January 26th, 2011

What should we take away from the ‘Palestine Papers’? Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In PBS - January 26, 2011 - 1:00am In recent months, peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians have been fitful, to say the least. There was reason for hope when President Obama took office two years ago promising a recalculation of American foreign policy. By the time his administration restarted the negotiations in September, however, veterans of the peace process were skeptical that progress could be made. Now, just four months later, even the most optimistic observers have reason to be despondent. » Read more

January 25th

Could This Be the Map to Mideast Peace? Media Mention of Ziad Asali In American Online - January 21, 2011 - 1:00am It's a cliche among foreign policy circles that everyone knows what an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement will look like. Now a Washington think tank with close connections to officials in both Israel and the United States has sketched out realistic borders for a new Palestinian state. » Read more

Daily Star, letter to the editor Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The Daily Star - January 25, 2011 - 1:00am Dear Editor Dr. Ziad Asali and Dr. Hussein Ibish of ATFP (The American Task Force on Palestine) are wise in refusing to buy into the “clash of civilizations” worldview that so many Zionist ideologues and Islamists endorse. Time and time again I have watched the cycle of incitement and spin sabotage support for Palestine. » Read more

Palestinians insist leaked memos from peace process reveal nothing new Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In PBS - January 25, 2011 - 1:00am Leaked memos from a decade of negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials roiled the Mideast peace process and put the embattled Palestinian Authority on the defensive Monday. But moderate Palestinian observers and officials close to the government of President Mahmoud Abbas insisted that the documents reveal relatively little about the negotiations that isn’t already known. And if anything, they say, the records expose how uncooperative the Israeli and American governments have been throughout the process. » Read more

January 24th

January 24, 2011 Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Politico - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am For two years, the Obama White House has tried to give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the benefit of the doubt as a prospective peace partner — viewing him as a leader who shared U.S. goals but faced tough domestic political constraints that Washington felt obliged to help counter. That’s over. » Read more

January 21st

PLO Flag Raised in Washington, D.C. Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In CBN News - January 21, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) raised its official flag for the first time outside its Dupont Circle offices in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. The Obama administration granted permission to fly the flag last July, despite the mission's lack of embassy status. PLO official Maen Ariekat raised the flag at a ceremony marking the occasion. "It's about time this flag - that symbolizes the struggle of the Palestinian people for self-determination and statehood - be raised in the United States," Ariekat said. » Read more

January 20th

Tony Blair addresses the American Task Force for Palestine in Washington DC Media Mention of ATFP In The Office of Tony Blair - January 20, 2011 - 1:00am Quartet Representative Tony Blair called today for more international "support for Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and the state-building effort." He stressed that these efforts should continue and intensify in the context of seeking a negotiated two-state solution. » Read more

The immorality of Assaults on Christians in Arab/Muslim Societies Media Mention of Ziad Asali In Tikkun - January 20, 2011 - 1:00am We at Tikkun/NSP who often critique the extremism and violence that characterizes Israeli attacks on Palestinians and Arabs have an equal responsibility to critique the extremists in the Arab world. Ziad Asali, former chair of the ADC (Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee), was an honoree at a Tikkun/NSP conference in D.C. in 2004. Asali and Ibish present a critique of extremist ideas in the Arab and Muslim world that should be taken seriously by Arabs and Muslims around the world. » Read more

January 19th

Colony freeze a must for peace Media Mention of ATFP In Gulf News - January 19, 2011 - 1:00am Hillary Rodham Clinton was quick to rebuke Israel for its demolition of part of the historic Shepherd Hotel in occupied Arab East Jerusalem where Jewish colonists are hoping to build 20 housing units. » Read more

Palestinians raise flag at Washington diplomatic mission Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Associated Press - January 19, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestine Liberation Organization for the first time hoisted its flag above its Washington mission Tuesday, saying the symbolic step shows progress in the US-Palestinian relationship. “It’s about time that this flag that symbolizes the struggle of the Palestinian people for self-determination and statehood be raised in the United States,” said PLO chief of mission Maen Areikat. “I think it indicates the willingness of the American administration to deal with the realities on the ground.” » Read more