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Reader comment on item: Esam Omeish, Jerusalem Day Rally, 12-22-2000, Full Speech

Jul 6, 2009 17:19

It really upsets me that these videos are totally being taken out of context; and that Dr. Omesh's character is being questioned without merit. In 2004 Dr. Omesh saved my life and did so without questioning my financial status, religious beliefs or anything for that matter. He is one of most kind, compassionate people I have encountered. Dr. Omesh has done so much to help the community of Northern Virginia, that it is a shame that a video that poses no threat to anyone could have such a negative impact on such a good person. I believe in freedom of speech as long as it doesn't endanger anyones freedom or safety. Everyone is entitled to have an opinion, all Dr. Omesh did was voice his and in doing so he never once jeopardized anyone's freedom or safety!!!

I listened to Dr. Omeish's comments very carefully, and I must say that I find nothing objectionable about them. His remarks about Israel are factually accurate, and our own government's uncritical support of Israel's government, whatever its actions, is unhelpful to say the least. Some listeners may be put off by the passion with which he delivered his very logical comments. That is a matter of style, and should not influence our judgment of what he says. I must admit that I did not hear the phrase "jihad way", but the concept of jihad is very poorly understood in this country. The greater Jihad is the internal struggle within our soul to live up to the teachings of the prophet. It is analogous to the struggles of Christian mystics and has nothing to do with phyiscal combat.
Beware of hysteria: the decisions of a nation should not be made in a hysterical atmosphere. Such hysteria leads to terrible actions, as we have seen in past wars, and, unfortunately, in the current war.
By the way, I am a Christian. I seem to remember Jesus quoting the teachings of his own teachers: there are two commandments: love the Lord your God AND love your neighbor as yourself. We are all neighbors.

Posted by: Fritz von Fleckenstein | September 27, 2007 3:48 Pm

Having listened to the tape, I don't see anything extremist at all. Certainly the Muslim community has a very different perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (is this news?), and that drives their perspective of Israel's actions against Lebanon as well as our support (including military support) of Israel. The main point I got from his speech is that he believes that this is hurting our [he includes himself and his audience here] credibility in the Middle East and our fight against terrorism. Many Middle East experts have said the same, and it is quickly becoming a mainstream point of view, particularly where Iraq is concerned. Is there anybody out there who still does not realize that WE are responsible for the growth of terrorism in Iraq--that it did not exist until we invaded and gave them a cause to rally around?
I am now much more concerned about Gov. Kaine's knee-jerk reaction--he could not have possibly have watched this video, and made his decision with any semblance of fairness in mind. Apparently Exercising Free Speech Rights While Muslim is a firing offense in Virginia. Thomas Jefferson must be rolling in his grave.

A true moderate Muslim would condemn the Holocausts all of them, the Nazi's Holocaust for the Jews,the Zionist's Holocaust for the Palestinians, The extremists' Holocaust for Americans in NY , and the extremists' Holocaust for Japanese civilians in Hiroshima & Nagasaki.
Expressing your opinions openly and freely will always lead to your demonization.
Dr Omeish is one of the most moderate and sincere American Muslims in the USA and I can feel that this is just the start of a campaign against him to silent what's left of the sincere voices and sideline them leaving the arena for fanatic voices calling for war

We tend to focus on the minor issues and ignore the real ones. Dr. Omeish was objecting to an illegal occupation that is illegal by all means and according to international laws, when he spoke at a rally long time ago ...
Why don't we focus on the real issue of the suffering of the Palestinian people and how our government is not paying attention to that? Do we want to eliminate terrorism or encourage it. The USA foreign policy is just doing the opposite .. encouraging terrorism around the world.
I advice all of the readers who are reading my comments to visit this website http://www.occupation101.com and check out this important educational film about the Israeli occupation that is the root of problems in the Middle East.
The other important issue is the fact that the Israeli lobby in the US is targeting Muslims in public life. They believe that a stronger Muslim presence in American politics means a chance for change in USA's position towards the illegal occupation of Israel to the Palestinian lands.
Dr. Omeish is a victim of that lobby. We are not going to enjoy lasting peace or truly defeat terrorism until we rid ourselves of the real enemies of peace among us !


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