Chase probing slur letter to Palestinian American [Offered Credit Card to "Bomber"]

Reuters ^ | Aug. 23, 2005

[Alouette]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co. said on Monday it was investigating a credit card solicitation sent to a California man addressed as a "Palestinian Bomber."

Kelly Presta, executive vice president at Chase Card Services, said in a statement the inappropriate address on the letter came from a mailing list Chase purchased from a vendor.

Presta said the company's automatic screening procedures did not catch it.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said Chase sent the solicitation to Sami Habbas, a Palestinian American who has lived in the United States for 51 years and served in the U.S. Army.

Presta said Chase had only recently been made aware of the letter and was conducting an investigation.

Although no Chase employee was involved in creating the address information, the company was embarrassed by it and apologized to anyone offended by this matter, Presta said, adding that Chase was taking steps to prevent such incidents.

Habbas told Reuters he phoned the telephone number on the solicitation and provided the operator with his postal code and an invitation code listed on the letter. The operator then addressed him as "Mr. Palestinian Bomber."

"I was very upset. I've been scared and humiliated, and I want to get my point across so this doesn't happen to anyone else," Habbas said.

Habbas said that several days after calling the phone number on the letter, he called it again, this time with a friend who is a lawyer on the line. He then did the same with lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and CAIR on the line. In each case after supplying his postal and the invitation code he was addressed as "Mr. Palestinian Bomber."

CAIR, a Washington, D.C.-based civil rights group, called on JPMorgan Chase to investigate the letter, provide Habbas with a written apology, and clarify the company's policy on ethnic and religious sensitivity.

[Alouette]

Priceless!

[Rosemont]

CAIR probably sent it

[Alouette]

FRmail me to be added or removed from this Judaic/pro-Israel/Russian Jewry ping list.

Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.

[Prime Choice]

CAIR probably sent it

I do believe you're right.

[ncountylee]

"He then did the same with lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and CAIR on the line."

No sense of humor here.

[Bommer]

Dude, it wasn't me! I swear!

[pbear8]

Some people are so thin-skinned ;).

[Republicus2001]

apologized to anyone offended wait! isn't this now a hate crime? Should be 25 to life. Kid killers can go free to make room...

[flying Elvis]

Someone he knew submitted his address along with the name to a company that sold it to the CC company. I routinely give ludicrous names to catalog and promotional vendors so I will know which one of them is selling my info to other companies.

[Howlin]

I died laughing when I heard this. Just fell in the floor laughing.

[BurbankKarl]

These people are filling out bogus names and their real addresses and claiming harrassment.

Just like in college where we filled out a playboy subscription to Heywood Jablowme every year.

[Howlin]

"Good afternoon, Mr. Bomber."

This is just killing me.........LOL.

[Prime Choice]

"Good afternoon, Mr. Bomber."

This is just killing me.........LOL.

Makes me wonder if there were similar cases of a less volatile nature...

"Good afternoon, Mr. Buttmuncher. And how are all the little Buttmunchers?"

[Enchante]

"CAIR probably sent it"

"a Palestinian American who has lived in the United States for 51 years and served in the U.S. Army.

Yup, sounds like a total set-up to me! Think about it, folks, what are the chances that whoever seeded this mailing list with this guy's address label reading "Palestinian bomber" was doing it just out of spite, or even KNEW he was of Palestinian origin??? It's possible, perhaps, but much more likely that CAIR is doing it for one of their hate-America campaigns. Someone had to know this dude was of Palestinian origin -- no one at Chase or at a mailing house that dealt with the lists would be likely to know that.... and it's much too convenient that he just happens to be a middle-aged US Army vet, rather than, say a 20 year old drop-out with no such 'useful' profile for CAIR to make a campaign out of! Yup, sounds much too convenient for CAIR, and implausible to have come from the bowels of Chase or a mass-mailing house that didn't even know the guy was of Palestinian origin.....

[sofaman]

this is hilarious...poetic justice

[Howlin]

I think I'll change my nick to Howitzer in honor of this story.......LOL.

[Alouette]

This story definitely beats "Jew Couple" and "Bitch Dog"

[sofaman]

rofl...good one

[Howlin]

Of course, you can address me as "Ms. Howitzer."

[sofaman]

But of course...chivalry is not dead...oh Ms Howitzer, ma'am