Two weeks ago, Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam submitted a letter to the editor in response to the INDY‘s reporting on Congresswoman Valerie Foushee’s trip to Israel to meet with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Allam, as we noted, ran against Foushee for the NC District 4 congressional seat in 2022. Several readers submitted responses to Allam’s letter. We’re publishing a few of them here.
From reader Edward C. Halperin in Chapel Hill:
Commissioner Allam, Where is your conscience?
In an April 9, 2024 Letter to the Editor, Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam denounces U.S. Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (D-4th District, North Carolina) for attending a congressional trip to Israel. Congresswoman Foushee, upon her return to the U.S., issued a tactful, even-handed public statement which Ms. Allam completely ignores. The Congresswoman states that she and her colleagues had met with the Israeli Prime Minister and President “and Palestinian leaders in Ramallah to discuss the ongoing conflict in the region. Under international law, Israel has the indisputable right to defend herself from Hamas’s brutal and orchestrated terrorist attacks that targeted civilian sites and raided homes with the intent to kill and harm thousands of innocent men, women, and children. Since the attack, over 100 hostages still remain in captivity by Hamas, among them include American citizens. While the United States and the global community must continue to condemn the abhorrent actions of Hamas, Israel must uphold their promises to abide by international humanitarian law and defend herself without targeting innocent civilians as a part of any military campaign. Additionally, the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza must be urgently addressed, and we must find a way to deliver life-saving support to the millions of conflict-afflicted civilians who are in need of clean water, food, medicine, and other essential aid.”
Ms. Allam, having lost the Democratic primary in 2022 to Ms. Foushee by 8,000 votes [in] a field of eight candidates where Foushee got 46% of the vote to Allam’s 37%, has now issued a screed in The Indy wherein she fails to acknowledge the right of Israel to exist. She is also incapable of acknowledging the right of the democratically elected government of Israel to defend its citizens from the murder, rape, and hostage-taking of children and grandparents by Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization. I can only imagine that if Ms. Allam was an elected official in 1945, she would be denouncing President Franklin D. Roosevelt for not offering immediate surrender following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the German invasion of Poland and France and its mass-murder of civilians. She would then denounce President Harry Truman and Prime Minister Winston Churchill as an “unabashed war criminals” for civilian causalities as a result of the bombings of Japan and Germany. She further slanders our fine retired Congressman, David Price, by labeling him a “principled critic of Israel.” My neighbor and former faculty colleague at Duke, Professor Price, is a thoughtful, contemplative public servant who understands that U.S. foreign policy is complex topic that calls for sober consideration, not polemics.
Ms. Allam, “I ask you as a mother, as a neighbor, [and] as a… public servant: [both] where is your conscience” and where is a modicum of common decency?
Ms. Allam’s letter further confirms the good sense of the voters of the 4th District in electing Ms. Foushee instead of Ms. Allam.
From reader Stanley Robboy from Durham:
Commissioner Allam’s recent letter in Indyweek (4/9/24) is remarkable for what it lacks.
The one statement in the letter with which I believe we all would agree is that “Palestinians and Israelis alike deserve to live in peace.” That should be true not only in the Middle East but also in America and worldwide. All people of all races and colors, whether Black, White, or Brown, living in the Middle East, Far East, Europe, America, or Africa, should all live in peace.
That is how we grew up. With World War II over and the Nazi regime decapitated, hope and opportunity blossomed.
Many of my and my wife’s cousins lived happily in Israel when Oct 7 shattered their world. Hamas, which rules Palestine, launched a surprise attack in multiple areas simultaneously. One focus was the Nova music festival; 364 young adults were killed, many savagely. About 40 were taken hostage after some had been raped. Multiple nearby kibbutzim were also attacked. Twenty-one of my and my wife’s cousins were killed, and seven were taken back to Gaza. In total, Hamas killed about 1200 people and took 250 hostage. Gruesome phone messages intercepted recorded a Hamas soldier calling home to his parents, boasting gleefully, “I killed 10 Jews with my own hands.” Imagine if Orange County similarly attacked Durham County. How, in your role as County Commissioner, would you react?
Commissioner Allam, why did you omit critical context from your letter? Hamas had been firing missiles indiscriminately into Israel, focusing on killing innocent civilians and instilling a reign of terror among the Israeli population. In the past year, using balloons as weapons carrying lit oil ignited large fires indiscriminately in Israel. Meanwhile, Hamas terrorized its own citizens. Being LGBTQ brought death.
