Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, September 1998, pages 64-66

Arab-American Activism

Two Thousand Participate in 1998 ADC National Convention Featuring Janet Reno

More than 2,000 Arab Americans from across the U.S. traveled to Arlington, VA to attend the annual convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), “Shaping the Future” from June 11-14.

The convention included numerous concurrent films, panels, banquets and social events. The kick-off dinner on Capitol Hill was preceded by a briefing and congressional meetings between ADC members and their senators and representatives in Congress.

On Friday, June 12, Eric Alterman, Pat Buchanan and Danny Schechter spoke at the “Arabs in the Media” morning panel. Eric Alterman is a columnist at The Nation and a commentator on MSNBC. Patrick Buchanan is a syndicated columnist, a co-host of CNN’s nightly “Crossfire,” and a regular panelist on NBC’s weekly “McLaughlin Group” show. Danny Schechter is the executive producer and co-founder of Globalvision. Although the panelists came from different parts of the political spectrum, all agreed on the Palestinian right to an independent state.

Alterman described his outlook on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as “guarded optimism” because he felt that American and Israeli Jews “are sick and tired of being occupiers.” Buchanan said he began to believe in the necessity of a Palestinian state during the intifada, the Palestinian uprising. Describing U.S. media coverage of the Pal estinian-Israeli conflict, Buchanan said, “There are perceptions of a double standard because there is a double standard.”

Schechter, author of The More You Watch, the Less You Know, a book that criticized television coverage of the Gulf war, pointed out that animals of Africa have a better chance of being featured on U.S. television than any of the people of Africa or their circumstances. The significance of all three journalists, with such widely varying perspectives, agreeing on the moral imperative of a Palestinian state was not lost on anyone present in the room.

A convention highlight was a keynote luncheon address by Attorney General Janet Reno, who gave a short presentation and then listened to comments about the Department of Justice from the audience. Reno called for a new era of dialogue “to build a lasting relationship with trust and understanding” between Arab Americans and the Justice Department.

She encouraged Arab Americans to join the 92 new Hate Crimes Prevention working groups and report hate crime incidents to the FBI. She also asked Arab Americans to utilize the Department of Transportation’s complaint process if they feel unfairly targeted at airports. She said that the civil rights division of the Department of Justice had reviewed the computerized passenger screening which is in the process of being implemented at airports across the country. She declined to discuss specific cases and chose not to comment on the use of “secret evidence” by state and local prosecutors against Arab immigrants and Arab Americans. “ADC will make sure that it speaks out and we will follow your example,” Reno said.

Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) spoke after the attorney general about the Whitewater investigation and his stance on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. He emphasized that there are Jewish Americans who believe in “what is right” and said that “the taking of land from Palestinians is not right.” He said that he opposed the exportation of weapons and the funding of “dictators.” Finally, he called on members of the audience to encourage President Clinton and Congress members to support a “Dear Colleague letter” currently circulating Congress. This letter draws a distinction between economic and civilian sanctions and calls for a lifting of the civilian sanctions and offering humanitarian relief to Iraqis. Saying the ongoing sanctions are immoral, Conyers encouraged people to contact his office for more information.

A workshop on cyber-activism, a report on the ADC Task Force on early Arab Americans, and a panel on the same topic all took place in the afternoon. Dr. Jack Shaheen was emcee for the Celebrities Dinner, featuring Dr. Farouq El-Baz, Tony Shalhoub, Isa Totah, and Ronnie Seikaly, in the evening. This was followed by a hafli, with Amer Zahr and his band providing the backdrop for the party that included dancing, socializing and networking late into the night.

At the Saturday early morning panel, Dr. Haidar Abdel Shafi reminded the audience that Zionists have always opposed Palestinian statehood and that Palestinian leadership showed a “lack of unity,” even under the British mandate. Dr. Abdel Shafi said the Palestinian leadership should suspend the peace process until there is “official and open Israeli recognition of Palestinian rights.” He called for a political goal—democracy—which would give respect to the Palestinian individual and tap into the great potential within Palestinian society.

