Mustafa Barghouti on CNI Radio, Feb. 4th
Posted February 1, 2010
On February 4th, Dr. Mustafa Barghouti will be our guest on the “CNI: Jerusalem Calling” internet-radio show. A veteran Palestinian social activist, Barghouti is the head of the pro-democracy Palestinian National Initiative party and ran as the PNI’s candidate in the 2005 elections for the P.A. He also still heads the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees, a non-governmental organization that he helped found back in the 1980s. The UPMRC has played a key role in buttressing the resilience of the people of the West Bank and Gaza faced with the many stresses of prolonged military occupation.
Barghouti was a delegate to the Madrid Conference, convened by the U.S. back in October 1991 with the aim of ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
When he ran in the 2005 PA election the Israelis arrested him while he was campaigning in East Jerusalem, and prevented him from traveling to Gaza and Nablus to campaign. In 2003, he had been earlier been arrested in Jerusalem, where he suffered injuries while under interrogation but was released after a few days’ detention. He was arrested again in Jerusalem in early 2006.
Barghouti is one of the PNI’s two elected representatives in the P.A. legislature, and he was Minister of Information in the short-lived Palestinian unity government of March-June 2007. Last October he was a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, alongside Jewish-American activist– and CNI board member– Anna Baltzer.
On the upcoming radio show, Barghouti and CNI Board Member Dr. E Faye Williams will discuss the state of the peace process, halth issues for Palestinians, Jerusalem, and other topics of ongoing concern.
The show will air live online from Noon to 1 pm EST (5 pm to 6pm GMT). To listen, go to the show’s home-page, here, and click on the “Listen Live” button for Studio A, at the top left.
To call your questions in during the second half of the show, call toll-free: 877-474-3302. International users can ask questions by Skype, by calling Skypename: WSRADIOSTUDIO.
Also, check out the archived versions of our show by clicking on this tab on the left-hand toolbar. Past shows archived there include conversations with Akiva Eldar, , Stephen Walt, Gideon Levy, Rashid Khalidi…and many more.
Findley speaks to CNIF blog about the McDermott-Ellison letter
Posted January 28, 2010
Yesterday (January 27), former member of Congress– and CNI co-founder– Paul Findley was so excited about the news that the McDermott-Ellison letter over Gaza had gathered the signatures of 54 members of Congress that he called CNI/CNIF Executive Director Helena Cobban to share his excitement and discuss the implications of this development.
Gaining 54 signatures on a letter critical of Israel was, Findley said, “an extraordinary step.”
When she heard that, Cobban’s long-honed journalistic instincts got the better of her. She whipped out her notebook, asked a few more questions… And then she was able to record Findley’s reactions for posterity, on the CNI Foundation’s “Fair policy, Fair discussion” blog… here.
We see that her post has already attracted a few comments. Go check them out– and join in the discussion there!
Back in December, CNI was one of the many member-groups of the U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation that worked hard to build grassroots pressure on members of Congress to sign onto the McDermott-Ellison letter. We are delighted that 52 other members joined those two pioneers in signing the letter.
Now, however, it’s time to get active again. We all need to follow Findley’s advice to communicate again with our congressional representatives, and “cheer or jeer” them depending on whether they signed the letter, or not…
Ha’aretz Journalist Akiva Eldar on CNI radio, Jan. 28th
Posted January 25, 2010
Our guest on the “CNI: Jerusalem Calling” internet-radio show on January 28th will be Israeli journalist and author Akiva Eldar. Eldar’s cutting-edge political commentary and analysis can be read in the Israeli daily Ha’aretz (where is also an editorial writer) and in the Japanese daily Mainichi Shimbun.
Eldar has made a specialty of studying the intricate mechanisms various governmental and quasi-governmental bodies in Israel have used to push forward the colonial settlement project in the West Bank over the past 43 years. Last year he and Idith Zertal, his spouse, published a compendious study of the settlement venture titled Lords of the Land: The War Over Israel’s Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007.
On the show, Eldar and CNI Board Member Anna Baltzer will discuss the current state of (or stasis in) Pres. Obama’s peace diplomacy, the broader, year-long record of Obama’s Palestinian-Israeli diplomacy, with special reference to his policy on settlements, and the political situation in Israel today.
The show will air live online from Noon to 1 pm EST (5 pm to 6pm GMT). To listen, go to the show’s home-page, here, and click on the “Listen Live” button for Studio A, at the top left.
To call your questions in during the second half of the show, call toll-free: 877-474-3302. International users can ask questions by Skype, by calling Skypename: WSRADIOSTUDIO.
Also, check out the archived versions of our show by clicking on this tab on the left-hand toolbar. Past shows archived there include conversations with Rami Khouri, Stephen Walt, Gideon Levy, Rashid Khalidi…and many more.
