Issues

Lebanon

Emergency Summit on Lebanon and Palestine

Posted on Wednesday July 19, 2006

Washington Court Hotel, Washington DC

Summary Report

In response to the crisis in the Middle East, the Arab American Institute (AAI) organized an Emergency Summit on Lebanon and Palestine July 19 that was attended by leaders of Arab American organizations from across the country.

Hosted by AAI and aired by C-Span nationally, the Summit was moderated by AAI President James Zogby and Chairman George Salem. Speaking at the event were Representatives Darrell Issa (R-CA), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Charles Boustany (R-LA), James Moran (D-VA) and John Dingell (D-MI). Senator John Sununu (R-NH) also appeared at the Summit.

In addition to C-Span, journalists from CNN, NBC, CBS, the Los Angeles Times and other media covered the event.

The meeting was called in order to coordinate a unified response to the massive destruction inflicted on Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories by the Israeli government. Members of the community felt that the U.S. government has offered a highly biased response to the conflict, and therefore wished to discuss ways to persuade their elected officials to oppose U.S. inaction.

Participants agreed on a four point plan: an immediate ceasefire; the appointment of an envoy to begin negotiations to resolve outstanding issues; launching an internal Lebanese mediation linking political reform with disarming militias; and massive reconstruction of Lebanese infrastructure.

Opening Discussion

After introductory remarks from Dr. Zogby, George Salem stated the need for the U.S. to re-engage itself in the Middle East peace process. Efforts to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict have faltered as a result of the present conflict, and a concerted effort must be made in order to return to this issue. In addition, the U.S. must work to provide incentives for governments in the region, as a way of conciliating moderate regimes such as Jordan and Egypt.

After George Salem’s remarks, the floor was opened for questions from the attendees. These questions initially served to clarify AAI’s position on the current crisis. Attendees also raised questions on a number of other issues. Many were concerned by comments from Representatives Rahall, Issa and Boustany regarding the present crisis. They felt that the congressmen’s’ response lacked equitability where Arab interests are concerned. In response, it was explained that the congressmen’s rationale, in the face of a worse AIPAC-organized resolution, was meant to act as the voice of moderation.

Further discussion centered on events on the ground, as well as the media’s coverage of the conflict as a whole, especially with regards to coverage of Israeli losses receiving far more attention than those in Lebanon and Gaza. In addition, it was reported that the Israeli military has begun using phosphorus shells and cluster bombs. Considering the U.S. invaded Iraq under the pretext of rooting out chemical warfare, it was agreed that this occurrence should be highlighted in the press.

Statements about the Political Crisis

Dr. Zogby began the summit’s second session with further discussion on what the Bush Administration should be doing to resolve the conflict. He stressed the detrimental effect the U.S. inaction has on interests in the region, most notably troops in Iraq. In order to resolve the overall issues, he reiterated that a positive horizon must be held out to the Lebanese people, in order to provide them an incentive. To facilitate this, the Lebanese political system must be revamped.

Rep. Issa spoke next about the upcoming need to rebuild Lebanon after the conflict subsides: “The heavy lifting is going to be enlisting the U.S. government into putting together the donors to help rebuild the country.” In addition to infrastructure, Rep. Issa commented that the U.S. needs to invest in the Lebanese army. Rep. Issa was questioned about a perceived lack of urgency on his part in seeking an immediate ceasefire.

Rep. Kucinich spoke on his resolution, which was seeking co-sponsor support. The resolution called on the U.S. to push for an immediate ceasefire and for all parties to the conflict to commit to multi-party negotiations with no preconditions. “We can reaffirm support for Israel by showing our support for peace,” Kucinich said.

Rep. Jim Moran called on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to travel to the region in order to resolve the conflict which, according to him, “is the result of five years of deliberate disengagement from the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” He stressed that all of the destruction being inflicted on Lebanon is also bringing about the destruction of Lebanese public opinion where Israel is concerned.

