(H/T LGF) Charles from Little Green Footballs who initially broke this story, along with Jihad Watch is reporting that Esam Omeish of the Muslim American Society will step down from the Virginia Commission on Immigration, to which he was appointed by Governor Tim Kaine. From the Associated Press:

A member of the state’s Commission of Immigration resigned Thursday, a few hours after Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was told about online videos showing the appointee condemning Israel and advocating “the jihad way.”
Kaine learned of the videos from a caller to his live monthly radio program and accepted the resignation of Dr. Esam S. Omeish about three hours later.

“Dr. Omeish is a respected physician and community leader, yet I have been made aware of certain statements he has made which concern me,” Kaine said in a news release announcing the resignation. The governor said Omeish resigned because he did not want the controversy to distract from the work of the 20-member commission appointed to study the effects of immigration and federal immigration policies on Virginia.

Omeish, who is president of the Muslim American Society and chief of the division of general surgery at INOVA Alexandria Hospital, is shown in a video on YouTube denouncing an invasion of Lebanon by the “Israeli war machine” during an Aug. 12, 2006, rally in Washington.

Gates of Vienna has the video, as well as some deep background into the battle over the Immigration Commission.

In an August 15th, debate with Robert Spencer on the Laura Ingraham show, Omeish announced his support for the imposition of Sharia law in the United States, saying “I understand how laws are made in this country, and if I can get enough people to vote for it, than I’ll do it.”

INGRAHAM- I think that you raise a point that we do have to keep in mind. We
certainly do not want to alienate people who put their patriotism and love of country first,
and their obligation to this great land of ours, and I certainly don’t want to do that. Um…
Shariah law, is Islamic law, and do you, or do you not Dr. Omeish, and this is educational,
I think for our listeners to hear this, do you then not think that shariah law would be
beneficial in the United States for the Muslims living here?

OMEISH- The answer is, if accepted by people, it would be a lovely set of rules, if
people understand its tenets. You know we don’t drink, we don’t gamble, we don’t like to,
you know we’re very much against adultery. You know, we have certain sets of values
that I think we share with our conservative friends here in this country. We like to
advocate them, I’d love to see a day when my girls don’t have premarital sex, and they
don’t date before they get married and they don’t drink, and they don’t do drugs. These
are values that I want to be in laws if I can.

In addition, rather than denouncing Hamas as a terrorist organization Omeish merely pointed out it was the Muslim Brotherhood organization for Palestine with a “political and military agenda.”

OMEISH- Now, to actually label us with the Muslim Brotherhood, as I said, there is a historical association that we agree to, that our law enforcement agencies know about it, we’ve talked about it, we clearly delineated, now that the lies, that we, the… same ideology is behind Al Qaeda is absolutely wrong. Al Zawahiri has nothing to do with it, Osama Bin Laden was never member of it. These people were in fact enemies of the Brotherhood, the Brotherhood itself advocates peaceful engagement, HAMAS happens to be a branch that’s in Palestine because of its political disputes with Israel it has a political and military agenda, that’s their problem.

But in the video the Baron links to, Omeish makes it clear “political disputes with Israel…” are our problem too. And the links to the Muslim Brotherhood are more than just “historical” as Spencer makes clear:

SPENCER: Ahmad Elkadi, Jamal Badawi, and Omar Soubani were listed as members of the Board of Directors of the Muslim Brotherhood, this intelligence just recently came out in the Holy Land Foundation Trial that’s going on right now. These three names are the founding incorporators of the Muslim American Society in the United States. So there is a clear connection to the Brotherhood out of the board of directors of the Muslim Brotherhood leadership in the US. The three of them founded the Muslim American Society.

For our transcript of highlights from the Spencer-Omeish debate click here.

This is the individual which Virginia Governor Tim Kaine selects to serve as a representative on immigration? Cheers to the radio caller who stood up against this nonsense, clearing the smoke screen of Taqiyya around Omeish so that not even Gov. Kaine could ignore the reality. But we need to remain vigilant. From previous actions with the Commission on Immigration it remains clear that every opportunity to stack the deck has been taken. (From: Black Velvet Bruce Lee)

At today’s inaugural meeting of the Virginia Commission on Immigration, the faction of the Virginia Republican leadership that has consistently been blocking attempts to reform state policies regarding illegal aliens joined forces with Governor Kaine’s liberal appointees to the commission denied Delegate Bob Marshall the chairmanship of the commission. Delegate Marshall was the sponsor of the legislation that established this commission, and by tradition that sponsor would lead the commission. Instead, Senator John Watkins, who makes a living by using day laborers of uncertain legal status to work in his business, was elected Chairman. Only Delegates Jackson Miller and Todd Gilbert supported Bob Marshall (Senator Jay O’Brien was late for the meeting and missed this vote) for the Chairmanship of the commission that he created, and by tradition would be tasked to lead.

We’ll just have to wait and see who takes over to play Omeish’s hand.

Update (9/28): I realize I had forgotten to attach the audio source of the transcript quoted above as is our standard procedure. So for all you who wanted to hear Spencer school Omeish on the finer points of jihadist ideology and the Muslim Brotherhood, click here.