The Role of Congress – Help or Hindrance?

MEI/FMEP 2023 Briefing Series: Israel/Palestine – Key Issues for the 118th Congress

Part Six: The Role of Congress – Help or Hindrance?

Recorded March 17, 2023

This session explored the unique role played by Congress in shaping US policy toward Israel/Palestine and the various intended and unintended consequences of that role. Featuring: Hassan El-Tayyab (FCNL), Rebecca Abou Chedid (FMEP Board member), and Josh Ruebner (IMEU).

Participant Biographies

Rebecca Abou-Chedid is a member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. She previously was Director of Outreach for the New America Foundation’s Middle East Task Force; and prior to that was National Policy Director of the Arab American Institute. Rebecca was also co-Chair of the Board of Directors of Just Vision. Rebecca is a graduate of Georgetown Law School and received her BA at Cornell University. She is a Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP. Rebecca previously served as a law clerk in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Hassan El-Tayyab is FCNL’s legislative director for Middle East policy. His passion for foreign affairs is rooted in his desire to make life better for people in the Middle East, including his extended family in Jordan. He is convinced that advancing a more peaceful and diplomacy-based foreign policy in the Middle East is critical, not only for the family he loves, but for peace and stability worldwide. Prior to joining FCNL in August 2019, he was co-director of the national advocacy group Just Foreign Policy, where he led their lobbying work to advance a more progressive foreign policy in the Middle East and Latin America. He played a major role in the successful passage of the War Powers Resolution to end U.S. military participation in the Saudi-led coalition’s war and blockade on Yemen. His writings and commentaries have been featured in numerous news outlets, including CNN, BBC World News, Politico, The Hill, Al Jazeera, The Huffington Post, The Intercept and more.

Josh Ruebner is the Director of Government Relations at the Institute for Middle East Understanding. He is an Adjunct Professor of Justice and Peace Studies at Georgetown University. Ruenber is a PhD candidate at University of Exeter’s European Centre for Palestine Studies. He is the author of Shattered Hopes: Obama’s Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestinian Peace, and Israel: Democracy or Apartheid State? He is a former Analyst in Middle East Affairs at Congressional Research Service, Policy Director at US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Senior Principal at Progress Up Consulting, and Managing Director of Americans for Justice in Palestine Action.

Resources

Follow our panelists and moderators on Twitter to stay up to date:

Rebecca Abou-Chedid → https://twitter.com/bintlabaratte

Hassan El-Tayyab → https://twitter.com/HassanElTayyab

Josh Ruebner → https://twitter.com/joshruebner

Khaled Elgindy → https://twitter.com/elgindy_

Lara Friedman → https://twitter.com/LaraFriedmanDC

General Links on Topics Discussed

For more on section 502B: https://civiliansinconflict.org/how-u-s-congress-can-use-section-502b/
Check out this poll on domestic and partisan opinions of unrestricted aid to Israel: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-majority-americans-oppose-unrestricted-aid-aai-poll
Shattered Hopes: Obama’s Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestinian Peace (10/07/2014)—https://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Hopes-Obamas-Failure-Israeli-Palestinian/dp/178168555X
For more on the Biden administration and Palestine: https://fmep.org/resource/the-cost-of-a-palestine-caveat-biden-admin-chooses-politics-over-human-rights-expertise/ (3/15/2023)
For more on the death of Shireen Abu Akleh: https://fmep.org/resource/the-imperative-of-accountability-for-shireen-abu-aklehs-killing/

From Josh Ruebner and IMEU:

Our American Israel: The Story of an Entangled Alliance (2018)— https://bookshop.org/p/books/our-american-israel-the-story-of-an-entangled-alliance-amy-kaplan/6706656
Israel in the American Mind: The Cultural Politics of US-Israeli Relations, 1958-1988 (2018)— https://bookshop.org/p/books/israel-in-the-american-mind-the-cultural-politics-of-us-israeli-relations-1958-1988-shaul-mitelpunkt/12924492
Check out this Twitter thread covering Americans killed by Israeli forces: https://twitter.com/theIMEU/status/1636428435760500736

From Hassan El-Tayyab:

Friends Committee on National Legislation: https://www.fcnl.org/
FCNL on twitter: https://twitter.com/FCNL?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
For more on section 502B: https://civiliansinconflict.org/how-u-s-congress-can-use-section-502b/

From Rebecca Abou Chedid:

Check out Just Vision for more on this documentary and others: https://justvision.org/
Check out Rebecca and Lara in this webinar about the right to boycott: “What’s next for the right to boycott in America?” (3/01/2023)—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w62WffEVrWw
For more on Boycott laws in the US from FMEP: https://fmep.org/resource/boycott-laws-states-explicit-inclusion-settlements/