Ayloush was one of a handful of Muslim leaders who met with Villaraigosa on Wednesday to discuss their concerns over the mayor's comments supporting Israel's recent military action in the Gaza Strip. He said the conversation was cordial and frank.
"The mayor needs to demonstrate his sensitivity to the suffering of the Palestinians. This is what the mayor said he would do, and we'll hold him accountable for that," said Salam Al-Marayati of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
During the meeting, Villaraigosa strongly defended Israel's right to respond to the hundreds of rockets Hamas has fired into the country. He also agreed with the Muslim leaders that there should be a cease-fire and that Israel should not disrupt humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip.
More than 750 Palestinians and 11 Israelis have been killed since the start of the offensive, that Israel says is aimed at ending Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel.
Villaraigosa on Thursday dismissed any speculation that his comments at the pro-Israel rally were orchestrated to score political points with Jewish voters in Los Angeles. Given the subsequent criticism he's received, the safest political move would have been to keep quiet, he said.
"I've been to Israel three times. . . . I've seen first-hand a threat from extremists to deny the right of Israel to exist," the mayor said. "Israel has . . . the right to exist and the right to defend itself against the terror posed by Hamas and Hezbollah and any other terrorist force."
In June, when Villaraigosa led a contingent of Los Angeles city and community leaders on a week-long trip in Israel, he visited Sderot, a town near the Gaza border that has faced repeated rocket attacks by Hamas.
Two of the mayor's children joined him on the trip, even after a barrage of rockets had been fired at the town the day before. Villaraigosa was visibly concerned for their safety, said Nur Amersi of the Afghanistan World Foundation in Los Angeles, who was a Muslim representative on the visit.
"He was experiencing what the children there were going through. . . . He was worried about his own children," said Amersi, adding that during the trip, Villaraigosa had urged Israel's top leaders to strive for peaceful coexistence with the Palestinians. "He understood there needs to be some type of resolution."
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phil.willon@latimes.com
