I wrote here yesterday on the Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations' controversial decision to honor terrorist apologist and Jew hater Maher Hathout with a humanitarian award.
The controversy ramped up a bit when a former recipient past recipient returned his own award in protest.
Steven Windmueller, interim dean of Hebrew Union College and a 1995 honoree, said the commission's selection of Maher Hathout denigrated the legacy of the award's namesake, John Allen Buggs.
"Buggs understood the art of negotiation, the value of integrity and the need for transparency. These themes should, in my judgment, reflect those who are so honored to receive this recognition. Sadly, I return this piece of art as my statement that in this instance the Commission has not met the standards set for us by John Allen Buggs," Windmueller wrote in a letter included with the award, which he returned by mail Tuesday afternoon.
More revealing - and saddening - is the commission's apparent motivation for choosing someone like Hathout. Check this pathetic quote out, by Commission President Adrian Dove. who asked Hathout to withdraw `for the sake of harmony' and was told to go pound sand:
"We were looking to find anybody from the Muslim community that was discouraging terrorism, that was encouraging engagement in the dialogue and that was a potential bridge. While you may not have perfection, it is a starting point you can build upon," Dove said.
"I challenge you to find another party in Los Angeles who is a practicing Muslim leader who would be less controversial."
In other words, they felt the need to pick a Muslim, any Muslim.....and this was the best they could do!
What does that say about the Muslim community, that Hathout was the best they could find?
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