On the Tlaib- Abbas Sexual Harassment News Conference and the community leaders standing by their side

Osama Siblani
 

Rana Abbas

 

 

 

 

Osama Siblani your community’s “Charles Ayoub”

The other day I got a phone call from Lebanon.

It was from a friend of mine who moved to Lebanon a few years ago. He asked me about what is going on with Imad Hamad and ADC. I told him what I thought was happening. He responded by saying that Osama Siblani is using his newspaper, the Arab American News "the News", as a tool to attack those who don’t pay him just like it is understood in Lebanon that Charles Ayoub of the Lebanese daily Ad- Diyar uses his paper to attack those who either stop paying him or refuse to pay him.

Maybe this is the case I said.

That’s an interesting hypothesis.

Reading the way Osama’s pet newspaper is covering the ADC story and seeing Osama's antics make you wonder.

A Real Job for Rana and Grants for ACCESS?

On Thursday 10/10/2013 the website of the News had a story by Samer Hijazi entitled “Community leaders unify in support of new sexual harassment coalition.”

What do we know from this press conference?

There is going to be a “sexual harassment” initiative. And given the ACCESS contingent turnout at the press conference I have no doubt that it will be an ACCESS project whom ACCESS will find none other than Rana Abbas to head.

That’s great news for ACCESS and Abbas. Abbas will get something close to a real job, unlike what she has now, a job that cannot pass even remotely as a real job is what she has at Osama’s paper.

ACCESS will have a new pet project to seek funding for.

The Leadership of the Who’s Who of ADC and Imad Score Settlers

Here is a telling excerpt from the deceptively called “Arab American” News:

“ Led by State Representative Rashida Tlaib and Contributing Editor of The Arab American News (TAAN) Rana Abbas, Tuesday's press conference was backed by dozens of local leaders who stood by the two women.”

Who are these "dozens of local leaders”? Dozens of leaders? Were there any members? All chiefs, no Indians? 

Hijazi wrote:

“Those who stood by their side included Hassan Jaber, executive director of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS); Ismael Ahmed, assistant provost at the University of Michigan-Dearborn; Nabih Ayad, founder and chairman of the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL); civil rights advocate and attorney Noel Saleh and TAAN Publisher Osama Siblani, among numerous others.”

All these people listed as standing by the “victims” are individuals who have a problem with ADC and/or Imad and stand to benefit from the manufactured scandal to settle scores for real or imagined grievances.

That is the leadership scene to behold. 

ACCESS is an institution that ADC Michigan had issues with. ACCESS sees itself as the 500- pound community organization that all other organizations in the “community” should defer to. Imad Hamad emerged on the scene and was able to create a strong presence for ADC that the ACCESS folks did not like. Ish Ahmed is the former longtime president of ACCESS and he had a few run-ins with Imad and ADC. Hassan Jaber is the current ACCESS president and he inherited this legacy.

And ACCESS stands to benefit from the scandal for a pet project.

Noel Saleh is associated with ACCESS and, even though he used to be Imad’s attorney, he is not on the best terms with Imad Hamad either- an extension of the ADC-ACCESS history.

The Gang of Four/Dearborn's Rabaa: Nabih Ayad, Osama Siblani, Rashida Tlaib and Rana Abbas

The other person standing by the "victims" is Nabih Ayad. Nabih Ayad is a former national board member of ADC who left the organizations after a falling out with Imad Hamad. Ayad custom- made a civil rights organization, the ACRL, and hired Rana Abbas, the former # 2 in the ADC Michigan office as his top administrator, the executive director.

It’s worth noting that with Imad Hamad and ADC Rana lasted EIGHT full YEARS.

Abbas lasted with Ayad only a FEW months- which is an extremely short term stopover employment that she left for a pretend/ poorly- paid job at Osama’s paper.

What gives? 

Only months after leaving Nabih Ayad’s ACRL and working with Osama did the charges against Imad Hamad and ADC bubble to the surface. Also, interestingly, Rashida Tlaib’s open letter emerged only a few months after the Palestinian American “Thomas Jefferson,” Rashida Tlaib, started serving on ACRL’s board.

