J Street’s National Conference: March 24-27, 2012
POMED is excited to be a participating organization in J Street's upcoming national conference. The event, called "Making History," will take place March 24-27 in Washington, DC. To see last year's impressive conference schedule, click here. To register for the 2012 conference, click here (more details on speakers and panels will be available soon). We hope to see you there!
Abbas: “The Palestinian Spring Is Here”
Upon his return to Ramallah after asking the U.N. to recognize Palestinian statehood on Friday, President Mahmoud Abbas told a crowd of supporters that "the Palestinian spring is here. A popular spring, a populist spring, a spring of peaceful struggle ...
POMED Notes: Hearing on U.S. Aid to the Palestinian Authority
On Tuesday, July 12, the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held the first of two hearings on “Promoting Peace? Reexamining U.S. Aid to the Palestinian Authority.” The hearing was presided over by Chairman Steve Chabot (R-OH), and ranking member Gary Ackerman (D-NY). Also in attendance were Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY), Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA), Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), ...
POMED Notes: “An Israeli-Palestinian Agreement? What’s Possible and What Isn’t”
On Tuesday, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a panel titled “An Israeli-Palestinian Agreement? What’s Possible and What Isn’t.” Haleh Esfandiari, the director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center, introduced the panel, which was moderated by Washington Post deputy editorial page editor Jackson Diehl. Panelists included Brandeis University professor Shai Feldman, author and Wilson Center Public Policy Scholar Aaron David Miller, and Hussein Ibish, a ...
POMED Notes: Anne Patterson Nomination Hearing
On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a nomination hearing for five ambassadors to the Middle East and Central Asia. The first of the hearing’s two panels featured the Honorable Anne W. Patterson, to be Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt. The second panel featured Michael H. Corbin, to be Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Matthew H. Tueller, to be Ambassador to the State of Kuwait, ...
Israeli PM Addresses Congress
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress today, expressing support for the democratic aspirations of the greater Middle East, reaffirming the U.S.-Israeli relationship and detailing his parameters for a peace deal with the Palestinians. He ...
McCain Outlines Strategic Objectives for the Middle East
Last week, following President Barack Obama's address on the Middle East, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) delivered the Dean Acheson Lecture at the United States Institute of Peace where he discussed the Arab Spring. McCain opened by noting that the uprisings in the Middle East represent a repudiation of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda and stated that Arab Spring should be "a clarifying event for the United States" which presents an ...
Congressional Reactions to Obama’s Middle East Speech
On Thursday, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) stated that while she was pleased that President Barack Obama expressed U.S. support for democracy and human rights in the Middle East and North Africa, the President's goals and objectives for the region remain unclear. She criticized Obama's failure to call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ouster, enforce sanctions on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khamenei. She also criticized the President ...
Reactions to Obama’s Middle East Speech
Elliott Abrams, writing for the National Review Online, criticized President Barack Obama's speech on U.S. Middle East policy given on Thursday. Abrams accused the President of trying to "take credit" for the Arab Spring despite his continuing to engage authoritarian rulers. He stated that Obama's words suggested that the President still thinks Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is capable of leading a democratic transition despite his regime killing hundreds of peaceful ...
President Obama Delivers Major Address on Middle East Policy
On Thursday, President Barack Obama addressed the nation to discuss U.S. policy towards the Middle East and North Africa. He noted that over the past six months, the people in the region "have risen up to demand their basic ...
Iran and the New World Order Following the Arab Spring
Simon Tisdall, writing at the Guardian, argues that the Arab spring has "punctured the illusion, cultivated by Iran, of harmonious relations with the Arab world and has instead highlighted its isolation." As unrest continues in Syria, Tisdall believes that ...
Peace Plan Shadows Obama’s MidEast Policy Speech
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Barack Obama on Friday following trips to France and Great Britain. Netanyahu is trying to build Western opposition to the Palestinians' bid for statehood before the United Nations General Assembly ...
Palestine: Elections Postponed, Abbas Calls for Statehood
On Tuesday, the government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced that municipal elections would be postponed from July to October, stating that more time was needed to ensure the vote can be held in both the West Bank and ...
Secretary Clinton Meets with Jordanian King Abdullah
In remarks with Jordanian King Abdullah before their meeting, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted that the king "is a strong and steady voice in the incredible changes that are going on around the world." King Abdullah noted that the discussion will include the challenges facing the Middle East as a result of the Arab Spring and stated that "the role of the United States is going to be ...
Nakba Day Protests & The Arab Spring
Over the weekend, Palestinians marched on Israeli border crossings with Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to commemorate the beginning of the refugee crisis that resulted from the first war with Israel. Andrew Exum ...
George Mitchell to Resign
The Obama administration’s special Mideast envoy, former Senator George Mitchell, plans to resign after more than two years of trying to press Israel and the Palestinians into peace talks, U.S. officials said. The White House is scheduled to announce ...
Hamid Calls for U.S. ‘Strategic Dialogue’ with Islamists
In an article for Foreign Affairs, Shadi Hamid from the Brookings Doha Center, argues that the U.S. will have to accept a larger role for Islamist parties in emerging participatory democracies in the Arab world; despite this leading to ...
Obama to Address Arab Spring In Major Speech
In a major speech next week, President Barack Obama will outline the Administration's vision for the region in light of dramatic shifts currently underway in the Middle East and North Africa and the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. ...