You state that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) leveled the Al Shifra [sic] Hospital, implying it was little more than a vindictive act. A captured Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman confessed how Hamas terrorists had taken over every hospital in Gaza, using the medical facilities to hide military activities and launch attacks. In fact, over 500 detainees captured in the complex proved to be active terrorists. Some were senior commanders in Hamas and Islamic Jihad. He explained Hamas occupied rooms and wards in every hospital across the coastal enclave, even exploiting the internet connectivity and electricity to conceal its operations. Weapons and ammunition were found hidden in children’s beds, x-ray machines, and operating rooms, to mention a few. Ambulances transported guns and soldiers.
Lastly, your letter impugns the integrity of Representative Valerie Foushee. We, as citizens, cherish democracy and the choice to vote our conscience for whom we feel would be the best to represent the community as a whole and for each of us individually. That’s what democracy is all about. The beauty of our system is each candidate can put forth their views, and we, as voters, respond. Not long ago, you and Foushee campaigned to represent our [congressional] district. You both campaigned hard and we, the voters, examined your records, not only with what you said at the time but also with what you had been saying earlier. Our pasts live with us, and we vote.
You now imply any single organization in this country can purchase a candidate. That is not true. Many of us who are US citizens wish for election reform. Elections are too costly, and all candidates must seek contributions. Maybe you might want to list who bankrolled your campaign. But please give our candidates credence. Candidates who run for high office are, by and large, accomplished and have worked diligently in preceding years to achieve the status where they can run and compete. We, the citizenry – the voters — listened to your messages, took them seriously, and voted our consciences as to who would best represent us and the community. We decided based on economics, the social issues affecting us all, and who would provide the best leadership.
Your letter of deception is why your candidacy failed.
Commissioner Allam, Where is your Honor?
From reader Lynne Kane in Chapel Hill:
It is deeply disturbing to see a Durham County Commissioner’s Letter to Indyweek misrepresenting US Rep. Valerie Foushee and omitting any acknowledgement of Rep. Foushee’s long history of service to her community at every level. The attempt at character assassination is even more upsetting.
Former Rep. David Price walked a fine line between supporting Israel for self-determination for Jews and supporting the Palestinians’ right to establish a country of their own. Price knew that when the British left their Middle East colonies in the 1940’s they offered the larger part of Palestine to the Arabs living there and a small area, the ancient Jewish homeland, to the Jews. The Jews accepted, the Palestinians rejected and have spent much of the following 76 years following Hitler’s advice to “drive the Jews into the sea.” Price was aware of Palestinian “intifadas” (uprisings) against Israelis and suicide jihad bombings killing Israeli civilians in daily life. I must assume David Price also knew that the Palestinians fled their fellow Arabs attacking Israel in 1948, a “nakba” (catastrophe) like any other people’s flight from a war zone.
Why does no one ask why Egypt did not accept their fellow Muslim Arabs in 1948 and why Egypt has blocked their Rafah Crossing exit from Gaza for almost a month.
The Palestinians themselves do not cooperate with each other. A general review: Arafat headed the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas then headed the Palestinian National Authority (P.A.), Fatah became the largest subgroup of the P.A., and the Hamas terrorist group (elected by the Gazans) arose to oppose Fatah, while the P.A. is the main governing body in the West Bank. A Palestinian state could have developed alongside Israel during the last 75 years, but Palestinian poor decisions prevented that.
Why does no one ask why Hamas has not sent Gaza civilians into its tunnels as bomb shelters? The answer is obvious: Gazans are Hamas’s human shields.
The dogma of Progressives’ categorizing all as oppressor and oppressed, colonizer and colonized omits history, context, nuance. David Price recognized nuance, and so does Valerie Foushee.
Due to the Citizens United decision in 2010, elections require huge amounts of money to counter opponents’ huge funds. Rep. Valerie Foushee can represent all in her district, as David Price did, only with big donors’ help as her opponent receives. Why does repeated documentation of foul messaging and actions by members of CAIR and UNWRA not provoke media or official castigation?
I am sure Rep. Foushee, like me, does not like AIPAC money donated to election deniers. But a Representative who opposes simplistic anti-Israel propaganda is justified accepting support from an organization that builds bipartisan support for Jewish self-determination.
I sincerely urge Indyweek readers to listen to Palestinian Ghaith al-Omari talking with Jonathan Silver of Mosaic. In 47 packed minutes al-Omari, for years an advisor to Palestinian negotiators, objectively discusses al-Jazeera, Hamas, the P.A., Gaza, the 2-state solution and more.
Rep. Valerie Foushee won election against a candidate who had won one local election among 1% of the state’s voters. Rep. Foushee has a lifetime of experience in many official roles and should be re-elected for her ability to serve everyone in her district.
Letters: “Commissioner Allam, Why Do You Omit Critical Context?”
