Merry Christmas from Times Square- from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) which was founded in 1980 in response to stereotyping, defamation, and discrimination directed against Americans of Arab origin.

New York Times Square!   https://x.com/adc

 

Merry Christmas from Times Square! From all of us at the @adc family!

AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]

 

 https://adc.org/ 

In 1980, Senator James George Abourezk founded the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in response to stereotyping, defamation, and discrimination directed against Americans of Arab origin.

ADC is the largest Arab American grassroots organization in the U.S. We defend civil and human rights, fight discrimination, promote understanding of Arab history and culture, and partner across communities to advance social justice.

Billboard published after Pope Francis’ passing praising his Palestinian solidarity.

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Every person in the U.S., including students, workers, immigrants, and protesters, has the right to speak freely, peacefully assemble, and challenge injustice.

Our Issues

Since 1980, the ADC Legal Department has worked to simultaneously address a consistently heavy caseload and serve as a staunch advocate for the rights of Arab Americans on a number of salient policy issues. See a few of our key issues and information below:

• 

  Hate Crimes

  Report incidents and access support to protect yourself and your community.
• 

  Immigration

  Get guidance on delays, detention risks, and filing assistance. Know your rights.
• 

  Israel Travel Experience

  Share your entry and exit experience to help document discriminatory treatment.
• 

  Surveillance and Profiling

  Understand your rights and how to challenge unlawful surveillance or profiling.
• 

  Violent Extremism

  Learn how ADC counters harmful CVE policies that target our communities.
• 

  Voting Rights

  Know your voting rights and how to report problems at the polls.

AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]

Zeina Azzam, Alexandria’s poet laureate, whose parents fled Palestine, creates potent art from the devastation in Gaza- with her poem "Write My Name"

Zeina Azzam, the 2022 Poet
Laureate for the city of Alexandria, Virginia. (Courtesy, City of Alexandria/Jeff Norman)

April 14, 2024

Alexandria Poet Laureate Zeina Azzam first found it difficult to write about Palestine amid the ongoing conflict that started last October.

Now, her words about the children of Gaza have been translated into five languages and recited everywhere, from senators’ offices to churches, from vigils to protests.

Azzam says she was moved to pen the poem “Write My Name” after reading a CNN report about parents in Gaza who had resorted to writing their children’s names on their legs to help identify them should they or their children be killed.

More than 12,300 children in Gaza have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said that more children have been killed in Gaza in the last four months than children killed in the last four years of war globally...   READ MORE   https://patabook.com/news/2024/04/14/alexandrias-poet-laureate-whose-parents-fled-palestine-creates-potent-art-from-the-devastation-in-gaza/ 

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

 

2023 Arab American news: Palestinian Cry from Gaza, ‘Write My Name,’ Goes Viral in Poem by Palestinian American

https://www.arabamerica.com/palestinian-cry-from-gaza-write-my-name-goes-viral-in-poem-by-palestinian-american/

 

Zeina Azzam's poem- Write My Name

 

Write my name on my leg, Mama

Use the black permanent marker

with the ink that doesn’t bleed

if it gets wet, the one that doesn’t melt

if it’s exposed to heat

 

Write my name on my leg, Mama

Make the lines thick and clear

Add your special flourishes

so I can take comfort in seeing

my mama’s handwriting when I go to sleep

 

Write my name on my leg, Mama

and on the legs of my sisters and brothers

This way we will belong together

This way we will be known

as your children

 

Write my name on my leg, Mama

and please write your name

and Baba’s name on your legs, too

so we will be remembered

as a family

 

Write my name on my leg, Mama

Don’t add any numbers

like when I was born or the address of our home

I don’t want the world to list me as a number

I have a name and I am not a number

 

Write my name on my leg, Mama

When the bomb hits our house

When the walls crush our skulls and bones

our legs will tell our story, how

there was nowhere for us to run

 

—Zeina Azzam

17 children’s books for Arab-American Heritage Month - 2024 - Rebekah Gienapp [nurturing antiracism]

 

17 children’s books for Arab-American Heritage Month

March 29, 2024  Posted by Rebekah Gienapp

April is Arab-American Heritage Month, so it’s the perfect time for your family or learners to read books starring Arab-American characters. (Though I’ll add the disclaimer I always do about heritage months. This is a time to amplify the learning we should be doing all year round!)

