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Thank you Doug, thank you everybody. Thank you. I wanted to write something and I was told I only have two minutes now, to do. Actually it was four minutes, but the video was four minutes, so I had a four minute video or a four minute speech or a two minute video or a four minute speech. I will leave the science, you have heard enough of it.

But, so, I did not prepare a speech, I will just try to take it, you know, and express the way I feel right now.

I came to this country after I had my PhD from the UK in 1989 as a post-doctoral student at the U of R with three publications and seventy-five dollars in my pocket, and this country, it has shown to me and proven to me that it is open-ended in terms of an opportunity, in terms of what this country could really offer to people who want to work hard and strive for the best. This is, I think for all of us here in this room, most of us, ninety-five percent is Palestinian-American, American-Palestinians, anyway you like to call it came to this country with an ambition, and I think we have succeeded in really achieving most if not all of the things we wanted.

I am really enjoying what I do, translating science into medicine and of course with that comes the commercial impact on a society, locally, nationally, and internationally. I wanted to thank you and thank Dr. Ziad Asali for finally, and his team, Naila and the ATFP team, to really bring the things that we have been looking for for a long time as Palestinians who came to this country. Some in the way back when we were scared or afraid we were Palestinians in the seventies or the early-eighties. I was lucky enough to come in the late, early 90s when it was okay to say you’re a Palestinian.

Since then we have came a long way. The Palestinians wherever they go in the US especially, and I have the privilege of also working in Europe, graduating in the UK and seeing a lot of Palestinians with big success everywhere. We could do, we could work, we could succeed as individuals, Palestinians, all of us here, each one of you is a very successful businesses man, scientist, pharmacist, real estate owner of a company, an MD.

I think there are two messages here I would like to send, if I can. One is, how come we succeed as Palestinians, as individual Palestinians, we all succeed as a scientist, again. We do think and practice the American way of doing business and that’s how we succeed. We do, think and practice the American way of doing medicine and that’s why we succeed and we became very successful and competitive people. And the story goes on in every field or sector you want. It is about time that Palestinians will start to think and act like Americans, and this is really the gist of the American Task Force on Palestine.

It is so important that Palestinians in this country think and act as Americans and appreciate the American system, the American way of doing things. After all, we are Americans. This country has provided us and given us the opportunity that was not given to us by any other country in the world. So, for that, that is why I do really appreciate the message, the depth of the message, that the American Task Force on Palestine has to send, and is sending and will send for the future to come.

The last message I want to send here, I want to dedicate this to my parents who are very simple farmers, the typical Palestinian farmers from the West Bank from a small town called Tubas, and to my family, sisters, brothers and to my wonderful wife Helen over there, and to all Palestinians, every Palestinian who really fought, is fighting, continues to fight for peace in the Middle East with Israel. For peace in the whole entire area. I do believe that science alone will not survive without having peace.

We need to have science in Palestine, so therefore we must have peace, long lasting peace in Palestine. I do dedicate this to my parents, again, to my family. To the people who have fought for peace, who are fighting for peace. For President Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad here today, and all the Palestinians who really want a two-state solution in Palestine.

Thank you all. I do appreciate it.
 

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