AAI Bulletin

AAI Joins Conference Call with Presidential Delegation to Lebanon

Posted on Saturday September 30, 2006

AAI Joins Conference Call with Presidential Delegation to Lebanon

AAI Chairman George Salem and President James Zogby were among a group of Arab American leaders invited to participate in a conference call with members of a recent Presidential Delegation to Lebanon. The delegation included private-sector executives John Chambers of Cisco, Craig Barrett of Intel, Yousif Ghafari of GHAFARI, and Ray Irani of Occidental Petroleum.

The conference call was led by Assistant Secretary of State Dina Powell, who led the delegation to Lebanon. Ghafari as well as a representative of Cisco also participated in the call. After seeing first-hand the destruction in Lebanon resulting from this summer’s assault, the trip participants have co-founded the US-Lebanon Partnership Fund, a public-private initiative to help rebuild Lebanon and to offer educational and training programs for Lebanese youth.

“It’s encouraging that the Bush Administration is taking the lead in such an important effort,” Salem said. “Lebanon was and remains one of the shining examples of democracy at work in the Middle East, and it’s important that we support the Lebanese people at this important juncture in their country’s economic and political development.”

AAI signs EPIC letter on Domestic Surveillance Program

AAI joined nearly 40 organizations in signing a letter urging the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation to focus on President Bush’s domestic surveillance program. The Subcommittee has the authority to investigate consumer privacy concerns and to issue subpoenas to telecommunications companies.

The joint statement, sent by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), calls NSA’s surveillance an “enormous threat to the privacy and security of American consumers” and asks Subcommittee members to “show the same level of interest in the NSA spying as [they] have shown in the investigation of the Hewlett-Packard matter.”

“The actions of Hewlett Packard executives, although egregious, pale in comparison to the violation of the privacy rights of tens of millions of American consumers that should be safeguarded by federal law within the jurisdiction of the Committee,” the letter stated.

Zogby Proposal Praised at Clinton Global Initiative

AAI President James Zogby’s proposal to create live, interactive television programs to connect the U.S. and the Arab World received praise at the 2006 Clinton Global Initiative in New York.

Four TV shows would allow students from Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and the United Arab Emirates to interact and exchange ideas with students from the U.S., serving to create a dialogue and foster understanding.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright welcomed Zogby’s proposal, saying it would help to “break down the too frequent barriers of distrust and ignorance.”

The shows will air in the U.S. and Europe. They will be produced by Abu Dhabi TV, with assistance from Americans for Informed Democracy, a grassroots student organization, and Link TV. “To have this additional way of talking with each other is a real contribution to what we are trying to do,” said Albright, “so Jim, thank you very, very much.”

Elections now less than 40 days away!

The November 7 elections are fast approaching – if you have not yet gotten involved, the time to do so is now! There are many ways to participate – through non-partisan voter registration and Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts, joining the local organization of your political party, volunteering or fundraising for a particular local, state, or federal candidate’s campaign, applying to work as an election official, etc. Here are a couple of examples, followed by some resources to help you strengthen Arab American political power by getting involved.

If you are already involved, please be sure your efforts are included in a nationwide portrait of Arab American political participation by sending us your stories.

Voter Registration in Pennsylvania

AAI NPC member Marwan Kreidie and AAI Community Relations Coordinator Jason Assir registered voters at Philadelphia’s Al-Aqsa Islamic Society Mosque after the Juma’h prayer service recently. In addition to registering new voters and accepting changes of address for those who had moved since they last voted, Marwan and Jason distributed material pertaining to the election and AAI. General Election Voter Registration Deadline for Pennsylvania is October 10.

To register yourself to vote (or re-register at a new address) click here.

For more information about your state’s voter registration deadline, absentee ballot rules, polling places, voting machines, etc., click here, then click on your state and scroll down.

Meeting and Greeting in Michigan

Arab American Democrats gathered to discuss the upcoming elections at an Arab American Leadership Meeting hosted by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. Among the 75 participants were AAI National Policy Council members Ismael Ahmad, Ahmad Chebbani, Ali Dagher, Hassan Jaber, Jumana Judeh, Samir Mashni and Taleb Salhab. Lieutenant Governor John Cherry’s wife, Pamela Ferris, an Arab American, also fielded questions from the participants about issues important to the community, such as health care, jobs and the economy.

This is one of the Gubernatorial races that could go either way. Granholm is facing a serious challenge by Dick DeVos, while Cherry is challenged by Ruth Johnson.

To find information on the state and federal candidates on your ballot, click here, then enter your ZIP code.

To find information on getting involved with your local party committee, click here, click on the word “Go” after your state, and then on the “How To Party” link.

To request bilingual “Our Vote is Our Power: Vote November 7” and other “Yalla VOTE” materials and/or to get connected with other Arab American political activists in your area, contact the AAI staff liaison for your state, which you can do by clicking on their name below:

MI – Kenwah Dabaja

AZ, FL, MA, PA, TX, WA – Jason Assir

CO, IL, NJ, NY, OH, VA – Maram Abdelhamid

CA, DC, IA, MD and all other states – Valerie Smith