This does not pass the most basic of smell tests.

Another man standing with the “victims” is Osama Siblani the publisher of the News who has a number of reasons for pouncing on Imad and the ADC. Incidentally, Nabih Ayad’s ACRL is awarding Osama Siblani in this year’s ACRL’s annual banquet.

Tim Attallah, ADC and Imad: Real and Imagined Grievances

 

The News report adds:

 ‘Attorney Tim Attalla took the podium to lead a pledge and asked the rest of the group to repeat the words, phrase-by-phrase. Some statements in the pledge included "I understand that sexual assault and harassment exists in our community," and "If a friend discloses to me that they have been a victim...I will listen, not judge, and I will seek help from a trusted individual."’

 Attorney Tim Attallah was there to lead the choir in a Pledge of no harassment.

I am not sure if Tim volunteered for the job or was volunteered.

But Tim also has an issue with Imad, ADC and the law enforcement-community body, BRIDGES, whom Imad and ADC co-founded with former FBI Detroit office agent in charge John Bell. Tim bears two grudges against Imad and ADC.

Years ago Tim was involved with an event and organization, Seeds of Peace, that brought Shimon Peres to he hosted and awarded in Dearborn. That did not go well with an Arab American community that is bitter over Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and the Qana massacre. Osama Siblani, his strange bedfellow at the press conference, spearheaded the protest against the Peres event.  The Qana massacre happened while Peres was PM of  Israel. Many members of the Arab American community lost friends and family in that massacre and were not happy that the former prime minister of Israel was being hosted in a city that is known for its high- profile Arab American presence. Imad Hamad and ADC, the grassroots organization, given the sentiment of most its members, were not inclined to defend, or be neutral, on the event or Tim Atallah’s involvement.

 Tim blames Imad personally for the lack of support. Imad was a minor player. Tim's grievance is with Osama Siblani and the insulted Dearborn community. The Qana pain is real and was still fresh at the time.

Another grievance of Tim Atallah is that over BRIDGES.

When the government unfairly targeted Tim with ridiculous charges, and Tim is indeed an outstanding human being and attorney, Tim wanted BRIDGES meetings suspended to protest his targeting by the feds. But the dominant thinking and sentiment was that BRIDGES should continue since it is a useful communication tool and a forum for brining issues, indeed Tim’s issue was one of them, to the government’s attention. But the continuation of BRIDGES meetings did not go well with Atallah who still bears a grudge against ADC, Imad and BRIDGES.

 This is an imagined grievance. Imad, and I am one of many who strongly supported that decision, put the interests of the community before the wishes of Tim. Tim should respect that. Continuing BRIDGES was not a disrespect of Tim or lack of sympathy or empathy. When the FBI revoked its award for Imad, many in the community pushed and pressured Imad to put an end to BRIDGES and end the dialogue with the government because the government is "not sincere." One of the loudest "let's make a big- scene" voices was Osama Siblani who was more royal than Imad on this issue. Imad disagreed. He understood the pressures on the FBI. Imad understood that even though he is a founding father of BRIDGES, BRIDGES  was not about Imad Hamad the person.  Imad respected and appreciated that that there are many people at the table from the government side who respect the community and are sincere about the dialogue- and this is true of the current US attorney Barbara L. McQuade and her predecessors.

Sorry Tim- But  Imad was not going to pull the plug for a serious yet personal slight against him. Imad  is a true community leader. Now Tim wanted Imad to do for him what Imad would not do for himself.

Is this a fair or reasonable expectation from Tim? Isn't Tim Atalla's BRIDGES grievance imagined?

But Tim is still upset- and he had his moment to settle scores for real and imagined grievances. At least that's how it looks.

 And Osama’s paper keeps reporting on the manufactured scandal and repeating the manifest  lie that ADC “suspended” Imad Hamad.

Imad decided to step aside in the light of the scandal, a scandal that was created in large part by Osama’s shameless sensational coverage.

 This is the community and the leaders who stood by the “victims.”

Here is a good idea for a "community" pledge: "We shall not pile on. We will not be ax grinders. We will not be out to settle scores with each other and try to milk a community crisis for our own personal and organizational agendas."