DEARBORN – The Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) held its twelfth annual “Fight for Justice” Gala on Thursday, May 16 at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center. 

The organization recognized five awardees whose efforts have significantly impacted Arab and Muslim communities.

“This is not your average year,” ACRL Founder Nabih Ayad said. “We have so many that have done so much during these historic times.”

ACRL board members highlighted operations like the Gaza Family Project, which dedicates assistance to U.S. citizens trapped in Gaza and has helped rescue more than 145 people. The project is in contact with more than 200 others who remain trapped. 

“Through federal advocacy and media campaigns we have been able to accomplish multiple complex rescues to many vulnerable people inside Gaza and advance policy changes to help Palestinian Americans reunite with their loved ones,” ACRL Executive Director Mariam Charara said.

“This past year has been a testament to our resolve and our unwavering belief in the sanctity of human life,” ACRL Chairman James P. Allen said. “It has also been a year that has laid bare the grotesque failures of our government.” 

Joshua Feinstein, a Jewish American, peace activist and author of The Triumph of the Ordinary, received the Lifelong Pursuit of Justice Award.

“We have been on a journey together of painful enlightenment,” Feinstein said. “One filled with horrors and cruelty and suffering, but one wherein there is also a beacon of hope that we can raise from the ashes of this modern day Nakba. We literally have become family and standing together right here tonight in Michigan we are saying ‘not in our name.’”

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D- Detroit) were each honored with a Courage and Public Service Leadership Award. 

“I am deeply proud to serve not only as an unapologetic Arab American woman in congress, but to also represent one of the largest Arab American communities in our nation,” Tlaib said. 

“We must agree that there needs to be an end to the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza,” Khanna said. “We must further agree that the Palestinians need their own state and that the U.S. needs to recognize a Palestinian state that is continuous.”

“We are grateful for him to be here today because of the position he’s taken in congress and his votes for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza,” ACRL Vice Chairwoman Mona Fadlallah said. 

Dr. Allen Keller, a professor at NYU School of Medicine, received the Civil Rights Achievement Award.

“I am particularly grateful for the opportunity to work with ACRL, including on your current initiative to help Americans in Gaza,” Keller said. 

Specialty Medical Center Director Yousef Almadrahi received the Commitment to Justice Award.

“I am here to urge you all to join the ACRL in this noble cause, to donate to this cause, help the ACRL fight another fight, live another year, thank you all,” he said.

“Yousef has not only revolutionized orthopedic and spine care, but also has spearheaded initiatives that create jobs and promote volunteerism,” Ayad said. “His dedication stands beyond traditional medical services.”

Keynote speaker Khaled Beydoun, a  law professor and author, spoke about the tragedies and politics surrounding the genocide in Gaza.

“This is the most widely reported and recorded genocide in world history,” he said. “We are witnessing genocide in real time. We are not idle observers to this genocide; we are active participants seeing real life murder in real time only seconds after it has taken place.

“There is nothing more quintessentially American, nothing more fundamentally human than speaking up for dignity, humanity, self determination and sovereignty for the Palestinian people,” he added. “Not because they are Palestinian, but because they are people.”

The event finished with a special recognition of the pro bono attorneys who helped the ACRL Humanitarian Project Initiative.

“We thank them for taking on this initiative of humanity for standing up for justice and compassion when it mattered the most and their unwavering dedication embodied the spirit of the Arab American Civil Rights League,”  ACRL Board of Directors member Amer Zahr said. 

Keynote speaker Khaled Beydoun and ACRL Board Member Amer Zahr

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna received the Courage and Public Service Leadership Award