First, it’s important to clarify which groups of people are considered Arab-American. As the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee explains, Arabs are united by Arabic language, culture, and history, rather than by race or religion.

While most Arabs are Muslim, most Muslims are not Arab. (For example, Pakistan is a majority Muslim country, but it is not an Arab country. Yet, I still found many children’s book lists online for Arab-American Heritage Month that heavily featured books about Pakistani-Americans.) There are also significant numbers of Arab Jews and Christians. There are 22 Arab countries, though the majority of Arab-Americans are from Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine.

Now that that’s clarified, let’s dive into these wonderful books!

READ MORE  https://www.rebekahgienapp.com/arab-american-books/#prettyPhoto

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

 

Cover of Baba, What Does My Name Mean? A Palestinian girl with dark brown hair holds a key, tree, mosque, and other symbols of Palestine above her head.

Baba, What Does My Name Mean? A Journey to Palestine by Rifk Ebeid. Illustrated by Lamaa Jawhari.

Purchase from Bookshop.org (supports independent bookstores and my business!)

When classmates ask Saamidah what her name means, she only knows that it’s an Arabic name. When she asks her father to tell her more about it, he tells her that her name means patient and persistent. Her parents chose this name because her Palestinian people must have these qualities as they fight for their rights.

With a special key and a dove of peace to guide her, Saamidah is whisked off to Palestine, where she visits many special places, from the Qubbet Al-Sakhra mosque and the Church of the Nativity, to her Papa’s childhood home from which he was dispossessed. There are many ancient sites, delicious foods, and carefully created items to learn about. Through all her journey, Saamidah is encouraged to believe that one day the Palestinian people will be free. (Recommended for ages 6 – 10. Palestinian-American author.)

Before I Was a Gazan - a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye

 

Copyright © by Naomi Shihab Nye.

 

Naomi Shihab Nye gives voice to her experience as an Arab-American through poems about heritage and peace that overflow with a humanitarian spirit.

POETS.ORG

Find and share the perfect poems

April: Celebrating Arab American Heritage Month with Ibtisam Barakat's Tree Day Celebration

in

Growing Gardens for Palestine

For this poem and 155 more (all in English AND Spanish), order your own copy of The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations HERE and for more Poetry Celebrations fun, click HERE. And for more on National Poetry Month, click HERE.

http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com/2015/04/april-celebrating-arab-american.html

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April: Celebrating Arab American Heritage Month 

In The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations, we feature DAYS, WEEKS, and whole MONTHS of celebration, too. We've already showcased December 10: Dewey Decimal Day; April 2: International Children's Book Day; and 2nd Week of February: Random Acts of Kindness Week. Today, we're featuring Arab American Heritage Month-- the month of April.

We're so pleased to feature poems by Palestinian American poet, Ibtisam Barakat, who has her own YouTube channel of poem readings here.  Here is her original poem in celebration of Arab American Heritage Month from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations. You can listen to her read the poem aloud by clicking here and see it translated into Arabic here. Cool, right?

For a lovely note with more information and details from Ibtisam, click here.
And here are the Take 5! activities that accompany this poem in the book:

1. Introduce the idea that tree-planting traditions are found around the world from Arbor Day to Christmas to the Tree Day Celebration in Arab countries, India, and elsewhere. Then read the poem aloud with a pause between stanzas.
2. Work with children to plan a dramatic interpretation of the poem, with two volunteers (one as child, one as tree) pantomiming the planting, measuring, sleeping, and sharing stories while you read it aloud again. 
3. Share planting experiences (of trees, bushes, flowers, etc.) and talk about the steps involved....READ MORE

Pomelo Books is Poetry PLUS!

The Poetry Friday Anthology series helps teachers and librarians teach poetry easily while meeting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and the Texas TEKS for English Language Arts (ELA)/Poetry and Science & Technology. Celebrate Poetry on Fridays—and any day—with The Poetry Friday Anthology!

"A strong advocate for mutual understanding and respect between Americans and Arabs, Naomi Shihab Nye has created a cultural space in America for people to come together to celebrate their commonalities alongside their differences. Her artistic spirit has inspired millions..."

