American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee

Dearborn, Michigan [June 22, 2001] - The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and Muslim and Arab Americans in Michigan are deeply concerned about and vehemently oppose the invitation of Ehud Olmert, the

self-proclaimed Mayor of Jerusalem, to the 69th Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) being held in Detroit this weekend.

The concern of the Arab American and Muslim communities stems from the fact that East Jerusalem is an occupied territory and not recognized as part of Israel by the international community, including the United States. The invitation of Ehud Olmert by the City of Detroit and Mayor Dennis Archer, is a slap in the face to the hundreds of thousands of Arab and Muslim Americans in the State of Michigan, given that Mayor Olmert sanctions home demolition, land confiscation, olive grove destruction and limited access to holy sites by Israel, all in defiance and violation of UN resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

We remind the convening mayors that Ehud Olmert presides over the only city, in the only land under occupation in the world today. For a U.S. conference of mayors to host Mayor Olmert as a guest, legitimizes the occupation and turns a blind eye on Israel's atrocities and oppression of the Palestinian people, especially in the City of Jerusalem.

We call upon Mayor Archer and the convening mayors at this Conference to

withdraw Mayor Olmert's invitation to the Conference and show deference to the Arab and Muslim Americans who are citizens of this land and children of Jerusalem, with deep historical, religious, cultural and ancestral roots.

Abe Turaani, ADC Midwest Regional Coordinator, states, "It is high time for elected officials in this country, from the president to mayors of small

towns, to show their human decency and exercise their leadership responsibility in upholding the will of the international community in its recognition of Jerusalem as an occupied city."

For more Information, Please contact: Abe Turaani 313-790-0074

	22, June, 2001

	ADC Objects to Ehud Olmert's Invitation to US Mayors Conference in Detroit

	Dearborn, Michigan [June 22, 2001] - The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and Muslim and Arab Americans in Michigan are deeply concerned about and vehemently oppose the invitation of Ehud Olmert, the self-proclaimed Mayor of Jerusalem, to the 69th Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) being held in Detroit this weekend. The concern of the Arab American and Muslim communities stems from the fact that East Jerusalem is an occupied territory and not recognized as part of Israel by the international community, including the United States. The invitation of Ehud Olmert by the City of Detroit and Mayor Dennis Archer, is a slap in the face to the hundreds of thousands of Arab and Muslim Americans in the State of Michigan, given that Mayor Olmert sanctions home demolition, land confiscation, olive grove destruction and limited access to holy sites by Israel, all in defiance and violation of UN resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention. We remind the convening mayors that Ehud Olmert presides over the only city, in the only land under occupation in the world today. For a U.S. conference of mayors to host Mayor Olmert as a guest, legitimizes the occupation and turns a blind eye on Israel's atrocities and oppression of the Palestinian people, especially in the City of Jerusalem. We call upon Mayor Archer and the convening mayors at this Conference to withdraw Mayor Olmert's invitation to the Conference and show deference to the Arab and Muslim Americans who are citizens of this land and children of Jerusalem, with deep historical, religious, cultural and ancestral roots. Abe Turaani, ADC Midwest Regional Coordinator, states, "It is high time for elected officials in this country, from the president to mayors of small towns, to show their human decency and exercise their leadership responsibility in upholding the will of the international community in its recognition of Jerusalem as an occupied city." For more Information, Please contact: Abe Turaani 313-790-0074