Throughout this year’s campaign, I have been a strong supporter of Barack Obama. I have volunteered for his campaign in Nevada, driving through the southwest desert from my idyllic Los Angeles orange groves to lend my hand of support. I worked the phone banks with his campaign as well and tried to convince concerned Americans that he was not a Muslim or an Arab like me. I even gave his campaign money and made sure my parents and my siblings did too but his first act as the President-Elect of the United States, choosing Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff, was a rude awakening. I was naive to expect any differently. Barack Obama will focus on domestic issues such as the economy and health care and he has little precious time to waste with Israel-Palestine. So he appoints a former IDF-volunteer Israeli to be Chief of Staff of his new administration. I admit that I am not certain that this is bad news. After all, Rahm Emanuel did support the Oslo peace accords, is no neocon, is no longer an Israeli citizen and did apologize for his father’s racist remark concerning Arabs and the scrubbing of floors. On the other hand, he did support the war on Iraq and is an avid supporter of Israel. But he could provide vital cover for an Obama administration that needs American Jews on its side if any peace process is to be pursued.
The main obstacle to peace in the Middle East is the lack of an organized Arab American lobby that can push against the influence of the powerful pro-Israel Lobby. If Senators and House Representatives could vote their conscience without fear of retribution by a pro-Israel Lobby that has been consistently voted as the second most powerful lobby in the country, then we would see a very different American foreign policy, one that is much more in tune with American national interests. The lobby’s grip on Congress is its ace in the hole, guaranteeing that no matter how sympathetic a president is to the Palestinian cause, s/he will be thwarted at every turn. I think there is no reason why Arab/Muslim Americans and our friends are not fighting more forcefully against the Israel Lobby except perhaps for fear of failure. But as I see it, we have already failed a hundred times by virtue of our inaction.
Looking at existing Arab/Muslim American political organizations, we see a few, mostly bad, options that could be up to the task at hand. There is the ADC (Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee) but it is mostly concerned with Arab American civil liberties and does little to lobby the government in foreign policy, which is just as well because it serves an important function. CAIR (the Council on American Islamic Relations) and MPAC (Muslim Political Action Committee) both are very well organized but they are both civil liberties groups that represent Muslim Americans in the same way that ADC addresses discrimination against Arab Americans. Two other groups are strong enough to compete on the national stage: CNI (the Council for National Interest) and AAI (the Arab American Institute). The Arab American Institute works to bring money and exposure to Arab Americans running for office and to mobilize Arab American citizens to get involved in the political process and vote. The Council for National Interest has a strong foreign policy-focused agenda, namely and specifically, to bring about a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to end the occupation of the Palestinian territories, and to support democracy in the Middle East (www.cnionline.org).
The Council for the National Interest is the closest to an Arab American Lobby. Its main disadvantage is that it is not a lobby in the narrow sense of the word: it is not a political action committee (PAC) which means it cannot fund Congressional campaigns. However, its advantages are many. It was established in 1989 by Paul Findley and Pete McClosky, both of whom are former Congressmen. Its board of directors boasts a list of Who’s Who in American politics. There are the two aforementioned Congressmen, James Abourezk, a former Senator from South Dakota, Alison Weir, founder of If Americans Knew, and former Ambassadors Robert Keeley and Eugene Birds. CNI is the most qualified organization to lead the fight against AIPAC, although it is weak, malnourished, underfunded and sclerotic but its heart is in the right place and with a good fund-raising effort, it will be perfect. Fellow KABOBer Will brought up another potential candidate, AAPER (the American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights), which is an organization started by a bright Palestinian American graduate of Georgetown Law School. The problem with AAPER is the same problem with every organization I have listed above: it tries to educate the American public.
Every organization I have listed above (except MPAC) is a 501©3 organization which seeks to educate the American public and cannot endorse nor fund candidates running for office. That is, unfortunately, a waste of time. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is too remote and too complicated and the American public doesn’t care and neither should they as they don’t realize the role of the United States in the conflict. Arab-Americans should emulate the success of the pro-Israel lobby by working mainly with Congress. Furthermore education will follow when Senators and Representatives start speaking on MSNBC and CNN about Palestinian rights and Israeli transgression without fear for their posts. As of now, every American politician speaking on television will invariably toe the Likud line.
Finally, CNI’s best asset (something that AAPER lacks) is its line up of former Congressmen, themselves defeated by the efforts of AIPAC, and Ambassadors, having seen first hand the devastation wrought by our foreign policy. CNI is well established in DC politics, if still weak, having been working for a Palestinian state since its founding in 1989. I spoke to the director, Eugene Bird, and he was very interested into transforming it into a PAC as soon as they could raise enough money. The former American officials are also important in calming an anxious American public weary of financially supporting Arab/Muslim causes. Most importantly, they are a perfect cover for Arab/Muslim-Americans who are willing to throw large amounts of cash at a lobby that works but fear the accusation of funding terrorism. As money is the most important part of a lobby, an organization run by former Congressmen and Senators would certainly grease the money wheels. Plus they make killer cartoons.
What do you guys think?
Related posts:
- Rahm: Kneel Before the Awesome Power of the Arab-American Lobby
- The Lobby from a Victim’s View
- More on the Lobby
- Mass. Names Arab-American to Top Position
- New Arab-American Newspaper
I think you might find this site of interest. I know I did. Also, Richard Silverstein had a post on Emanuel. I don’t know whether you’ve read it. It’s here. Peace!
Posted by Gene | November 21, 2008, 2:04 amThis is stupid. Asking Arabs to be assholes like the Israelis is not something I support.
