Blog — US-Arab Relations
Thursday February 09, 2012
For the first time in two decades, U.S. opinion toward Egypt is in sharp decline with an overall favorability of 33%, according to a poll released by the Arab American Institute today. In July 2011, AAI polling showed 5% of Egyptians held a favorable view of the U.S. The poll released today was conducted by JZ Analytics for NYU Abu Dhabi in January 2012, and surveyed 997 Americans nationwide. Key findings include: Read More »
Posted by AAI at 3:25 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday February 02, 2012
It is only in the environment created by such headlines that Michele Bachmann can make the utterly ridiculous claim that Iranian leaders have threatened to nuke the United States without immediate public ridicule. While no threat could have been made since Iran denies developing nuclear weapons in the first place, the allegation nevertheless sounds plausible because major information outlets are constantly reinforcing the idea Iran is threatening the United States. Read More »
Posted by Omar Baddar at 4:49 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday January 30, 2012
by Abraham Hassan
Palestinian American Republican Abraham Hassan follows up on his question from the CNN Florida debate on January 26th. Mr. Hassan, a Republican from Jacksonville, FL asked the candidates how they would achieve peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Referring to a controversial statement made by Newt Gingrich weeks earlier where he said Palestinians were an "invented people," Mr. Hassan asserted before the debate audience: "As a Palestinian American Republican, I'm here to tell you we do exist." Read More »
Posted by Guest at 5:51 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday January 30, 2012
Watch a live stream on the situation in Egypt one year after the beginning of the uprising, with author and journalist Ashraf Khalil and AAI president Jim Zogby on Capitol Hill today. Ashraf Khalil is author of the recently-published book Liberation Square: The Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation. Jim Zogby is president of the Arab American Institute and author of the book Arab Voices: What They Are Saying to Us, and Why it Matters. Read More »
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Thursday January 26, 2012
The Arab American Institute is outraged by the targeting of Americans by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Egypt's military government. The December 29 raid and confiscation of materials from the offices of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI), among others, by SCAF was a provocative step taken against non-governmental organizations engaged in important civil society work. The news that six Americans have now been prohibited from leaving Egypt is unacceptable. Read More »
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Wednesday January 11, 2012
Last year, AAI President Jim Zogby's book on the Arab world, Arab Voices: What They Are Saying to Us and Why It Matters, was released to major acclaim and brisk sales. This month, Arab Voices came out in paperback with a new section on the Arab Spring. The book, and the polling it is based on, have proved invaluable to many analysts and policy makers as they try to better understand the changes taking place in the region. Read More »
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Thursday December 29, 2011
Americans for Peace Now has a great list of the “Top 10 Wackiest Congressional Actions on the Middle East of 2011,” in a year where they had a pretty wide pool to choose from. We’ve covered a lot of these stories before, but this list does a great job of highlighting just how out of sync Congress can sometimes be when it comes to Middle East issues. Read More »
Posted by Samer Araabi at 1:25 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday December 28, 2011
Two new Israeli settlements, Har Homa and Givat Hamatos, will completely alter the two thousand-year-old geography and biblical landscape which connects two of the holiest cities in Christendom: Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Israeli checkpoints at breaks in the wall surrounding Bethlehem on its northern border already constitute a near-impenetrable barrier for Palestinian travelers, but now, beyond ethnic lines, Christians in Bethlehem are scared that at the current rate of Israeli expansion their holy places may soon be completely off-limits to them. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 4:58 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday December 20, 2011
Yesterday, the Arab American Institute, in a formal request to the Obama administration, asked for Temporary Protected Status privileges to be extended to Syrian citizens currently residing in the United States. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a procedure by which the Secretary of Homeland Security may provide temporary asylum to individuals who are in America and who cannot safely return to their home countries. Read More »
Posted by Samer Araabi at 1:40 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday December 19, 2011
Today, the Arab American Institute released two polls on Arab public opinion regarding the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and Arab political concerns in a post-Arab Spring Middle East. Among the countries surveyed were Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran. On the U.S. withdrawl from Iraq, respondents were asked (among other things) to weigh in on the state of the country today, and consequences of the war for the future. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 5:18 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday December 16, 2011
One year after the spark of the Arab Spring, we remain inspired by the courageous efforts of ordinary people across the Arab world to rise up and change their countries. In recent months, Arab Americans across the country have engaged in various efforts to change the national narrative on a number of important issues facing our community. In October, a coalition of Arab American organizations launched Yalla Change, a national campaign devoted to bringing about the change we need here at home. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 12:36 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday December 12, 2011
The statement by Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich that Palestinians are an "invented people" is perhaps a new low in the campaign rhetoric of presidential hopefuls.
