January 1991, Page 59

Arab-American Activism

By Catherine M. Willford

ADC Commemorates International Human Rights Day

In a Dec. 10 statement issued in commemoration of International Human Rights Day, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) called upon President Bush and Congress to compel Israel to comply with UN resolutions and Geneva Conventions provisions regarding the protection of the Palestinian population of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem.

Since the outset of intifada, now in its fourth year, close to 900 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, 224 of whom were under the age of 16, the ADC statement declared. More than 100,000 Palestinians have been injured, more than 10,000 placed under administrative detention, without charge or trial, and thousands have been the victims of collective punishment.

ADC criticized the US government for "rewarding" such actions with increased US aid. "In light of our government's failure to comply with internationally recognized standards of human rights, ADC is investigating the possibility of bringing legal action to compel such adherence, " the ADC statement said.

In recent letters to the White House, State Department and Congress, ADC applauded plans to send Secretary of State Baker to Iraq for direct talks, and advised US leaders to avoid "any attempts to force this nation into war. " Referring to recent remarks from Israel threatening to take military action against Baghdad if the US enters into a peaceful resolution of the Gulf crises, ADC President Albert Mokhiber stated, "We must reject this abhorrent ultimatum outright as a form of political blackmail, which is contrary to the best interests of the United States and all the peoples of the Mideast.

Arab-American Business and Professional Association Honors

Some 600 persons attended the Nov. 28 annual awards dinner in McLean, VA of the Arab-American Business and Professional Association (ABPA), a Virginia-based nonprofit group which fosters trade and investment between companies in the US and Arab countries.

Mobil Corporation received the Corporate Humanitarian Award for "its contribution to economic development in the Arab world and its continuing efforts to build bridges of understanding between Arab and American cultures." The award was accepted by Allen E. Murray, Mobil's chairman and CEO.

Representative Mary Rose Oakar (D-OH) was given the Professional Excellence Award for "her high standard of performance as a member of Congress and her involvement in a broad spectrum of organizations serving the community." Because Oakar was in the Gulf with a congressional delegation, UPI White House correspondent Helen Thomas, also an Arab American, accepted the award on her behalf.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to builder and philanthropist Hasib Sabbagh, chairman of Consolidated Contractors International, for "his exemplary conduct of business affairs and his generous contributions to the enhancement of education and health care in the United States and in the Arab world.

Others honored at the event included former State Department Protocol Chief Selwa Roosevelt, whose book Keeper of the Gate was published in 1990, and Congresswoman Helen Delich Bentley (R-MD).

Awards were presented by Najeeb Halaby, former Federal Aviation Administration and Pan American Airways director, and ABPA Chairman Fuad Sahoury.

For information on ABPA write PO Box 700, 746 Walker Road, Great Falls, A 22066-0700 or call (703) 759-2225.

Save Lebanon Honors Physician

Save Lebanon honored the "work and courage" of Dr. Amal Shamma' during her recent tour of the US and Canada with a reception in Los Angeles on Dec. 2. Dr. Shamma' is a member of the board of Save Lebanon and its Beirut representative. She is chief of pediatrics at Barbir Medical Center, located in West Beirut right on the Green Line, which was hit frequently throughout the civil war and during the Israeli invasion, and which suffered massive damage during the summer of 1989.

Dr. Shamma', who trained at Johns Hopkins and Duke Universities, returned to Lebanon in 1974, one year before the outbreak of Lebanon's 15-year civil war. People magazine has described her as a physician of extraordinary determination.

NAAA Political Action Conference

The National Association of Arab-Americans (NAAA) will hold its Ninth Political Action Conference Feb. 24-26 at the Quality Hotel of Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The conference theme is "NAAA's Legislative Agenda for the 102nd Congress. "

Scheduled events include a Capitol Hill luncheon and meetings with members of Congress. For details call (202) 467-4800.

National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce Responds to Gulf Crisis

The Washington, DC office of the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce was besieged by requests for information in the early stages of the Gulf crisis, from the media as well as from firms doing business in the Arab world. The Chamber has prepared a series of briefing papers on topics related to the crisis including economic repercussions, arms sales, lost US business opportunities and a discussion by Saudi private sector leaders of the economic impact of the invasion. The Chamber will be releasing a study on the effects of the crisis on US-Arab business based on interviews with American commercial counselors in Arab countries and US corporate representatives in the region.

Activist Jawad George Dies

The Arab-American community is mourning the death of attorney Jawad George, executive director of the National Association of Arab-Americans (NAAA), who died at age 40 of cardiac arrest on Nov. 21 in Washington, DC.

Mr. George became the executive director of NAAA in 1989, after 15 years of association with the organization. A longtime community activist, he had served as president of the American Federation of Ramallah, Palestine and on the boards of numerous Arab-American organizations. He had been the president of Jawad F. George and Associates, executive director of the Palestine Congress of North America, special counsel to the chairman of the Navajo Tribal Council, and a member of the adjunct faculty of the Antioch School of Law. George also had been a legislative aid to Congressman Edward J. Patten, a personal assistant to Senator Edward Kennedy, and a research associate with Supreme Court Justice Warren E. Berger.

The NAAA board of directors has appointed Khalil Jahshan, NAAA deputy executive director, to succeed Mr.George.

Catherine M. Willford is the circulation director of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.