Sen. Sununu discussed his meeting with State Department officials in recent days. In discussions with Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, Sen. Sununu urged the State Department to stress the need for restraint by the Israelis, as well as concern for Lebanese civilians. He said that when the crisis is over in Lebanon, the government must be able to sustain itself, free of Syrian influence.

Guidance from the State Department

Catherine Barry, a consular official from the State Department, presented that agency’s actions since the beginning of the crisis Lebanon. She highlighted the Lebanon Task Force, which is responsible for “round the clock” observation of the crisis, in an effort to ensure the safety of American citizens in Lebanon. She discussed embassy conditions in Beirut, specifically noting that the number of staff had doubled, and special equipment packs had been shipped in order to allow embassy officials to communicate with all relevant parties (i.e. port officials, embassy, State HQ).

For the people being evacuated from Lebanon, ships were chartered by the State Department in order to ferry citizens from the port of Beirut, to Cyprus. Once there, citizens would stay only until a chartered flight to the U.S. could leave. Most people leaving Cyprus were then flown to Baltimore-Washington Airport, outside of Washington D.C. Some discussion revolved around this point, specifically the issue of payment for evacuation. While Barry stated that it is standard procedure for citizens to sign a Promissory Note when being evacuated, Congress passed a bill waiving the fee for those leaving Lebanon.

In response to questions regarding the situation in the South, Barry reported that USAID was coordinating with NGO’s in the areas to set up rendezvous points with citizens. Once at these points, people were to be taken from the South, up to the port of Beirut. While the Israeli Air Force had been informed of dates and times for these evacuations, little success had been seen in the south due to the fighting.

Action Steps

The final segment of the Summit focused on action steps for the coming weeks. To open, AAI officials reported on the following measures taken specifically by AAI in reaction to the crisis:

• Calling on AAI members to meet with the Congress members on July 21. A number of meetings around the country occurred on that date and shortly afterwards. Others are planned.

• Coordination of a media strategy for the crisis. AAI continues to coordinate media coverage nationally. Since the outbreak of hostilities AAI’s Communications Department has fielded hundreds of media calls and has been active in facilitating interviews with Arab American leaders around the country.

• Compiling a database of those whose families are stuck in Lebanon, and sharing that database with officials at the State Department. This also was accomplished, with AAI playing a pivotal role as a resource for the State Department, Arab Americans with families in the region.

• Compiling individual stories of those still trapped, and distributing these stories to the media for circulation. AAI was able to coordinate multiple stories in media around the country by arranging interviews and talking points.

• Drafting a petition calling on the Bush administration to facilitate a ceasefire, appoint an envoy to the region, increase humanitarian assistance, and increase efforts to strengthen democracy in Lebanon and Palestine. The petition has been released to the community at large and is currently on AAI’s website.

• Organizing National Arab American Lobby Day on August 16. Details of this event are already in the planning stages and dozens of appointments have been set up.

• Organizing National Leadership Conference in Washington DC on September 10-12. Speakers and program details are being confirmed and registration details are online.

• Highlighting the voice and role of prominent Arab Americans. The AAI Foundation organized an ad in national media in which leading Arab Americans in entertainment, business and political life issued a “Call for a Ceasefire” and urged the Administration and others to immediately address the humanitarian crisis.

Beyond these measures, conversation was held on further action items. The following proposals were to be facilitated by parties outside of AAI:

• Enlisting the help of Arab American political leaders who have a certain amount of credibility, to “raise their voices and raise our points” with Administration officials. This has been problematic. While certain emissaries have agreed to carry our message to the Bush Administration, officials there have rebuffed calls for an immediate ceasefire.

• Organization of a national demonstration, either in Washington D.C. or in multiple cities across the country. Other organizations are taking the lead on this initiative.

• Coordinating a national campaign for humanitarian aid. Several groups represented at the Summit announced initiatives. ACCESS in Dearborn is working with the National Arab American Medical Association on collecting medical supplies, and the Hariri Foundation in Maryland has set up an emergency fund.

AAI thanks the sponsors of the Emergency Summit, whose support made the event possible.