Barely had the ink dried on the inflammatory report by George Hunter, published in the Detroit News on Thursday, March 26 — a piece that deliberately vilified Arab and Muslim communities across Metro Detroit in the wake of the March 12 attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield — when the same newspaper resurfaced days later with yet another article, doubling down on the same divisive and malicious narrative.

This time, the piece came from Detroit News Editorial Page Editor Nolan Finley, confirming beyond doubt that what we are witnessing is not an isolated lapse in professional journalism or sound judgment. What we are witnessing is a systematic editorial approach aimed at intimidating and targeting an entire community. It appears Finley took his cue from the inflammatory statement issued by the Detroit Jewish Federation following Hunter’s report. That statement went beyond expressing concern and instead sought to impose political and moral guardianship over local leadership in the Dearborn area.

What we are witnessing is not an isolated lapse, but a systematic editorial approach aimed at targeting an entire community.

In his most recent op-ed titled “The Case Against Hezbollah”, Finley does not merely assume the role of a moral commentator exploiting an isolated criminal incident. Instead, he recycles long-standing positions and tropes that echo extremist, pro-Israel agendas, reinforcing his reputation as one of the loudest voices thriving on division and polarization.

Finley’s latest attack falls squarely within his familiar pattern, one marked by a striking absence of objectivity, journalistic integrity and ethical responsibility whenever Arabs and Muslims are involved. In his writing, the distinction between political analysis and racial incitement collapses entirely, as he seeks to criminalize the political and national perspectives of a core segment of Michigan’s social fabric.

Yet neither the Jewish Federation nor Finley himself identified who the “individuals” they are referring to actually are. Instead, they opted for vague, sweeping generalizations as a tool toward collective incitement. The Federation completely ignored the clear and widespread condemnations issued by Arab and Muslim leaders from the earliest moments following the March 12 attack. These statements unequivocally rejected any threat to the safety and security of Jewish communities in Michigan and across the United States.

Finley is a veteran journalist who should be expected to verify facts. Instead he chose, as usual, to bury his head in the sand.

Finley’s article followed a joint press conference held by FBI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan and U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon on March 30. Yet, despite the findings of the investigation, he ignored a critical fact: Ayman Ghazali’s consumption of war coverage through media outlets such as Al-Manar does not, under any circumstances, constitute proof of incitement or direct coordination by Hezbollah or any affiliated group in Michigan, according to the FBI itself.

All available evidence indicates that Ghazali, who immigrated to the United States in 2011 and became a citizen in 2016, acted out of personal, misguided revenge following the killing of his two brothers, along with a niece and nephew, in an Israeli airstrike targeting their home in the Lebanese town of Mashghara in the Bekaa Valley. Following war coverage amid personal tragedy and loss is a natural human response, not evidence of ideological indoctrination.

Nor does Finley acknowledge the broader context in which Hezbollah has been viewed within Lebanon: As part of a defensive posture recognized by successive Lebanese governments in confronting Israeli aggression and years of occupation.

Finley relies on selective interpretation of Ghazali’s final message to claim ideological alignment, going as far as to suggest that the word “them” referred specifically to Jewish children at Temple Israel, a leap unsupported by evidence and only calculated to further inflame divisions.

At the same time, Finley remains silent on the killing of more than 70,000 people in Gaza, most of them women and children.  He shows no acknowledgment of the suffering of Lebanese American families who have lost relatives, including children, in recent Israeli airstrikes. Among them are Ghazali’s niece and nephew, Ali (8) and Mariam (6).

Selective outrage exposes a profound moral contradiction — condemning one act while ignoring far greater documented atrocities.

Such selective outrage exposes a profound moral contradiction. While Finley assigns sweeping labels to condemn an entire community based on the actions of one individual, he turns a blind eye to documented atrocities on a far greater scale.

Finley also criticizes a leaked recording of Democratic senatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed, disregarding the reality that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is not merely a political figure, but a religious authority followed by millions of Shi’as worldwide. Recognizing this distinction reflects cultural awareness and responsible leadership, virtues absent from Finley’s analysis.

Finley continues his distortions by referencing a previous Detroit News report questioning whether Hezbollah is a “terrorist group or charitable organization”, directing criticism at prominent Arab American figures, including The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani, whom he inaccurately describes as a “businessman.”

In doing so, Finley takes issue with Siblani’s well-known statement, “One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.”

Finley’s attempt to criminalize this statement reveals a profound lack of political understanding. The phrase reflects a widely recognized reality in global political discourse surrounding national liberation movements. While Finley insists on imposing a one-dimensional narrative, others recognize that the label of “terrorism” is often used as a political tool to delegitimize resistance movements.

History itself refutes Finley’s argument. Nelson Mandela, now a global symbol of justice and freedom, was officially designated a “terrorist” By the United States until 2008.

Finley’s characterization of Siblani as merely a businessman reveals either disregard for facts, deliberate mischaracterization or outright ignorance. Siblani is a veteran journalist of more than four decades and a respected media figure inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame in 2013.

It is worth reminding Finley that Siblani left a career in engineering to dedicate himself to journalism after Israel bombed his family home in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, in 1982 during the Israeli invasion of that country and occupation of its capital. Twenty-four members of his extended family have been killed by Israeli strikes on their homes in Baalbek over the last two years, among them 13 women and eight children.

In referencing the killing of 241 Marines in Beirut in 1983, Finley offers no reflection on what American forces were doing there while Israeli forces were occupying Lebanon.

Finley also invokes the 1985 hijacking of TWA flight 847. It is worth noting that Siblani led community efforts to host and honor hostage spokesman Allyn B. Conwell in Dearborn immediately after he and other hostages were released after that event.

Finley further claims that the evidence designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization is “overwhelming”, citing historical incidents while ignoring key factual context, including the timeline of Hezbollah’s formation and the positions taken by Arab American communities at the time.

As always, Finley remains silent on ongoing Israeli attacks across Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Iran, not to mention the devastation in Gaza, where tens of millions of tons of rubble now loom over approximately two million Palestinians deprived of the most basic necessities of life.

And so, once again, we repeat the phrase that so deeply unsettles Finley and others who support occupation, killing and repression:

One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.