On Saturday, the Arab Student Association will host Dr. Hussein Ibish, a senior fellow of the American Task Force for Palestine in an event titled “Is Obama Ready for a Middle East Change?” via video conference from Washington, D.C. The event will be held on Saturday at 6 p.m. in 2520-D University Capitol Centre, in the UI Core Conference Facility on the second floor.

In this event, Ibish will discuss the differences between the Obama and Bush administrations’ approach to the Middle East. The effects of the war in Gaza on peacemaking and on internal Palestinian politics will also be covered, as well as the effect of the Israeli election on Israel’s policies and the prospects for successful negotiations. Ibish’s presentation will cover the aftermath of the war in Gaza on the peace process and the negotiated peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians based on two states.

Ibish was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1963. He holds a Ph.D in comparative literature from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and is active in advocacy for Arab causes in the United States. He was the communications director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee from 1998-2004, and he received the Dedicated Service Award from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in 2004.

The American Task Force for Palestine is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, DC. It is dedicated to advocating that it is in the American national interest to promote an end to the conflict in the Middle East through a negotiated agreement that provides for two states — Israel and Palestine — living side by side in peace and security. The task force was established in 2003 to provide an independent voice for Palestinian-Americans and their supporters and to promote peace. The group’s Board of Directors is made up of a large group of noted Palestinian-Americans who agree with these principles. The task force has also engaged in humanitarian fundraising to support health and education causes in the occupied Palestinian territories.