My birthplace, Philadelphia, threw a welcome party over the weekend for French leftists who are infatuated with convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu Jamal. You are not going to believe the gifts the city showered on their French visitors:

Liberty bells.

That’s right. LIBERTY BELLS! From the Philly Daily News:

Mjenzi Traylor, the city’s first deputy director of commerce, told the crowd of about 150 that he was there to “make certain that we are receiving the message that you would like for us to deliver to Mayor Street.”

…Street planned to attend the meeting with the French politicians but canceled due to a busy schedule, his staff said.

Instead, Traylor was scheduled to meet in private with Connie Little, the mayor’s executive assistant, and the French politicians.

But when the large crowd arrived with escorts from the Philadelphia Police Department’s Civil Affairs unit after marching around City Hall chanting Abu-Jamal’s name, Street’s staff decided to let them all into the mayor’s reception room.

Jacky Hortaut of the National Unit Collective, a coalition of pro-Abu-Jamal groups, addressed the crowd with pointed words for the Philadelphia judicial system.

Common Pleas Court Judge Pamela Dembe postponed a hearing on Abu-Jamal’s appeal yesterday, saying a ruling in a recent, unrelated case raised questions about jurisdiction. She is waiting for attorneys on both sides of the case to weigh in on that.

“We are here to denounce this discriminatory and racist justice,” Hortaut said. “So we are here today to tell Mrs. Dembe that we are here to support Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose only crime has been to fight for poor people here in America.”

Traylor then handed them the Liberty Bell replicas.

“We welcome you to Philadelphia,” said Traylor, who serves as the city’s international liaison for visiting dignitaries. “Thank you very much for coming.”

Maureen Faulkner, widow of the slain cop Abu Jamal was convicted of shooting in cold blood, is outraged. And so should we all be.

“This man stood over him and shot him, point-blank, in the face,” Maureen Faulkner said. “For them to give them replicas of the Liberty Bell and welcome them with open arms, I think it’s an embarrassment for the city.”

Faulkner said she planned to call Street on Monday to protest the city’s actions.

“This is a disgrace,” she said. “It is a slap in the face for all of law enforcement.”

Hat tip: Dave Huber and my good friend, Philly talk show king/author Michael Smerconish (who I hear will have a city official on tomorrow show’s to talk about their French kiss).

The Ombusgod has a multiple-choice test.

The Socialist Workers World organized a Feb. 11 rally for Mumia and reports here.

Meanwhile, Mumia Abu Jamal is busy writing tributes to actor Ossie Davis.

A tribute page for slain cop Daniel Faulkner is here. Much more at Smerconish’s website here.

E-mail Mayor Street at mayor@phila.gov

Update: Philly Daily News columnist John Baer sez…

This welcoming gesture, using a symbol of American independence, was made to those intent on honoring the convicted killer of a city policeman, Daniel Faulkner, shot in the face in the line of duty in one of the most infamous murders in modern times.

It is a gesture astoundingly insensitive to Faulkner’s widow, family and friends. It is a gesture utterly offensive to law enforcement. And it is a gesture implying legitimacy to claims of Mumia’s innocence…

..So I ask the mayor about this yesterday and he starts in with an excuse about how he wasn’t there and doesn’t know the details and if the slain policeman’s widow wants to call he’s happy to talk with her and so on.

I simply ask, “Wasn’t it a mistake?”

And he goes off about how it’s routine for international visitors to get gifts from City Hall and I’m thinking, yeah, but these are not routine visitors, these are people calling for the freedom of a man who murdered a city police officer, and I ask, “Why not just admit it was a mistake?”

Because, he says, “I don’t want to criticize people who are trying to do the right thing.”

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