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Tuesday May 21, 2013
Our effort to oppose rewarding Israel with Visa Waivers is gaining traction in the media, with more reports about Israel’s long history of discriminating against Arab Americans and American Muslims at its borders. Last week, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a piece about opposition to Senator Barbara Boxer’s (D-CA) Visa Waiver Bill, S. 462—significant, given that the paper is one of the largest in Boxer’s own state. Read More »
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Tuesday May 14, 2013
The Arab American Institute is collecting stories of American citizens who have been harassed, detained, or deported when attempting to enter Israel or Palestine. If you've personally been targeted by Israeli authorities in such an incident, fill out our Israel Border Harassment Reporting Form. All personal information will be kept private and stories will not be distributed without your expressed permission. As we make the case for why we should not reward Israel with visa waivers, we need to hear from you about personal accounts of Americans who have been unjustly denied entry based solely on their ethnicity, religion, political activism. We have a duty to educate our members of Congress, and let them know about the injustices at the border. Read More »
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Wednesday May 08, 2013
After a drone strikes his village, Yemeni activist Farea Al-Muslimi comes to Washington to have a word with the Senate; physicist Stephen Hawking joins the academic boycott of Israel; former SC Governor Mark Sanford finds redemption; and if you've been harassed at Israel's border, we want to hear from you. Read More »
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Tuesday April 30, 2013
In the face of overwhelming evidence that the Bush Administration systematically tortured detainees in violation of American law and international treaty obligations, Obama’s mantra has been that he prefers to “look forward, not back.” Unfortunately for the President, his determination to forget that these crimes happened does not erase them. Read More »
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Wednesday April 24, 2013
Those are the words of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice concerning Israeli treatment of Arab American citizens who are denied entry or subjected to heightened scrutiny at Israeli borders, an issue we have written about several times and raised with US officials on countless occasions. Read More »
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Tuesday April 16, 2013
We were all Bostonians last night as we looked on in horror at the senseless attacks on our fellow Americans. Our thoughts and prayers go out to our friends in Boston and to those directly affected by yesterday's horrible tragedy. Read More »
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Tuesday April 09, 2013
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Tuesday April 02, 2013
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Tuesday March 26, 2013
President Obama has returned to Washington from his trip to the Middle East last week, and reactions have been decidedly mixed. Obama seemed to genuinely impress and charm the Israeli public, succeeding in sending the message that he has a real understanding of Israeli history and culture. Read More »
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Tuesday March 19, 2013
Or would we? Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War, and it’s an opportunity for us all to reflect on how we let a small group of neo-conservatives capitalize on the fear of terrorism to launch our country into an unnecessary and counterproductive war. Read More »
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Tuesday March 12, 2013
Obama’s trip to the Middle East doesn’t officially start until next week, but he has already been hearing from key constituencies. Yesterday, the President hosted an Arab American meeting with community leaders at the White House. Pretty cool, huh? Well, it was about time! Read More »
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Wednesday March 06, 2013
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Wednesday February 27, 2013
Well, it’s finally over. Despite being subjected to the most bizarre confirmation hearings we’ve ever seen, despite totally inappropriate questions about Hagel’s loyalty to the United States, and despite Congressional fawning over Israel in a way that probably makes most Israelis uncomfortable, Hagel’s confirmation passed through the Senate yesterday. Read More »
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Wednesday February 20, 2013
We’ve made changes to Countdown before, but not like this. Now, every week, Countdown will have an additional a video component. After we post the Countdown articles to the web, check back with us two days later because we’ll transform it into YouTube news clip complete with graphics and b-roll. We’re really excited about this, so please share the videos with your friends. Read More »
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Tuesday February 12, 2013
Following last week’s revelations about the Obama Administration’s rather flimsy legal justifications for its drone program, drones have received long-overdue scrutiny in Washington this week. They were one of the major themes of the confirmation hearings last week for John Brennan, an architect of the drone program and President Obama’s nominee for CIA Director. Across the political spectrum, there seems to be broad agreement that giving the executive branch the right to incinerate people from the sky without oversight undermines the Constitution’s separation of powers. Read More »
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Wednesday February 06, 2013
If you were disappointed with George W. Bush’s record on civil liberties, no need to worry anymore! President Obama’s assassination powers now make Bush look like a card-carrying ACLU member by comparison. Yesterday, a leaked Department of Justice memo made headlines for its Orwellian guidelines that determine the circumstances in which the administration can kill American citizens. Read More »
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Tuesday January 29, 2013
Yesterday, a group of senators released a bipartisan framework for immigration reform. Finally, a pathway to citizenship for the nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants? Well, sort of. The plan forces undocumented immigrants to clear so many hurdles to gain permanent residency that the process is likely to take up to a decade. According to the proposal, enforcement measures must be complete “before any immigrant on probationary status can earn a green card.”
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Wednesday January 23, 2013
We didn’t think it was possible for anyone to be more excited about the inaugural festivities this weekend than us. We hosted an Arab American inaugural celebration in our office, with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Congressman Keith Ellison, and Arab American comedians Dean Obeidallah and Go Remy. But after seeing Joe Biden at the inaugural parade yesterday, we will definitely cede first place for the “most excited award” (not actually an award) to our most gregarious Vice President. Vice President Biden almost gave his secret service agent a heart attack when he started to literally run laps around the parade (it starts about a minute into the clip), jogging over to onlookers to shake hands. Oh, and in other news, President Obama was sworn in over the weekend and gave an inaugural address in which he laid out a progressive vision for America going forward. A couple of things the president said stood out for us, and we posted them on our Facebook page, so tell us what you think. Read More »
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Tuesday January 15, 2013
If you’re tired of the manufactured controversy over chuck Hagel’s nomination as Secretary of Defense, we’re with you. So help us reframe the conversation about something that actually matters. Beyond his supposedly “dovish” (better a dove than a chickenhawk, no?) views on Iran and his criticism of Israel, there is a real conversation to be had about what a Hagel appointment means for shifting U.S. policy going forward. In his latest column, AAI president Jim Zogby defends Hagel as a “thoughtful and sober advocate of the realist approach to foreign policy.” Jim also stated that Hagel represents a threat and potential end to “the entire neo-conservative enterprise that led the U.S. into two failed wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.” Well, we’re ok with that. Because with respect to the Middle East, the last thing we need is another Defense Secretary delivering speeches about “known unknowns” and “unknown unknowns” as we brace ourselves for another unnecessary military campaign. A Hagel appointment might just be exactly what the President needs to usher in a new era of more positive U.S. foreign policy and national security policy. Read More »
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Tuesday January 08, 2013
Happy New Year! We hope you enjoyed your holiday season in good company with friends and family. Countdown is back in 2013, and we’re not wasting any time. Let’s get to it.
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Looking at Iran by James Zogby
