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Sen. Chuck Hagel to Address Arab Americans at Kahlil Gibran Awards on April 25

AAI
Posted on Tuesday April 3, 2007

WASHINGTON – April 3, 2007 – Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) will offer remarks at the 2007 Kahlil Gibran “Spirit of Humanity” Awards honoring Archbishop Emeritus of the District of Columbia Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, Search for Common Ground, and Global Impact. Hagel is a prominent member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has been a consistent and outspoken advocate for a more balanced, responsible U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

Hagel has urged his fellow members of Congress to take action to bring the Iraq war to a swift end and has encouraged U.S. leadership to recognize Iraq’s right to self-determination. “The day to day responsibilities of governing and security will soon have to be assumed by the Iraqis…The longer America remains in Iraq in its current capacity, the deeper the damage to our force structure,” he said in remarks on the Senate floor.

The senator, who has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East, has also emphasized the need to renew the Israeli-Palestinian peace process as a requirement for restoring stability to the entire region. During last year’s war in Lebanon, Hagel said, “Our relationship with Israel is a special and historic one. But, it need not and cannot be at the expense of our Arab and Muslim relationships.”

Launched in 1999 by the Arab American Institute (AAI) and AAIF, the leading organizations in the promotion of the policy and community interests of Arab Americans, the Kahlil Gibran “Spirit of Humanity” Awards gala focuses attention on acts of leadership that promote the common good and features prominent leaders from the diplomatic, business, philanthropic and government sectors. Past participants in the awards gala include former President Bill Clinton, Her Majesty Queen Noor al-Hussein, former President of Poland Lech Walesa, former Sen. George Mitchell, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, former Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, former professional boxer Muhammad Ali and recording star Sting.

The gala will be held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington on Weds., April 25. The JW Marriot Hotel is located at 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. in Washington, D.C. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m.; the gala dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. For more information please visit www.aaiusa.org/gibran.