Michigan terror supporters – which include professionals such as a law professor, an attorney and a publisher – are seeking to dictate Michigan state policies, specifically who the state can engage with and learn from.
These individuals are ticked that, over the past few months, several of Michigan’s senior government officials have visited Israel to engage with the country’s tech industry and to learn about cyber security to protect Michigan’s elections, businesses and more.
They weren’t satisfied that the trip that Michigan’s Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, joined was a bipartisan delegation from the National Association of Secretaries of State and that the delegation also met with Palestinian civic and business leaders in Ramallah.
The shocking thing about these objectors is that they are given a platform as credible professionals. Yet each of these individuals has a long history of supporting terror.
According to a report in The Arab American News, the following individuals object to tax dollars being spent as such:
Huwaida Arraf
Huwaida Arraf is a Detroit-based attorney and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), an organization with a long history of supporting terrorism.
At the 2004 Palestine Solidarity Movement conference, ISM ran a recruitment meeting called Volunteering in Palestine: Role and Value of International Activists.
In that session, Arraf acknowledged that ISM cooperates with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) – all designated as terror organizations by the U.S. government and many other countries.
In 2013, ISM expressed support for Samer Issawi, a terrorist affiliated with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Amer Zahr
Amer Zahr is a law professor, activist and stand-up comedian. Zahr also serves as a surrogate for the presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders.
Zahr’s views and associations should be cause for concern. A past cover photo on Zahr’s Facebook account features him proudly serenading noted PFLP terrorist, Rasmea Odeh.
Odeh was deported from the U.S. in 2017 for lying on her immigration papers. She neglected to mention her conviction in Israel and stay in prison here for her role in the murder of two students in a bombing of a supermarket in Jerusalem in 1969.
Zahr likes to compare Israel to ISIS and describes the Jews of Israel as white supremacists.
Zahr is heavily involved with Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, an activist group that opposes Israel’s right to exist and is run by anti-Semite and proud Hezbollah supporter, Abbas Hamideh.
Zahr is a regular speaker and entertainer at Al Awda events.
Osama Siblani
Osama Siblani is the publisher of The Arab American News, which claims to be “the largest and most widely circulated Arab American publication in the United States.”
His bio notes that he was inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame in April 2013 and received the “Spirit of Diversity in Journalism Award” from Wayne State University.
Siblani is also an activist with extensive political connections on both sides of the political aisle. Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (MI-R) appointed Siblani to the State Officers Compensation Commission.
Yet Siblani and his news outlet both have a history of support for Hamas and Hezbollah.
In 2003, Silbani told The Washington Post, “Mr. Bush believes Hezbollah, Hamas and other Palestinian factions are terrorists, but we believe they are freedom fighters.”
In 2006, Siblani told the Chicago Tribune, “If the FBI wants to come after those who support the resistance done by Hezbollah, then they better bring a fleet of buses. I, for one, would be willing to go to jail.”
In 2016, Siblani posted a picture and favorable comments on his personal Facebook page of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, describing him (in Arabic) as a master of speech and resistance.
Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, has been named the world’s richest terror organization by Forbes. It has an annual income of $1.1 billion. The group has infiltrated a number of countries, including Mexico, where it works with drug cartels to fund its worldwide terror operations and import terror cells into the U.S.
A Hezbollah agent in NY was recently found guilty of eight charges relating to terrorism, sanctions and immigration fraud.