President 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 »
In "Looking at Iran: Iran's Rise and Fall in Public Opinion", I detail the dramatic shifts that have occurred in Arab and Muslim attitudes toward Iran, its regional policies and its nuclear program. Read More »
The big lies of the Iraq war were not the faulty intelligence about weapons of mass destruction or the fabricated link between Saddam and 9/11. More serious were the infantile fantasies promoted by the Bush Administration and their supporters that the war would be a "cake walk". They argued that it would require less than 100,000 troops, take less than 6 days to win, cost at most one to two billion dollars (before Iraqi oil revenues kicked in to pick up the rest of the tab), and it would all be over in six months. Read More »
A few weeks ago, I assumed that the main emphasis of President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to the Middle East would not be the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Taking my cues from Secretary of State John Kerry's recently completed trip and the way the White House had been "low-balling" expectations about making any progress in restarting Israeli-Palestinian talks, Read More »
Policy discussions here in the U.S. about Iran and its nuclear program most often focus exclusively on Israeli concerns. Ignored are Arab and Muslim attitudes, especially those of Iran's Arab and non-Arab Muslim neighbors. It is known that several Arab governments have problems with the Islamic Republic in Tehran, but what of their publics? Read More »
Former Senator Chuck Hagel's confirmation as Secretary of Defense was important for several reasons, many of which have been exhaustively examined by media commentators. For Arab Americans, there was another reason why we celebrated the final vote: it represented vindication. Read More »
In a week, John Kerry travels to the Middle East and the Arab Gulf states for his first trip as Secretary of State. A few weeks later, President Barack Obama will make his first trip to Israel as President, followed by his first visits to Palestine and Jordan. Read More »
In a week, John Kerry travels to the Middle East and the Arab Gulf states for his first trip as Secretary of State. A few weeks later, President Barack Obama will make his first trip to Israel as President, followed by his first visits to Palestine and Jordan. Read More »
In what can only be described as "chutzpah", David Keyes, the Executive Director of a group calling itself "Advancing Human Rights", penned "Palestine's Democracy Deficit" a column that appeared earlier this week in the New York Times. Read More »
I find deeply troubling the White House claim that their use of drones to assassinate suspected terrorists is "legal, ethical and wise". The release of a Department of Justice "White Paper" that purports to establish the Administration's legal justification for these killings only compounds my concern. Read More »
As part of their work examining the East- West divide, my students at New York University's Abu Dhabi campus designed a survey to be administered in the U.S. and an Arab country in order to better understand how Americans and people in the Arab World understand themselves and each other. Last year we examined the perceptions that Americans and Egyptians had of each other. Read More »
This January I returned to the UAE to teach a short term course at New York University's Abu Dhabi campus. It was a remarkable experience. My 13 students hailed from 10 countries and were a highly self-aware and wonderfully articulate group. Read More »
We have a cockeyed national debate on gun violence in which some motivated by political expediency seek to dodge core issues, while others driven by political ideology work to misdirect the discussion diverting it away from the core issues. Read More »
In the lead up the President Obama's announcement, there was an intense debate over former Senator Chuck Hagel's potential nomination as Secretary of Defense. At times Hagel's opponents became a touch hysterical indulging in excessively harsh rhetorical attacks. At first, they charged that he was not sufficiently pro-Israel or hawkish enough on Iran. But then, as is often the case, Hagel's opponents began to hyperventilate, upping the ante by claiming that the Senator was anti-Semitic or "obsessively addicted to dialogue" with Islamic extremist movements. Read More »
In the lead up the President Obama's announcement, there was an intense debate over former Senator Chuck Hagel's potential nomination as Secretary of Defense. At times Hagel's opponents became a touch hysterical indulging in excessively harsh rhetorical attacks. At first, they charged that he was not sufficiently pro-Israel or hawkish enough on Iran. Read More »
During the next few months, the Arab World will have its hands full with problems requiring urgent attention. Chief among them are the ongoing crises in Syria and Palestine, both of which are fast approaching their respective "points of no return". Instead of acting as spectators, enablers, or waiting for the United Nations or the United States to provide solutions, there are practical steps through collective Arab action that might make a real difference. Read More »
As President Obama prepares to launch his second term in the White House, he can take some comfort in the fact that positive attitudes toward the United States have once again risen sharply in several Arab countries. Read More »
Fourteen years ago, I went with then President Bill Clinton to Bethlehem where he participated in the lighting of the tree in Manger Square. As we looked out from the Square we could see Jerusalem and in between a green hill which was called Jabal Abul Ghnaim. The Israelis had announced plans to construct a settlement on that land, and despite Clinton's stern protests, the hill was already scarred by bulldozer tracks preparing the way for what was to come. Read More »
From this day on, Christmas in Newtown, Connecticut will always mean something very different. It is difficult to imagine the raw pain and the horror being felt in that community now ravaged by unspeakable violence. But imagine it we must, because Newtown is all of us, and we have something to learn from their tragedy. Read More »
As President Obama gears up to begin a second term, his Middle East agenda will be more complex and potentially more consuming and dangerous than the one he inherited from his predecessor four years ago. Read More »
Latest poll to be released Friday finds Americans are divided on continuing aid to #Egypt: http://t.co/1spZM1m9d2
about 33 minutes 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 36 minutes ago.
The Muslim Brotherhood has a negative favorable/unfavorable ratio of 30%–47%
http://t.co/rMKu4JJrgW
about 38 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
