Congress of Arab American Organizations representatives Nabih Ayad, L, Sufian Nabhan, Imad Hamad with Sen. Carl Levin, CAAO member Abed Hammoud, Jim Allen, Osama Siblani and Ali Baleed Almaklani at Levin’s Dearborn office on Feb. 18.

Representatives of the Congress of Arab American Organizations met with or held a conference call with three members of Congress over the last two weeks, discussing foreign policy and civil rights issues “in this new era of change.”

“We want to see the change. We want to smell the change. We want to feel the change,” said Imad Hamad, one of the leaders in the discussions and regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Michigan.

CAAO representatives Ali Baleed Almaklani, L, Imad Hamad, Osama Siblani and Sufian Nabhan, R, meet with U.S. Rep. John Dingell, second right, on Feb. 20.

The group met with Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., on Feb. 18, Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, on Feb. 20 and spoke to Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D- Mich., on a Feb. 26 conference call.
Hamad said the discussions included a broad range of issues under the two main topics of foreign policy and civil rights.

“The engagement was in the spirit of the new administration, for the community to be engaged in the process of shaping the future,” he said.

He said the community representatives were openly critical of the two senators for voting in favor of a January resolution expressing support for Israel during the 23-day bombardment of Gaza.

The group also thanked Dingell, Hamad said, for not voting on a similar House resolution.

“The meetings were open, frank and candid,” he said. “We agreed and respectfully disagreed.”

CAAO spokesman Osama Siblani said the group also requested help in arranging meetings with Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The group asked for the engagement of Arab Americans in the process of appointing U.S. attorneys, federal judges, U.S. Marshals, and other “leaders to uphold the integrity of the U.S. Department of Justice’s values of equal protection and justice for all,” said Hamad.

“We did not advocate for any certain candidates, but stressed certain qualities and hope for the engagement of Arab Americans,” he said.

“It’s about time, in the era of change that we’re talking about, that Arab Americans are invited and are a part of these posts. There’s no single Arab American in the U.S. attorney’s office here in Michigan. Why?”

He said overzealous approaches and selective prosecution by law enforcement agencies plagued Arab Americans during the Bush administration.

In further foreign policy discussion, Hamad and Siblani said the group urged their representatives to keep up with Europe in speaking to “all parties in the Middle East, including Hamas and Hizbullah.

“Engagement must be open, must not be limited to only our friends,” said Hamad.

“I told [Levin] ‘You are a Jewish leader. You can stand up and say ‘let’s talk to Hamas,’ and people will respect you,'” said Siblani, who is also publisher of The Arab American News.

They said they focused on encouraging a “dialogue of peace” rather than “rhetoric of war.”

The group also asked for help in an initiative to spark dialogue between local Jewish and Arab Americans.

Hamad said the Members of Congress could serve as a link between the two communities and arrange meetings “with no preset conditions for dialogue to proceed.”

“There are serious issues that people disagree on, but there may be issues that we may agree on,” he said.

Siblani said upcoming meetings with Reps. John Conyers, D-Detroit, Carolyn Kilpatrick, D-Detroit, and others are in the works.

“We have a calendar of meetings. Other Members of Congress are on the agenda,” said Hamad.