 Thursday June 26, 2014

Together We Came: Naomi Shihab Nye

Posted by AAI at 3:35 pm

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]  

http://www.aaiusa.org/blog/entry/together-we-came-naomi-shihab-nye/

Poet, songwriter, and novelist Naomi Shihab Nye was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1952. Her father was a Palestinian refugee and her mother was an American of German and Swiss descent. Well known for her fresh perspective on events, people, and objects, Nye’s work reflects her Arab American heritage and each creation overflows with her passion for art and culture.

Naomi began to write poetry as soon as she learned how to write. At 14-years-old, Naomi’s writing style and focus changed after visiting her Palestinian grandmother and living in Ramallah and the Old City of Jerusalem. This experience proved to be life-changing, inspiring Naomi to dedicate a book to her grandmother, Sitti’s Secrets. The children’s book follows the tales of an Arab American girl who visits her grandmother in a Palestinian village and learns that despite the differences between her life and her grandmother's, they share a bound by love and family. Her experiences in two separate worlds are central parts of many poetry collections she would go on to write.

Naomi received a B.A. in English and World Religions from Trinity University in San Antonio. Fresh out of college, Nye published her first collection of poems, Different Ways to Pray, in which she explored similarities and differences between cultures—a topic that would become one of her lifelong areas of focus. Her other books include poetry collections A Maze Me, Red Suitcase, Field Trip and Fuel, a young-adult novel called Habibi (the semi-autobiographical story of an Arab American teenager who moves to Jerusalem in the 1990s) and picture book Lullaby Raft.

Nye has stated that, for her, “the primary source of poetry has always been local life, random characters met on the streets, [and] our own ancestry sifting down to us through small essential daily tasks.” In fact, Nye’s poems about heritage and peace give voice to some of her most treasured cultural inheritances. Reflecting on her work, famed poet William Stafford has said, “Her poems combine transcendent liveliness and sparkle along with warmth and human insight. She is a champion of the literature of encouragement and heart. Reading her work enhances life.” Bill Moyer, American journalist and public commentator, finds deep comfort in Nye’s poetry expressing that “her poems speak of ordinary things—things we take for granted until it’s almost too late.” To this day, he walks around with his favorite poem by Nye in his back pocket.

Nye’s poems and short stories have appeared in various periodicals and journals throughout North America, Europe, and the Middle East. She has traveled all over the world for the United States Information Agency, promoting international goodwill through the arts.

Nye has won many awards and fellowships, among them four Pushcart Prizes, the Jane Addams Children’s Book award, the Guggenheim Fellowship, many notable book and best book citations from the American Library Association, and a 2000 Witter Bynner Fellowship. In June 2009, Nye was named as one of PeaceByPeace.com’s first peace heroes.

Following the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, Nye became an active voice for Arab Americans. Motivated by the lack of understanding between Americans and Arabs, Nye collected her poems that dealt with the Middle East and her experiences as an Arab American and formed them into one volume, 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East. Highly praised for its timely message, Publisher’s Weekly declared that it was “an excellent way to invite exploration and discussion of events far away and their impact here at home,” and literary critic Donna Seaman remarked that “Nye’s clarion condemnation of prejudice and injustice reminds readers that most Americans have ties to other lands and that all concerns truly are universal.”

A strong advocate for mutual understanding and respect between Americans and Arabs, Naomi Shihab Nye has created a cultural space in America for people to come together to celebrate their commonalities alongside their differences. Her artistic spirit has inspired millions, perfectly demonstrating how art can be used to promote acceptance and love throughout the world and for generations to come.

Steps

By Naomi Shihab Nye

Excerpted from “19 Varieties of Gazelle”

A man letters the sign for his grocery
in Arabic and English.
Paint dries more quickly in English.
The thick swoops and curls of Arabic letters
stay moist and glistening
till tomorrow when the children
show up jingling their dimes.

They have learned the currency of the New World,
carrying wishes for gum and candies
shaped like fish.
They float through the streets,
diving deep to the bottom,
nosing rich layers of crusted shell.

One of these children will tell a story
that keeps her people alive.
We don't know yet which one she is.
Girl in the red sweater dangling a book bag,
sister with eyes pinned to the barrel
of pumpkin seeds.
They are lettering the sidewalk with their steps.

