Advertisement Close

In The Press

Pharrell Williams Cancels Performance in Tel Aviv

By Ali Abunimah Electronic Intifada Pharrell Williams, a ten-time Grammy Award winner, has canceled his 21 July performance in Tel Aviv amid conflicting explanations. Over the last year, the “Happy” pop star has faced sustained pressure from the Palestine solidarity movement. Last year, amid rumors that he would be scheduling a Tel Aviv performance, campaigners … Continued

Mosque Removed as Polling Site #HummusHaters

In the wake of the horrific Orlando shootings at a gay nightclub perpetrated by a supposed ISIS sympathizer, Florida is struggling with reaffirming ties with their Muslim community. Tensions arose when Susan Bucher, a Congresswoman in Boca Raton decided to remove a Mosque as a polling place for the upcoming presidential election. As a result … Continued

Dallas Shooting: Stop the One Equals All Mentality. Join in Solidarity.

BY: Eugene Smith/Contributing Writer The Tragedy: On Thursday evening, the Dallas Police presided over a peaceful demonstration held by the local Black Lives Matter movement protesting the recent shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. The deaths of the two young men weighed heavily on the frustrated crowd as they marched chanting “enough is enough.” In a sign … Continued

5 Reasons Why Arab Americans Should Say #BlackLivesMatter

BY: Nisreen Eadeh/Staff Writer America witnessed two more fatal shootings of black men by police officers this week – Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana. Cities across America, big and small, demonstrated on the streets Thursday night, demanding an end to the unnecessary deaths of black men by white cops. The level … Continued

Chilcot Report: Arabs Respond

BY Andrew Hansen/ Contributing Writer “I wish Saddam would return…” These chilling words display the sentiment that many Iraqis feel following the release of the Chilcot Report, a 2.6 million worded report condemning former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for entering the Iraq war on false pretenses. THE REPORT The inquiry, which took seven years … Continued

One Man’s Dream City Rises In The Occupied West Bank

Courtesy of Bashar Masri and Rawabi. Monica Wang Forbes.com A fine slab of carved stone stands out against the wild rocks and shrubs scattered about the mountainous Palestinian landscape. It is a sign that reads “Rawabi,” meaning hills in Arabic, and it points to a narrow path up the slope. As the paved road winds … Continued

Six Hummus Haters in One Holiday Weekend

With all the anti-Arab bashing we see in the news every week, Arab America is determined to expose those who discriminate against our community. We will recognize those who vilify the positive influence and contributions Arabs have made to the fabric of American society. And we will use hummus as our weapon. By naming those … Continued

Statement by the President on the Occasion of Eid al-Fitr

  Press release: The White House Upon the arrival of a new crescent moon, Michelle and I send our warmest greetings to all those celebrating Eid al-Fitr in the United States and around the globe.  For Muslim Americans, Eid is an opportunity to reflect on the 30 days spent fasting and to recommit to values … Continued

Arab Americans to Rally on National Mall Against Bigotry

BY: Andrew Hansen/Contributing Writer On July 23, America’s Muslim communities will come together to rally against extremism, gun violence, and bigotry on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Organized by the Islamic Society of Central Florida and the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS), the march is intended to combat recent spikes of anti-Muslim hate … Continued

Bernie Sanders Platform Guru Insists: ‘I’m Not Anti-Israel’

By Cnaan Liphshiz

Forward  

 

James Zogby, one of Bernie Sanders’ appointees to the the Democratic Party’s platform committee, said he had been unfairly typecast as an anti-Israel activist.

“I’ve just been cast as the anti-Israel guy,” Zogby, the founder and president of the Arab American Institute, said in an interview published Friday in The Jerusalem Post. “People will type you.”

This view, which Zogby said does not reflect his views toward the Jewish state, “bothers me more than anything else that it fuels a simplistic, combative narrative,” he said.

As a member of the Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee,  Zogby has played a key role in attempt to include in the party’s platform language that recognizes Palestinian “dignity,” and against Israel’s “occupation” and “settlement activity” in what the proposed inclusions refer to as Palestinian lands, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The latest draft of the platform, which is set to be finalized in July, declares that achieving Palestinian statehood would provide “the Palestinians with independence, sovereignty, and dignity,” whereas previous formulations referred to a two-state solution as benefitting only Israel. A proposed phrase calling on Israel to end “Israeli military occupation and illegal settlements” in the West Bank was defeated last week in an executive committee meeting in St. Louis.

Zogby supports the rights of Americans to boycott products produced in the settlements. He also told The Jerusalem Post that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “does more to delegitimize the State of Israel than the BDS movement ever has.”

But, “On the issue of delegitimizing Israel, I object to language that ultimately crosses the line into anti-Semitism,” he said. “That language is offensive, its anti-Semitic and its hurtful.”

The son of Maronite Catholic immigrants from Lebanon, Zogby has become one of the most prominent voices for the Arab-American community. He has a son who is married to a Muslim and a daughter married to a Jew, he said.

“When you type me and reduce me to one thing– which is some ‘hater of’ or ‘threat to’ or ‘danger to’ Israel – then there are crazy people out there who will decide to do things,” he complained. He said he has received death threats. The Post article did not specify as to the nature of these threats.

In the 1990s, then vice president Al Gore tapped Zogby to help promote business investment in the Palestinian territories, in a project known as Builders for Peace. President Barack Obama has twice appointed him to serve on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in 2013 and 2015.

According to the Post, Zogby’s views are aligned with those of J Street, the Jewish organization which supports increasing international pressure on Israel to speed negotiations toward a two-state solution, which J Street says will benefit both peoples. J Street defines itself as a pro-Israel organization.

Zogby said his attempt to include language that speaks of Israel occupation reflects mainstream views. “There isn’t a president in the last 30 or 40 years who doesn’t call it an occupation,” he said, noting that consecutive Republican and Democratic administrations have also condemned Israel’s continued settlement activity in the West Bank.

Sanders, the first Jewish candidate to win major party nominating contests, named five of the platform committee’s members, including Zogby and two other frequent critics of Israeli policy, Cornel West, a philosopher and African-American social activist, and Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to Congress.

Source: forward.com

187 Results (Page 9 of 16)