Remembering Edward Said - Worth a Thought. And Many more
In Print by Ziad Asali - United Press International (UPI) (Blog) - September 26, 2003 - 12:00am

A university professor of literature at Columbia University has died. He was witty, elegant and powerful, passionate about his field of study and a man of aristocratic bearing. He loved opera and art and wrote lovely, erudite books. What made him especially important, however, was none of the preceding. Edward W. Said was one of the architects of all reasonable discussion on the question of Palestine and commanded the moral authority to discuss the subject honestly and outside the rhetoric of hatred and violence. He was a brilliant man who sought to improve the world through the

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Palestine and Israel: Unkind History, Uncertain Future
Speech by Ziad Asali at Cornell University - September 3, 2003 - 12:00am

For a conflict that has been described as intractable, insoluble and “centuries old”, the most dramatic feature about the Palestine/ Israel conflict is the near unanimous agreement about the contours of its final resolution. Think about that. The majority of the Palestinians, Israelis, Arabs, Jews, Americans, Europeans, and people all over the world as well as global institutions and bodies are in support of an outline that goes as follows:

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The Mideast crisis: Ziad J. Asali
Interview with ATFP - USA Today - August 22, 2003 - 12:00am

This week's devastating violence between Israel and the Palestinians appears to have rendered the eight-week-old truce, or hudna, null and void. After Thursday's killing of a senior Hamas official by Israel in retaliation for a suicide bombing of a bus in Jerusalem which 20 people died. The Islamic militant group Hamas threatened revenge and formally abandoned the cease-fire.

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Wall and Peace
In Print by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) - August 20, 2003 - 12:00am

The long struggle to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians is at a crossroads that will almost certainly determine the direction of future events for decades, if not indeed for generations.

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ATFP Hosts Palestinian PM Abbas and Arab American Community Leaders
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - July 28, 2003 - 12:00am

Washington DC, Jul. 28 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) hosted Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas, members of the Palestinian cabinet and the PLO envoy in Washington, at a breakfast today. The event was attended by over a hundred Palestinian, Arab and Muslim American leaders from all over the nation, as well as leading members of the Arab-American business and professional community.


PA Advisors Brief ATFP Board and Foreign Government Representatives on Israel's 'Wall of Separation'
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - July 18, 2003 - 12:00am

Washington DC, Jul. 18 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) hosted today two members of the Palestinian Authority Negotiation Affairs Department. Stephanie Koury, legal advisor, and Fouad Hallak, technical advisor, briefed ATFP board members and a number of foreign government representatives on the impact of Israel’s ‘Wall of Separation’ on prospects for an Israel-Palestinian peace settlement. The U.S. tour of the two representatives is being conducted under the auspices of Bannerman & Associates, Inc.


US Government Announces $30 Million Quick Impact Aid Package for Gaza and the West Bank
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - July 3, 2003 - 12:00am

Washington DC, Jul. 3 -- Today, in a ceremony in Ramallah, the US Government announced plans for the disbursement of a $30 million Palestinian aid package through the United States Agency for International Development West Bank and Gaza Mission (USAID/WBG). Palestinian Authority (PA) Minister of Planning Nabil Qassis hosted the announcement ceremony to mark the US commitment, with Acting US Consul General in Jerusalem Jeffrey Feltman and USAID/WBG Mission Director Larry Garber participating.


ATFP Welcomes Summit Progress, Urges Greater Efforts on Mideast Peace
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - June 4, 2003 - 12:00am

Washington DC, Jun. 4 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today welcomed progress on Middle East peace at the Aqaba summit and urged all parties to redouble their efforts to implement phase one of President Bush's road map. ATFP praised President Bush for his efforts to create new momentum towards a negotiated settlement of the conflict and reiterated its support for the roadmap. ATFP President Dr.


In Pursuit of Peace
Speech by Ziad Asali at Tikkun Conference - June 2, 2003 - 12:00am

The march of events of humankind that we call history has been unkind to the Jews and Palestinians this past century. Europe, the seat of the pinnacle of world culture and western civilization, was seized with convulsive fits of hatred and barbarism that culminated in the Holocaust and made the defeat of Nazism the highest moral order of the time. The Palestinians, caught in the ensuing whirlwind, were eviscerated, displaced, denigrated and driven to desperation. Israel was established on 78% of the land of Palestine in 1948, and occupied the rest in 1967.

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Time for better decisions to be made on Palestine-Israel
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Daily Star (Opinion) - May 21, 2003 - 12:00am

The Palestine-Israel conflict has become a hostage to fundamentalists and ideologues of every description, to people who advocate a clash of civilizations and religions in pursuit of their own warped visions of history and mythology. These fanatics, whether Jews, Christians or Muslims, can best be called “clashists” (to rhyme with fascists.) The sad fact is that the issue of Palestine has become the latest “last refuge of scoundrels.” The rest of us, unencumbered by divine certitude about the future and open to reason and compromise, have found it harder to have a public voice and space.

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