Washington Watch

By Dr. James J. Zogby Hardline supporters of Israel are in panic mode. It was in evidence earlier this week with the all-out assault on the first Somali, African-born immigrant, refugee, Muslim woman elected to serve in the US Congress. Her crime was that she dared to point out, as a...

By Dr. James J. Zogby   This past week, I delivered one of the opening addresses at a conference in Abu Dhabi dedicated to creating understanding and building relationships and mutual respect among the world's religious leaders. The conference coincided with Pope Francis' historic visit to the United Arab Emirates...

By Dr. James J. Zogby   We’re off to the races - the 2020 presidential races, that is. Since the beginning of the year, at regular intervals, new candidates have been coming forward to announce their intention to compete for the presidency. Some are interesting and/or exciting, while others frankly...

By Dr. James J. Zogby   This past Sunday, the New York Times featured on the front page of its "Week in Review" section a major column by Michelle Alexander - "Time to Break the Silence on Palestine." It was, by any measure, an important article because of who wrote...

By Dr. James J. Zogby   This week a well-known Israeli journalist revealed what he said were "new details about the Trump administration's Israeli-Palestinian peace plan." His report, he said, came from notes he had obtained from an American Jewish leader who had been part of a small group of...

By Dr. James J. Zogby As this past week began, with the shutdown of parts of the US government entering its third week, Republicans, desperate to force the Democrat's hand, decided to play the "Israel card." The effort failed.   The standoff between the White House and the Democrats that caused...

By Dr. James J. Zogby   I spent Thursday morning at the offices of two new Members of Congress, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. The scenes at both were just delightful. Throngs of Palestinian Americans jammed into Tlaib's offices, spilling out into the hall. It was...

By Dr. James J. Zogby Many years ago, I came across a pre-Islamic Arabic poem describing a camel running across the desert. Suddenly, the camel freezes in mid-stride. First, it looks backward in fear of what it was running from, and then it turns its glance forward - also in...

By Dr. James J. Zogby   Eight years after the unfolding of the events of "Arab Spring," Tunisians and Egyptians appear deeply displeased about the situations in their respective countries. When asked whether their countries were moving in the right or wrong direction, only one in five Tunisians and Egyptians...

By Dr. James J. Zogby   Because I have a long and complicated history with Temple University, I have closely followed the story of the backlash against Temple Professor Marc Lamont Hill for the speech he delivered at the United Nations' "International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People."   I've...