Debbie Schlussel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Debbie Schlussel on Your World with Neil Cavuto in July 2006. Schlussel is often a guest on a number of radio and television talk shows because of her views.

Debbie Schlussel (born 1969) is a Detroit-based attorney, radio talk show host, columnist, and blogger.

[edit] Early life

Schlussel was born in 1969 to a family of Polish Jewish descent. Her grandparents were Holocaust survivors, her mother born in a concentration camp, and her father a Vietnam War veteran.

Her teenage activities included representing the United States in the Maccabiah Games, where she won a number of medals. She got her political start, however, as a Young Republican, winning the title of "Outstanding Teen Age Republican in the Nation" in 1987. She later became the youngest female and youngest Jewish delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1988^{[citation needed]} and worked on many campaigns, including her failed run for the Michigan House of Representatives, which she lost by one vote (had she won, she would've been the youngest person to win the post).^{[citation needed]}

She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds both MBA and JD degrees from the University of Wisconsin.

[edit] Professional life and views

Aside from her political campaigning and actions, Schlussel has been published in the New York Post as well as The Wall Street Journal. Her most notable reporting occurred while with the Detroit Free Press, where she went undercover into a mosque and reported on her findings, many of which angered the Muslim community as she presented examples of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism.^{[citation needed]} She often targets the Detroit regional office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; especially its head, Brian Moskowitz, accusing him of overlooking obvious terrorist ties within the metro area's large Arab/Muslim community as well as disproportionately arresting/deporting Asian and Hispanic immigrants vs. those from the Middle East, while praising politicians like Arab-American mayor Allan Mansoor of Costa Mesa, California for examining similar ties (which she cites to support her position that she is confronting terrorist-related concerns, not advocating "racism" against people from the Middle East).^{[citation needed]}

Her journalistic endeavors also made waves with columns she wrote about Russell Simmons, the "radical Islamic ownership" of Caribou Coffee, and the awarding of an American citizen with ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, causing then-FBI Director Robert Mueller to revoke the award.^{[citation needed]}

Schlussel achieved some notoriety because of an editorial in the Wall Street Journal accusing Morgan Spurlock (who produced the documentary series "30 Days" and film Super Size Me) of unbalanced and faulty methods in achieving the results for the television show, mirroring many criticisms that some people have of his movie.^[1][2] Spurlock did not respond to the article.

Though sharply critical of Pat Buchanan's attitude toward Israel, she has written that she agrees with his view that bringing democracy to Muslim countries only exacerbates the problem of terrorism because hardliners enjoy popular support in such countries. She is also a frequent critic of the Bush Administration, much preferring Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo.^{[citation needed]}

She also hosted a radio program, "The Debbie Schlussel Show" in 2002 and 2003. She became a regular guest on other radio and television programs as well, ranging from Howard Stern to Sean Hannity to Your World With Neil Cavuto.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Death threats

Schlussel has reported receiving numerous death threats during her career, and frequently posts them to her website. In January 2007, Robert Mustaq John pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to sending a threatening e-mail message with the caption "Kill all Kikes" and photos of the murder of Daniel Pearl. Another man, Wasil Burki, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.^[3] Schlussel has also reported and posted threatening emails from Lola Elzein, an officer of the Arab American Political Action Committee, who allegedly threatened to rape and murder members of Schlussel's family.^[4]

[edit] Controversy and criticism

Schlussel is often at the center of controversy from a variety of areas, partly because of her views and partly because of her rhetorical style.

• Schlussel appeared on a CNN panel discussing "Why do Atheists inspire such hatred?" She made controversial remarks on atheists, including "I'm Jewish, but I recognize we're a Christian country and freedom of religion doesn't mean freedom from religion. And the problem is that, you have these atheists selectively I believe attacking Christianity. You had a case in California where school children were forced to dress as Muslims and learn from the Koran" and "They are on the attack. It's obnoxious and they do need to shut up." and "This is a Christian country."^[5]

• Schlussel often discusses Muslims in her political columns. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee considers her work "racist hate speech" and has a section on her in its 2002 Hate Crime report.^[6] In a similar example on her blog, she associated being a fan of Michael Jackson or soccer with "hating America and loving terror." because of his 'exile' to Bahrain and the popularity of the sport in Islamic nations ^[7]

• Schlussel has attacked what she refers to as the "Holocaust Industry." In her writings, she has criticized attorneys and others who did not suffer under the Holocaust, yet financially gain from it, while many Holocaust survivors continue to live in poverty.^[8] The idea of a "Holocaust Industry" is controversial in some fields of history.^[9]
• During and following the captivity of American journalist Jill Carroll, Schlussel attacked Carroll, alleging that Carroll hated Israel and America, and implying that she sympathized with her captors.^[10][11] When objection was raised,^[12] she attacked her critics as well, deriding them as "blind worshippers of Jill Carroll" in need of "LASIK." ^[13]

• Schlussel wrote^[14] controversial remarks^[15][16] about Marla Ruzicka, the founder of Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, when Ruzicka was killed in Iraq on a humanitarian mission helping the civilian victims of the war. Schlussel's piece created controversy and was criticised by both pro and anti war commentators - Justin Raimondo described the column as a "hate filled screed."^[17]

[edit] External links

• Debbie Schlussel's Homepage
• PoliticalUSA bio

[edit] References