CNI Delegation to Palestinian Elections and Neighboring Countries

[Wordie]

CNI Delegation to Palestinian Elections and Neighboring Countries

Press Release

January 17, 2005

A seven-member CNI-led observer mission to the Palestinian Legislative Council elections on January 25th, including Ambassadors Edward Peck and Robert Keeley, is scheduled to leave Washington on Thursday, January 19th. The mission's eighteen-day trip will include stays in all five neighboring countries: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. The delegation will meet with top government officials and leading opposition figures in Palestine and neighboring countries to assess the accelerated development of democratic institutions and their impact on U.S. long-term interests in the region.

Members of the observer team will be available for limited interviews before, during and after the trip, and raw audio and video footage will be available for interested media organizations. The mission will be in the Jerusalem area from January 24th, through the elections on January 25th, and for several days after. Independent filmmaker Chris Belcher, who also accompanied last year’s observer delegation for the Palestinian presidential election, will accompany them.

A 39-minute documentary on last January's presidential election and observer tour, titled "5,367: An Election in Jerusalem,” is now available, and we are circulating it to PBS and direct satellite stations. The number 5,367 relates to the 5% of eligible Palestinian voters in East Jerusalem permitted by Israel to register and vote there in January 2005. It is a fascinating and current documentary on elections under occupation. The entire documentary can be viewed online at the following website: 5,367: An Election in Jerusalem ( http://www.cnionline.org/pubs/documentaries/election2005/index.htm )

The mission's seven participants include

- Ambassador Edward Peck, Former U.S. Chief of Mission in Iraq and Mauritania; Former Deputy Director, Cabinet Task Force on Terrorism, Reagan White House

- Ambassador Robert Keeley, Chairman, CNI Foundation; Former U.S. Ambassador to Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and Greece; Former President, Middle East Institute in Washington, DC

- Eugene Bird, President of CNI; Former U.S. Counselor of Embassy in Saudia Arabia

- Dr. Hassan Fouda, Former Assistant Director, Global Research and Develpoment, Pfizer, Inc.

- Peter Viering, Family Law Attorney, Stonington, Connecticut

- Elizabeth Viering, Activist on Middle East affairs

- Chris Belcher, Alchymedia, Documentary filmmaker

The Council for the National Interest was founded in 1989 to encourage and promote a U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East that is consistent with American values, protects our national interests, and contributes to a just solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, as well as to restore a political environment in America in which voters and their elected officials are free from the undue influence and pressure of a foreign country, namely Israel.



For more information and interview inquiries, please contact:

Shannon O'Hara, CNI Program Administrator

Phone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

http://www.cnionline.org/news/election2006/index.htm

This appears to be an excellent organization, with a highly informative website: http://www.cnionline.org/

Here's more info:

ABOUT CNI

The United States provides the support without which Israel could not maintain its repression of human rights and its territorial expansion. This collusive relationship severely damages the U.S. influence and credibility worldwide. It has led our government into a disgraceful practice of turning a blind eye to Israeli violations of both international and U.S. law, a habit widely noted by foreign leaders.

– Paul Findley, CNI Founding Chairman

The Council for the National Interest is a non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization advocating a new direction for U.S. Middle East policy. As CNI Founding Chairman Paul Findley notes, CNI is "motivated by the national interest of our country in Middle East policy... CNI provides a way for all citizens, regardless of religious affiliation or national origin, to speak out in an effective way. Those who participate can help advance the national interest in the Middle East and at the same time help repair the damage being done to our political institutions by the over-zealous tactics of Israel's lobby." *

Our membership consists of well informed supporters from all ethnic, religious, social, and political backgrounds who strongly believe the American national interest is directly linked to upholding American principles and values, and strictly adhering to international law.

Our Mission

CNI seeks to encourage and promote a U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East that is consistent with American values, protects our national interests, and contributes to a just solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, as well as to restore a political environment in America in which voters and their elected officials are free from the undue influence and pressure of a foreign country, namely Israel.

Our Goals

* Total withdrawal of Israel from all occupied territory (the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights).

* A shared Jerusalem, the capital of two states, Israel and Palestine.

* An end to all acts of aggression, provocation, and retaliation by Israel and the end of all violence and attempts to solve the problem by military means.

* American recognition of a totally independent state of Palestine.

* An elimination of all unaudited U.S. aid to Israel.

* Normalized relations with Israel, her neighbors, and regional organizations such as the Arab League.

* A political atmosphere in which (1) a fair and objective media covers the Middle East without fear of retaliation by advertisers and pro-Israeli groups; (2) the American electorate is unafraid to debate the issues openly and frankly; and (3) our elected officials vote their conscience.

What Does CNI Do?

* CNI is the only organization of its kind striving against tremendous odds to reverse the U.S. government's one-sided, one-way Middle East policies and eliminate unaudited dollars for Israel.

* CNI works to oppose foreign interest groups' influence on Congress and the White House.

* CNI promotes the expansion of democracy in the Middle East, including constitutional guarantees of equality for all citizens of Israel and the Arab world.

* CNI monitors the use of U.S. taxpayer funds by Israel on the West Bank and in Gaza.