Posted by Anonymous | November 21, 2008, 4:40 am“After all, Rahm Emanuel did support the Oslo peace accords, is no neocon, is no longer an Israeli citizen and did apologize for his father’s racist remark concerning Arabs and the scrubbing of floors.”
You make the Oslo Accords sound like something worth praising. Give me a break.
Posted by Anonymous | November 21, 2008, 9:05 amanon1-
so then what whould *YOU* support??? having arabs acting like little scared mice with a cat in the house (much like we have)?
be constructive… using words like stupid is unnecessary.
Posted by Anonymous | November 21, 2008, 10:19 ammy memory is foggy, but i don’t think ADC is a 501c3 but it’s educational institute wing is. so you give the educational wing to get a tax deduction, but you don’t if you give to ADC. they did this in order to lobby legally. not sure, but i think ADC might be legally able to endorse candidates but might be choosing not to in order to represent a constituency that is both democrat and republican. this is not a statement for or against ADC. CAIR and MPAC have similar missions, but MPAC does not accept foreign funding. it takes more than one organzation and more than one approach to advocate for such a big issue. this post is a good initial step into learning how these things work and hopefully will stir meaningful discussion on how to improve things.
Posted by Geezer | November 21, 2008, 10:26 amNice post.
Groups like AIPAC are a hazard to this country’s well being. You are totally right when you say that they need to be countered (not necessarily with the same methods). I think you make a strong argument that some people probably just don’t understand. I do however have to agree with anonymous #2 – Oslo was nothing to clap at…
Posted by Kalash | November 21, 2008, 1:00 pmLobbies, not just AIPAC, are a hazard to this country’s well being. Asking that another lobby exist is not recognizing the problem at all. It’s adding to it. Dare to dream. Think of something else.
Posted by Anonymous | November 21, 2008, 2:07 pmRahm Emmanuel hasn’t made you embarassed yet that you campaigned for obama? What else does he have to do, who else does he have to appoint to make you stop admitting that in public?
Posted by Anonymous | November 21, 2008, 2:10 pmLobbies aren’t a threat to this country’s well being, they’re an effective means of citizens influencing policymakers via collective action. We need more lobbies and lobbyists, if anything, and drawn from more diverse sources, not fewer.
Posted by Joe | November 21, 2008, 7:34 pmThanks Gene for the sites. I agree with Joe, we should really work within the existing system of the American government to ensure a place for Arab/Muslim Americans at the table so we can be part of the decision-making process.
Why should we disenfranchise ourselves and ensure our exclusion from the government that represents us? An American Lobby representing American constituents that have no voice is a noble idea not immoral. We are not talking here about GM lobby or a tobacco lobby representing the narrow interests of an industry but a lobby that speaks for an American minority that needs desperately to influence American policies abroad.
What is more immoral an Arab/Muslim Lobby or the occupation? Do we not have a responsibility to the Palestinians and indeed to the rest of the Arab world as the only Arabs and Muslims capable of effectively affecting American policy?
Posted by Sama | November 21, 2008, 9:18 pmYou bring up a very good point. We cannot deny that pro-Israel lobbyists have thus far been way more successful at influencing US policy than Arab or Palestinian grassroots activism. To that end, I do believe that within the prevalent system we need a strong, organized lobby to further our interests on Capitol Hill.
At the same time, we should also increase our efforts to inform the public, not reduce it. At the end of the day, the average American feels a much stronger kinship with Israel while being far more likely to be hostile towards Palestinians, because Israelis are seen as ‘Western’ and Palestinians as ‘different’. Educating the public is necessary to reduce such stereotypes and give representatives the political safety net they crave to support justice for Palestinians (and Arabs).
Posted by Mohammad | November 22, 2008, 7:48 am“”At the end of the day, the average American feels a much stronger kinship with Israel while being far more likely to be hostile towards Palestinians, because Israelis are seen as ‘Western’ and Palestinians as ‘different’.”"
A lot of that is down to government and the contours of society, though. Kurdistan often gets a big pass in American media for precisely the same reason — it’s perceived as more secular, in tune with liberal constitutional values.
If you want to improve Palestine’s image in the west, a successful gay pride parade in Ramallah wouldn’t be a bad place to start.
Posted by Joe | November 24, 2008, 2:42 amUh it didn’t stop anyone from bombing Beirut so I’m going to have to disagree pretty strongly with that Joe.
We could go on and on about honour killings in Kurdistan(and there are a lot) or gangs in Jerusalem that go around beating up girls in a who’s-the-most-retarded olympics (cause nobody is totally clean) but the issue is actually pretty simple:
Are ______ human beings or are they not?
Posted by nadia | November 24, 2008, 6:37 amBismillaah, Wal Humdulillaah.
Uss salaatu wass salaam ‘alan Nabeey.
Salaamualaikum Sama,
I think this was a great article with some very good ideas.
I don’t like the idea of following the jews step by step down a lizard hole – BUT, given the very volatile position of Muslims in this country – your suggestion could be part of an overall strategy.
It would seem from your article that one of the biggest factors would be raising/donating cash without being paralyzed by terror cash (false) claims. The cheapest way to begin would be to stsart publicising things on Arab andMuslim blogs as welkl as using email lists informing sand requesting donations…
Posted by Mr. Robin | December 5, 2008, 10:44 amI applaud this, as a political activist this has been a long over due subject to bring up! Grassroots education has not worked thus far. It's time to change our tactics.
Posted by Liz | April 12, 2010, 9:51 pm