Arab-Americans look for role to play in this year's NJ race for Governor
Just last May the New Jersey media was
abuzz with the growing importance of the Arab American community in the
upcoming New Jersey gubernatorial elections. The Democratic front-runner,
Senator John Corzine and his Republican opponent, Doug Forrester seemed
exceedingly eager to court both our money and our vote. I was so excited by
the prospect of political influence; I switched party affiliation in order
to vote in the June primaries.
I see opportunity for our community in a Corzine Administration. I see the
possibility here and now for us to play a valuable role in defining our
place in government with a real Arab American presence in high-level
appointments and statewide councils and commissions.
This year's Arab-American Candidates’ Forum was both a departure from and an
echo of past politics. Organizers knew of Corzine's cancellation for well
over a week prior and deliberately kept quiet. This withholding of
information from the community is the real and overarching point of
contention. Republican supporters rejoiced in Corzine's absence and pressed
the fact that Forrester, who did show up (and actually made a very good
impression), was our best choice for Governor. Partisan politics derailed
the import of the event as a conduit for the community and the candidates to
meet and talk politics. Forrester attempted to paint Corzine as a weak
supporter of our community by unfairly highlighting his stance on the 2001
Patriot Act.
There is rampant talk of a mass migration to the Republican Party ‘to teach
the Democrats a lesson they won't forget." Such a move would be of
intangible insignificance for regardless of what we do or say, our community
still lacks political organization, the promise of financial and volunteer
support and ultimately, the numerical edge to tilt election results.
Major issues of concerns to our community:
Civil Rights: Undoubtedly, our community is concerned about the erosion of
their civil rights especially after the passage of the 2001 PATRIOT Act.
Certain segments of the act have been deemed unconstitutional; others have
imperiled Arab American political participation for their perceived fear of
backlash. Hundreds of Arabs have been jailed or deported.
Senator Corzine leads on this front for he has spoken publicly against the
immeasurable infringements on the civil rights of American citizens. He has
cosponsored several resolutions in the Senate to curtail the negative impact
of the Patriot Act. Forrester, on the other hand, continued to echo
President Bush's position that a curtailing of civil rights is a necessary
sacrifice in the war against world terrorism. Both candidates need to
address this hot topic in unequivocal terms. While the Patriot Act is
federal law, enforcement is managed by the states. Passage of a statewide
resolution against sections of the Patriot Act would send a clear signal
about the need to balance security concerns with the protection of civil
rights.
Another pertinent litmus test of the candidates' qualifications is their
position on
racial profiling. Senator Corzine again leads in this area but has yet
to comment on the recent allegation that NJ State Police, through its
Office of Counter Terrorism has specifically targeted NJ residents solely
because of their Muslim religious affiliations. The State police
admitted today that it has racially-profiled Muslims. There is also the
issue of the NJ Arab Heritage Commission. We have sought its creation for
several years as a sanctioned entity within the Department of Education. Its
purpose would be to improve school curriculums, to sponsor public and
private actions, to highlight the accomplishments of the Arab people and to
become a gateway for trade between NJ and the Arab world.
I wrote to then Governor McGreevey but the only response was 'that the
matter is being studied'. We took the matter to the NJ Civil Rights
Commission, which communicated our legitimate and timely demands to all the
towns in NJ, several have adopted resolutions calling for the creation of
the Commission. This year's elections offer a rare opportunity for us to
demand the full support of the candidates in this endeavor. AAF has yet to
receive any official position statement from either candidate on this topic.
Similar commissions already exist in New Jersey: the Holocaust Commission,
the Amistad Commission, and the Italian American Commission.
This November we can make a decisive decision on who we want to run our
state for the next four years. Our votes are all the more critical as recent
polls show the race to be a statistical dead heat. Every vote will count and
the party's political machine will know how and who voted.
If there is one startling departure about our community's focus, it is the
almost total absence of the Israel-Palestine issue from the elections
debate. Is this the result of political maturity or total frustration about
our ability to effect positive policy decisions related to the Middle East?
Are we becoming fully engrossed in domestic issues such as car insurance and
education whereby the positions of the candidates on the Israel-Arab
conflict no longer merit any substantive debate? This point was totally
overlooked by all. The candidates did not state their positions, the
attendants did not ask about it, and the media placed no value in its
absence. END
