Subscribe Today
Request a Clip
At the 27th annual banquet of the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) in Dearborn, MI, on October 30, 2024, community leader and editor-in-chief of the Arab American News, Osama Siblani, stated that the ceasefire deal negotiated by Washington between Israel and Lebanon will never materialize, asserting that the Lebanese people, himself included, do not succumb to pressure. He emphasized that they are the sons and daughters of those who "defeated this monster called Israel" in 2006. Siblani acknowledged concerns that he might reiterate his support for Hizbullah and Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, as expressed during a September 25 rally, but assured the audience he would not.
U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) voiced her frustration, saying, "They talk to us in that way, like we're dumb [...] they want us to be erased here in the U.S. as well." When she described her mother watching events from the Middle East on the Saudi Al-Arabiya Network, the crowd interjected, noting that in Dearborn, people watch the Qatari Al-Jazeera Network. The event's master of ceremonies, AAPAC founder Abed Hammoud, a former assistant United States Attorney, quipped that in Dearborn, one does not mention Al-Arabiya, but rather refers to it as Al-Hebrewiya. Introducing Osama Siblani, Hammoud, who, like Siblani, grew up in Lebanon, declared that they are "brothers in arms" and that Siblani speaks for the entire community.
Dearborn mayor Abdoullah Hammoud, no relation to Abed Hammoud, said that Biden was forced to step down from the presidential candidacy because of pressure from the Dearborn Arab-American community.
The event was attended by numerous local Arab American politicians and judges, including Wayne State Commissioner Sam Baydoun, activist Amer Zahr, Bill Bazzi, Mayor of Dearborn Heights, Magistrate of the 20th District Court Mona Fadlallah, Magistrate of the 19th District Court Ali Hammoud, Kevin Swope, Chief of the Dearborn Heights Police Department, and 19th District Court Chief Judge Salem Salamey. The event was streamed live on Dearborn in Arabic on Facebook.
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud: "It [was] a success that President Joe Biden stood aside, and that was as a direct result from this community's stance in saying: We will not stand on the side of a president who stands for genocide.
[...]
"That is an accomplishment of this community. That is a success of this community."
[...]
Rep. Rashida Tlaib: "I just want you to understand, much of the mail that you are all getting, the attacks, the billboards, it's honestly, not only to confuse us, and to use us, and all this other stuff... It feels so incredibly – I don't know – painful for them to talk to us in that way, like we're dumb. Like we're dumb. I know that all of it is because they want us to be erased here in the United States as well. I feel it.
[...]
"If anybody is like my mom, and many of our family members are, they are watching constantly what is happening [in the Middle East]. Every minute of the day, Al-Arabiya or the news is right in front of them. I know this."
Audience Member: "Al-Jazeera..."
Tlaib: "Al-Jazeera or... Okay, sorry... I'm just saying, I'm so sorry... Okay, I'm so sorry... Did I get it wrong or something... Al-Jazeera, but no, it's not just Al-Jazeera, there are other ones, but you guys don't like it, is that what it is? Okay, I got you."
[...]
AAPAC Founder Abed Hammoud: "Rashida, it's TV channels, you don't mention Al-Arabiya around here, because we call it Al-Hebrewiyah.
[...]
"When many of us either hesitate, don't get the chance, are scared, or are thinking too much about it, Osama [Siblani] will say it exactly the way we all think about it... Me and Osama go way back, I would like to say that word, brothers-in-arms, but these days it has a different connotation, but even for that purpose, I'll stop here... Please welcome the publisher of the Arab American News, my brother Osama Siblani."
Osama Siblani: "Yours truly, Osama Siblani, is controversial and many people called and said 'don't let him speak like he did in the [pro-Hizbullah] demonstration – and I won't.
[...]
"The White House and the Biden-Harris administration are negotiating a surrendering deal with the Lebanese, which will never, ever happen. I know that we are people who do not succumb to pressure, and we do not yield to intimidation and war.
"We are the sons and daughters of those who stood up in 2006 and defeated this monster that is called Israel."
Latest Clips
