APN: After UN Vote on Palestine, Time for Credible Peace Talks

Distributed by the www.ArabAmericanNewsWire.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 29, 2012

Contact: Lara Friedman
202-408-9898
lfriedman@peacenow.org

After UN Vote on Palestine, Time for Credible Peace Talks

Washington, DC – Welcoming the UN General Assembly’s vote to upgrade the status of the Palestinian representation in the UN, Americans for Peace Now (APN) today urged the Palestinians, Israel, the Obama administration and the international community to use the vote as a springboard to launching credible peace negotiations.

APN’s President and CEO Debra DeLee said: “We welcome the passage of the resolution as a vote of confidence, both by the Palestinians and the international community, in a diplomatic resolution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a vote of confidence in a negotiated two-state solution, with Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side with mutually recognized borders."

“The UNGA resolution, an international statement of support for a negotiated two-state solution, should be used by Palestinians and Israelis as a springboard for launching a serious, credible, internationally-supported political process to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace. We urge the Palestinian leadership to courageously declare its willingness to return to the negotiating table without preconditions. We urge Israel’s government to do the same and refrain from ill-advised retribution against the Palestinians. We urge Congress to resist pressure to pursue its own ill-advised retribution against the Palestinians and the United Nations. We urge the Obama administration to show leadership and sponsor serious peace negotiations.

“Only such a negotiations process can achieve what Israelis and Palestinians both want and deserve: a secure future for themselves and their children, with dignity and self-determination in two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side within recognized borders, in peace and security.”

More on APN’s position regarding the Palestinians’ bid for upgrading their status in the UN is available here.

APN Calls on Obama to Support Palestinian UN Initiative

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 27, 2012

Contact: Lara Friedman
202-408-9898
lfriedman@peacenow.org

APN Calls on Obama to Support Palestinian UN Initiative

Washington, DC - Consistent with APN’s longstanding support for peace and a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Americans for Peace Now today called on the Obama Administration and the international community to support the Palestinians’ bid to upgrade their status at the UN to that of non-member observer state. APN called on the Obama Administration, Israel, and the international community to use this development as a springboard to launch a political process that can yield tangible and constructive results immediately. APN President and CEO Debra DeLee stated:

“In the wake of the latest Gaza War, we believe the international community, led by the Obama Administration, must take urgent action to restore faith in a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to strengthen those Israelis and Palestinians, like Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who are standing firmly with such a solution. Supporting Abbas’ UN effort is a first step to doing just that. This effort is explicitly predicated on support for Israeli-Palestinian peace based on parameters long-endorsed by the U.S. and governments around the world, and once again demonstrates Abbas’ laudable determination to achieve progress through non-violent means.

“All nations that support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should endorse this UN initiative. All nations, including the United States and Israel, should likewise refrain from and reject punitive measures against the Palestinians in the wake of this initiative, including efforts by Israel or any other party to exploit this initiative as a pretext for actions that further erode the possibility of peace.

“Rather than becoming a focus of recriminations, the adoption by the UN General Assembly of this initiative – and the subsequent upgrading of the Palestinian presence at the UN – should be used as a springboard to immediately launch a credible, internationally-backed political process that furthers a clear political goal – the end of the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state, with comprehensive security arrangements – in the near term. Only in this way can new life be breathed into negotiations and only in this way can future UN crises and further violence related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict be averted.

"Actions by the UN won’t end the occupation or resolve permanent status issues such as borders, refugees, and the future of Jerusalem.   Only negotiations can achieve those goals. However, developments on the ground are every day eroding the very possibility of achieving the two-state solution and emboldening extremists on both sides. The world's passivity in the face of these developments, and its tacit acquiescence to continued hostilities between and among the parties, has only bolstered those who are eager to close the door, once-and-for-all, on any possibility of coexistence in the region with two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and with security.

“The decision of the Palestinians to once again take their case to the UN does not signal that they are ‘going unilateral’ or rejecting peace. Rather, it reflects the Palestinians’ understandable conviction that, under present circumstances, negotiations will never end the occupation or deliver statehood.   It also reflects their recognition that the situation is nearing a tipping point – the point at which developments on the ground in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in particular expansion of settlements and settlement-related infrastructure, will make the two-state solution unworkable.

