Arab Americans Should Be Worried About Rahm Emanuel

By Remi Kanazi , AlterNet. Posted November 20, 2008.

Compounding his carelessness, Zogby incorrectly equates right wing allegations that "Barack Obama is a Muslim" with rumors that Emanuel served in the IDF. It is notable that in 2006, when MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell referred to Rahm Emanuel as someone who served in the Israeli army in an interview, Emanuel did not dispute the claim (if it was such a slanderous attack, one would think Emanuel, the "practitioner of hard-ball politics," would have spoken up).

Making his frustration crystal clear, Zogby asserts, "that stories such as these have been circulating, and have taken hold, is as reprehensible as the 'Barack Obama is a secret Muslim/Manchurian candidate' tale, or the anti-Arab anti-Muslim canards to which I and many of my colleagues have been subjected over the years." What Zogby fails to mention is the fact that there is nothing wrong with being a Muslim, yet there is something fundamentally wrong with the IDF illegally occupying 3.8 million Palestinian people, subjugating them to incessant collective punishment, and cordoning the people of Gaza into an open-air prison.

Ending his lesson on "the facts," Zogby seems to contradict his own assertions. He contends that Arab Americans should understand the "political realities," and that just about all members of Congress are pro-Israel. Is Zogby suggesting that Arab Americans just suck it up, sit on their hands, and get used to the status quo? What happened to the change Barack Obama was going to usher in?

It is strange that the man behind the Yalla Vote! campaign is using these tactics to push his constituency into giving Emanuel a free pass. Whether these appointments are to be expected or not, wouldn't Arab Americans expressing their concerns be a good thing? Isn't that part of the democratic process and the reason why they engaged in this election cycle to begin with: to bring change to Washington.

While Zogby wants us to be aware of the "political realities," the actual reality for many Arab Americans is simple: this appointment represents more of the same -- whether it is the hawkish policies of the Bush administration or the destructive Mideast policy that was wrapped in nicer packaging during the Clinton years. Americans worked tirelessly for two years to elect Barack Obama. Now is the time to work tirelessly to ensure that the change that he promised comes to fruition.

The mission statement of the AAI reads in part, "The Arab American Institute (AAI) represents the policy and community interests of Arab Americans throughout the United States and strives to promote Arab American participation in the U.S. electoral system." Perhaps Zogby should reread his own organization's mission statement.

See more stories tagged with: obama, rahm emanuel, arab americans, arab american institute, james zogby

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