DEARBORN — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) terminated Warren David as its national president and on Wednesday, Dec. 4 appointed Attorney Samer Khalaf as his successor. 

A statement by the organization thanked David for his service and said that he was “no longer employed with ADC as of Nov. 26,” without stating the reasons for replacing him.

ADC has come under scrutiny following the sexual harassment scandal involving ADC Michigan’s former director Imad Hamad. 

The controversy started in June after State Representative Rashida Tlaib sent an open letter to the organization claiming that Hamad, who was ADC-Michigan director at the time, had sexually harassed her when she had briefly worked at ADC’s Dearborn office 15 years ago.

After Tlaib’s letter surfaced, several other women who worked with Hamad came forward with their own claims.

Hamad was placed on administrative leave, and the ADC national board ordered an internal investigation to determine the validity of the claims. 

After a four-month prolonged investigation, the board determined there was “insufficient evidence” to prove that Hamad had actually sexually harassed women at ADC offices, without releasing the findings of the investigation.

Nevertheless, Hamad was removed from his post and served as an advisor to the local chapter, until his retirement on Nov. 22 amid growing calls for reform and transparency in the civil rights group.

Several local board members and national staffers have resigned because of the organization’s handling of the case. 

ADC national board member Dr. Souheil Elia confirmed that David was terminated. 

Elia sent a statement in response to questions by The Arab American News in which he said David was not fired because of his views on the sexual harassment scandal that rocked the organization six months ago. 

He said that David, along with Raed Jarrar, ADC’s former communications and advocacy director who was also fired recently, were terminated because their failure to “comply with the policies & procedures” of the organization.

“The Board believes that every staff member at ADC, including volunteers and interns, has the right  to disagree with decisions or policies enacted by the National Board,” Elia’s statement said. “Anyone working for an organization who holds opposing views or opinions to those of the organization which employs them has only one option in that event, which is to quit.”

Elia added that ADC had no choice but to terminate David and Jarrar after they did not comply with its policies and refused to resign.

Samer Khalaf

However, the national board member said the same standards did not apply to Hamad because there was no “conclusive evidence” that he did not observe ADC’s policies against sexual harassment.

“Had there been such evidence, the same rules would have applied. Those who accuse ADC of having a double standard in dealing with the staff are gravely mistaken,” Elia said.

Elia defended the way the national board responded to the sexual harassment claims. He said the board was not aware of previous complaints against Hamad, including an internal sexual harassment investigation involving the ADC Michigan director in 2007 and a letter sent by Tlaib to David in 2011. 

“Not until 2013 were complaints of sexual harassment brought to the attention of the ADC National Board. When the National Board was made aware of these complaints, within 24 hours, the accused – Mr. Imad Hamad – was placed on administrative leave by the National Board and an independent investigation by an experienced attorney based in Michigan was authorized,” he said.

However, he added that no “admissible” evidence was found against Hamad. 

“Examples of admissible evidence in a court of law, among others, are a recorded telephone conversation, an email, a photo, a video or even a witness who will testify to confirm that such  harassment did occur,” he explained.

TAAN asked Elia via email about the specific policies and procedures that David and Jerrar allegedly violated, but he did not respond.

David did not return TAAN’s calls, but a person close to him, who wished not to be identified, told TAAN that David’s termination was directly related to the sexual harassment scandal.

“The internal criticism that happened inside the organization created a series of events that led to his being fired,” the source said. “They put him on probation in October, shortly after the announcement of the findings of the sexual harassment investigation.” 

The source added that the national board’s executive committee was “not happy” with several things David had done, one of which was telling the media that he was not involved with the case. According to the source, ADC had ordered him not to comment publicly.

David became ADC president on July 1, 2011. Prior to that, he was a Michigan-based activist and journalist. He is the founder of Arabamerica.com, a news website that covers the Arab American community. He hosted and produced many radio and TV shows about the community, including a Detroit Public Television series entitled “Arab American Stories.”

A statement by ADC said, “Mr. Khalaf recently served as a member of the National Board of ADC.” He was the Interim ADC Legal Director in 1997.

Khalaf is currently listed on the organization’s website as a member of the national board’s executive committee, which unanimously found that there was “inconclusive evidence” to prove the sexual harassment claims against Hamad.

Khalaf will leave his current position of senior associate with the New York law firm of Barnes Iaccarino & Shepherd to assume the ADC presidency.

David.

He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a juris doctor with a certificate in law and public policy from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

In 2008, Khalaf was appointed by the New Jersey Governor as a founding commissioner to the state’s Arab American Heritage Commission. He was also appointed by the governor to the N.J. Advisory Committee on Police Standards and the N.J. Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Immigration Policy.

His association with ADC started in 1996, when he was an intern with the civil rights group.

“Khalaf becomes the first ADC Intern to return to the organization as President – a testament to the organization’s commitment to the development of young and future leaders,” according to the ADC statement.

The new president acknowledged that the organization is facing difficulties and vowed to move ADC forward.

“I am honored to be selected to lead an organization which has helped mold me into who I am today. ADC is an integral part of our community, and a voice for all Arab Americans,” he said in a statement. “I recognize that the organization has faced serious challenges the past few months. I take this position with an open mind and a willingness to listen to those who have advice on how to better the organization. I look forward to serving the community and moving ADC forward.” 

The new ADC president faces growing calls for reform led by a group of current and former ADC members, who created The Arab American Future, an online forum that urges people to demand change in the organization.

The “Reform ADC” movement did not react positively to Khalaf’s appointment. 

A post on the group’s website Reformadc.org criticized the civil rights group for appointing a president from its own national board’s executive committee. 

“He was/is on the executive committee of the board of directors through this whole scandal.  The executive committee very closely runs the organization.  He served on a committee that has failed ADC’s membership and the Arab American community at-large,” the post read.

The group is circulating a petition that calls on the organization to take a series of steps to ensure justice for the alleged sexual harassment victims.

Will Youmans, a Palestinian American writer and activist, and one of the founders of the “Reform ADC” movement, said the group has not yet received a formal response from the ADC board.

He added that the movement’s demands, which are outlined in the petition, go beyond the termination of Hamad, who resigned last week.

“The petition calls for a formal, public apology to all the women who came forward against Hamad, and to make the investigation available to the public, while protecting the identities of the victims,” he said. “We also want ADC to display more transparency and to adopt and publish ‘zero-tolerance’ policies against abuse and harassment of any kind at the workplace.”

The movement is also demanding that ADC reinstate Jarrar, who was reportedly fired for questioning the way the civil rights organization handled the sexual harassment investigation.

Youmans called for an overhaul in the top leadership of ADC.

“There needs to be a significant change at the top. Safa Rifka has been in charge through a major decline of the organization. ADC is in a state of crisis. It mishandled various challenges and made many mistakes, big mistakes,” he said.

He added that Rifka has shown “an insufficient commitment to transparency.”

Rifka was contacted by TAAN several times, but he did not respond.

Youmans said the termination of David does not satisfy his group’s demands because the president was not responsible for the organization’s decline, and the reform movement never thought the president should be removed.

David is married to Youmans’ aunt, Amal, who founded the ADC “Women’s Initiative.”

“The board’s executive committee is very strong. It has been running the day-to-day operations. Clearly the organization is still run by the same people who have been running it for too long,” he explained. “Problems remained the same through several presidents. Mary Rose Oakar, Sara Najjar-Wilson and Warren David couldn’t break the downward slide ADC has been on. If the organization doesn’t change its course, it won’t survive.” 

Youmans, 35, said his generation is ready to “write off” ADC if it does not reform itself.