“This initiative is thus a wholly legitimate, if desperate and risky, effort to re-build a modicum of faith in the prospect that negotiations will achieve their ostensible goal – a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – before unilateral actions on the ground make such a solution impossible.”
APN’s principles on the issue of the Palestinians’ UN efforts can be read here.

APN is the sister organization of Shalom Achshav, Israel’s preeminent peace movement. APN’s mission is to educate and persuade the American public and its leadership to support and adopt policies that will lead to comprehensive, durable, Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab peace, based on a two-state solution, guaranteeing both peoples security, and consistent with U.S. national interests. We also work to ensure Israel's future and the viability of Israel's democracy and Jewish character through education, activism and advocacy in the United States, and by mobilizing American support for Shalom Achshav.
END

Al Jazeera/AudioNow Announces Mobile Phone Number to Follow Breaking News in Gaza

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Al Jazeera/AudioNow Announces Mobile Phone Number to Follow Breaking News in Gaza

Washington, D.C., November 20, 2012 – AudioNow, the nation’s leading radio-by-phone platform, announced today a “live” phone number that links directly to Al Jazeera’s broadcast content, allowing listeners to follow developments in the Gaza Strip.

Listeners can now access Al Jazeera’s coverage in English, by dialing (213-493-0140) on any mobile device. To access Al Jazeera Arabic, dial: 213-493-0140.

The Al Jazeera channel is largely unavailable in the U.S. except in a handful of cities.   With reporters embedded in Gaza, and with Al Jazeera's broadcast in 120 countries with 70 bureaus across the globe, the voice stream offers a direct line into news.   As Israeli and Palestinian fighters enter their seventh day of conflict, AudioNow is pleased to announce the phone number to expand access to Al Jazeera’s breaking coverage to U.S. audiences.

For Al Jazeera Arabic, dial:  213-493-0130.

For Al Jazeera English, dial:  213-493-0140.

AudioNow is the leading provider of mobile phone broadcast radio distribution in the country. It uses proprietary, “HD” voice design and patent-pending technology that allows any fixed or mobile phone to access live audio programming without any downloads across all mobile platforms. Visit www.audionow.com to learn more and register.

Contact Information at AudioNow

Rebecca Walker, Manager of Listener Engagement rebecca.walker@audionow.com

202.621.2223

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Press Release: Fr. Sean McManus returns from Holy Land Visit

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Press Release: Fr. Sean McManus returns from Holy Land Visit

PRESS RELEASE

FR. SEAN MC MANUS

PO BOX 15128

WASHINGTON, DC 20003-0849

Fr. Mc Manus Back from West Bank Sickness Stopped Gaza Visit

CAPITOL HILL. Tuesday, November 7, 2012 --- The President of the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus, Fr. Sean Mc Manus, has  returned from his previously  unannounced  two-week visit to the West Bank. Illness forced him to cancel a further week visit to the Gaza Strip.

He had been invited to join the INTERFAITH PEACE-BUILDERS (IFPB) Delegation (Olive Harvest) to Israel-Palestine, Oct. 21 - Nov. 12, 2012.

The Washington INTERFAITH PEACE-BUILDERS describes the purpose of their delegations in this way: “Delegations to Israel/Palestine are designed to begin a process of experiential learning and personal transformation. Our delegations expose participants to perspectives that are not readily available in North America. Meetings are held with diverse representatives of Palestinian and Israeli society, focusing particularly on the voices of those working nonviolently for a resolution to the conflict…”

Fr. Mc Manus said: “I was honored, humbled and inspired to be included in this Delegation, composed of 32 remarkable men and women, young and old, and led by extraordinary leaders, male and female. The IFPB is a really special organization that does courageous and heroic work.”

Simultaneously, there was a large African Heritage Delegation with whom we shared the same hotel. Needless to say, these African-Americans brought to the issue that extra-special perspective, gained from their own Black Freedom Struggle.

This was my first visit to The Holy Land, and it was a listening–learning visit for me. Although I knew the basics of the problem, I did not have the hands-on-knowledge like I have of the Northern Ireland problem. I was particularly interested to see, among other things, if any of my own work, like the Mac Bride Principles, could apply to the situation there. It should be noted here that none were more supportive of the Mac Bride Principles than Jewish-American Members of Congress. (I fully document this in my Memoirs, My American Struggle for Justice in Northern Ireland. Washington. 2012.)”