Azmi Bishara, an Arab Israeli and a mem ber of the Israeli Knesset, spoke bluntly about the current status of the peace pro cess. He said the negotiations are over four principles; self-determination, withdrawal of troops, dismantling settlements and the right of return. Shafiq El-Hout, the PLO representative in Lebanon, discussed Palestinian refugees and why they left Palestine. He said that compensation should be paid to those whose property was taken in 1948, according to U.N. resolutions and international law.

Saturday also included a panel on “50 years of Palestinian Dispossession,” and continued with another panel, “50 Years of Biased U.S. Foreign Policy,” organized by the Arab American University Graduates and broadcast by C-SPAN. The luncheon banquet on Saturday focused on the President’s Initiative on Race and its relationship to Arab Americans. The Civil Rights Workshop, Educators’ Workshop, Media Outreach Workshop, a youth forum, and a legal network reception were among interactive discussions organized for Saturday. Two panels; “Shattering Stereotypes through Poetry and Art” and “Algeria: Toward a Solution,” were held in the afternoon and early evening.

The Awards Banquet on Saturday night honored Archbishop Philip Saliba (who could not attend) and Betty Hamady Sams. On the final day of the conference, Dr. Ziad Al-Hafez and Dr. Atef Kubursi spoke at a panel entitled, “Globalization and Arab Economies.” Dr. Edward Said was scheduled to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the final brunch but fell ill at the last moment. His daughter, Naila, accepted the award on his behalf.

After the Sunday brunch, ADC members drove to Capitol Hill and took part in a rally for the arrival in the national capital, after a national tour, of the quilt commemorating the 418 Palestinian villages destroyed by their Israeli occupiers in 1948 (see following article).

—Randa Kayyali

The Palestinian National Quilt Tour Reaches Capitol Hill

The ten-city National Quilt Tour commemorating 50 years of Palestinian dispossession culminated in a rally on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Sunday, June 14. For many of those present at the rally, the sound of traditional live Arabic music juxtaposed with the sight of the Palestinian quilt in the shadow of the national Capitol was exhilarating.

The quilt tour marked a new high in cooperation among the many existing Arab-American organizations. The organizing committee included the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, American Committee on Jerusalem, American Federa tion of Ramallah-Palestine, Arab American Institute, Birzeit Society, and the Palestinian-American Congress. Other spon soring organizations were the Arab-American Uni versity Graduates, Bethlehem Association, El-Bireh Society, Jerusalem Fund, National Association of Arab Americans, Arab Women’s Council, and the Union of Arab Student Associations.

The quilt included 418 panels, each representing one of the Palestinian villages destroyed in or after the fighting in 1948, called al-Nakbah (the Catastrophe) by Palestinians. Every panel was hand-embroidered in traditional Palestinian cross-stitch in the colors of the Palestinian flag—red, green, white and black. On each panel, artisans sewed the name of the village, its population count and the date on which it was destroyed by Zionist forces.

The unveiling of the quilt in Washington, DC at the end of its tour coincided with the close of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) annual convention. ADC president Dr. Hala Maksoud told the audience after the names of some of the destroyed villages had been read aloud, “The quilt is an act of love by our Arab-American women. It is our way of marking the 50 years of dispossession.”

One of the speakers at the rally was Jerome Segal, president of the Jewish Peace Lobby. He called for a binational state and the recognition of the Palestinian right to self-determination. “In my belief there will be no resolution to the conflict until both peoples get a better understanding of the nuances of the conflict,” he said. He called upon Israeli peace groups to engage in discussions about the morality and justice of the current situation. A focus on the moral dimensions of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict would enhance such discussions with historical understanding, Segal concluded.

Dr. Haidar Abdel Shafi, chairman of the Red Crescent Society in Gaza, addressed the audience in Arabic, lauding Arab-American organizations for bringing al-Nakba to the attention of the American public and government. “We are here today to tell the truth about the rights of the Palestinian people,” Dr. Shafi said. “We must tell the world that the Palestinian people have rights.”