* CNI reaches out to the American people and like-minded institutions through:

- efforts with local and regional organizations

- regional chapters and activists nationwide

- public hearings and seminars in Washington D.C. on current issues

- networking and information sharing with grassroots activists and peace and social justice groups

- local and national full-page newspaper advertising and the use of email lists to build the organization

JOIN US!

The Council for the National Interest needs your help and energy on the ground to make sure our message is heard. By supporting CNI, you will receive timely strategic background information on the issues on a regular basis. We will also help locate speakers for your area, and assist you in developing political action at the community level.

INTERN OR VOLUNTEER FOR CNI!

The professional staff of CNI partly depends on recruiting volunteers and interns to work in Washington on lobbying or research. Visit our Intern/Volunteer page to learn more.

*Paul Findley, They Dare to Speak Out, Lawrence Hill Books (Chicago, 1985), p. 356-357.

[Behind the Aegis]

1. Paul Findley?

Do you even know who this moron is?! Please tell me you are not going to start finding Pat Buchanan's organizations to be excellent and posting his nonsense here!

This group may be on the level, but given who its founding chair is, I doubt it!

Coastie can give you the 411 on this asshole. Or you can search "Paul Findley" and see is a right-wing Republican or even search here in I/P and see what a fool he is.

[Wordie]

2. Actually, I know nothing of Findley but the organization looks quite good.

I saw a C-Span program this afternoon that was sponsored by this group, entitled "Palestinian Elections." It was pretty interesting, so I checked out their website. I haven't gotten deep into it, but it looks good and serious, not extremist.

Here's a blurb about the program from C-Span:

Palestinian Elections
Council for the National Interest
Washington, District of Columbia (United States)
ID: 190755 - 01/17/2006 - 1:16 - $45.00

Safieh, Afif, Representative, Palestine Liberation Organization
Keeley, Robert V., Chair, Council for the National Interest Foundation
Rothermel, Tim, Representative (Fmr.), United Nations Development Program, Occupied Territories

Moderated by Ambassador Keeley, Ambassador Safieh and others discuss the politics and future of Palestine and whether the outcome of the January 25 elections will affect the peace process, the relationship with President Mahmoud Abbas, and the future economic development of the West Bank and Gaza.

The postponed Palestinian Legislative Council elections will take place January 25, the first legislative council elections since 1996.

It was interesting. Safieh Afif is a Palestinian Christian whose lives in East Jerusalem (he was born in West Jerusalem) - quite an eloquent speaker; he even quoted Bertold Brecht. They're repeating the program fairly frequently on C-Span2. Right now, as a matter of fact...and it will repeat late tonight (this morning, really). The C-Span2 programming is not up for the rest of the week, but I hope it repeats frequently.

[Behind the Aegis]

3. Be very cautious then.

I posted once from a site that linked to some right-wing sites and was jumped on like white on rice! This group has some 'smelly' ties to some anti-Semitic people. I don't know if the group has those bearings or not.

I am all for the elections being monitored, but I think it would be better by a neutral group, or as close to neutral group as possible. This group does not seem neutral at all, and their monitoring, well, I just don't trust it.

[Wordie]

4. Do you have specific info about them?

I don't know about them, myself. From just a quick perusal of the names on the list and their backgrounds, I have mixed feelings. Still, if they agree with the groups POV, which I would presume they do, that would be a pretty good sign, imo.

[Behind the Aegis]

5. I know nothing specific about this group.

However, Findley is a nasty piece of work. Coastie will be more than happy to expand who that creep is.

You are seeing first-hand a collusion between anti-Semitic people and anti-Israeli people. Look at how some of their site is set up. Is it more pro-Palestinian (meaning it triumphs the victories of the PA and its people) or more anti-Israeli (meaning they 'blame' everything on Israel, and rarely talk about their own short-comings)?

As I said, I know little about this particular group, but Findley sets off alarms. Think of it this way...I post a link with a group watching the elections in March in Israel, and the group was started by Netenyahu. Would you be suspicious?

[Wordie]

6. Well, as I said...

I know nothing of Findley, and about the organization itself, only what I saw on a quick tour of the site. I didn't see anything at all anti-Semitic myself, so I guess I will just reserve judgement until I have more info.

The part about "blame" for Israel is a little trickier, as it seems that criticism of Israel, or pointing out the things that Israel needs to change in order for there to be a true peace, is often heard on the other side as "blaming Israel" when, imho, that isn't the critic's intent. I guess we both know how difficult much of this is to talk about reasonably.

And yes, I understand what you are saying about the alarms. (Netanyahu??? Yikes!) You know, I appreciate the chance to actually talk about this, bta. So far, I don't see any problem with these folks, but I must say really I appreciate your expressing your concerns in a civil way, without accusations directed at me personally; it makes me more inclined to want to listen to your concerns.

[Wordie]

7. The Palestinian Elections program repeats on C-Span2 at 5:42AM EST

As I said, I hope it is going to be on during the week, and recommend everyone watch. It was fascinating. I'll try to check the C-Span2 schedule and post other viewing times if they schedule it on later dates.

[Wordie]

8. Palestinian Elections program on C-Span2 at 3:57PM EST Wed (today)

That's just about an hour from now...

It may repeat again after that. I'll try to keep checking. Here is the C-Span programming link, for anyone who would like to check for themselves (warning: they don't always post programming for C-Span2 very far in advance):
http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:8080/cspan/schedule.csp