Short films from our Nov. 2009 ‘Political Pilgrimage’
Posted January 16, 2010
By Helena Cobban, Executive Director, CNI/CNIF
In late October, 2009, the Council for the National Interest Foundation sent a ten-person citizen team co-led by Amb. Jack Matlock and myself on a 16-day “Political Pilgrimage” tour that took us to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, and Gaza.
This account of our trip is built around some short films shot and edited by our group’s talented young videographer, Dominic Musacchio. We are happy to make these films available, as they present personalities and points of view that are too often stifled or ignored in the mainstream US discourse.
Other accounts of the trip are available on our “Fair policy, Fair discussion” blog, here. We have also been hard at work preparing a hard-copy trip report, which will be available in early February.
In Lebanon, our group met with Pres. Michael Suleiman, caretaker PM Fouad Siniora, PM-elect Saad al-Hariri, Popular Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt, Free Patriotic Movement head Gen. Michel Aoun, a number of other Lebanese political leaders– and also with non-Lebanese analysts Alastair Crooke and Timur Goksel, and some diplomats from the U.S. embassy in Beirut.
On one of our days there, we had a 20-minute meeting with Hussein Haider, a ranking official in the political department of Hizbullah, a movement that has 13 members in Lebanon’s parliament and is represented in the national government. After the meeting, Haider took us to a nearby meeting-hall where Hizbullah was running a huge exhibition and trade fair featuring products made in projects run by its economic development body and by other NGO’s also working in marginalized and rural areas.
Here is Musacchio’s diary of some highlights of our time with Haider and at the fair:
In Syria, we had an excellent meeting with Dr. Samir al-Taqi and his colleagues at the Orient Center for International Studies, visited some of the country’s ancient Christian and other historic sites, shared notes with some well-established western diplomats in Damascus– and had a very informative 90-minute meeting with Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas’s 18-person political bureau, and some of his colleagues in the bureau.
‘Partners for Peace’ merges with Council for the National Interest Foundation
Posted January 6, 2010
Washington DC, January 6– The boards of directors of Partners for Peace and the Council for the National Interest Foundation are delighted to announce that at the end of December 2009, the two organizations merged and henceforth Partners for Peace will operate as “A project of the CNI Foundation.”
Jerri Bird, founder and President of Partners for Peace, said she was very happy that, under the terms of the merger, the CNI Foundation has made a solid commitment to continue running Partners for Peace’s flagship program, the “Jerusalem Women Speak” tours. These tours bring Christian, Jewish, and Muslim women from Jerusalem to speak about their experiences, their dreams, and their pro-peace activism to communities in many parts of the United States.
Helena Cobban, the recently appointed Executive Director of the CNI Foundation and its sister organization, the Council for the National Interest, said she was enthusiastic about the merger because of the complementarity between the “Jerusalem Women Speak” tours and the CNI Foundation’s existing projects.
“Like Partners for Peace, the CNI Foundation has a long track record of working to educate the U.S. public about conditions in the Arab-Israeli arena and the requirements of a just and sustainable peace there,” she said.
The Foundation’s existing projects include “Political Pilgrimage” study tours that take U.S. citizen-diplomats to various countries in the Middle East, the “Fair policy, Fair discussion” blog, and the “CNI: Jerusalem Calling” internet-radio show. “All these projects,” Ms. Cobban said, “have great potential for constructive synergy with the ‘Jerusalem Women Speak’ tours.”
She welcomed and embraced the specifically female dimension of Partners for Peace’s work, and expressed her appreciation and gratitude to Mrs. Bird and all the other members of Partners’ board and staff who have built the organization’s programs up to such an effective level over the past 20 years.
Rami Khouri on CNI radio, January 7
Posted January 4, 2010
Our guest on the “CNI: Jerusalem Calling” internet-radio show on January 7th will be Rami G. Khouri, the acclaimed columnist and analyst of Middle east affairs.
Khouri, a Palestinian-Jordanian and U.S. citizen, is director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut. He was executive editor of the Daily Star (Beirut), 2003–2005, and still publishes a regular column there that is syndicated internationally through Agence Globale. Before working at the Daily Star, Khouri was editor-in-chief of the Jordan Times for seven years. He has published widely in western publications including the Financial Times, the Boston Globe, and the Washington Post, and is a former Nieman Fellow at Harvard University
On the show, Khouri and CNI Executive Director Helena Cobban will be reviewing the developments of the past year, especially as regards Gaza and the rest of the Palestinian-Israeli issue. They’ll also look at current efforts to try to break the tight Israeli-US-Egyptian siege on Gaza.
The show will air live online from Noon to 1 pm EST (5 pm to 6pm GMT). To listen, go to www.wsradio.com/cni and click on the “Listen Live” button for Studio A, at the top left.