Fr. Mc Manus explained: “ I went with an open, objective mind – though somewhat conflicted. On the one hand, I have a deep reverence for the Jewish people, worldwide. I have also become, through my study, very conscious and ashamed of the past history of Catholic anti-Semitism: how the Catholic Church, even some of its famous Saints and preachers, spread ant-Semitism across the globe. After The Reformation, the Protestant Churches were equally anti-Semitic. Inevitably, such racist and religious demonization helped to pave the way to The Holocaust.

While we must repent for that past Christian anti-Semitism, it must not close our eyes or hardened our hearts to the rights and plights of the Palestinians. I was profoundly shocked by what I saw: systematic, relentless and shameless injustice. Of course, some of it was familiar. After all, the British partitioned both Palestine and Ireland. For the first few days, I kept thinking: “Just like what the Brits did in The North.” But increasingly, I would add, “but a million times worse.”

Fr. Mc Manus (now recovering from his debilitating, but non-serious travel-sickness) explained: “On my trip – my pilgrimage, if you will, -- to the Holy Land, I had been reflecting a lot on what the Hebrew Prophets teach us about justice. For them, religion is rooted in justice that flows from the heart of God. And it is that justice that must bind and bond Jews, Muslims, Protestants and Catholics, and all God’s children. As I return from the Holy Land, I echo one of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s favorite quotes from the Prophet Amos: ‘Let justice roll down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.’” (New Jerusalem Bible, 5:24).

Fr. Mc Manus continued: “There is now no way I can in conscience and decency ignore the just, nonviolent cause of the Palestinians. I will most certainly do all I can to help --- without neglecting the Irish cause. Watch this space, as they say.

God bless America and God save Ireland and The Holy Land.”

END.

Fr. Sean Mc Manus

President

Irish National Caucus

P.O. BOX 15128

Capitol Hill

Washington, DC 20003-0849

Tel. 202-544-0568

Fax. 202-488-7537

sean@irishnationalcaucus.org

Good Morning Michigan expands to Washington DC

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Good Morning Michigan expands to Washington DC

U.S. Arab Radio, "Good Morning Michigan," WNZK 680/690AM Announces Expansion to Washington D.C. and will Feature a Special "Arab Americans at the Polls" Program on Elections Day

Detroit, Michigan, USA | November 5th, 2012 | U.S. Arab Radio, "Good Morning Michigan" Radio Show on WNZK 690 AM proudly announces its landmark expansion to Washington D.C. The Show which airs from 8:00-9:00 AM EST will be available through WDMV 700 AM which covers DC, Virginia, Maryland, Baltimore, and Columbia, in addition to the show’s previous coverage in Michigan, Chicago, Canada, Toledo, Ohio, and New York.

Tune in tomorrow November 6, 2012, at 8:00 AM EST, on Election Day, November 6, 2012, as the show will feature the voices of Arab American’s expressing their views on the election and their participation on this historic day, which could ultimately be one of the most decisive elections of our time.

The program will also discuss the potential causes and solutions to the lower voter turnout among Arab Americans in past elections, in addition to innovative ideas for getting community members to the polls, on one of the most decisive elections of our time. Most importantly, the show will focus on the vitality of the Arab American vote in influencing domestic and foreign policies in the United States and around the globe.

For making voices heard across the country, The Good Morning Michigan show and its listeners thank the following sponsors for this vital expansion: Attorney Joumana Kayrouz, Ziyad Brothers, and Dr. Opada Al-Zhohaili. Their understanding of the need to have a strong media presence among the Arab American community and mainstream airwaves has made Good Morning Michigan the first simulcast Arab American program to cover this number of states. Broadcast will be available via the program's Website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel.

Our sponsors have set the trend to encourage others to assist in further expanding this unique program, in addition to Radio Baladi which has been the first simulcast Arab American program in existence since 2009, to increase broadcast hours and States across the U.S.

CONTACT:

Laila Alhusinni

lealhusinni@yahoo.com

313-570-2206

www.UsChaamMedia.com

www.radiobaladi.com