Washington Report, November 1988, Page 49

TIE Exchange: Training, Information, and Education Exchange

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Former California Congressman Paul N. (Pete) McCloskey and former US Ambassador Andrew I. Killgore, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, are among speakers scheduled for the fifth annual banquet of Muslim World Day, a division of the Muslim Foundation of America. More than 600 guests are expected to attend the 7 p.m. Dec. 3 event at the Roosevelt Hotel on Madison Avenue in New York City, an annual highlight for Islamic congregations from the tri-state area. For further information call 212-989-2831.

Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government is establishing an Institute for Social and Economic Policy in the Middle East to bring young Arab and Israeli public managers to the US for advanced training. The Institute will also develop Middle East field projects in areas such as child health care and economic development in Gaza.

Dr. John Duke Anthony, president of the National Council on US-Arab Relations, has been elected a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, New York.

A new English-language newspaper is being published In Jerusalem by American investors. The Nation, geared toward the native speakers of English who now form Israel's most affluent and educated community, is expected to present a somewhat more conservative viewpoint than Israel's major English-language daily, the Jerusalem Post.

Abdul Ahad Mohmand, 29, an Afghan air force pilot, became the first Afghan astronaut when he and two Soviet cosmonauts completed a successful mission aboard the Soviet space station Mir in late September.

According to the September issue of the Harper's (magazine) Index, 6,739 of the 7,886 Soviet Jews granted Israeli visas this year have sealed somewhere other than Israel. The same issue noted that 41 percent of Americans have never heard of or have no opinion about Shimon Peres.

Once nearly extinct, the Arabian Oryx Is making a comeback in Saudi Arabia. A herd of more than 70 animals, bred in the Riyadh Zoo, will be released soon in a number of environmentally favorable locations.

PUBLICATIONS

The Politics of Islamic Revivalism, edited by Shireen T. Hunter. Indiana University Press, 1988.

It's No Secret. Israel's Military Involvement In Central America, by Milton Jamail and Margo Gutierrez. Belmont, MA: Association of Arab-American University Graduates, 1986.

Soviet-Egyptian Relations, 1945-1985, by Mohrez Mahmoud El Husseini, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987.

Lebanon's Predicament, by Samir Khalaf. New York: Columbia University Press, 1987.

Inside Washington: The International Business Executive's Guide to Government Resources, Madison Books, 1988. A guidebook outlining US government services and assistance programs available to American businesses exporting and investing overseas.

CONFERENCES, LECTURES, AND SEMINARS

The Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, is planning several brown bag lunches throughout November and December. On Nov. 1, Muhammad Muslih from the political science department at C.W. Post University will talk on the Palestinian Uprising. On Nov. 15, Richard Kilter of W.J. Levy and Associates will discuss "The World Oil Market After the Gulf War." On Nov. 22, Yusuf Nuruddin, executive director of the Ahmad Baba Research Center, will speak on "Islam and Afro-American Nationalism. " On Dec. 6, Professor Louis Cantori of the political science department at the University of Maryland will discuss "Religion, Conservatism, and Islam," The institute plans a full-day seminar on Palestinian nationalism Dec. 9. For further information call 212-785-1141.

EXHIBITION

"A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book," from the Vever Collection, at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC, from Nov. 20 to April 30. For the first time in more than 40 years, the public will be able to view 160 of the finest works of art from the great collection of 11th- to 18th-century Persian and Indian paintings, manuscripts, calligraphy, and bookbindings assembled by Henri Vever, a turn-of-the century Parisian jeweler and leader in the art nouveau movement.

RIYADH'S NEW DIPLOMATIC QUARTER

The new Riyadh Diplomatic Quarter, a near billion dollar development set on the edge of the Wadi Hanifah, is now home to 27 completed diplomatic missions accredited to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with 10 more under construction. The area lies eight miles from downtown Riyadh, only a few miles away from Diriyah, the ancestral home of the Saudi royal family. When completed, more than 80 countries will have embassies, chanceries, and family compounds in the 1,600-acre diplomatic quarter, with an estimated total population of more than 10,000.

The quarter is a showcase for some of the world's best-known architects. Two highlights are the stunningly designed Tuwaiq Palace, which already is in use for receptions, exhibitions, and concerts, and the new headquarters of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, a $75 million gift from the Saudi Arabian government.

FELLOWSHIPS AND FOREIGN STUDY TOURS

The Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) offers a limited number of fellowships for Arabic language study at the American University in Cairo to graduate and upper-division undergraduate students committed to a career in Near Eastern studies. For information write to CASA Office, Denny Hall, DJH-20, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. 98195. Deadline for applications is Jan. 1, 1989.

The Smithsonian National Associates are sponsoring two tours to the Middle East: a seminar in Egypt Oct. 23 to Nov. 9, with lectures at the American University in Cairo and a four-day Nile cruise that visits ancient sites from Aswan to Luxor; and a 10-day Red Sea passage from Feb. 16 to 27 to see the ruins of ancient Egypt. For information, call 202-357-4700.

UN PEACEKEEPING FORCES WIN NOBEL PRIZE

The United Nations peacekeeping forces were awarded the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize in September. Five of the seven UN groups are stationed in the Middle East: the UN Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group (350 troops); UN Interim Force in Lebanon (5,800 troops); UN Disengagement Observer Force (1,330 troops): UN Peace-Keeping Force in Cyprus (2,100 troops); and the UN Truce Supervision Organization (295 troops).

Material submitted by Exchange readers will be considered for publication as space and circumstance allow. "Facts & Figures" items from "old Middle East hands" especially welcome. Editor: John T. Haldane. Write to TIE Exchange P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009, or call 202-939-6050 or 1-800-368-5788.