Dearborn Council Pays Their Jizya

The Dearborn City Council website has now posted its minutes from the special meeting it held last Thursday to adopt Osama Siblani’s resolution blaming Israel, and deflecting blame from Hamas, for the recent violence in Gaza. The resolution can be read here.

The council convened at 5: 35 for a “special meeting” not open to the public, read and approved the resolution, and adjourned at 5:56.

What are they thinking?

The worst of this is the resolution’s complete failure, as we expected it would fail, to mention the ongoing rocket attacks on Israeli civilians by Hamas that prompted the Israeli offensive in the first place. In this regard the resolution is even less balanced than news reports by the BBC or the New York Times. At least those sources can admit that the Israeli offensive was prompted by ceaseless rocket fire from Hamas, even if they couldn't admit Israel has the right to defend herself in force.

Even a European Union official has recognized that Hamas bears “overwhelming responsibility” for what they have brought on the residents of Gaza. He even said that Europeans are “sick of paying” to rebuild Gaza only to have Hamas, (and its prior irresponsible governments) provoke further strikes by Israel. (“EU envoy lays Gaza blame on Hamas”).

But those Dearborn council members, they know better.

Siblani (whom I have to assume drafted this) further sneaks in language blaming Israel, and not Hamas, for the situation, implying that Israel is “responsible” for the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza for which it is now denying “aid and assistance” (which is clearly false).

In fairness to our council members, they’re only repeating what they’re being told. It’s not as if news reporting on all this has been accurate. Then again, the rest of us have had no problem finding more accurate accounts of the situation, why can’t they?

I’m also a bit puzzled by the Council resolution’s declared support for “a Declaration of Human Rights.” [note indefinite article]. Why not The Declaration of Human Rights? Is that the UN version they've got in mind?, or the “The Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam”?

The latter embraces a “freedom and right to a dignified life in accordance with the Islamic Shari’ah”:

Article 22

(a) Everyone shall have the right to express his opinion freely in such manner as would not be contrary to the principles of the Shari’ah.

(b) Everyone shall have the right to advocate what is right, and propagate what is good, and warn against what is wrong and evil according to the norms of Islamic
Shari’ah.

It’s hard for me to believe this is anything but naked political pandering to Dearborn Muslims. While the city council is kow-towing to Dearborn's Muslims, and the guy sitting in the chair of the Commander-in-Chief is kow-towing to the Muslims in the rest of the world, who's speaking for the rest of us?