Issues
Updates on the Issues
Update on the Issues: Going to the Middle East
Posted on Wednesday June 3, 2009
Finally: President Obama goes to Cairo…
Early Thursday morning, the world will tune in to hear President Barack Obama’s speech in Cairo, waiting to learn his plan for peace in the Middle East and a lasting resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The President’s speech will begin at 1:10 p.m. Cairo time, or 6:10 a.m. EST.
Dr. Zogby will be commenting on several television and radio shows throughout the week. Visit our website, www.aaiusa.org, for more information. You will be able to catch Dr. Zogby on ABC’s Topline, Egypt TV, Fox News, Detroit Public Radio, and more.
Queen Noor, Congressman Baird, and Jeremy Ben-Ami on Viewpoint
Live on “Viewpoint with James Zogby” Thursday evening, Dr. Zogby and his guests will assess President Obama’s history-making speech in Egypt. Please call in with your questions and comments, or send them via e-mail before the show…
Joining Dr. Zogby are Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, international public servant and outspoken voice for issues of world peace and justice; Congressman Brian Baird (D-WA-03), one of two members of Congress who visited Gaza after recent Israeli attacks; and Jeremy Ben-Ami, Executive Director of J Street, the political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement .
To participate during the live show, call 1-800-528-2090 from the United States, or dial 001-202-842-5056 from overseas. Viewers can also e-mail their questions in advance to jzogby@aaiusa.org: please submit your questions by 2:00pm EDT.
“Viewpoint” airs on Abu Dhabi TV and Link TV on Thursdays at 6 p.m. EST; Link TV is available in the U.S. on the DIRECTV and DISH Network satellite TV services. The show is also rebroadcast on MHz and several public broadcasting stations in the U.S.
Are you traveling this summer? What to do in case of ‘Denial of Entry’
If you plan to travel to Israel or the Occupied Territories this summer, please report any instance of denied entry to the Department of State. The Arab American Institute maintains contact with State and senior officials in the office of American Citizens Services about this and other, relevant issues. ACS continues to encourage U.S. citizens to report instances of denied entry.
At the recent, April 24th meeting held by the White House for Arab American leaders, Michele Bond reiterated her desire to hear about any difficulties American citizens face when traveling to the Occupied Territories. During a May 28th conference call with several organizations, including the AAI, Michele Bond again reiterated the need for American citizens traveling to the Occupied Territories to notify the Bureau of Consular Affairs of any problems they face, be it denial of entry or unnecessary delays and harassment at the border crossings.
Here are some useful links for you to keep in mind as you travel this summer:
- Overview of U.S. Citizens Services, as posted on the website for the Jerusalem Consulate
http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov/service.html - Information about Denial of Entry into Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is available through the website of the Jerusalem Consulate (under U.S. Citizens Services)
http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov/index.html - Link to background on issue of denied entry from Jerusalem Consulate website
http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov/border-crossings.html - ‘Refusal of Entry Information Sheet’
http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov/pdfs/allenbydenialform.pdf
On Thursday, May 28, Michele Bond, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Overseas Citizens Services, hosted a conference call for Arab American leaders to address the ongoing difficulties surrounding entrance to Israel and the Occupied Territories. She stated that the United States expects ALL citizens to be treated fairly and consistently, regardless of their original heritage. Americans of Palestinian descent are to cross into the West Bank through the Allenby crossing rather than Ben Gurion airport, however, other than that distinction they are entitled to the same treatment as any other American citizen. She stressed the importance of having any citizen who is harassed, denied entry, or unreasonably delayed entry fill out a Denial of Entry form, so as to be able to collect concrete cases to present to Israeli officials when the State Department addresses this issue with their counterparts in Israel.
For a complete summary of this important conversation between DAS, the Office of American Citizen Services, and Arab American leaders, please click here.
THANK YOU: Boustany-Carnahan-Cohen Letter
AAI thanks each and every one of you who took the time to call or write in, urging your Members of Congress to sign on to the Boustany-Carnahan-Cohen Letter supporting President Obama’s policies in the Middle East. When the letter closed yesterday evening, 85 representatives had signed on in support, and Rep. Gerry Connolly (VA-11) came on board as a fourth co-sponsor.
Dr. Zogby’s Washington Watch column for the week of May 26 highlighted the positive changes we’re beginning to see in Washington and on Capitol Hill: ”... the fact is that AIPAC is no longer uncontested in Washington, as evidenced by the near 70 (and still growing) list of congressional endorsers compiled by the pro-peace organizations. All this means that Washington is changing. The environment for Middle East peace making is better than it was a decade ago-with a strong President determined to take on big issues and pro-peace groups within the Jewish community working, with Arab Americans, to support the President’s efforts.”
Tomorrow…