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Two weeks ago, Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam submitted a letter to the editor in response to the INDY‘s reporting on Congresswoman Valerie Foushee’s trip to Israel to meet with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Allam, as we noted, ran against Foushee for the NC District 4 congressional seat in 2022. Several readers submitted responses to Allam’s letter. We’re publishing a few of them here.
From reader Edward C. Halperin in Chapel Hill:
Commissioner Allam, Where is your conscience?
In an April 9, 2024 Letter to the Editor, Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam denounces U.S. Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (D-4th District, North Carolina) for attending a congressional trip to Israel. Congresswoman Foushee, upon her return to the U.S., issued a tactful, even-handed public statement which Ms. Allam completely ignores. The Congresswoman states that she and her colleagues had met with the Israeli Prime Minister and President “and Palestinian leaders in Ramallah to discuss the ongoing conflict in the region. Under international law, Israel has the indisputable right to defend herself from Hamas’s brutal and orchestrated terrorist attacks that targeted civilian sites and raided homes with the intent to kill and harm thousands of innocent men, women, and children. Since the attack, over 100 hostages still remain in captivity by Hamas, among them include American citizens. While the United States and the global community must continue to condemn the abhorrent actions of Hamas, Israel must uphold their promises to abide by international humanitarian law and defend herself without targeting innocent civilians as a part of any military campaign. Additionally, the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza must be urgently addressed, and we must find a way to deliver life-saving support to the millions of conflict-afflicted civilians who are in need of clean water, food, medicine, and other essential aid.”
Ms. Allam, having lost the Democratic primary in 2022 to Ms. Foushee by 8,000 votes [in] a field of eight candidates where Foushee got 46% of the vote to Allam’s 37%, has now issued a screed in The Indy wherein she fails to acknowledge the right of Israel to exist. She is also incapable of acknowledging the right of the democratically elected government of Israel to defend its citizens from the murder, rape, and hostage-taking of children and grandparents by Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization. I can only imagine that if Ms. Allam was an elected official in 1945, she would be denouncing President Franklin D. Roosevelt for not offering immediate surrender following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the German invasion of Poland and France and its mass-murder of civilians. She would then denounce President Harry Truman and Prime Minister Winston Churchill as an “unabashed war criminals” for civilian causalities as a result of the bombings of Japan and Germany. She further slanders our fine retired Congressman, David Price, by labeling him a “principled critic of Israel.” My neighbor and former faculty colleague at Duke, Professor Price, is a thoughtful, contemplative public servant who understands that U.S. foreign policy is complex topic that calls for sober consideration, not polemics.
Ms. Allam, “I ask you as a mother, as a neighbor, [and] as a… public servant: [both] where is your conscience” and where is a modicum of common decency?
Ms. Allam’s letter further confirms the good sense of the voters of the 4th District in electing Ms. Foushee instead of Ms. Allam.
From reader Stanley Robboy from Durham:
Commissioner Allam’s recent letter in Indyweek (4/9/24) is remarkable for what it lacks.
The one statement in the letter with which I believe we all would agree is that “Palestinians and Israelis alike deserve to live in peace.” That should be true not only in the Middle East but also in America and worldwide. All people of all races and colors, whether Black, White, or Brown, living in the Middle East, Far East, Europe, America, or Africa, should all live in peace.
That is how we grew up. With World War II over and the Nazi regime decapitated, hope and opportunity blossomed.
Many of my and my wife’s cousins lived happily in Israel when Oct 7 shattered their world. Hamas, which rules Palestine, launched a surprise attack in multiple areas simultaneously. One focus was the Nova music festival; 364 young adults were killed, many savagely. About 40 were taken hostage after some had been raped. Multiple nearby kibbutzim were also attacked. Twenty-one of my and my wife’s cousins were killed, and seven were taken back to Gaza. In total, Hamas killed about 1200 people and took 250 hostage. Gruesome phone messages intercepted recorded a Hamas soldier calling home to his parents, boasting gleefully, “I killed 10 Jews with my own hands.” Imagine if Orange County similarly attacked Durham County. How, in your role as County Commissioner, would you react?
Commissioner Allam, why did you omit critical context from your letter? Hamas had been firing missiles indiscriminately into Israel, focusing on killing innocent civilians and instilling a reign of terror among the Israeli population. In the past year, using balloons as weapons carrying lit oil ignited large fires indiscriminately in Israel. Meanwhile, Hamas terrorized its own citizens. Being LGBTQ brought death.
