wack The Iraq gone from NJ

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A compilation of articles and info on our successful efforts to ban the racist arcade game, Wack the Iraq being offered in the tourist town of Wildwood, NJ. Smart planning, persistence and proactive engagement all played a a major role in our success. AA

For Immediate Release

“Wack the Iraq’ is whacked forever

Contact Aref Assaf 973-981-4104

August 26, 2004

West Caldwell, NJ: The NJ Chapter of American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee wishes to thank the City of Wildwood for their help in closing down the ‘wack the Iraq’ game. The game, located on the famous Boardwalk, involves shooting paintballs at live targets dressed as Arabs. An official statement signed by Mr. Fred Wager from the Public Affairs and Public Safety Department confirmed that the owner has agreed to close the game in the next two weeks. Previously, the City of Wildwood cited First Amendment and free speech as legal constrains in their efforts to close down the game. As a result, ADC issued a statement condemning the game and calling on people to boycott it and to send disapproving letters to the Mayor’s office. Additionally, we planned to bring our message to the Boardwalk itself with a protest rally, where thousands of tourists will be spending their last weekend before schools start, to demonstrate our resolve to close down the game.

Now that the game will be removed and permitted again in Wildwood, ADC NJ has decided to call off the protest rally it had called for Saturday, August 28.
ADC is gratified by the positive involvement of the City of Wildwood and other groups and organizations that had publicly denounced the game as offensive and tasteless and fosters anti-Arab sentiments. Aref Assaf, President of the NJ Chapter, said "we are gratified by the great support ADC has received from so many fellow citizens and other Arab and Muslim organizations culminating into a united stand against the offensive game and its owners. " He continued, "we wish to specifically acknowledge the support of the NY and Philadelphia chapters of ADC, The Network of Young Arab professionals and the Islamic Center of Passaic County."

Aref Assaf, President of the NJ Chapter said that ADC, a civil rights organization, believes that when free speech becomes hate speech, then public entities must step in and exert all their available resources to remedy the situation.

End.

ADC New Jersey is a grassroots civil rights organization which welcomes people of all backgrounds, faiths and ethnicities as members. We are a chapter of ADC, a registered not-for- profit civil rights organization based in Washington, DC.

See Reuters on CNN Story:

Saturday 28.08.2004, CET 00:50

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/08/27/iraq.game.reut/index.html

August 27, 2004 11:15 PM

New Jersey town hosts "Wack the Iraq"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New Jersey game called "Wack the Iraq", where players fire paintballs at people dressed as Arabs, has drawn
ire from Arab groups after the city failed to convince the operator to change its name this summer.

The City of Wildwood, a seaside resort in southern New Jersey popular with summer vacationers, said the game would continue to operate
until the end of this summer holiday season, but would change its name when it returns next year, according to Fred Wager, commissioner of
public affairs and public safety for Wildwood.

"We didn't like it because we were getting a lot of complaints about it," Wager said in an interview.

The game is being run by a private company under a license granted by the city.

Arab groups have voiced outrage at the name and the notion of killing Iraqis for fun, and had asked that the city shut the game down
immediately. Instead, a compromise was reached to change the game's name for next summer.

The game targets teenagers, said Aref Assaf, President of the New Jersey chapter of American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. His organization was persistent in condemning the game and pursuing all legal and moral alternatives t to shut the game down.
"(The game) tells them to kill Arabs and that it is legal, and you can have fun doing it," he told Reuters.

Reuters

Wildwood says 'Wack' boardwalk game will be renamed

After criticism from an Arab civil-rights group, Wildwood, N.J., officials said yesterday that the "Wack the Iraq" game on a boardwalk pier will close after the Labor Day weekend and be renamed next year. The development pleased Aref Assaf, president of the New Jersey Chapter of American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, who said it prompted the group to cancel a protest scheduled for today.

Customers at the game aim paint ball guns at people dressed as Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. "It's going to shut down; it won't come back," said Fred G. Wager, a member of the city's governing Board of Commissioners who oversees public safety.

ADC Action Alert

Protest NJ’s “Wack the Iraq”

Contact Aref Assaf 973-981-4104

Washington DC, August 25— On Saturday August 28, the New Jersey and Philadelphia chapters of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) plan to hold a peaceful rally to protest a live target game entitled “Wack the Iraq” (to learn more about the rally contact adc@adcnj.us). In the game, contestants fire paint balls at live targets dressed as Iraqis.

ADC President Mary Rose Oakar has sent a letter to New Jersey Mayor Ernie Troiana Jr., voicing concerns about the game and asking that the city of Wildwood revoke the license it provided to permit the game to operate. The letter states that the game “presents a racist and offensive image of Iraqis, fosters an atmosphere of violence and ridicule, and creates an association between terrorists and the Iraqi people in particular and Arabs in general.” In the current climate, “Wack the Iraq” only adds fuel to the fire of anti-Arab rhetoric and feelings. Hate speech, which is not protected by law and therefore illegal, should not have a place in a family oriented seaside pier. “We can only imagine the uproar if the name of the game was another country,” added the NJ Chapter president. See below for text of ADC’s letter to Mayor Ernie Trioana Jr.

Despite the grave concerns of the ADC, the Arab-American community, and multiple letters of complaints, the owner of the arcade, located in Morey’s Pier in Woodland, NJ, has refused to remove the game, citing his right to free speech. “While we are strong advocates of free speech,” responded Aref Assaf, President of the NJ Chapter, “we believe that the game is nothing short of hate speech and promotes anti Arab sentiments, and therefore must be removed.”

More info, please call Aref Assaf, ADCNJ President

973-981-4104 or email president@adcnj.us

See ADCNJ original release and the subsequent Associated Press article on our website www.adcnj.us

ACTION REQUESTED:

1-Contact the Mayors Office (609-522-2444) and ask that the game be removed.

2- To send a letter via the City of Wildwood’s home page at:

http://www.wildwoodnj.org/contact.asp

3- Attend the rally on Saturday. send a note to adc@adcnj.us

ADC LETTER TO NEW JERSEY MAYOR ERNIE TRIOANA JR .

August 25, 2004

Mayor Ernie Troiano

4400 New Jersey Avenue

Wildwood, NJ 08260

VIA FACIMILE: 609-523-2444

Re: Offensive and Racist Wildwood “Wack the Iraq” Game

Dear Mayor Troiano:

We are writing on behalf of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). ADC, which is non-partisan and non-sectarian, is the largest grassroots organization in the United States dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Arab-Americans. Former United States Senator James Abourezk founded ADC in 1980 in order to combat racism, discrimination, and stereotyping of Americans of Arab descent. ADC supports the civil and political rights of all people and opposes racism and bigotry in all forms.

The purpose of this letter is to express ADC’s strong concern regarding the City of Wildwood’s licensing, and therefore implicit endorsement, of the game “Wack the Iraq” located at Morey’s Pier in Wildwood, NJ. In the game, tourists, children, and other amusement seekers shoot paint-ball guns at live human individuals dressed as Iraqis from a distance of roughly fifty feet away. Instead of posturing specific characters as the intended targets, players indiscriminately shoot at individuals who are intended to represent Iraqi, or more generally Arab, men. This game, which operates under a mercantile license issued by the City of Wildwood, presents a racist and offensive image of Iraqis, fosters an atmosphere of violence and ridicule, and creates an association between terrorists and the Iraqi people in particular and Arabs in general. Although seemingly intended for amusement and family-fun, the game achieves nothing short of hatred and blatant discrimination.

The “Wack the Iraq” game, which is located on a touristy and family-oriented seaside pier, has been the recipient of multiple complaints and the instigator of inflamed emotions among community members, local government representatives, and civil rights organizations. Indeed, a Commissioner for the City of Wildwood, Kathy Breuss, noted her disapproval of the “inappropriateness of such a game on the boardwalk,” an inappropriateness which has led to multiple complaints being filed with the Commissioner’s office. Moreover, President of ADC’s New Jersey Chapter, Aref Assaf, condemned the game as fostering “hateful tendencies and actions toward minorities and certain ethnic groups,” which “no one should tolerate.” All ADC chapters around the nation, including our Philadelphia and New York chapters, share Mr. Assaf’s sentiments.

Although ADC strongly supports the right to free speech, the argument asserted by the game’s owner to defend the game’s legality, ADC believes the “Wack the Iraq” game to be nothing short of hate speech. Because hate speech is unlawful and thus, unprotected by the Constitution, it cannot and should not be tolerated, particularly by local government representatives from the City of Wildwood. One need only imagine a similar game, which instead of targeting Iraqi individuals, presents Japanese, Irish, Italian African American or British individuals as the intended targets to be fought, shot, and apparently killed. The uproar and outrage that such hypothetical games would evoke exceeds speculation; such a result is unequivocally certain.

In the political climate in which we currently live, it is crucial to consider the profound implications of generalizing and stereotyping individuals of any ethnic minority group, particularly those from a country in which we are at war. As the largest civil rights organization serving the Arab-American community, ADC can testify to the damaging and extremely pervasive incidents of discrimination that continue to inflict the Arab-American community in the wake of September 11^th and more recently the Iraq War. In such an atmosphere, the targeting of Iraqis, albeit for play, is entirely inappropriate, insensitive, and importantly, unlawful as it instigates incidents of hate targeting the Arab-American community. Such a game only deepens a cultural divide that reverses the gains that have been made for human and civil rights.

ADC strongly urges the city to revoke the mercantile license that allows the “Wack the Iraq” game to continue functioning. ADC, along with many in the community, believe that this offensive game should be removed as soon as possible and that a public apology should be issued by both the game’s owner and the City. We look forward to hearing from you soon on this very important matter.

Sincerely,

Hon. Mary Rose Oakar

President

Cc. Legal department

ADC-NJ Chapter

ADC-NY Chapter

ADC-Philadelphia Chapter