Hi everyone,

I just learned that Arab-American Juliette Kayyam, the acting executive director for research at the Belfer Center of Harvard's Kennedy School, has been appointed to a top Homeland Security position in Massachusetts by incoming governor Deval Patrick.

During this past gubernatorial election, the Arab and Muslim communities in Massachusetts came out in force for Deval, who promised to include minority and immigrant communities in his administration, and to specifically address civil rights issues. He was the Assistant US Attorney General for Civil Rights under Bill Clinton. (Yours truly worked extensively on his campaign.)

Kayyam will be the first Arab American to be appointed to such a senior Homeland Security position anywhere in the country. Hopefully she'll bring a unique perspective that represents our community's concerns to the administration.

There will be a Boston Globe article on this tomorrow in which I'm quoted. I can forward it to those who're interested.

Following is a quote from an opinion piece Kayyam published in August:

"etting tougher on communities of interest ? including pronouncements that authorities will start profiling or focusing on minority populations ? is exactly what we ought not emulate about Britain. The most serious homegrown attack on U.S. soil was by Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

"Immigrant groups feel themselves part of America, and our success is that we have made them feel that they have a role in the nation's destiny. Tougher surveillance, profiling or efforts that risk alienation might give us a sense that we are doing something, but the long-term legacy of such efforts could well prove self-destructive.

"Investing in those communities and asking for their assistance in the fight against terrorism is a smarter strategy."

I guess Deval heard her message.