Wow, nobody who works honestly on the Middle East is off-limits it appears. Mr. Zogby is anything but someone described by this writer. It is appalling that this sort of work continues to be published and read. I guess it is because CNN and others are folding to the corporate world, yeah? -BM Attorney General Holder invites terror apologist James Zogby for civil rights speech Attorney General Eric Holder made a curious selection for the closing speaker at a July 20th Justice Department conference marking the 45th anniversary of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. Rather than turning to a lion of the movement, or a figure whose success in life was made possible by the bill, Holder turned to Arab American Institute (AAI) President James Zogby. It's a curious move because – despite his generally favorable public image – an examination of Zogby's record shows he is an apologist for Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups like the Muslim Students Association (MSA) and terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah. On top of that, he is a strident foe of the federal government's efforts to cut off funding for terrorist organizations, including efforts by Holder's department. Zogby's address barely touched on the significance of the Civil Rights Act. Instead, Zogby used his speech to settle some partisan political scores and depict himself and other Arab-Americans as victims – of murder; death threats; “blacklisting” and “harassment;” “stereotypes;” “defamation;” and even harsh U.S. immigration laws that turned his father into an illegal alien. Zogby attacked the Bush Administration for detaining Arab and Muslim immigrants and visitors right after the September 11th attacks (neglecting to mention the fact that the detainees were in the United States illegally.) He denounced former Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Michael Mukasey for attempting to delineate how ethnic/racial profiling might be used to prevent terrorist attacks.
