Poll Release: The US Debate on Israel/Palestine is Changing

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The Arab American Institute, the Middle East Institute, & FMEP are proud to present

Poll Release: The US Debate on Israel/Palestine is Changing

Thursday, May 27, 2021

Featuring Rania Batrice (Batrice & Associates), Peter Beinart (Foundation for Middle East Peace), Lara Friedman (Foundation for Middle East Peace), and James Zogby (Arab American Institute) with Khaled Elgindy (Middle East Institute)

With attention focused on the most recent deadly violence that erupted between Israelis and Palestinians, there seems to be a newfound understanding of the role American foreign policy plays in either sustaining or failing to address the root causes of this continuing conflict. The Biden Administration touted their efforts in securing the resent ceasefire, but ongoing Israeli policies in the Occupied Territories and in Israel, itself, demonstrate that the status quo is untenable. It is also clear the American people are taking note of these policy failures. Join us for a discussion of a new AAI poll of American attitudes toward Israelis and Palestinians that examines issues from the recent conflict and the deepening partisan divide. The poll was conducted the day the ceasefire was announced.

Participant bios:

Rania Batrice is founder and president of Batrice & Associates, a strategic policy and public relations firm specializing in making progressive vision a reality. As a daughter of Palestinian immigrants, Rania has blazed a life path as a voice for the voiceless, working on issues ranging from gun violence and climate change to immigration and foreign policy. She has worked as a Democratic operative for nearly twenty years, lending her expertise across political, non-profit, legislative strategy and crisis management. For Bernie Sanders’ 2016 run for president, Rania served as Iowa Communications Director, the National Director of Surrogates and then as Deputy Campaign Manager. She tweets @RaniaBatrice

Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents, and a CNN Political Commentator. Peter is the author of several books, including The Crisis of Zionism published in 2012. He tweets @PeterBeinart and publishes on https://peterbeinart.substack.com/.

Khalid Elgindy (moderator) is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute where he also directs MEI’s Program on Palestine and Israeli-Palestinian Affairs. He is the author of Blind Spot: America and the Palestinians, from Balfour to Trump, published by Brookings Institution Press in April 2019. Elgindy previously served as a fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution from 2010 through 2018. Prior to arriving at Brookings, he served as an adviser to the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah on permanent status negotiations with Israel from 2004 to 2009, and was a key participant in the Annapolis negotiations of 2007-08. Elgindy is also an adjunct instructor in Arab Studies at Georgetown University. He tweets @elgindy_

Lara Friedman is the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. With more than 25 years working in the Middle East foreign policy arena, Lara is a leading authority on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, with particular expertise on the Israeli-Arab conflict, Israeli settlements, Jerusalem, and the role of the U.S. Congress. Prior to joining FMEP, Lara was the Director of Policy and Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now, and before that she was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, serving in Jerusalem, Washington, Tunis and Beirut. She tweets @LaraFriedmanDC

James Zogby co-founded the Arab American Institute in 1985 and continues to serve as its president. He is Director of Zogby Research Services, a firm that has conducted groundbreaking surveys across the Middle East. For the past three decades, he has served in leadership roles in the Democratic National Committee and served two terms as a President Obama appointee to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. He writes a weekly column published in twelve countries. In 2010, Zogby published the highly acclaimed book, Arab Voices and recently released an updated version of Palestinians: Invisible Victims. He tweets @jjz1600

Resources shared during the event: