Monday May 23, 2011
Reactions to President Obama's speech on developments in the Arab World were a striking reminder of just how deep and troubling the disconnect in the U.S.-Israel-Arab relationship, and how dysfunctional politics in the U.S. have become. Read More »
Monday May 16, 2011
A few days back, The New York Times reported that President Obama was planning to deliver a major speech designed to "reset" U.S. relations with the Arab World. I found the article troubling. Read More »
Monday May 09, 2011
The killing of Osama bin Laden—a man who was responsible for numerous acts of mass murder—should have been the end of a story. I have no doubt that the essential elements of how he met his death are true: that he was tracked down by intelligence agencies; that with the President's authorization, a meticulously planned operation was designed; and that after being presented with estimates as to the certainty of the target and prospects for success, the President dispatched a team to the site and in the process of carrying out the plan, bin Laden was killed. Read More »
Monday May 02, 2011
The Israeli response to news that Palestinian factions had achieved a unity agreement was predictably irritating. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu derided the agreement in stark terms, saying that the Palestinians had a choice of either "Peace with Israel or peace with Hamas". His spokesperson reduced this bumper sticker rejection of Palestinian unity even further to "reconciliation or peace". Read More »
Monday April 25, 2011
The Middle East is in turmoil, its political map being rewritten by revolts against the status quo. But in the heart of this region, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, actors, on all sides, appear to be stuck playing out the same stale scenes.In recent weeks, the U.S. President, the U.N. Secretary General, and a host of other heads of state have weighed in on the importance of resolving this conflict. But other than to lamely insist that "the parties must return to the negotiating table", no one seems to have an original idea as to how to do it. This insistence on resuming negotiations, of course, ignores political reality. Read More »
Monday April 18, 2011
While much of what has come to be known as “the Arab Spring” remains a work in progress, there can be no doubt that a new dynamic has been unleashed across the region – one that will have a profound impact as it continues to play out in the years to come. Read More »
Monday April 11, 2011
"Will Arabs be able to form real democracies?" (or some variation on that theme) is a question I am frequently asked these days. After several exchanges with those who ask this question, I have come to realize that in most instances, in the backs of their minds, are a set of assumptions about what constitutes a "real democracy" and a rather naďve and ahistorical understanding about how democracies come into being and then function and evolve. Read More »
Monday April 04, 2011
The matter of bigotry against Muslims in America has been with us for quite some time now. In the past week, there were multiple incidents that served to catapult this problem to the forefront of national attention. Read More »
Monday March 28, 2011
For weeks now President Barack Obama has faced a barrage of criticism from Republicans over his Administration's failure to intervene in Libya's ongoing conflict. The GOP's assault accused the President of "weakness", "dithering", and "a lack of leadership". But, coming from the same cast of characters who recklessly led us into Iraq, the attacks could be dismissed as partisan rhetoric. Read More »
Monday March 21, 2011
All too frequently these days, I am asked whether our past polling at Zogby International gave us any advance clues to the uprisings that have occurred in several Arab countries. The answer, of course, is no. We were surprised, as, I believe, were the demonstrators themselves by the outpouring of support and the rapid growth of their movements in Tunisia, Egypt and beyond. Read More »
Monday March 14, 2011
For all the fanfare and bluster, the U.S. House of Representative's Committee on Homeland Security hearings on "The Extent of Radicalization in the Muslim Community and That Community's Response" produced little of value. The entire affair was so shockingly ill-conceived and so poorly executed as to leave one wondering whether the Committee's Chairman, New York Republican Peter King, was fit to lead. Read More »
Monday March 07, 2011
Let me state quite directly: Islamophobia and those who promote it are a greater threat to the United States of America than Anwar al Awlaqi and his rag-tag team of terrorists. On one level, al Awlaqi, from his cave hide-out in Yemen, can only prey off of alienation where it exists. Read More »
Monday February 28, 2011
I stood, this morning, before a room filled to capacity with members of the Democratic Party's Ethnic Council. The Council is an assembly of representatives of America's rich and diverse ethnic immigrant communities. Members come from across the United States. Read More »
Monday February 21, 2011
When speaking about the Arab uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and beyond, the language used here in the U.S. is euphoric. Expressions like "nothing will ever be the same again" and "the existing order is being swept away" are common. Read More »
Monday February 14, 2011
If one lesson is to be learned from the remarkable events unfolding in Egypt, it is that Arab public opinion matters. For too long Arab voices have not been listened to, nor have Arab sensibilities or aspirations been respected. The Egyptian people have not only risen up, demanding to be heard, they have challenged other Arabs and the West to pay attention to what they are saying. Read More »
Monday February 07, 2011
When U.S. politicians are forced to discuss critical Middle East matters, more often than not, their remarks either display an ignorance of facts, are shaped more by political needs than reality, or are just plain dumb. Commentary about the popular revolt in Egypt provides a case in point. Read More »
Monday January 31, 2011
Across the Middle East dramatic events have been unfolding in rapid-fire succession, confounding U.S. policy makers. Read More »
Monday January 24, 2011
Tunisia is on my mind. Events unfolding there have been both dramatic and inspiring, and are dominating discussions across the Arab World. The scenes coming from Tunis have been riveting. A peaceful mass revolt that persisted in the face of repression and violence has brought down a dictator and a government in a marvelous display of "people power". Read More »
Monday January 17, 2011
The senseless shootings in Tucson (that left six innocents dead and thirteen wounded - including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords) traumatized the nation, threatening, for a moment, to exacerbate an already deep political divide. Shock always takes a toll, frequently causing reactions that can be quite revealing. Read More »
Monday January 10, 2011
In a display of faux piety, the 112th Congress opened its first day of business by reading aloud the Constitution of the United States. Referring to it as "our sacred text", one-by-one, over 130 Members of Congress queued up to participate, each solemnly reading a few words before giving way to a colleague who would read a few more. Read More »
#NC lawmaker equates Islamic prayer w/ terror http://t.co/G9sp1NeLC1 @mostrolenk @aaiusa h/t @ozzyformayor
about 3 hours, 19 minutes ago.
Latest poll to be released Friday finds Americans are divided on continuing aid to #Egypt: http://t.co/1spZM1m9d2
about 6 hours ago.
RT @MaiE_89: In the 1990’s, #Egypt had a 60% favorable rating among Americans, while today only 36% of US views the country positively via @AAIUSA
about 6 hours, 4 minutes ago.
Looking at Iran by James Zogby
Kahlil Gibran Awards Gala - April 16, 2013President Obama got it just about perfect in his Jerusalem speech when he urged Israelis to see the world through the eyes of Palestinians. That portion of his remarks was so compelling it deserves to be quoted in full: Read More »
Air Date: 5/31/2012
Fellows from Syracuse University’s “Leaders for Democracy Fellowship Program (LDF); Bill Press, Host of the “Bill Press Show” and author of the new book, The Obama Hate Machine: The Lies, Distortions, and Personal Attacks on the President---and Who Is Behind Them. Read More »
The story of Arab Americans coming of age as an organized community is a classic American tale of immigrants seeking opportunity, benefiting from America’s freedoms, but also experiencing, at times, the dark side of exclusion and discrimination that has so often been a part of our nation’s history. Read More »
Apr 16 2013
Apr 27 2013
Jul 19 2013
