The Obama World Order
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In New York Magazine - June 22, 2009 - 12:00am

It’s a long-held piece of Washington conventional wisdom—and, unlike most long-held pieces of Washington conventional wisdom, this one actually happens to be true!—that Democratic presidents tend to be more interested in domestic policy, while Republicans like making foreign policy.


Tussle with Israel puts Obama credibility on the line, observers say
Media Mention of ATFP In The Los Angeles Times - June 22, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama's public quarrel with Israel over the growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank is developing into a test of the U.S. leader's international credibility, say foreign diplomats and other observers. Obama and his senior aides have insisted for weeks that the Jewish state completely halt the expansion of its settlements. But now, with U.S. and Israeli officials apparently close to an agreement on the issue, it is widely expected in Israel and the Arab world that the administration will give ground and support at least some growth in the 120 communities.


ATFP Hosts Ir Amim Director Daniel Seidemann
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - June 19, 2009 - 12:00am

On June 18, 2009, the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) hosted Ir Amim director, attorney, and esteemed Jerusalem expert Daniel Seidemann for a lunch discussion with ATFP board members and supporters. Mr. Seidemann’s visit was sponsored by Americans for Peace Now.


How the Palestinians should respond to Netanyahu
In Print by Hussein Ibish - Foreign Policy (Opinion) - June 16, 2009 - 12:00am

The response from Palestinian and Arab leaders to Benjamin Netanyahu's defiant foreign policy speech last Sunday has so far consisted mainly of throwing up their hands in despair. While understandable given the prime minister's intransigence on Israel's prior commitment to a complete settlement freeze and other key issues, this approach is not likely to accomplish very much.


Obama hails Netanyahu move
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The Washington Times - June 16, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama on Monday welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's acceptance of a future Palestinian state, saying it boosted prospects for new peace talks. But U.S. officials distanced the administration from conditions outlined by the Israeli leader in a speech Sunday. Mr. Obama said Mr. Netanyahu had demonstrated the "possibility we can restart serious talks." The president made his remarks after a White House meeting Monday afternoon with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.


The Next Founders: Voices of Democracy in the Middle East
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - June 15, 2009 - 12:00am

On Monday, June 15, ATFP President Ziad Asali took part in a panel discussion at the National Endowment for Democracy about the publication of Joshua Muravchik’s new book The Next Founders: Voices of Democracy in the Middle East. The discussion was co-sponsored by the International Forum for Democratic and moderated by Marc F. Plattner, the co-editor of the Journal of Democracy, vice-president for research and studies at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and co-director of the International Forum for Democratic Studies.


Obama’s Iran Policy to Focus on Human Rights, Not Election
Media Mention of ATFP In The Washington Independent - June 15, 2009 - 12:00am

As reports of political violence in Iran intensified after Friday’s fiercely disputed election, the Obama administration insisted that it would not interfere with the struggle for power between regime-backed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the thousands of demonstrators who contend the election was stolen. Administration officials, on and off the record, said that President Obama would offer support for human rights in Iran generally and would not back away from his diplomatic outreach to the longtime U.S. adversary, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the election.


ATFP President Joins Wilson Center Panel on “Obama and the Two-State Solution”
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - June 11, 2009 - 12:00am

Washington, DC, June 8 -- Dr. Ziad Asali, President of the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP), joined a panel discussion on “Obama and the Two-State Solution: An Israeli, Palestinian, and Egyptian Perspective” at the Woodrow Wilson Center on June 8, 2009. The panel was moderated by Dr. Aaron David Miller, a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Institute and also included included Dr. Martin Kramer, Adelson Institute Senior Fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, and Dr. Samer Shehata, a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center.


Pro-Palestinian Advocates Sense Winds of Change in Washington
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Jewish Daily Forward - June 11, 2009 - 12:00am

Changes in America’s policy toward the Middle East conflict are sending positive vibrations throughout the small and struggling pro-Palestinian advocacy community.


Analysts See Growing US-Israeli Rift Over Settlements Issue
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In Voice of America - June 5, 2009 - 12:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama is calling on Israel to stop construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. In a speech at Cairo University, Mr. Obama says the building of settlements is undermining efforts to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr. Obama's latest remarks highlight a growing rift between Israel and the United States. President Obama used unusually blunt language in calling on the Israeli government to stop expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank.



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