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Jewish World Review Oct. 29, 2002 / 19 Mar-Cheshvan, 5763
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
A member of New York City’s Human Rights Commission is under fire for his position
at a group that has been accused of condoning terrorism, and has peddled
conspiracy theories about the September 11 attack.
Omar Mohammedi is general counsel to the New York chapter of the Council on
American Islamic Relations. He was appointed October 15 to be one of 14 members of
the city's Human Rights Commission, charged with enforcing the city's
anti-discrimination laws.
Jewish leaders - including another member of the Human Rights Commission -
yesterday criticized the appointment, while an Islamic group has launched a petition
drive in support of Mr. Mohammedi.
"The mayor is making a mistake," said a spokesman for the American Jewish
Committee, Kenneth Bandler. "This is an organization that condones terrorism and its
officials should not be appointed to any government commission."
Mr. Mohammedi, a lawyer who specializes in employment discrimination, did not return
phone and e-mail messages. A spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg, Edward Skyler,
defended the appointment.
"We are appointing an individual, not an organization," Mr. Skyler said. "This guy has
never said a controversial thing in his life. He's about as controversial as milquetoast."
Mr. Skyler said the city's Department of Investigations had vetted Mr. Mohammedi, and
the city also ran his name past federal officials at the State and the Treasury
Departments.
Mr. Mohammedi's main role with the Council on American Islamic Relations, CAIR, has
been in aiding Muslims who have been questioned by the federal authorities. "He has
been very helpful in defending those whose rights have been trampled," said Al Haaj
Ghazi Khankan, head of CAIR's New York chapter.
While Mr. Mohammedi has not been at the center of controversy, CAIR has long
attracted criticism. People linked to the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is on
the State Department's list of terrorist organizations, founded the group in the early
1990s. Although its officials say they don't support terrorism, CAIR officials have
defended Hamas and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Mr. Khankan did not return calls seeking his organization's positions on the Middle East
conflict, but he was quoted in the Jewish Week last October making fine distinctions
between Hamas's killing of Israelis above and below the military age of 18. "Those who
are below 18 should not be attacked," he said.
The group has also circulated a petition calling on the federal government to unfreeze
the finances of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, which has been
accused of funneling money to Hamas.
Do you believe Mr. Mohammedi should be holding his position? Do something constructive. Let Patricia L. Gatling, chairman of the Comission, know how you feel.
Mr. Skyler said CAIR's New York chapter is "not as controversial as the national chapter."
CAIR's most visible function in New York is defending Muslim civil rights. It has also
lobbied against smoking and gay marriage.
But one long-time critic of CAIR in Washington, Steven Emerson, called City Hall's
distinction "ludicrous."
"That's like saying that the New York chapter of the KKK is not as controversial as the
national chapter," he said.
The New York chapter's Web site displays an unusual response to the September 11
attacks, a letter to the editor of the New York Times written last October 5.
The letter, which CAIR suggested its members send the paper, questions whether
Mohammed Atta and other Muslims were responsible for the attacks and speculates on
who really benefited - echoing theories that the Bush administration or the Israelis
orchestrated the attacks.
"The important questions are: Who is impersonating these three Muslim Arabs? Why
are Muslim Arabs been implicated in this terrorism? And, who could 'benefit' from this
horrific tragedy?" it asks. "Definitely mainstream Muslims by the consensus of Islamic
religious scholars since the dawn of Al-Islaam could NOT be the culprits."
CAIR was also the co-sponsor of a forum at Brooklyn College in 1998 where a crowd
chanted "No to the Jews, descendents of the apes."
Another member of the Human Rights Commission, Rabbi Haskell Lookstein,
raised questions about Mr. Mohammedi's appointment.
"If in fact CAIR does have close ties to known terrorist organizations, then the presence
of its general counsel on the Human Rights Commission of New York City would seem to
me very problematic," said Rabbi Lookstein. "The most elementary human right is the
right to live and not to be blown to bits."
Mr. Mohammedi's ties to CAIR appear initially to have passed under the radar of most
Jewish organizations. However, CAIR's national office sent out an appeal on October 17:
"Representatives of the pro-Israel lobby are pressuring officials to withdraw the
appointment of Omar T. Mohammedi to the New York City Commission on Human
Rights," the e-mail said.
"Those who oppose Muslim political participation are using falsehoods and distortions to
smear Islamic leaders in an attempt to silence our voice in this country. We call on the
American Muslim community to send positive messages of support for Mr.
Mohammedi's appointment to New York's mayor and Commission on Human Rights,"
read the statement, quoting CAIR's executive director Nihad Awad.
Mr. Skyler said the city received 200 letters in support of the appointment, and only one
in opposition.
A spokesman for the main office of CAIR in Washington, Ibrahim Hooper, called the
controversy over Mr. Mohammedi's appointment "old news."
"There were some objections raised from segments of the pro-Israel lobby, and they
were basically rejected," he said. "We think he's qualified, and obviously the city
thought he was, too."
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NY Mayor Bloomberg appoints to Human Rights Commission counsel to Arab group accused of condoning terrorism
By Benjamin Smith
Benjamin Smith is a staff writer for The New York Sun, where this article first appeared. Comment by clicking here.