Las Angeles, CA - Mayor Apologizes to Muslim Leaders

Las Angeles, CA - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has apologized to Muslim leaders who accused him of taking Israel's side in the violence in Lebanon by going to a pro-Israel rally and ignoring their invitations to interfaith peace vigils.

Villaraigosa met with 10 Muslim leaders and explained that a mix-up by his staff had prevented him from seeing their invitations. "The mayor did apologize that the staff didn't place the meeting on his schedule sooner," said a spokeswoman, describing the hour-long discussion as "open and friendly."

Villaraigosa called the meeting after the Muslim leaders held a news conference accusing him of not representing all groups touched by the conflict.

They noted that he attended a July 23 rally by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, at which he condemned Hezbollah guerrilla rocket attacks on Israel, but failed to respond to repeated calls and e-mail invitations to interfaith vigils for people killed on both sides in Lebanon. "It was gracious of him to say 'I apologize for the lack of communications,'" said Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Shura Council of Southern California.

The mayor pledged to visit mosques and attend events in the city's Islamic communities, and assigned one of his senior advisors as liaison to Muslim groups.