ADC Action Alert: Call and Thank the Voices of Tolerance and Unity Now!

ADC Action Alert:  Call and Thank the Voices of Tolerance and Unity Now!

Washington, DC | www.adc.org | August 30, 2010 - In light of the recent attacks on the Arab and Muslim American communities, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) urges you to call and thank those who have stood up for tolerance and understanding, and against bigotry.  The below-listed individuals have recently stood for and reinforced American values by supporting the development of the Park51 Community Center in New York City. 
Click on the name(s) below to view their statement on this issue:  

Name	Phone Number
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL)	(202) 224-2152
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)	(202) 224-3753
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI)	(202) 224-5323
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)	(202) 224-4242
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)	(202) 224-5641
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)	(202) 225-4755
Rep. Shelly Berkley (D-NV)	(202) 225-5965
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)	(202) 225-5635
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)	(202) 225-7944
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)	(202) 225-2831
Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN)	(202) 225-4011
Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA)	(202) 225-5406
Gov. Charlie Crist (I-FL)	(850) 488-7146
Mayor Michael Bloomberg	(212) 639-9675
Keith Olbermann (MSNBC)	Countdown@msnbc.com

ADC recognizes, and thanks, the many other persons who have also stood for equality and justice, and rightfully have spoken against hatred, intolerance, fear-mongering and anti-Muslim sentiment occurring across our Nation.
ADC will continue to monitor the incidents of hate crimes and asks community members to continue to exercise extra caution and report any such incidents to appropriate authorities. Please see ADC’s special advisory by clicking here.  

Suggested Language:

I want to thank you for your comments on religious freedom and the Park51 Community Center.  At a time when many politicians are engaging in fear-mongering and scare tactics, your words reinforce that we are all entitled to the same American values, regardless of faith or ethnicity.  As the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) recently indicated, the rise of hate crimes and discrimination against Arab, Muslim and Southeast Asian Americans are on the rise, which is alarming.  It is through tolerance and understanding that we will unite and move past the hate crimes and violence.  This can be achieved through leadership such as yours. 

Ray Hanania released the following statement regarding Ikhras, the racist hate site:

Ray Hanania released the following statement regarding Ikhras, the racist hate site:

Ikhras has been attacking me by publishing false quotes, taking sentences out of context and accusing me of being "anti-Muslim" even though I have spent my life defending Muslims because most Americans believe I am Muslim. They have made up false claims, few are creative or imaginative but driven by racist hatred and, I believe, because I am a Christian Palestinian who supports compromise and peace based on non-violence and the exchange of land. They would never write the same trash about a Muslim activist, which is an example of their vicious anti-Christian attitude that many Christian leaders and activists have shared with me.

They have launched this hate campaign because they can't handle the issues I address, so instead of addressing the issues, they attack me. It is typical of racist hate sites that can't deal with issues so they have to attack the individual.

Most people who have emailed me say that Ikhras is a ridiculous, typically extremist site that waste a lot of energy attacking other Palestinians, like KabobFest, because they have nothing positive to contribute to the fate of the Palestinian People or the cause of the Arab World. They are ignorant and uneducated, and most of all, like KabobFest, poor writers.

They distort facts because they can and because their small following of extremists celebrate racism and hatred. They use the suffering of the Palestinian People as a political football in order to achieve their agendas, and they don't care about helping the Palestinian Refugees at all.

I want the refugees to have better lives, Ikhras wants them to wallow in the hardship of the camps endlessly because it suits the political agenda of Ikhras.

I want to thank all of the people who have emailed me. Ikhras has served one purpose and that is to showcase the ignorance that exists in the Arab community, an ignorance that has been used before to stifle public debate, that is intolerant of thought engagement, and that has helped to both oppress the future of the Palestinian people while also enabling extremism and fanaticism that provides cover for Israel's oppression of our people.

I understand, though, because Ikhras represents the tragedy of a segment of the Palestinian people. Depressed, defeated, uneducated and incompetent, Ikhras focuses its energies on the only thing it can do, bash other Palestinians, the typical ailment of the victimization mentality of some small segments of the Palestinian people.

You can't understand or recognize hope until you see the ugly face of racism, hatred and defeatism which is what Ikhras represents. They are anti-Christian, anti-Jewish and even anti-Muslim. Pathetic.

-- The Maklooba Man