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<> LA VOZ DE AZTLAN NEWS BULLETIN <>
<><><> Los Angeles, Alta California <><><><>August 7, 2006
Los Angeles: Mayor Villaraigosa apologized to Muslim leaders
On July 23, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attended a pro-Israel rally sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and other local Zionist organizations. The rally was in support of Israel in its current military operations in southern Lebanon and bombing of Beirut.
The mayor taking sides in the conflict upset many Mexican-Americans and the Los Angeles Arab and Muslim communities. On Friday, local Muslim leaders held a news conference to communicate their unhappiness that Mayor Villaraigosa had attended a pro-Israeli rally but failed to respond to their repeated telephone calls and e-mail invitations to vigils for civilians killed in Lebanon. The Muslim leaders said they were "fed up" at being "shoved aside and ignored" by the mayor's office.
Yesterday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa met with local Muslim leaders to apologize for not answering their e-mails about the crisis in Lebanon. The mayor explained that a mix-up by his staff prevented him from seeing the invitations.
The mayor has now assigned one of his senior advisors to be his liaison to the Muslim groups and emphasized that he will now be visiting mosques and attending future Muslim events.
Present at the mayor's meeting Sunday were the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Islamic Society of Orange County, the Council on Islamic American Relations, and the Council on Pakistan American Affairs.
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