The Washington Action Group (WAG) staged a mock home demolition on the Capitol Hill lawn to draw attention to the nearly 1,500 Palestinian homes that are currently targeted for demolition by the Israeli government. In a flyer passed out at the rally, WAG pointed out that in 1948 Israeli forces destroyed the 418 villages by blowing up houses and bulldozing the remnants into rub ble. Tragic memories of some of the demolitions of half a century ago and also of contemporary Palestine were relived as actors and children re-enacted scenes of Israeli bulldozers flattening Palestinian homes.

—Randa Kayyali

Arab-American Interns Organize a Capitol Hill Discussion of the Middle East Peace Process

In a July 29 event independently organized by George Atallah and Barbara Hawatmeh, two Arab-American interns in the office of Sen. Spencer Abraham (R-MI), President Khalil Jahshan of the National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA) and Congressman Ray LaHood (R-IL) briefed Arab-American interns from a number of offices in the national capital and interns from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on the Middle East peace process. The main theme of the meeting was to enable members of the interns’ generation to offer their expectations and their recommendations for solution of the conflict in the region.

Noting that the recent “peace process” in the Middle East was the 76th attempt at Middle East peacemaking since the partition plan of 1947, Dr. Jahshan urged interns not to give up, regardless of all obstacles. In his answer to the meeting’s theme of “what can our generation do?” Dr. Jahshan recommended that interns not allow the failures of previous generations to drive them to despair, but to be balanced and fair, focus on fundamental issues of the conflict, and continue the dialogue among themselves. The purpose of the peace process is “to put an end to the Israeli occupation through peaceful negotiations, to give Israel its legitimate security requirements, and to give Palestinians the right to self-determination,” Jahshan said.

Representative Ray LaHood gave a brief talk in which he mentioned his Arab-American origin and some of his views regarding the Middle East peace process. LaHood said the U.S. government is working very hard to promote peace in the Middle East. “This is obvious through the effort Secretary of State Madeline Albright is making to protect the peace process,” he said.

Ribhi Huzien, a Palestinian-American intern at the American Committee on Jerusalem (ACJ), asked Congressman La Hood, “How can you, as a person who cares about the Middle East, vote for the bill to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a thing that would make peace in the region rather impossible?”

“Because I believe so,” LaHood answered. “Israel is a democracy and it has to do whatever pleases its citizens. This is what the people want.”

Dina Gurguis, an intern at the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine (CPAP), asked him to specify which people he was talking about.

“The Israelis,” LaHood responded.

“What about the Arabs?” Gurguis asked. “Don’t you think they are entitled to Jerusalem too?”

“Yes!” LaHood answered, without further elaboration.

LaHood’s remarks on the Jerusalem issue then became the focus of further discussion among the Arab-American participants in the meeting, few of whom had known about his stand on the issue. Ms Gurguis found LaHood’s remarks “very disturbing, especially because he has Arab antecedents and I would expect that a lot of his constituents are Arab-Americans. I think they should know, and if they do know, this is an indication of an even bigger problem within the Arab-American community.”

Huzien said that LaHood’s remarks were disheartening. “I feel disillusioned especially because most of us work so hard to promote a fair, objective perspective on Palestine and Jerusalem. Then to have one of our own go and toe the party line of our enemies is unacceptable. I feel very betrayed.”

Huzien called for action to be taken in regard to this issue. He suggested that La Hood’s Web site address (http://www.house. gov/lahood) and phone number (202-225-6201) be made available to Washington Report subscribers so that those who wish to can call the congressman and express their opinions. Huzien said that calls from LaHood’s own constituents might be particularly useful in this regard. Pointing out that few of the Arab-American interns on the Hill were aware of LaHood’s position before the meeting, Huzien suggested that probably few of LaHood’s own Arab-American constituents in Illinois are aware of it either.

In fact, Representative LaHood, a mem ber of the House Republican Israel Caucus, was not the only Arab-American congressman to vote for moving the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Congressman John E. Baldacci (D-MI) also voted for the same bill (He also can be reached at 202-225-6306, or through e-mail at baldacci@hr.house.gov.) The other Arab-American incumbents in the House, Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Patricia Danner (D-MO), voted against the Jerusalem bill.

—Raja’ M. Abu-Jabr