They are separate and together and a little bit late.
Carrying a creased note, "Don't forget."
Who wrote it? They've already forgotten.
A purple fish sticks to the back of the throat.
Their long laughs are boats they will ride and ride,
making the shadows that cross each other's smiles.

Read more stories about Arab immigrants and their descendants on the "Together We Came" main page.

American Task Force on Palestine Springs Forward, Asks for Our Support

ATFP Springs Forward, Asks for Your Support

Dear ATFP Friend,

With your support, this spring ATFP launched its most intense advocacy campaign ever to pursue peace and American foreign policies that will promote a better future in Palestine and throughout the Middle East. In recent weeks, we have participated in over 22 public speaking events, 20 articles, 13 media interviews and mentions, and numerous on and off the record interviews and meetings with decision- and opinion-makers from around the world, among other major initiatives.

We rely on your help so that these efforts -- and a voice of reason, principled pragmatism, and enlightened self-interest -- can continue to have a real and effective champion in Washington, across our country and in the region. 

Donate Now

In an ideal world, this letter would be thanking you for supporting our efforts that contributed to ending the occupation and the conflict, and the realization of peace between the Palestinians and Israel. But, obviously, there's a long way to go, and much more work to be done, before that vital goal is accomplished. ATFP remains committed to our mission, and is constantly looking for ways to move forward.

These are dynamic times at ATFP, as we break ground in new directions while intensifying our ongoing activities. Our new initiatives focus mainly on youth as a major part of expanding the constituency for peace and Palestine.

Our new Youth Coordinator Tala Haikal published her first major commentary, in the Huffington Post, advocating more engagement by young people in the quest for peace. She is spearheading our efforts to reach out to students and other youth.

Interning at ATFP is special. Our interns aren't just given clerical duties, but are closely involved with all aspects of our activities. Over the years a clear pattern has developed in which our interns, including Tala, have been so inspired by, and successful in, their internships at ATFP that they have later joined us as full-time staff.

We work with our interns on developing major research projects and guiding them in writing and publishing their findings. Most of our interns now will leave ATFP with at least one significant publication added to their CV. This is truly extraordinary for Washington internships, and we are committed to ensuring our interns are afforded a unique learning and contributing experience. Our current batch of talented interns (Amber, Brendan, Colleen, and Zach) are helping us build a new generation committed to promoting peace based on an end to the occupation.

In recent weeks, ATFP staff have been reaching wider audiences than ever around the country and the world through speaking engagements, media appearances and a constant stream of commentary articles. Among the highlights was a major ATFP panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington on “The Status and Future of the Muslim Brotherhood,” broadcast live to C-SPAN's almost 50 million weekly viewers. 

I was honored last month to once again address the annual United Nations International Meeting on the Question of Palestine. Meanwhile, this spring Executive Director Ghaith Al-Omari and Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish between them have spoken at over 30 major public events, including campus lectures, conferences, high-profile debates and panel discussions.

In March and April, leading American and Arab journals published an unprecedented number of articles by, or quoting, ATFP staff including Foreign Affairs, Al-Hayat, the Daily Beast, Ha’aretz, Al-Arabiya, The National, Asharq Al-Awsat, Now Media, etc. With the help of our current and former interns, and your interaction, ATFP’s social media channels have been on fire. Click here to read a more detailed list of the whirlwind of ATFP advocacy efforts in this dynamic spring forward for the organization. 

As always, we welcome your feedback. We rely on your generous help, not just in the form of financial and moral support, but also through sustained engagement and the real conversation we have been able to establish with many of you. Everyone is welcome to join in, and our expanding outreach efforts are intended to expand this conversation's breath and depth, and to reach more people with ATFP's core message of peace in the American national interest.

Donate Now

Despite ATFP's genuine accomplishments and the intensification of our efforts this spring, clearly all of us who are committed to peace need to do more. The Task Force currently has the most able and cohesive team in its history. Over the past decade, we have developed an unprecedented degree of credibility. Our standing, and the quality and quantity of our contribution, are vastly disproportionate to our small staff and limited resources. 

