Khader Abuassab is an unusual name – in fact, there is apparently only
one listed in the United States: he resides in Paterson, New Jersey.
Abuassab was the one who placed ads in Arabic newspapers about the
Palestinian American Day celebration and he texted invitations to
friends, community leaders, politicians and law enforcement officials.
According to Abuassab, South Paterson is known as “little Ramallah,” and
he felt it was important for the Arab Palestinian community to be
recognized much like any other local ethnic community.
...
So who is Abuassab?
According to a Feb. 2012 Press TV interview, Khader Abuassab has served on the Paterson Board of Education and has run for City Council.
In the spring of 2012, when an Associated Press series disclosed the practice by the New York Police Department of surveillance of Muslims
at businesses, universities and mosques in the greater New York area,
Khader Abuassab told Muslims not to cooperate with the authorities.
He
was indignant that Muslims, who are “an important part of Paterson’s
diverse community” had been “spied on or suspected.” He declared that
Muslim Americans “certainly don’t have to defend their citizenry to
anyone.”
...
In 2002 Khader Abuassab pled guilty
to having racked up more than $615,000 in credit card fraud, using 40
different credit cards to circumvent credit limits on the cards, and
then filing for bankruptcy to erase the debts. Abuassab admitted he had
not intended to pay for the things he charged.
In 2004, Abuassab was sentenced to 13 months in prison, with two
additional years of supervised release. In addition, Abuassab was
ordered by the federal district court judge in New Jersey to pay
$620,000 in restitution. No information was readily available about what
Abuassab had originally used the money for, and whether it had all been
paid back.
What is known is that after sentencing, Abuassab sought a delay of his incarceration date so that he could “travel to Mecca.” That request was denied by the government.
The raising of a flag at City Hall on Sunday was like any of the
dozen or so similar events held in the city each year in a nod to its
diversity.
Except it wasn’t.
That’s because the flag raised — for the first time in Paterson, and
possibly at any city hall in the United States — was Palestinian.
Symbols or assertions of Palestinian statehood are fraught with
political sensitivities, and Khader Abuassab, the event’s organizer,
said he received harassing phone calls before Sunday’s event.
But no problems were on display Sunday when the flag was raised in the rain before elected officials and about 150 people. People cheered, danced, shared sweets and shouted, “Long Live Palestine.”
“Palestine is our country and we are proud of that,” said Clifton
resident Salwa Ramadan. “We’re happy [to be] recognized finally.”
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson, and Assemblyman Thomas
Giblin, D-Clifton, showed up — with Pascrell presenting a letter of
Special Congressional Recognition and Giblin presenting an Assembly
resolution marking the event.
I have been told that a 'letter of Special Congressional Recognition' is something that any Congresscritter has the right to present. So is Congress now endorsing the jihad against the Jews?
This is the town where Mrs. Carl and I used to live before we moved to Israel.
On Wednesday morning, there was a fire bomb attack against a synagogue and its rabbi in the next town over (a town where there was no synagogue when we left 20 years ago).
Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Alan S).
By the way, the cop is too young to remember but there were riots in Passaic (not in the part where the Jewish community is today) on August 3, 1969.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com