June, 03 2009, 02:00pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
Obama in Cairo
HOSSAM EL-HAMALAWY
El-Hamalawy is a journalist and blogger in Cairo.
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HEDY EPSTEIN
Epstein, a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust, is author of Remembering Is Not Enough.
After World War II, she worked at the Nuremberg Medical Trial, which
tried the doctors accused of performing medical experiments on
concentration camp inmates.
WASHINGTON
HOSSAM EL-HAMALAWY
El-Hamalawy is a journalist and blogger in Cairo.
More Information
HEDY EPSTEIN
Epstein, a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust, is author of Remembering Is Not Enough.
After World War II, she worked at the Nuremberg Medical Trial, which
tried the doctors accused of performing medical experiments on
concentration camp inmates.
She said today: "Of course it's good that Obama will be
commemorating the victims of the Nazis while in Europe. But in Cairo,
he should acknowledge the 700,000 people who were driven out of what
would become Israel in 1948. Some of those same Palestinian refugees
are now in Gaza and continue to suffer Israeli attacks. Current Israeli
military and economic policies are continuing the slow-motion ethnic
cleansing of Palestinians."
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ABDUL MALIK MUJAHID
Abdul Malik Mujahid is an Imam in Chicago, president of the Muslim
group Sound Vision and vice chair of the Council for a Parliament of
World Religions.
He recently wrote the piece "The U.S. and Pakistan's Aerial Bombing Will Kill Civilians and Make More Terrorists."
He also wrote that "President Obama visited churches and
synagogues in the U.S. during his election campaign, but not a mosque"
in a recent piece titled "Engaging American Muslims Will Give a Far Better Message to the Muslim World Than Speeches."
OSAMAH KHALIL
Khalil is a PhD candidate in U.S. and Middle East History at the
University of California, Berkeley focusing on U.S. foreign policy in
the Middle East. He spent three months in Egypt last year. He said
today: "The United States has an opportunity to redefine its
relationship with and role in the Arab and and Muslim World; that is
how President Obama will be judged, not by one speech. While his speech
is certainly a positive development, it must be followed by concrete
steps to demonstrate that it is not empty rhetoric designed to mask the
same failed policies.
"Of particular importance to most Arabs and Muslims is ending the
24-month siege of Gaza, the ongoing Israeli occupation and settlement
construction in the West Bank, as well as the occupation of Iraq, the
war in Afghanistan, and continued U.S. support of dictatorships who
have little popular support in their own countries, including his hosts
in Egypt and Saudi Arabia."
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A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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'We Cannot Let the Warmongers Win': US Progressives Reject Calls for Attack on Iran
"We must resist the U.S. becoming embroiled in another costly conflict abroad," said U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee.
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Progressives in the U.S. Congress on Sunday urged the Biden administration to resist calls for an attack on Iran following the country's
retaliation against Israel for the deadly bombing of Tehran's consulate in Syria earlier this month.
The hawkish rhetoric came from both sides of the political aisle in the U.S.—Israel's main ally and weapons supplier.
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), one of Congress' most fervent supporters of Israel's war on Gaza, claimed Iran is "the single most destabilizing force in the Middle East" and "must be held accountable for the aggression it has long shown toward Israel not only directly but also indirectly through proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis."
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), directing her message at President Joe Biden, was more explicit in demanding an immediate military response from the U.S.
"We must move quickly and launch aggressive retaliatory strikes on Iran," Blackburn wrote on social media.
The number two Republican in the U.S. House, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.),
said Saturday that the chamber would "move from its previously announced legislative schedule next week to instead consider legislation that supports our ally Israel and holds Iran and its terrorist proxies accountable."
"The House of Representatives stands strongly with Israel, and there must be consequences for this unprovoked attack," Scalise added. "More details on the legislative items to be considered will be forthcoming."
"As leaders in Washington jump to call for war with Iran and rush additional offensive weapons to the Israeli military, we need to exercise restraint and use every diplomatic tool to de-escalate tensions."
Iran's launch of hundreds of drones and missiles on Saturday marked its first direct assault on Israel, which has repeatedly engaged in covert attacks inside Iranian territory. On April 1, Israel bombed Iran's consulate in the Syrian capital, killing diplomats and a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander.
Iran said its retaliatory firing of missiles and drones—most of which were intercepted—was in line with international law. One person, a seven-year-old girl, was seriously injured in the attack.
Israeli officials immediately vowed revenge, a pledge that intensified global calls for restraint to prevent the regional war in the Middle East from spiraling further out of control.
As
The Intercept's Ken Klippenstein and Daniel Boguslaw noted Sunday, the conflict "now involves at least 16 different countries," including the U.S., which "flew aircraft and launched air defense missiles from at least eight countries, while Iran and its proxies fired weapons from Iraq, Syria, and Yemen."
U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), a vocal supporter of a cease-fire in Gaza, issued a statement Sunday condemning both Israel's attack on Iran's consulate and Tehran's response, which she said "threaten civilian lives and regional war."
"I also condemn the calls by members of Congress and others to initiate war with Iran; to do so without congressional authorization is blatantly unconstitutional," Bush said. "We cannot let the warmongers win; our country and our world are calling for restraint, de-escalation, a lasting cease-fire, and diplomacy. Our government must listen. That is how we save lives."
Bush urged the Biden administration to "take immediate steps, including at the U.N. Security Council and G7, to de-escalate and facilitate an immediate, lasting cease-fire in the region."
U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the lone congressional no vote against the war in Afghanistan, similarly called on the Biden administration to "lead efforts toward de-escalation, diplomacy, and securing a permanent cease-fire in Gaza."
"We must resist the U.S. becoming embroiled in another costly conflict abroad, but rather lead toward peace and security in the region," Lee added.
Axiosreported Sunday that Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly that the U.S. would not "support any Israeli counterattack against Iran." An unnamed official told the outlet that "when Biden told Netanyahu that the U.S. will not participate in any offensive operations against Iran and will not support such operations, Netanyahu said he understood."
Echoing her progressive colleagues, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)
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The protesters remained in the museum overnight on Saturday and ended their action on Sunday.
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Biden publicly reaffirmed "America's ironclad commitment to the security of Israel" but a White House official also confirmed to Reuters that during a call with Netanyahu, the president made clear the U.S. will not join any military offensives against Iran.
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Okail emphasized that "achieving those goals requires not only arresting the escalation of violence between Israel and Iran, but securing a cease-fire in Gaza that halts the killing of civilians, releases the hostages, allows vital humanitarian aid to actually reach those who need it, and lowers tensions in the region. The continued unconditional supply to the Netanyahu government of the arms it is using in Gaza undermines those objectives, as well as U.S. and international law."
"Netanyahu's repeated disregard of U.S. red lines in Gaza, moves to deepen permanent occupation in the Palestinian territory, and escalation with Iran are destabilizing the entire region," she added. "With American forces already drawn into hostilities with the Iranian-backed Houthis and actively engaging Iranian missiles and drones, President Biden cannot afford to let the extremist prime minister continue to have a harmful, undue influence on the course of events. Hopefully, the president's efforts have averted a wider regional war with Iran; we urge him to bring that same level of effort to save the people of Gaza."
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