ANAHEIM, Calif.-
Mideast politics have usurped traffic congestion and job creation as the hot topic in an upcoming municipal election, with a powerful GOP operative accusing a city council candidate of pro-Hezbollah and anti-Israel activities.
A letter by former state Republican Party chairman Shawn Steel has been circulating on the Internet accusing Syrian immigrant Belal “Bill” Dalati of helping sponsor an anti-Israel rally and associating with “zany left wing groups.”
“There is much more to learn about Bill Dalati,” Steel wrote in the letter. “Dalati would be a poor choice, who focuses on American’s (sic) enemies in the Middle East. You have a chance to do something about it.”
Dalati said the claims were unfounded, denying ties to Hezbollah or any fundraising activities on their behalf.
The letter was posted on a politically conservative site by former state Sen. John Lewis, who is a consultant for Councilman Bob Hernandez, one of Dalati’s opponents in the nonpartisan race.
Steel wrote that an organization called the Arab-American Broadcasting Co. helped sponsor an anti-Israel rally in Anaheim at the height of the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah. The company shares an address with Dalati’s insurance business.
Steel accused Dalati, 41, of close associations with “extreme groups.”
“He may very well be promoting a radical agenda instead of fixing potholes,” Steel said in an interview Monday. “I would consider this particular rally … in the same way as if he attended a Ku Klux Klan rally or a neo-Nazi rally. Those groups and their anti-American rhetoric are fundamentally the same.”
Dalati called the July 29 event an anti-war rally and said the Arab-American Broadcasting Co. was now inactive. Dalati produces a weekly Arabic-language cable TV show focusing on Anaheim politics.
Dalati, who became a U.S. citizen in 1987, expressed hope the controversy would not draw attention away from his campaign platform, which includes the creation of more jobs, better health care and reducing traffic congestion.
“I’m running as an American citizen, as an American guy,” said Dalati, an insurance agent and registered Republican. “Why are they bringing race and religion into it?”
Steel’s comments have generated heated debate in chatrooms and in Little Gaza, the ethnic core for many of Orange County’s Arab-Americans, who numbered more than 24,000 in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The controversy is not the first time the Middle East crisis has spilled over into the local political scene in areas with large Arab-American populations.
Most recently, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa apologized to local Muslim leaders who accused him of taking Israel’s side in the violence in Lebanon and ignoring invitations to attend Muslim peace vigils.
Dalati said he was grateful for the opportunities he’s had.
“Life has been so generous to me. I’m a married man with four kids and I live comfortably. This country has given me so much and this city has given me so much. I’m trying to give back,” he said. “It’s not about Arab-Americans, it’s about Anaheim.”
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