To call your questions in during the second half of the show, call toll-free: 877-474-3302. International users can ask questions by Skype, by calling Skypename: WSRADIOSTUDIO.
Also, check out previous editions of CNI Radio by clicking the “CNI: Jerusalem Calling radio show archives” tab on the left-hand toolbar. Recent shows archived there include those featuring Stephen Walt, Rashid Khalidi, Gideon Levy, Zoughbi Zoughbi… and many more.
Radio show year’s end special with Laila El-Haddad
Posted December 29, 2009
Our guest on the “CNI: Jerusalem Calling” internet-radio show on December 31 will be Laila El-Haddad, the talented journalist, writer, and activist who blogs at Gaza Mom.
El-Haddad, a graduate of Duke University and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, has worked for Al-Jazeera English and numerous other media outlets. She’s from an old Gaza family– but last year she and her young kids weren’t even allowed by the Egyptian government to transit Egypt to return to her family home in Gaza. Her parents– both retired physicians– were in Gaza at the time, and they stayed there throughout the whole of last winter’s war.
On the show, El-Haddad and CNI Executive Director (and occasional radio host) Helena Cobban will be reviewing the developments of the past year, especially as regards Gaza and the rest of the Palestinian-Israeli issue. They’ll also look at current efforts underway to try to break the tight Israeli-US-Egyptian siege on Gaza.
The show will be aired live online from Noon to 1 pm EST (5 pm to 6pm GMT). To listen, go to www.wsradio.com/cni and click on the “Listen Live” button for Studio A, at the top left.
To call your questions in during the second half of the show, call toll-free: 877-474-3302. International users can ask questions by Skype, by calling Skypename: WSRADIOSTUDIO.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Radio show Christmas Eve special– from Bethlehem!
Posted December 23, 2009
Our guest on the “CNI: Jerusalem Calling” internet-radio show on December 24 will be Zoughbi Zoughbi, a veteran nonviolence activist, leader, and trainer from the holy city of Bethlehem.
Zoughbi is the founder and director of “Wi’am”, the Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center. He’s also a member of Bethlehem’s elected City Council.
The show will be hosted by CNI Executive Director Helena Cobban. She and Zoughbi will discuss the current situation of Palestine’s Christian community– the most ancient in the world! They will also explore the many instances of nonviolent action being pursued by Palestinians today, the support they get from some pro-justice Israelis, and the reactions of the Israeli government.
The show will be aired live online from Noon to 1 pm EST (5 pm to 6pm GMT). To listen, go to www.wsradio.com/cni and click on the “Listen Live” button for Studio A, at the top left.
To call your questions in to the show, call toll-free: 877-474-3302. International users can ask questions by Skype, by calling Skypename: WSRADIOSTUDIO.
We look forward to hearing from you!
The ‘Dear Colleague’ letters on Gaza: Additional comments
Posted December 15, 2009
December 15
Yesterday, we urged our supporters to contact their members of Congress to request that they sign onto two ‘Dear Colleague’ letters being circulated on Capitol Hill. The McDermott/Ellison letter calls on President Barack Obama to ease Israel’s blockade of Gaza – which it describes as “de facto collective punishment.” The Moran/Inglis letter calls on Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to “press the Israeli government to end the ban on student travel from Gaza to the West Bank.”
CNI is still urging you to call your member of Congress to request that they sign onto these letters. But we urge you also to communicate the following to your legislators in both the House of Representatives and the Senate:
- That you are very concerned about the suffering that Israel’s siege is imposing on all of 1.5 million of Gaza’s people, in an act of collective punishment that punishes the innocent and is a blatant violation of the responsibility Israel has, under the Fourth Geneva Convention, for the wellbeing of all members of Gaza’s civilian population.
- That you are very concerned that the U.S. government, by having done nothing to hold Israel accountable for this violation of international law, is in fact complicit in Israel’s wrongdoing; and it is also seen as complicit in this way by most of the world’s people, including by the populations of the majority-Muslim countries where U.S. forces are now deployed in very tense situations, at the end of long and vulnerable supply lines.
- That you therefore ask your representatives to do everything in their power to serve the true interests of the American people, as well as our country’s own obligations under international law, by supporting the use of all instruments of our national power to ensure that Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza is lifted.
Here is a little essential background you can use in these conversations– background that was either omitted from the current ‘Dear Colleague’ letters, or was inaccurately represented in their texts:
Stephen Walt on our radio show, Dec. 17
Posted December 14, 2009
December 14
On Thursday, December 17, political scientist and renowned author Stephen M. Walt will be the guest on our “CNI: Jerusalem Calling” radio show, co-hosted by CNI Executive Director Helena Cobban and President Eugene Bird.
We will be discussing the ever-evolving balance in U.S.-Israel relations.
