June 4th, 2009

ATFP Warmly Welcomes President Obama’s Historic Cairo Speech Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - June 4, 2009 - 12:00am Washington, DC, June 4 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) warmly welcomed the speech delivered today by President Barack Obama in Cairo. “It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true,” the President said, as he reaffirmed the determination of the United States government to seek a negotiated agreement between Israel and the Palestinians that allows for the creation of a Palestinian state to live in peace and security alongside Israel. Read more

June 2nd

AFTP Advocacy Director Joins Panel on "After the Visits: What Next for Middle East Peace?" Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - June 2, 2009 - 12:00am On Monday, June 1, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, AFTP Advocacy Director Ghaith Al-Omari took part in the panel "After the Visits: What Next for Middle East Peace?" along with M.J. Rosenberg, the Director of Policy Analysis at the Israel Policy Forum, and Geoffrey Aronson, Director of Research and Publications at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. The panel was co-sponsored by the Foundation for Middle East Peace, the Middle East Institute, the Israel Policy Forum, & the American Task Force on Palestine. Read more

May 28th

ATFP Welcomes President Obama’s Strong Support for Palestinian Statehood, Israeli Settlement Freeze Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - May 29, 2009 - 12:00am Washington, DC, May 28 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today welcomed President Barack Obama’s statements of strong support for Middle East peace based on the creation of a Palestinian state to live alongside Israel and for a complete freeze to all Israeli settlement activity. President Obama and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met privately at the White House this afternoon before being joined by their delegations, and spoke briefly with reporters afterwards. Read more

ACP Begins Delivery of $200,000 Worth of Laptop Computers to Palestinian Schools Press Release - Contact Information: Mohammed Maraqa - May 28, 2009 - 12:00am Washington, DC, May 28 – The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) is proud to announce that its sister organization, American Charities for Palestine (ACP), has initiated the delivery of laptop computers to schools in Palestine. This project has been coordinated with One Laptop Per Child, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Palestinian Ministry of Education. Read more

May 21st

Breakthrough or Breakdown: The Obama Administration and the Arab-Israeli Peace Process Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - May 21, 2009 - 12:00am On May 11th, 2009 ATFP Advocacy Director Ghaith Al-Omari took part in a panel at the Woodrow Wilson Center entitled "Breakthrough or Breakdown: The Obama Administration and the Arab-Israeli Peace Process". Mr. Al-Omari mapped the current Palestinian political scene, focusing on the schism between Hamas and Fatah, the efforts to form a new PA government, and internal Fatah dynamics. He also laid out steps necessary to move the peace process forward. Read more

May 18th

ATFP Strongly Welcomes President Obama’s Remarks and Commitment to a Palestinian State Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - May 18, 2009 - 12:00am Washington, DC, May 18 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today expressed strong support for comments made by President Barack Obama following his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Read more

May 1st

ATFP Backs UN Call for End to Home Demolitions in Jerusalem Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - May 1, 2009 - 12:00am Washington, DC, May 1 – The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today voiced strong support for a report from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs calling for an end to Israel’s demolitions of Palestinian homes and other restrictions on Palestinian living conditions in occupied East Jerusalem. Read more

April 30th

ATFP Senior Fellow Addresses Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - April 29, 2009 - 12:00am On April 22, ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish addressed the question of Israeli-Palestinian peace at the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. Ibish said that the Gaza war had again proven that neither Israelis nor Palestinians could achieve their fundamental aims or secure their national interests through the use of violence, and that a decent future for both peoples depends on an end-of-conflict agreement that allows a Palestinian state to live alongside Israel in peace and security. Read more

ATFP Senior Fellow and Israel’s Consul General in “Mock Peace Summit” on NPR Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - April 30, 2009 - 12:00am On Tuesday, April 28 2009, ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish and Jacob Dayan, the Consul General of Israel to the Southwest US, took part in a “mock peace summit" at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles. The program was broadcast on KPCC-FM’s AirTalk show and was hosted by the noted radio journalist Larry Mantle. The event was co-hosted by Community Advocates Inc., a nonprofit organization that advocates innovative approaches to human relations and race relations in Los Angeles. Read more

April 27th

ATFP Senior Fellow Debates ADL’s Dallas Director on Middle East Peace Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - April 27, 2009 - 12:00am On April 21, ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish debated the Dallas regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, Mark L. Briskman, on the future of peace and conflict between Israel and the Palestinians at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Ibish emphasized the strong need both parties have for a peace agreement and the important role the Obama administration should play in helping them move forward. Ibish said the conflict was driven by the occupation and that ending it was the key to any viable peace agreement. Mr. Read more