The Danger of Trump’s Assertion of the Self-Pardon
Monday morning President Trump tweeted, “…I have the absolute right to PARDON myself…” in a tirade about the investigation of Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller. The tweet cited “numerous legal scholars,” one of whom was likely the president’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who stated, “in no case can [the president] be...
Together We Came: Abie Abraham
By Allison Ulven “I was never one of those guys, hero guys wearing medals and all that,” Abie Abraham once said. His bravery in WWII and his continued service after, however, tell a different story. Abie was born on July 31, 1913 in Lyndora, Pennsylvania to Syrian immigrants Elias and...
#YallaVote Readies for CA Primaries
As the California Primary Election approaches on Tuesday, June 5th, Yalla Vote programming has been gaining momentum and pushing for GOTV efforts to ensure our Arab American community is registered and ready to show up at the polls next week. In light of the recent attacks on sanctuary status in...
By Blaise Malley Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States presented Democrats with an ideal counterpoint to some of their long-held beliefs. Many in Congress have seized the opportunity to combat Trump’s divisive and regressive policies. However, one area in which they have continued to fall short is...
To mark the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, The Jerusalem Fund & Palestine Center hosted Arab American Institute President, Dr. James Zogby for a talk entitled, “Political Zionism and the Root of Dispossession” on Tuesday, May 22nd. In his talk, Dr. Zogby cited his newly republished book, Palestinians: The Invisible...
Protect Free Speech on Our College Campuses
The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2018 (H.R.5924/S.2940), which was introduced in both the House and Senate on May 23, claims to address anti-Semitism on college and university campuses by including criticisms of Israel as examples of anti-Semitism. If passed, the bill would allow the Department of Education to suppress criticism of Israel...
The Problems of the new Anti-Semitism Awareness Act
The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2018 has been introduced today in Congress. The bill includes an overly-broad, political definition of anti-Semitism, which includes criticism of the state of Israel. The bill should be opposed because it misappropriates a non-legally binding definition for the basis of legal prohibitions, does not combat...
Last weekend Iraqi voters went to the polls for the first time since Iraq declared victory over ISIL in December 2017. The coalition building over the next few months will prove critical to how Iraq moves past intense sectarian divisions and toward vital governance issues and public services. Since...
James Zogby Gives Context to Israel Embassy Move
AAI President James Zogby gives important historical context to the Israel Embassy Move in two important pieces. In an opinion piece for CNN James Zogby reminds us, "The reason why US presidents, including Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, have used the act's waiver provision to defer its implementation...
Today, the Trump Administration celebrated the opening of its Israel embassy in Jerusalem, in a move widely condemned by the international community. This coincided with Israel killing dozens of Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza, and injuring hundreds, if not thousands. The contrast between the smiles at the embassy ceremony and the...
