promoting the campus events used a photograph that purportedly showed a Muslim woman being stoned to death, but which was in fact an image from a fictional movie.

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 33 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail: rahmed@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787 or 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

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WA: MUSLIMS UPSET BY CAMPUS EVENT - TOP
Janet I. Tu, Seattle Times, 10/20/07


A controversial week of events, billed as Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, launches at the University of Washington and some 100 other colleges next week — drawing condemnations from Muslim groups here and across the country.

The UW College Republicans, organizer of the local events, say the week is intended to foster awareness of the terrorist threat posed by a small number of extremists within Islam.

But some local Muslims say the week fosters Islamophobia and racism and attempts to paint all Muslims as terrorists.

Beginning Monday, the group plans to hand out information sheets describing what the week's activities are all about.

And it's hosting two events open to the public: a showing of "Suicide Killers," a documentary about suicide bombers, at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Smith Hall, and a talk by conservative author and talk-show host Michael Medved at 7 p.m. Thursday in Kane Hall.

Amin Odeh, a board member with the local Arab American Community Coalition, said he agrees that "radical anything is dangerous — radical Muslims, radical Christians, radical Jews. Education is needed."

But Odeh says Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week makes too general a link between extremism and Islam, and that the term "Islamo-fascism" links fascism with an entire religion.

"Unfortunately, when people hear the term they don't think of only a small group of extremists, but of Islam in general," he said.

Hala Dillsi, a member of the UW Muslim Student Association, believes Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week promotes fear and intolerance. She is distributing green armbands and encouraging people to wear T-shirts that are green — traditionally the color associated with Islam — on Wednesday in solidarity with local Arabs and Muslims.

The student group also is organizing a forum Oct. 29 in which professors and local Muslims discuss and answer questions about Islam.

Members of the Muslim Student Association, along with other organizations, also plan to hold protests outside Wednesday and Thursday evening's Awareness Week events.

Assistant Chief Ray Wittmier with the UW Police Department said his department is meeting with student organizers on all sides "to make sure everybody stays safe."

Israel denies Christian Arab clergy entrance to West Bank

Israel Denies Re-entry Visas to Holy Land Arab Christian Clergy

23-Sep-07
The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF)
Toll free at +1-866-871-HCEF (4233)

The Israeli Government has rescinded its policy of granting re-entry visas to Arab Christian ministers, priests, nuns and other religious workers who wish to travel in and out of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, according to information provided to the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) by Christian clergy in Jerusalem.

Until now, re-entry visas were normally granted in Israel by the Israeli Government to Arab Christian religious workers in the Holy Land, and clergy traveled relatively freely to and from points overseas, including the United States.

However, HCEF has been informed that Arab Christian church workers will henceforth have to apply for re-entry visas at Israeli consulates abroad each time they travel outside the areas of Israeli control.

Since visa applications submitted to Israeli missions abroad are normally not acted upon for months after they are filed, his new Israeli policy means that religious personnel will no longer be able to move freely between their parishes in the occupied territories and any points out side of those areas.

Christian church workers normally travel frequently between their parishes and their churches’ offices in Jerusalem. Some also must travel often to countries outside the region, including the United States.

Many of the clergy and other church workers in the occupied Palestinian territories are from nearby Jordan; the new Israeli policy will prevent them from visiting their families there.

Indeed, that has already happened. Rev. Fares Khleifat, a pastor and the only Greek Melkite priest in Ramallah, traveled to Jordan for several days in mid-September; when he tried to return to his parish on September 14, he was stopped at the Israeli border, and his valid, multiple-entry visa was canceled.

Forced to remain in Jordan, he has been effectively deported from the Holy Land by the Israeli government, and his parish now has no priest.

The new Israeli policy makes it unlikely that any Arab Christian priests, ministers or other religious workers from the Holy Land will be able to attend HCEF’s Ninth International Conference, scheduled for October 26-27 in Washington.

Christian personnel based in the Holy Land have participated in all eight previous conferences of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation.

http://www.hcef.org/index.cfm/mod/news/ID/16/SubMod/NewsView/NewsID/1849.cfm