The Task Force has never been needed more, or better able to serve its noble causes, than it is today. But we need you to help us immediately with a generous and tax-deductible contribution.

Sincerely,

Ziad J. Asali, MD
President

American Task Force on Palestine

 The founding mission of the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) was, and remains, to impact decision-making in Washington on the importance of a two-state solution to the American national interest. Having just completed its first decade of work advocating for peace and Palestine, and embarking on its second decade, ATFP is issuing the following detailed set of explanations of exactly what it is, what it does and why. They are also intended to highlight and explicate ATFP's accomplishments during its first decade, which have far exceeded its expectations at its founding 10 years ago..    A Decade of Achievement: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About ATFP

ATFP categorically and unequivocally condemns all violence against civilians, no matter the
cause and who the victims or perpetrators may be.

 

ATFP Sponsors Arab America's Assaf Concert, May 11

American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) congratulates Arab America for bringing to us the talent of “Arab Idol” Mohammed Assaf and Lebanese vocalist Ziad Khoury. Join ATFP in supporting the concert’s message of solidarity with the Palestinian people and their steadfastness and perseverance.

ATFP is happy to be a sponsor of the event featuring the Palestinian superstar, as he premieres his new CD. ATFP encourages everybody, especially those in the Washington, DC area, to buy tickets and attend.The concert will take place on Sunday, May 11, 2014, at 5pm at Waterford-Springfield Banquet Facility. We look forward to seeing you there!

  Middle East News: World Press Round

recent columns

 Hussein Ibish says the US Supreme Court must uphold the Constitution, international law, and established US policy in its ruling on Jerusalem. (Now)

ATFP Pres. Ziad Asali says Arab men have to play a major role in the battle for women’s rights. (Huffington Post)

Please help sustain ATFP's work and independent decision-making by donating here.

Real models for Arab-American advocacy in the U.S.

ATFP 10th Anniversary photos

NOTE: The following commentary by ATFP Executive Director Ghaith al-Omari appears today on the Al Arabiya website. Click here for the original Al Arabiya commentary.]

Real models for Arab-American advocacy in the U.S.
Sunday, 15 December 2013
Ghaith al-Omari

It is an inescapable and perennial question among Arabs and Arab Americans why they have found it so difficult to establish a political presence in Washington and exercise influence over U.S. government policies. A Nov. 30 Al Arabiya News panel held in Dubai once again examined this quandary from multiple perspectives.

It is generally believed, and was reflected in the Al Arabiya panel, that there has been little more than a series of failures in such projects, arising from a plethora of challenges, obstacles and insufficient efforts. This is largely true. Yet, there are some important extant and emerging models of Arab-American success that went overlooked in the conversation and have yet to receive sufficient attention in general.

The Arab states face somewhat different challenges than the Arab-American community in trying to influence American policies, although their perspectives, interests and problems sometimes have significant overlap. For the Arab Americans, the problem is essentially a lack of organizations and institutions commensurate with their educational, financial, social and other accomplishments. In all other indicators, the Arab Americans outperform the vast majority of other Americans. But when it comes to building and maintaining political credibility, clout and influence, they seem to be particularly ineffective.

As was raised at the panel, the most typical complaint is the lack of an effective “Arab lobby,” or even set of Arab and Arab American lobbying groups to try to influence legislation and policy. And, as was noted on the panel, impediments - both those internal and external to the Arab-American community - really do undermine its ability to be politically effective. Yet, it is not enough to identify these. It is important to look into ongoing projects that demonstrate exactly how, and to what extent, that can happen if people are willing to do what is necessary for success.

It’s important to note that lobbying, which is a very clearly defined and regulated legal activity in the United States directly relating to specific legislation and elections, is hardly the only way of successfully engaging the American policy conversation. Even for more generalized policy advocacy, public education and other related and indispensable activities, hurdles do exist. However, it is equally important to understand that there are no legal or formal barriers to Arab-American political participation. It all comes down to a matter of will and skill.

A shining example

We strongly believe that some Arab Americans, such as the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP), although it is not a lobby group but a policy advocacy organization, have identified ways of effective Arab-American engagement in Washington. And we feel that ATFP has demonstrated the core elements necessary for such a successful intervention.