You state that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) leveled the Al Shifra [sic] Hospital, implying it was little more than a vindictive act. A captured Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman confessed how Hamas terrorists had taken over every hospital in Gaza, using the medical facilities to hide military activities and launch attacks. In fact, over 500 detainees captured in the complex proved to be active terrorists. Some were senior commanders in Hamas and Islamic Jihad. He explained Hamas occupied rooms and wards in every hospital across the coastal enclave, even exploiting the internet connectivity and electricity to conceal its operations. Weapons and ammunition were found hidden in children’s beds, x-ray machines, and operating rooms, to mention a few. Ambulances transported guns and soldiers.
Lastly, your letter impugns the integrity of Representative Valerie Foushee. We, as citizens, cherish democracy and the choice to vote our conscience for whom we feel would be the best to represent the community as a whole and for each of us individually. That’s what democracy is all about. The beauty of our system is each candidate can put forth their views, and we, as voters, respond. Not long ago, you and Foushee campaigned to represent our [congressional] district. You both campaigned hard and we, the voters, examined your records, not only with what you said at the time but also with what you had been saying earlier. Our pasts live with us, and we vote.
You now imply any single organization in this country can purchase a candidate. That is not true. Many of us who are US citizens wish for election reform. Elections are too costly, and all candidates must seek contributions. Maybe you might want to list who bankrolled your campaign. But please give our candidates credence. Candidates who run for high office are, by and large, accomplished and have worked diligently in preceding years to achieve the status where they can run and compete. We, the citizenry – the voters — listened to your messages, took them seriously, and voted our consciences as to who would best represent us and the community. We decided based on economics, the social issues affecting us all, and who would provide the best leadership.
Your letter of deception is why your candidacy failed.
Commissioner Allam, Where is your Honor?
From reader Lynne Kane in Chapel Hill:
It is deeply disturbing to see a Durham County Commissioner’s Letter to Indyweek misrepresenting US Rep. Valerie Foushee and omitting any acknowledgement of Rep. Foushee’s long history of service to her community at every level. The attempt at character assassination is even more upsetting.
Former Rep. David Price walked a fine line between supporting Israel for self-determination for Jews and supporting the Palestinians’ right to establish a country of their own. Price knew that when the British left their Middle East colonies in the 1940’s they offered the larger part of Palestine to the Arabs living there and a small area, the ancient Jewish homeland, to the Jews. The Jews accepted, the Palestinians rejected and have spent much of the following 76 years following Hitler’s advice to “drive the Jews into the sea.” Price was aware of Palestinian “intifadas” (uprisings) against Israelis and suicide jihad bombings killing Israeli civilians in daily life. I must assume David Price also knew that the Palestinians fled their fellow Arabs attacking Israel in 1948, a “nakba” (catastrophe) like any other people’s flight from a war zone.
Why does no one ask why Egypt did not accept their fellow Muslim Arabs in 1948 and why Egypt has blocked their Rafah Crossing exit from Gaza for almost a month.
The Palestinians themselves do not cooperate with each other. A general review: Arafat headed the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas then headed the Palestinian National Authority (P.A.), Fatah became the largest subgroup of the P.A., and the Hamas terrorist group (elected by the Gazans) arose to oppose Fatah, while the P.A. is the main governing body in the West Bank. A Palestinian state could have developed alongside Israel during the last 75 years, but Palestinian poor decisions prevented that.
Why does no one ask why Hamas has not sent Gaza civilians into its tunnels as bomb shelters? The answer is obvious: Gazans are Hamas’s human shields.
The dogma of Progressives’ categorizing all as oppressor and oppressed, colonizer and colonized omits history, context, nuance. David Price recognized nuance, and so does Valerie Foushee.
Due to the Citizens United decision in 2010, elections require huge amounts of money to counter opponents’ huge funds. Rep. Valerie Foushee can represent all in her district, as David Price did, only with big donors’ help as her opponent receives. Why does repeated documentation of foul messaging and actions by members of CAIR and UNWRA not provoke media or official castigation?
I am sure Rep. Foushee, like me, does not like AIPAC money donated to election deniers. But a Representative who opposes simplistic anti-Israel propaganda is justified accepting support from an organization that builds bipartisan support for Jewish self-determination.
I sincerely urge Indyweek readers to listen to Palestinian Ghaith al-Omari talking with Jonathan Silver of Mosaic. In 47 packed minutes al-Omari, for years an advisor to Palestinian negotiators, objectively discusses al-Jazeera, Hamas, the P.A., Gaza, the 2-state solution and more.
Rep. Valerie Foushee won election against a candidate who had won one local election among 1% of the state’s voters. Rep. Foushee has a lifetime of experience in many official roles and should be re-elected for her ability to serve everyone in her district.
Comment on this story at backtalk@indyweek.com.