Obama’s newly appointed Chief of Staff calls ADC to repudiate statements

President-elect Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel

Just a week after he was announced as President-Elect Barack Obama’s White House Chief of Staff, Congressman Rahm Emanuel was back in the media spotlight on Thursday, November 13th after he apologized to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) for anti-Arab remarks made by his father Benjamin Emanuel. Rahm Emanuel made a phone call to the ADC, saying “From the fullness of my heart, I personally apologize on behalf of my family and me. These are not the values upon which I was raised or those of my family.” Rahm Emanuel also said during the phone call that such remarks are not acceptable against any ethnic or religious group.
The remarks Emanuel referred to came from an interview his father Benjamin gave the Jerusalem Post after the news of his son’s appointment by the Obama administration. Benjamin Emanuel, a Chicago pediatrician who worked in the 1940s with the Zionist militant group Irgun, which committed acts classified by many as terrorism according to Time Magazine, said he thought his son’s appointment would be good for supporters of Israel. “Obviously, he will influence the president to be pro-Israel,” he was quoted as saying. “Why wouldn’t he be? What is he, an Arab? He’s not going to clean the floors of the White House.”

The ADC, which has an office in Dearborn and is based in Washington, D.C., is the largest Arab American civil rights organization in the United States. It was founded in 1980. It picked up on the story and president Mary Rose Oakar drafted a letter to Rahm Emanuel informing him that they hoped he would “distance (himself) from any demeaning characterization of any ethnic, religious, or racial group.” The ADC also pointed out that the remarks were in contrast to the message of respect for the diversity of the United States espoused by Obama and that the outcry would be deafening if a similar remark had been made about African Americans, Hispanics, or Jews. The letter also reminded Rahm Emanuel that the Arab community was heavily involved in the 2008 election which saw a record amount of people vote for Obama.

Oakar appeared to be satisfied with the apology and responded to it by saying, “We cannot allow Arabs and Muslims to be portrayed in these unacceptable terms. I welcome Rahm’s apology and his pledge to meet with our community. I also thank our members and friends who expressed concern.”