First, it must be American at its core; especially if it relates to foreign policy, also, it must put the U.S. national interest first and participate in defining it. Second, it must engage with the system as it exists, and craft receivable messages that can be successfully communicated to policy makers and framers. Third, it must seek to make itself genuinely relevant to the problems facing the implementation of core, consensus American policy goals. Fourth, it must be based on integrity and an unswerving commitment to political and intellectual consistency saying the same things to all audiences in every language and not ever playing into the stereotype of Arab doublespeak.

Any such project will face significant resistance from within and without.

External forces such as extremist pro-Israel and other elements of the ultra-right will try to paint any Arab-American project, especially if it overtly champions the cause of Palestine, as anti-Semitic and possibly terrorist-oriented. Islamophobes will attack anything remotely linked to Islam or Muslims. And elements of the far left will denounce any serious effort to engage with the American political system as “selling out” or collaborating with imperialism and so forth. However, the bulk of the American policy and political mainstream is supportive of such a project.

Far more damaging are the internal constraints facing any serious Arab-American effort at political empowerment based on the indispensable precepts outlined above. The Arab-American far left and the Muslim religious right can both be relied upon to condemn any such project as “collaboration” and even “treason.” The alienation of so much of the community here in the United States, and the pervasive misimpression that the system is somehow closed to us makes anyone who engages, particularly if they are successful, immediately suspect. Therefore, not only is any effort stigmatized by a strident, vocal minority within the community, the more successful it is, the more it will be condemned.

Knee-jerk anti-Americanism

Similarly, the normative, knee-jerk anti-Americanism from multiple quarters in Arab political discourse, media and social conversation reinforce these same sentiments within the Arab-American community.

Many Arab Americans remain primarily informed by Arab political discourse, which has two debilitating impacts. First, it means that they are speaking a different political language, no matter how perfect their English may be, than their fellow citizens. They simply cannot be understood because of the chasm in worldviews. Second, insofar as Arab Americans are influenced by Arab discourse emanating from the Middle East, their alienation from and hostility towards their own country and its foreign policy is only exacerbated.

These factors combine to intimidate, bully and discourage far too many Arab Americans who would otherwise been keen on engaging in our country’s political and policy dynamic. They are the real reasons why it is proving so hard for Arab Americans, as a community, to be effective in Washington.

We believe we have shown how, by shaking off these traditional negative attitudes and embracing our full status as American citizens with every right, and indeed the responsibility, to help define and shape our national interests, Arab Americans can achieve the long-elusive goals of political credibility and relevance. With meager resources, and facing all of these same difficulties, ATFP has managed to gain a seat at the American policy table on the most sensitive and challenging of U.S. foreign policy issues: Palestine. If this can be accomplished regarding Israeli-Palestinian matters, other areas of concern should be even more accessible.

The challenge now is to extend this model beyond the issue of Palestine to other crucial American foreign policy concerns in the Middle East, and the accumulation of major influence through multiple organizations. Serious, purposeful, focused engagement of the kind pursued by ATFP needs to be replicated at a much broader level and through many different vehicles.

Over the past decade of its existence, ATFP has proven, beyond any plausible doubt, that it is entirely possible for Arab Americans to gain credibility, access, and indeed, influence over the thorniest of American policy issues if the approach is serious, thoughtful and systematic. The corollary is obvious: The main thing that is actually holding the Arabs and the Arab Americans back from gaining real political impact and influence in the United States is… ourselves!

____________________

Ghaith al-Omari is Executive Director at the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP). Prior to that, he served in various positions within the Palestinian Authority, including Director of the International Relations Department in the Office of the Palestinian President, and advisor to former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. In these capacities, he provided advice on foreign policy - especially vis-à-vis the United States and Israel -- and security. He has extensive experience in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, having been an advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team throughout the permanent status negotiations (1999–2001). In that capacity, he participated in various negotiating rounds, most notably the Camp David summit and the Taba talks. After the breakdown of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, he was the lead Palestinian drafter of the Geneva Initiative, an unofficial model peace agreement negotiated between leading Palestinian and Israeli public figures. Mr. al-Omari is a lawyer by training and a graduate of Georgetown and Oxford universities. Prior to his involvement in the Middle East peace process, he taught international law in Jordan and was active in human rights advocacy.