Governor questioned about Muslim appointee

Governor questioned about Muslim appointee
YouTube video shows man condemning Israel, advocating 'the jihad way'

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine examined online videos Thursday that show a man he appointed to the state Commission on Immigration condemning Israel and advocating "the jihad way," his spokesman said.

In a video that appears on YouTube, Muslim American Society president Dr. Esam S. Omesh is shown at an August 2006 rally in Washington denouncing an invasion of Lebanon by the "Israeli war machine."

Omesh, chief of the division of general surgery at INOVA Alexandria Hospital, also accused Israel of genocide and massacres against Palestinians and said the "Israeli agenda" controls Congress.

In a separate, undated video, Omesh tells a crowd of Washington-area Muslims: "...you have learned the way, that you have known that the jihad way is the way to liberate your land."

That video was credited to Investigative Project, a Washington-based organization that investigates radical Islamic organizations.

A caller to Kaine's program on WRVA radio in Richmond asked the governor Thursday morning about the Omesh appointment and the video.

"That is news to me, what you say, and it's something we will check out," Kaine told the caller, identified on the air only by the name Kent.

Kaine spokesman Kevin Hall said the governor had been unable to reach Omesh.

Mahdi Bray, a spokesman for the MAS, told The Associated Press that Omesh was performing surgery and not available for comment.

Omesh was among 10 appointments Kaine made on Aug. 2 to a 20-member panel created this year by the General Assembly to assess the benefits and costs of immigration and the effects on federal immigration policies on the state. The commission met in Richmond for the first time Tuesday.