Obama administration officials to speak at Hamas support group’s convention
By Lee Kaplan, Communications Director
26 May 2010: Mainstream media has completely overlooked a national conference that will be held June 4-10, 2010 in Washington D.C., where officials of the Obama administration will speak and rub elbows with Arab-Americans who openly support and work for the goals of Hamas, and who encourage the violation of US laws.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) presents itself as a civil rights group protecting Muslims and Arab-Americans from discrimination. However, the group is a front for supporting Hamas and promotes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement against Israel, and through its associations, supports the same enemies our troops are fighting against in Afghanistan and Iraq.
According to the website Militant Islam Monitor, “The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is known for openly supporting Hezbollah, and Hamas. One of its members, Souheil Elia of the Florida chapter, has supported suicide bombings in it forums and in interviews, stating that …”their bodies are the only weapons they have…” In 2004 Elia spoke at an ADC event called Palestine- Perception and Reality- which was an Israel and American bashing fest.
This week, the ADC sent out e-mail announcements for the convention and is promoting featured guests that include Rick Wade, Senior Adviser and Deputy Chief of Staff for Barack Hussein Obama’s Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
The ADC openly works with anti-Israel organizations such as Al Awda and the Students for Justice in Palestine as well as the Muslim Student Union chapters on US college campuses to promote the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel. In addition, the ADC serves as a support mechanism for the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) by providing facilities and funding to send activists to the Middle East to support Hamas and act as human shields for the terrorist organization. Jess Ghannam, head of the ADC is San Francisco and a co-founder of Al Awda and ISM organizer was recently part of the Viva Palestina Tour that illegally entered Gaza last year to bring funding and supplies to Hamas.
The Secretary of Commerce has an Office of Anti-Boycott Compliance that is responsible for enforcing US trade laws passed by congress making it illegal for American companies to discriminate and boycott Israel. Obviously, both the Bush and Obama administrations have chosen to ignore and violate the rule of law. The BDS Movement as encouraged and supported by Al Awda and the ADC also encourages the boycotting of American businesses that are either owned by Jews or have Jewish management, a clear violation of U.S. Civil Rights Laws.
Oddly enough, Wade’s appearance is supposed to “… highlight the economic viability of minority-owned businesses and the opportunities for collaboration in areas of commerce, both domestically and internationally,” according to the announcement sent out by the ADC.
Apparently, the Commerce Secretary’s Office sees nothing wrong with encouraging business among an Arab advocacy group that discriminates against American and Israeli companies and Jews. Oddly enough, the ADC announcement also cites as the theme of the conference as being “Thirty Years of Advocacy and Achievement: Strengthening the Voice for Equality and Justice.” The ADC has always supported the boycotting and divestment of Jewish and Israeli businesses in the US and abroad.
The conference also includes as guest speakers Clovis Maksoud, the diplomatic head of the Arab League that created the Boycott against Israel originating in 1949, as well as Azmi Bishara, a former Arab-Israeli member of Israel’s parliament who fled the country after it was revealed he had been spying for Hezbollah. Hezbollah is on the US State Department’s list of illegal terrorist groups and was responsible for murdering 241 US marines in Beirut in 1983.
Even more disturbing is another high-level guest from the Obama Administration—Attorney General Eric Holder who is scheduled to speak to “A Keynote Civil Rights Luncheon” at the Conference on June 4th.
So here we have the highest law enforcement officer in the US speaking as a guest at an event given by an organization that discriminates against Jewish Americans in violation of US Trade Laws and that hosts as an honored guest someone who has worked as a spy for a known terrorist organization that has murdered US servicemen.
The Obama administration should be ashamed and cancel these scheduled appearances immediately. There is no excuse for this as it shows support for an organization that is the complete antithesis of American values and honesty.
