Freij to be honored for distinguished service in philanthropy
Media Mention of ATFP In The Arab American News - October 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Deputy Executive Director of ACCESS Maha Freij will be honored this month in Washington by the American Task Force for Palestine (ATFP) for the key role she played in raising funds to create the nation's only Arab American National Museum.


Freij cited for her philanthropy work
Media Mention of ATFP In ACCESS - October 14, 2011 - 12:00am

ACCESS Deputy Executive Director Maha Freij will be honored this month in Washington by the American Task Force for Palestine (ATFP) for the key role she played in raising funds to create the nation’s only Arab American National Museum. Each year, ATFP honors the contributions of Palestinian Americans who have enriched their community and provided great service or unique achievement in the United States. Freij will receive the ATFP Award for Distinguished Service in Philanthropy on Oct. 19 at the organization’s sixth annual gala at the Ritz Carlton in Washington.


Where Do We Go from Here?
In Print by Hussein Ibish - Foreign Policy (Opinion) - October 3, 2011 - 12:00am




U.S. hopes to not use veto to aid Israel
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The Washington Times - September 28, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinians have yet to lock down a nine-vote majority in the U.N. Security Council for their statehood bid, raising U.S. hopes that it could be spared the embarrassment of using its veto power in defense of an increasingly isolated Israel. Amid indications that Colombia and the Security Council’s four EU member states will abstain from any vote, attention has focused on Nigeria, Gabon and Bosnia, which have offered few signals about how they will vote.


The speech Yasser Arafat never gave
In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Opinion) - September 27, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ moving speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Friday was certainly the high point of his career. His address will be forever remembered because Abbas was able to do what no Palestinian leader has ever done in the past: make the moral case for Palestinian independence in a clear, coherent, reasonable manner at the highest international forum.


UN Showdown Ushers in Critical a Period for U.S. Middle East Peace Efforts
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Bloomberg - September 27, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinians’ bid for statehood at the United Nations has shaken up Mideast peace efforts, fueling a sense of crisis among Israeli and Palestinian allies that the U.S. says can drive a return to direct peace talks. “We know that there’s a trust deficit that needs to be overcome,” Michael Hammer, acting assistant secretary of state for public affairs, said yesterday. The two sides “have an opportunity here that we hope they will seize.”


After Palestinian Statehood Bid, Where Do Mideast Talks Stand?
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In PBS - September 23, 2011 - 12:00am

RAY SUAREZ: Now two assessments of the speeches and what's next from Ghaith Al-Omari, a former adviser to President Abbas, now executive director of the American Task Force on Palestine, and David Makovsky, director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former executive editor of The Jerusalem Post. Well, Ghaith, earlier this week, the Obama administration tried to convince Mahmoud Abbas not to go ahead with the bid. Obviously, they didn't succeed. But why now and why this?


Commentary: Peace negotiations best for Mideast
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The Detroit News - September 26, 2011 - 12:00am

The tailwind of the Arab Spring appears to be propelling the Palestinians toward their own political revolution. On Friday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas presented a resolution requesting the admission of an independent state of Palestine to the United Nations. Many have explored the wisdom of a Palestinian Unilateral Declaration of Independence, a diplomatic end-run that allows them to circumvent the negotiating table. If this is indeed the tactic chosen, there is one thing that must be made clear: both sides will suffer for this decision.


Congress Moves To Punish Palestinians, But Even Israel Objects
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Jewish Daily Forward - September 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Washington — A congressional drive to punish the Palestinian Authority for its statehood bid by cutting American aid is being greeted with enthusiasm by lawmakers of both parties. But the White House is giving the move a cold shoulder, and even Israel itself and its strongest supporters have serious reservations. The legislation being discussed in Congress would cut all or part of the nearly $600 million annual aid package if Palestinians move ahead with their plan to seek statehood at the United Nations.


Netanyahu, Abbas Emerge Unscathed at UN
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Bloomberg - September 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas emerged from their showdown at the United Nations buttressed domestically though no closer to peace talks.



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