The show will be aired live online from Noon to 1 pm EST (5 pm to 6pm GMT). To listen, go to www.wsradio.com/cni and click on the “Listen Live” button for Studio A, at the top left. To call in to the show with questions, call toll-free: 877-474-3302. International users can ask questions by Skype, by calling Skypename: WSRADIOSTUDIO.
If you’re unable to listen in to the live show, remember that the shows get archived; and this one should be available on our archive page by noon on December 18.
Ask Your Rep. to Sign “Dear Colleague” Letters on Gaza Siege
Posted
Gazans grinding down rubble from last winter’s Israeli attack to use as building material. Source: Carlton Cobb, CNI Foundation.
December 14
The Council for the National Interest is joining the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and other national grassroots organizations to support two “Dear Colleague” letters being circulated by four courageous members of the U.S. Congress who hope to lessen the suffering caused by Israel’s continuing siege of Gaza.
- Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Jim McDermott (D-WA) are circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter that calls on President Barack Obama to ease Israel’s blockade of Gaza – which it describes as “de facto collective punishment.” The letter notes that the blockade is causing “unabated suffering of Gazan civilians” and that the U.S. promise to contribute $300 million toward reconstruction in Gaza, following Israel’s assault last winter, remains “unrealized” so long as Israel prevents all the materials and equipment needed for reconstruction from entering Gaza.
- Reps. Jim Moran (D-VA) and Bob Inglis (R-SC) are seeking signatures for a letter that calls on Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to “press the Israeli government to end the ban on student travel from Gaza to the West Bank.”
Call your member of Congress today and ask her/him to sign the McDermott/Ellison “Support Improvements in Gaza Humanitarian Conditions” letter and the Moran/Inglis “Support Higher Education Opportunities for Gazan Students in the West Bank” letter. Call the House switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be transferred to your member.
December 30th candlelight vigil to mark one-year anniversary of the Israeli attack on Gaza
Posted December 11, 2009
When: December 30th, from 5 to 7 pm
Where: Downtown DC at the corner of 7th and H Streets, N.W. (Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro)
What: Candlelight vigil
Why: CNI members and citizens from around the country will be meeting to mark the one-year anniversary of last winter’s Israeli attack against Gaza, in which over 1,300 Palestinians were killed during 22 days of hostilities. Living conditions in Gaza remain desperate, as Israel continues to impose its siege on Gaza’s 1.5 million Palestinians, preventing almost anyone from leaving the strip and making it virtually impossible to rebuild or repair the thousands of homes and businesses that were demolished during the attack.
CNI Board elects Harriet Fulbright as Chair, David Newton as Vice-Chair
Posted
December 11, 2009
Washington, DC– The Council for the National Interest (CNI) is delighted to announce that Harriet Mayor Fulbright has been elected Chair and Amb. David Newton Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors.
Mrs. Fulbright is President of the J. William and Harriet Fulbright Center here in Washington DC. In May 2009, she took part in a CNI Foundation study tour of six Middle Eastern countries. She and the other tour members met many Arab and Israeli political figures and undertook the onerous trip from Cairo to Gaza, where they viewed the extensive destruction inflicted by Israel during last winter’s war.
Mrs. Fulbright said she is concerned that Gaza’s people have still not been allowed to rebuild the homes and businesses destroyed during the war. She said she is eager to join the rest of CNI’s leadership in working for fairer, more inclusive US policies in the Middle East that can bring security, dignity, and hope to all the region’s peoples.
Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy on CNI radio, Dec. 10th!
Posted December 7, 2009
Our “CNI: Jerusalem Calling” radio show is picking up steam. On Thursday, Dec. 10, Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy will join host Alison Weir to discuss the social and political climate in Jerusalem.
The show will be aired live online from Noon to 1 pm EST (5 pm to 6pm GMT). To listen and join in, go to www.wsradio.com/cni and click on the “Listen Live” button for Studio A, at the top left. To call in to the show with questions, call toll-free: 877-474-3302. International users can join using Skype by entering WSRADIOSTUDIO into the dial box.
CNI Foundation seeks Spring 2010 interns
Posted December 2, 2009
Updated January 6, 2010
The Council for the National Interest Foundation is currently accepting applications for interns for the Spring 2010 semester.
CNIF is a 501(c)(3) organization that advocates a more evenhanded policy toward the Middle East. It was established in 1989 by two former congressmen, Paul Findley and “Pete” McCloskey, and works at the national and grassroots levels to educate Americans about the need for a more balanced and effective US policy in the region.
CNIF’s internship program attracts interns from across the nation, including students at top-rank DC-area universities such as Georgetown, George Washington, Howard, and American University. A work-study program is currently available for Georgetown graduate students.
Interns will receive on-the-job training, a rich education on US foreign policy issues, and some opportunities to work directly with CNIF’s new executive director, the much-published Middle East specialist Helena Cobban.