A review of maps going back to the 16th century – and any serious review of history going back centuries earlier – reveals that Palestine and Palestinians were clearly there. They were a part of the Ottoman Empire, to be sure, but so too were the modern nations of Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and even Israel. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 6:27 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday November 17, 2011
AAI President Jim Zogby and Executive Director Maya Berry, along with a number of Arab American leaders, participated in the “Tunisia Partnerships Forum" earlier this week at the U.S. Department of State. Jim and Maya joined diaspora leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and business people from across the U.S. and Tunisia to discuss efforts to promote democracy and economic development in Tunisia. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 3:48 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday November 15, 2011
Last week, you sent over 1,500 letters to your representatives urging them to repeal the law that forces Congress to defund UNESCO simply for admitting Palestine as a member. Apparently, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) didn’t get the message. Read More »
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Thursday November 10, 2011
Several months ago, we praised Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels for remaining principled and not pandering to anti-Muslim sentiment. At the time, unapologetic Islamophobia seemed like an accepted element of the mainstream Republican platform. We called Governor Daniels the “adult in the room” for his leadership. Today, similar praise is due for a candidate who has taken a principled stance on another issue of importance to the Arab American community. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 1:03 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday October 26, 2011
Somehow, GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney thinks President Obama is to blame for an “out of control” Arab Spring. Speaking in front of the State House in Concord, New Hampshire on Monday, Romney indicated that the White House should have been able to foresee the events of the Arab Spring before they happened. He went on to say: Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 3:30 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday October 25, 2011
This morning, AAI released a new poll on Arab attitudes towards Syria, comprised of data from six Arab nations and over four thousand respondents. AAI President Jim Zogby began the release by recalling a 2008 poll AAI had conducted in the Arab world for the BBC. The data from this 2008 poll reveals that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad was among the most highly respected and widely supported leaders in the Arab World. Now, a mere three years later, new AAI polling data shows Bashar to be virtually isolated in the Arab world. Read More »
Posted by Frank Matt at 1:19 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday October 18, 2011
The Arab American Institute hosted Egyptian activist Ahmed Maher, founder of Egypt’s April 6 Youth Movement, in Washington, DC for a discussion about the current status of Egypt’s youth revolution entitled A Discussion with Ahmed Maher: What’s Next for Egypt. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 1:13 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday October 11, 2011
This weekend’s violence in Egypt is not only tragic for the victims and their families, but also has the potential of triggering wider sectarian violence, thus posing a threat to the unity of the Egyptian people in this critical time of transition. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 3:38 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday October 07, 2011
I love Iowa. Folks take politics so seriously. A great group last night at Iowa City's "Old Brick". My talk was called "The Challenges We Face". It was co-sponsored by the United Nations Association and the Arab Students at the University of Iowa. Attached is the front page headline story in The Daily Iowan "Zogby: GOP hopefuls worrisome". A good story that interviewed many in the audience.
Read More »
Posted by Jim Zogby at 1:19 pm / / Leave a comment
#FF Arab American Orgs @AAIUSA @NAAP_NY @TheAANews @AAFSArab @ArabCCC @ArabDawn @ArabAmericans @Arab_America @ArabVoters @ADCtweets
only 33% of Americans have positive view of #Egypt, +30pt drop 
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