What Obama needs to do
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The Jordan Times - July 22, 2011 - 12:00am

These are not the best of times for Americans, especially their leaders in government, President Barack Obama and Congress, in view of the bad state of the economy (i.e., the federal debt) and foreign policy, particularly towards the Arab world. Many here and there are pointing a finger at the president, or as one headline pointed out, “the too-quiet president”. An unidentified Republican, who expects Obama to win a second term in office next year, asked much-respected Washington Post columnist David Ignatius: “Why does he so often seem to react rather than lead?”

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Demography as Destiny: Israel's Growing Right Shapes Law, Military
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The Jewish Daily Forward - July 21, 2011 - 12:00am

The increasingly progressive Atlantic Monthly correspondent and former Forward staffer Jeffrey Goldberg (for the last time, no, we’re not the same person) posted a link on his blog Tuesday to an online essay — which he called “hard to disagree with” — by senior research fellow Hussein Ibish of the American Task Force on Palestine. Here’s the excerpt Goldberg posted on his blog:

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Palestinians face a dangerous U.N. clash on statehood
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Washington Post (Opinion) - July 21, 2011 - 12:00am

A potentially dangerous confrontation looms in September over the question of Palestinian statehood, one that threatens significant negative consequences for all parties. It is in the interests of all constructive actors to find a compromise that avoids such a confrontation.

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Israel 1967 Borders Are Central in Mideast Talks Restart Effort
Media Mention of ATFP In Bloomberg - July 11, 2011 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama’s proposal to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by starting with the 1967 borders will likely be adopted by the international group trying to find a peace agreement. The meeting today in Washington by the “Quartet” -- the U.S., European Union, United Nations and Russia -- has taken on added urgency as Palestinians plan to ask the UN to recognize their state in a September vote. Israel and the U.S. oppose the move, which would raise political and legal questions.

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Leading Palestinian and Jewish American Groups Announce Joint Internship Program
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - June 30, 2011 - 12:00am

The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) and Americans for Peace Now (APN) are today starting their joint summer internship program. ATFP is hosting an Israeli student, and APN is hosting a Palestinian student. This is the third time that ATFP and APN, a pro-Palestinian organization and a pro-Israeli organization, are cooperating on a joint internship program, making it a tradition intended to underscore that Americans who care about Middle East peace - be they Arab or Jewish - have more in common than what sets them apart.


Should the Palestinians Recognize Israel as a Jewish State?
In Print by Hussein Ibish - Foreign Policy (Opinion) - May 25, 2011 - 12:00am

Most observers expected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to target his harshest criticisms of the Palestinians during his U.S. trip on the Hamas-Fatah agreement. Surprisingly, his most important talking point turned out to be his demand for Palestinian recognition of Israel as a "Jewish state." To be sure, Netanyahu took every opportunity to denounce the Palestinian unity deal, compare Hamas to al Qaeda, and point out that some of its leaders had praised Osama bin Laden.

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David Makovsky and Ghaith al-Omari debate the Israel-Palestine conflict and discuss creating mutual respect and dialogue
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In Daily Bruin - May 27, 2011 - 12:00am

Political analysts David Makovsky and Ghaith al-Omari had a simple message when they spoke to a room of about 172 people about the Israel-Palestine conflict. “If Jews and Arabs can talk to each other in the (Middle) East, why can’t they talk to each other in the Midwest?” Makovsky said during their debate Wednesday night. The event, organized by the Olive Tree Initiative in coordination with the Campus Events Commission, aimed to foster cooperation between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine student groups.

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What was Netanyahu so enraged about?
In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Opinion) - May 24, 2011 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama’s Middle East speech last Thursday did not break any particularly new ground on Israeli-Palestinian peace or Washington’s basic positions on negotiations. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many of his supporters reacted furiously. Why? The reasons are deeply illuminating.

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ATFP Urges Support for President Obama
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - May 23, 2011 - 12:00am

ATFP expresses its support for President Obama’s call for the establishment of two states, Palestine and Israel with borders based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed upon swaps. ATFP has always advocated a negotiated two-state solution as an American national interest. ATFP urges Members of Congress and all Americans to work intensively with the President to achieve this goal. ATFP also calls upon the Palestinians and Israelis to engage with the President in reaching peace for the benefit of their peoples and the region.


Two Narratives for Two Peoples
In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Jewish Daily Forward (Opinion) - May 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Many Jewish Israelis and their supporters have reacted with outrage to a New York Times Op-Ed on May 17 by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, particularly its invocation of the Palestinian historical narrative. Most troubling to them was Abbas’s description of how his family was “forced” to flee their home in what became Israel in 1948 — a word choice they feel implies that Abbas and his family were evicted by Jewish troops.

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American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017