"The highly contentious Central Student Government elections turned personal yesterday when an e-mail became widely circulated that accused LSA sophomore Omar Hashwi, a current CSG vice presidential candidate, of being an anti-Semite and homophobe...LSA sophomore Lauren Leibach sent the e-mail on Tuesday at about 10:30 p.m. to members of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority, and the message was subsequently sent to other members of the Greek community, ultimately reaching the inboxes of Haswi and his running mate, Business junior Manish Parikh. “Omar is not only publicly anti-Israel, he is also openly homophobic,” Leibach wrote. “Beyond the fact that someone like him could be involved in making important decisions on campus, it is scary to think what he could do with his power.” Leibach — who identified herself as a member of the American Movement for Israel, a part of Hillel — continued, discussing what she sees as the implications of an election victory by Hashwi and Parikh, who are both running as independents. “Omar and Manish have a lot of followers. It is frightening that they may have a good chance in winning, and it is because they are very strategic and good at what they do,” Leibach wrote. “Not many people are aware of this anti-Israel situation ... but now you are.” Hashwi said the claims are untrue and added that he is supportive of students of all religions and sexual orientations.
“I am a Muslim American. However, I respect all religions,” Hashwi said. “Manish doesn't have a religion … we respect all religions equally and we do not discriminate against any religion or any sexual orientation.”...In a statement to The Michigan Daily, Leibach wrote that she did not intend to "offend or insult anyone" by sending the e-mail. "I am deeply sorry if my (email) resulted in anyone's hurt feelings or caused any personal harm," she wrote."
