Editor's Letter

Don't Mainstream Extremists

N

o legitimate candidate for public office should go
before the Dearborn-based Arab American Political
Action Committee (AAPAC). That's because its
leadership has defended Hezbollah, a virulently anti-Semitic
terrorist group that calls for death to America and Israel,
seeks an Islamist theocracy and instigated the devastating
summertime war against Israel. There's something wrong
about candidates for high office in Michigan accepting invita-
tions to address any group that defends Hezbollah.
Other than Al Qaida, no terrorist group has killed
more Americans than Hezbollah. In 1983, 11 Michigan
soldiers were among the 241 U.S.
servicemen murdered in their sleep
when Hezbollah truck-bombed their
Marine barracks in Lebanon. The
Marines were on a peacekeeping mis-
sion.
In a June interview with the
Christian Broadcasting Network,
AAPAC President Osama Siblani said
this about Hezbollah: "They are not
terrorists. Absolutely not. No. They are
freedom fighters."
Asked about Hamas, the Palestinian
terrorist group, Siblani said: "Freedom fighters as well?' He
added that what the Israelis are doing against the Palestinians
is genocide. "It is worse than the Holocaust, of course he said.
Siblani also is a leader in the Congress of Arab American
Organizations (CAAO), which coordinated the recent anti-
Israel and pro-Hezbollah rallies in Dearborn. According to
the Detroit Free Press, Siblani told thousands of rally goers
on July 18: "We know that the president is being bought
by the Zionist lobby. We know that the (U.S.) Congress is
being bought by the Zionist lobby ... But we know that the
American people are a great people?'
Abed Hammoud is a former AAPAC president and a cur-
rent committee chair. He also now heads the CAAO. On July
14, he told a Detroit rally, keynoted by the head of a Hamas
front group, that President George W. Bush and Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice are war criminals. In a National Public
Radio broadcast on Aug. 8, Hammoud said all of Israel is
"occupied Palestine"; he compared Israel's actions in Lebanon
to Nazi Germany's genocide against European Jewry.
The Arab community has every right to choose its leader-
ship and representatives. But statewide candidates and public
officials should not legitimize such politically extreme views
by attending events hosted by the AAPAC, the CAA() or like-
minded groups.

Choose Wisely
I'm concerned about the election winds in Michigan after
noticing online that Dick DeVos, the Republican candidate for
governor, is scheduled to speak at an AAPAC dinner on Sept.
13 in the Bint Jebail Cultural Center in Dearborn.
I'm not singling out Devos. Gov. Jennifer Granholm, the
Democratic incumbent, as well as other candidates should
take heed. It's just plain wrong for any candidate to seek an
AAPAC audience in search of endorsements or other support
as long as the group's leadership defends Hezbollah.
This isn't about refusing to meet with Arabs or Muslims.
Their vote is as precious as a Jewish vote and their rights are
just as sacrosanct. This is about declaring off limits Arab or

Muslim groups that align with radical Islam. I'd feel no differ-
ently if an extremist Jewish PAC invited DeVos and Granholm
to speak. I'd urge them to decline that invitation, too. Political
or religious extremism has no place on the mainstream elec-
tion stage.

Strength Of Conviction
Good people of whatever ethnic or religious background must
stand up for civility and condemn hate, distortion, incitement
and violence. We can debate those whose political opinions
we disagree with in the public arena, but participating in one
of their events wrongly helps bring extremist thinking into
the mainstream and pushes moderates to the fringes.
The Jewish community has always been a leader in
exposing and countering extremism. The Detroit Jewish
News itself was founded in 1942 partly to expose and
counter the Jew-hating rhetoric of Father Charles Coughlin
of Royal Oak. Elected officials and community leaders in
America must be strong during these turbulent times. They
must speak against the extremism emanating from parts of
the Arab and Muslim communities.
The only way to empower Arab and Muslim moderates, and
they are out there, is by isolating the extremists. Such isola-
tion is encouraged in the powerful honestreporting.com film
Obsession, a devastating expose of radical Islam.
The people who comprise the AAPAC and CAA() live
among us as fellow Americans. They have every right to speak
out and take Israeli governmental policies to task. But it is
essential that we don't allow Hezbollah's apologists and social
services network to blind the free world to its terrorist infra-
structure targeting Jews, Israel and the West.

Don't Stand Idly
Consider that stark backdrop in the context of a note sent by
the family of Daniel Wultz to Jewish Detroit as a thank-you
for the get-well wishes and monetary gifts that StandWithUs-
Michigan forwarded on our community's behalf. Daniel, a 16-
year-old Floridian, was gravely hurt in a Palestinian suicide
bombing in Tel Aviv over Pesach. He died on Mother's Day.
The JN covered his tragic story.
In their heart-rending message that should burst the notion
that diaspora Jews are too far from the Middle East battle
lines to matter, Daniel's parents, Sheryl and Tuly Wultz, wrote:
"Words alone cannot express our gratitude for your prayers,
articles and generous donation. We appreciate all your com-
munity did for us. We established a foundation in Daniel's
memory whereby we can raise awareness of the effects of
terrorism (www. dcwfoundation.org ). It is our hope to cripple
terrorism and force those who perpetuate it to pay an exceed-
ingly high price for their vicious acts. Your support is our
inspiration?'
Need more be said?

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How can we help bridge the divide
between Jews and Arabs in Metro
Detroit?

Why is the Jewish community so hesitant
to confront extremism and injustice?

E-mail: letters@thejewishnews.com

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August 31 • 2006

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