Source: Detroit Free Press

http://www.freep.com/news/locway/hamad9_20031009.htm

On October 14, 2003 Detroit Free Press reported that "after pressure from a pro-Israeli group and columnist, the FBI rescinded an award it had planned to give to a prominent Arab-American leader this week and raised questions about his connections with men the government wants to deport. Imad Hamad, who heads the local branch of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, had been scheduled to receive a prestigious service award today in Washington, D.C., for his work with law enforcement after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Local conservative columnist Debbie Schlussel and the Zionist Organization of America -- one of the oldest pro-Israeli groups in the nation -- led a spirited attack last month against Hamad, charging in letters and articles that he is sympathetic to terrorists and unworthy of such an honor. Hamad said the allegations that he supports terrorism are baseless."