LANSING, Mich. (AP) – An op-ed article that called a Detroit suburb the “jihad capital of America” now describes the region as “racist and Islamophobic” in a resolution introduced Tuesday. It has been condemned by two Democratic state lawmakers.
The bill, introduced by state Rep. Arabas Farhat and House Minority Leader Abraham Ayyash, is asking The Wall Street Journal to withdraw it. a piece of it, published Friday, issued a public apology to the city of Dearborn. Officials said they increased police presence in the city after the editorial was published.
“It was a pathetic excuse for an editorial article,” said Farhat, Dearborn’s attorney. “At a time when hate crimes are on the rise, this incident has fanned the flames of hatred and division in our country. So much so that it becomes normal to wonder how patriotic our neighbors are.”
The resolution has been referred to a committee in the state Legislature, split evenly between Democrats and Republicans with 54 members. Farhat blamed Republicans for not having a vote on the resolution, saying only two Democrats signed it because of the rush to submit it by the deadline. He added that there is “broad support in the caucus” for the resolution.
of israel-hamas war have rising tension Dearborn has a large Arab-American population, some of whom fought protested against Biden The government’s response to the war. President Joe Biden visited the state last week. met with protests And I yelled, “Hey, Biden, what do you say?” We don’t vote on election day. ”
is more than 27,000 PalestiniansSince the war began in Gaza, mainly women and minors have been killed. Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th. According to the Ministry of Health in Hamas-controlled areas. Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 people, most of them civilians, in the October attack.
State and city governments across the country have approved pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian resolutions that do not have legal authority but reflect pressure on local officials to speak out about the conflict.
The opinion piece exacerbated anger and concern within the community. Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said city police have increased security at places of worship after the op-ed column “led to an alarming increase in bigoted and Islamophobic rhetoric online” targeting the city. I tweeted that I did.
Dearborn High School was placed on a temporary soft lockdown Tuesday after shell casings were found in the building, police said. The lockdown was lifted on Tuesday afternoon, with police announcing on social media that there was no threat to schools or the community.
The author of the editorial is Stephen Stalinsky, executive director of the Middle East Media Institute, a Washington-based think tank founded by Israeli analysts.
Stalinsky pushed back on the criticism and stood by his claims in a phone call with The Associated Press on Tuesday.
“This is a political stunt,” he said of the resolution.
“I don’t think any of the leaders read the full article. They used a few sentences from the beginning, but they didn’t go into the facts I quoted further down. Everyone read the headlines. , but no one reads the full article,” Stalinsky said.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told reporters Monday that the article was “cruel and ignorant.” “It’s wrong to criticize a group of people based on the words of a few,” Biden said on social media X, while also referring to Dearborn.
The Wall Street Journal did not respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday.
Michigan State Representative I had a hard time The goal is to build consensus on how to respond to the Israel-Hamas war and its effects in Dearborn, which also has a large Jewish population.
In October, a pro-Israel resolution introduced in the state Legislature with bipartisan support failed due to opposition from several Democrats. At the time, Democratic Party Leader Ayyash strongly opposed the resolution, saying, “If we are to condemn terrorism, we must also condemn the terrorism and violence that the Palestinian people have endured for decades.” did.