Tolerance is the best way to advance debate

US politicians must aim to be committed to open and tolerant discourse in order to advance desperately needed change in policies, writes James Zogby

Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley speaks about the need for gun safety reform at University of Colorado hours before a Republican presidential debate. Andrew Burton / Getty Images / AFShow more

Intolerance, especially when it relates to issues involving the Middle East, is a destructive force that has distorted American politics and policies, rendering the US powerless to provide constructive leadership across the Arab world.

Such intolerance was on display last week following Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley’s appearance at the Arab American Institute’s National Leadership Conference in Dearborn, Michigan.

Mr O’Malley, the former governor of Maryland, is one of the three remaining contestants in the Democratic presidential primary. In his NLC address, he spoke passionately about the Syrian refugee crisis and Israeli and Palestinian victims of recent violence in Jerusalem. What was deeply distressing was the intolerance some supporters of Israel displayed towards Mr O’Malley.

Because Mr O’Malley was the first candidate to champion the cause of Syrian refugees and because the first full day of our NLC was devoted to the refugee crisis, we were pleased that he accepted our invitation to deliver a keynote address. Before his remarks, Mr O’Malley asked to meet a small group of recent refugees who had made their way to Michigan. He joked with their children, listened to their stories and responded with compassion to their plight.

While his speech covered a range of topics, his focus was on the issue of the refugees. He explained that the issue was of personal importance, noting how as governor he kept on his desk a sign from the 1890s that read “Help Wanted: No Irish Need Apply”.

“It served”, he said, “as a daily reminder” of intolerance.

During his two terms in office, he signed into law a “Dream Act” that provided educational opportunities for 36,000 children of undocumented residents. And he actively recruited Arab and Muslim Americans to serve in his administration.

Mr O’Malley then turned his attention to the scourges of bigotry and intolerance and the negative effect they had on Arabs and Muslims. He pledged to fight this because “we are a nation of immigrants and refugees ...[and] we must not forget what it means to ... yearn for a better life”. He then reaffirmed his call to the administration to admit 65,000 Syrian refugees.

He also talked about the recent violence in Jerusalem. His remarks were balanced, but that was enough to prompt some supporters of Israel to try to manufacture a controversy.

To understand the intolerance of Mr O’Malley’s critics and just how distressing this entire situation is for Arab Americans, it is important to read the former governor’s words in full.

Here’s what he said: “Like everyone here, I have been concerned by the recent developments in Jerusalem and in cities across Israel and the West Bank. We have lost more than 50 Palestinians in the recent violence. Many of them were only teenagers, their entire lives before them. We have lost eight Israelis, including a 19 year-old and an American couple shot in front of their young children.

“Some of the people in this room have family members who’ve been affected. All of the victims were sons and daughters, brothers or sisters, or parents of children. All of them leave behind grieving families with holes in their hearts.

“This senseless violence produces nothing except more tragedy and mistrust. It does nothing to move the parties closer to a peaceful and lasting settlement. Both sides must take steps to end this violence and address the underlying causes of it. Both sides must make the resumption of final status talks a firm priority.

“Part of those talks must include fair, safe and adequate access to religious sites in Jerusalem and elsewhere. People have a right to worship. Provocative actions on either side must be avoided.

“I am a strong supporter of the two-state solution, which would meet Israel’s critical security needs and affirm the dignity of the Palestinians to live as a free people in an independent state of their own”.

Some publications criticised Mr O’Malley for suggesting that “both sides” bore responsibility for the violence. His campaign was pressured to “repudiate” the remarks. His critics felt the need to pummel the candidate into submission because he had committed the unpardonable sin of finding fault on both sides and because he had done so before an Arab American audience.

Evidence of the disdain Mr O’Malley’s critics have for my community was exemplified by comments made by a “Democratic strategist” Hank Sheinkopf and columnist Jeffrey Goldberg. The former said: “Obviously seeking support from any place he might find it, a desperate former governor ... has lost all touch with reality”, while Goldberg noted that “Martin O’Malley [was] not going after the Jewish vote” – as if they are the only voters who matter.

We have had long experience with intolerance that seeks to marginalise Arab Americans while punishing candidates who treat us and our concerns with respect. I was present in 1984 when a prominent senator told Jesse Jackson that he could never expect to be a leader as long as he courted the “Ay-rabs”. And I remember a few years later when Ron Brown, then chair of the Democratic Party, was coming to speak to our NLC and was threatened by a prominent donor who told him “if you ... speak to them, we will stop sending money to the party”. And, in 2003, John Kerry was punished after he denounced Israel’s construction of the barrier wall at our NLC.

Despite this distressing state of affairs, we continue our efforts to provide leadership for our community and a forum for compassionate leaders to address critical issues facing the US. We remain committed to open and tolerant discourse. It is the only way to advance desperately needed change in US politics and policies.

James Zogby is the president of the Arab American Institute

On Twitter: @aaiusa