Ohio Homeland Security Community Outreach Official Fired Over Resume Discrepancy

Jordanian-born Ohio Homeland Security community outreach officer was fired for resume discrepancy two weeks ago.  Omar Alomari, 60, was fired for failing to disclose previous employers on his employment application to the agency.  According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety investigative report (#2010-0331) dated June 3, 2010, his termination was based that he lied in his job application by not disclosing important previous employments.

The report also shows that Alomari said in his defense that he thought it was more important to list what was relevant on his application. He said he also worked for the government in Jordan, but none of that was listed on his employment application. In the report when asked if he listed al his other employers on his resume, his response was that he has so many resumes that he was not sure.

Mr. Alomari was the agency’s community engagement officer since 2006, had been assigned to connect with local groups, offer advice, collect information and provide a first line of defense against domestic terrorism.  Alomari took initiatives to help the agency understand more about the Muslims and Arabs in the country. He wrote somewhat very controversial cultural booklets on Arabs and Muslims.

His efforts to create liaisons with Arab and Muslim American communities came under criticism from some conservatives, has cost to lost his job. Alomari was criticized by his opponents for his outreach to controversial organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Arab-American civil rights organization.

His firing two weeks ago was sparked by an investigation by the Jawa Report, which describes itself as “a weblog comparing Muslims to Jawas, and containing criticism and satire of Islamic traditions and beliefs.” Jawas are the scavengers in the “Star Wars” movies who comb the desert in search of discarded scrap materials.

Alomari, according to Ohio Public Safety records, left a gap of six years in the resume he submitted to Homeland Security. During those six years he was a full-time humanities instructor at Columbus State Community College in Ohio. According to documents Jawa provided to FoxNews.com, Alomari said he only put down work in his resume that he thought would be of interest to a new employer. Under questioning he also admitted to serving as an “adviser” to Jordan’s minister of labor before emigrating in 1979.

Although, the ODPS director William Vedra, vigorously defended Alomari’s character and reputation, telling a roomful of local law enforcement officials that “there isn’t a better man in the room”. Less than a month later, , Ohio Homeland Security officials decided he should be fired from his job.

There was no evidence presented that he compromised security or committed any criminal acts in the conduct of his work.

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