DEARBORN — The Islamic Center of America on April 18 held its 4th and 14th annual commemorations for the victims of the 1996 and 2006 massacres in Qana, Lebanon.

The Bitar family at Sunday, April 18’s Qana massacres commemoration holding a picture of their two siblings Hadi and Abdulmohsen Bitar who were killed while visiting their grandmother in Qana in April 1996. PHOTO: Nick Meyer/The Arab American News

The attacks took the lives of numerous citizens of Dearborn, which became a sister city of Qana in 1999. Two Dearborn residents, Hadi Bitar, who was seven years old at the time, and his brother Abdulmohsen Bitar, who was nine, were among those killed in the 1996 massacre by Israeli forces , which bombed a clearly marked UN compound, killing 106 civilians while injuring 116 others. A UN investigation later determined that it was unlikely that the bombing was done in error. The second attack in 2006 killed 56 including 32 children according to the Lebanese Red Cross and was decried by the Human Rights Watch organization because of “the consistent failure to distinguish combatants and civilians” as a “war crime.” The Bitar family was in attendance along with other mourners to remember the victims and also to hear speeches by community leaders including Khalil Rammal, an AMAL North America movement member.”(UN Secretary General) Boutros Boutros Ghali adopted a UN report that blamed Israel for the attacks, a conscientious decision that led to his demise,” Rammal said, referring to his initial push to release the report that said the attacks were most likely not the result of any type of error.Many petitions from family members to re-open the investigation have not been effective.Rammal also called for Dearborn to do more in partnership with Qana.”We need to ask the mayor to make the sisterhood project more effective to give Qana economic and other forms of help,” he said.The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani also spoke, calling on Arab Americans to stand up in fighting injustices and tragedies among their people both at home and abroad.”How come the Israelis and the Jews are so powerful and respected when there’s less of them than us?” he asked.”It’s because they respect themselves and demand respect from others. Whenever a drop of Israeli or Jewish blood hits the ground, they fight to avenge it.”People who do not know how to stand up for their martyrs are doomed to see more victims and martyrs.”Siblani also emphasized the right of people to defend themselves against aggression, including Palestinians and Lebanese. “They should be considered freedom fighters and not terrorists.”  He relayed the story of South African leader Nelson Mandela as an example. He added that Arab Americans should follow all U.S. laws involving resistance movements but said that opinions can change with the proper political pressure. “Nelson Mandela spent 28 years in jail because he believed in a cause,” he said.”He believed that the African National Congress was not a terrorist organization and he won out in the end.” Siblani emphasized the need for more Arab American involvement in fields like journalism, politics, banking and others, in order to fight against future injustices like the Qana massacres.”We need to be proud of ourselves; we have a very good cause and we should not shy away from defending it,” he said.”We need to prove to people that our community deserves respect and we will earn it.”