'Palestinian-Israeli situation could lead to a holy war if not resolved soon'
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In Arab News - July 12, 2010 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama assured Mahmoud Abbas by telephone on Friday of his commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state. The call followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's White House meeting with Obama on Tuesday, in which the two leaders discussed a number of issues including Israel's stalled peace talks with the Palestinians. Dr. Ziad Asali, the president and founder of the Washington-based American Task Force on Palestine, said it is important to keep focused on the efforts the president is making in outreach to both Palestinians and Israelis.


More on conversation with Ibish
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The Meretz USA Blog - July 8, 2010 - 12:00am

The Web editor of In These Times required a 2,500 word limitation for the online article. The ISRAEL HORIZONS version, pending for the fall, will include almost all of my discussion with Hussein Ibish. What I particularly regret having had to exclude from the ITT piece is the following further response from Hussein Ibish to my question on how he felt about the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish state:


Obama Says Direct Israeli-Palestinian Talks May Be Imminent
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Bloomberg - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama said direct Israel-Palestinian talks may get started within less than three months, praising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a leader prepared to take “risks for peace.” Obama and Netanyahu, speaking to reporters at the White House yesterday after an 80-minute meeting, both said they wanted to dispel concerns that the U.S. commitment to Israel has been weakened by disputes over construction in West Bank settlements and east Jerusalem. The two leaders ate lunch together with advisers.


President Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu try to mend fences
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Politico - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to exude a new sense of warmth in their rocky relationship Tuesday as both expressed confidence that the Israeli leader will soon hold direct peace talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “The bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable,” said Obama, seated in the Oval Office alongside Netanyahu following their meeting that lasted more than 90 minutes. “We’ve seen over the last year how our relationship has broadened,” Obama added. “In fact, our relationship is continuing to improve.”


Israelis, Palestinians, Americans produce 24 hours of "theater": analyst
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Xinhua - July 6, 2010 - 12:00am

The diplomatic activities in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Washington on Monday and Tuesday is nothing more than theater, according to an analyst. The political science professor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Ira Sharkansky, was highly dismissive of the meeting on Monday in Jerusalem between Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Likewise, Sharkansky expected little more than showmanship when United States President Barack Obama hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Tuesday.


ATFP co-hosts discussion of 'Budrus'
Press Release - June 23, 2010 - 12:00am

American Task Force on Palestine, Just Vision, Churches for Middle East Peace, Americans for Peace Now, and the Foundation for Middle East Peace   co-hosted a discussion from the Award-Winning Documentary Film on Weds, Jun 23, 2010 at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Budrus:


While No One's Looking, the Palestinians Are Building a State
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Foreign Policy - June 17, 2010 - 12:00am

In the world of Palestinian politics, the recent weeks have been a study in contrasts. The international media has trained its focus off the shores of Gaza, where the flotilla fiasco has generated dramatic images of dead civilians and battered Israeli soldiers. The politics of this incident reflect the traditional sturm und drang of the Palestinian national movement: full of grand gestures and transformative ambitions that might result in bloodshed and embarrassment for Israel, but make no substantive contribution to Palestinian liberation.


The Significance of the Second Palestine Investment Conference
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Huffington Post (Blog) - June 17, 2010 - 12:00am

Almost everything about the second Palestine Investment Conference held in Bethlehem in early June, which I had the honor of attending as a member of President Barack Obama's official delegation, was encouraging.


Palestine is open for business!
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Huffington Post (Blog) - June 17, 2010 - 12:00am

Almost everything about the second Palestine Investment Conference held in Bethlehem in early June, which I had the honor of attending as a member of President Barack Obama's official delegation, was encouraging.


Obama’s Israel Policy Showing No Difference With Clinton-Bush
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In Bloomberg - June 15, 2010 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama clashed so often and so publicly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the first 16 months of his tenure that one Israeli newspaper reported Netanyahu believed Obama wanted a confrontation to improve U.S. ties to the Arab world. Then on May 31 came a moment that former U.S. Ambassador Martin Indyk says showed the real nature of Obama’s policy toward Israel: the deadly raid on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza that unleashed a torrent of international criticism and a move in the United Nations to censure the Jewish state.



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