Arab-American author to speak at Woodmere museum

Posted 1/27/11

The Chestnut Hill Book Festival Speaker Series continues on Feb. 7 with Dr. James Zogby, founder and president of the Washington, D.C. –  based Arab American Institute and a member of the Council …

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Arab-American author to speak at Woodmere museum

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The Chestnut Hill Book Festival Speaker Series continues on Feb. 7 with Dr. James Zogby, founder and president of the Washington, D.C. –  based Arab American Institute and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Zobgy will  discuss his latest book, “Arab Voices – What They Are Saying To Us, and Why It Matters” at 7 p.m. at the Woodmere Art Museum, 9201 Germantown Ave.

For the past three decades, Zogby has been involved in a full range of Arab American issues as co-founder and chairman of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign in the late 1970s, and later as a co-founder and executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

In 1982, he co-founded Save Lebanon, Inc., a private nonprofit, humanitarian and non-sectarian relief organization that funds health care for Palestinian and Lebanese victims of war, and other social welfare projects in Lebanon. In 1985, Zogby founded AAI and has led Arab-American efforts to secure political empowerment in the United States. Through voter registration, education and mobilization, AAI has moved Arab Americans into the political mainstream.

In 1993, following the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian peace accord in Washington, he was asked by Vice President Al Gore to lead Builders for Peace, a private sector committee to promote U.S. business investment in the West Bank and Gaza. In his capacity as co-president of Builders, Zogby frequently traveled to the Middle East with delegations led by Gore and the late Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown.

In 1994, with former U.S. Congressman Mel Levine, his colleague as co-president of Builders, Zogby led a U.S. delegation to the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian agreement in Cairo. Zogby also chaired a forum on the Palestinian economy at the Casablanca Economic Summit in 1994.

After 1994, through Builders, Zogby worked with a number of U.S. agencies to promote and support Palestinian economic development, including AID, OPIC, USTDA, and the departments of State and Commerce.

Zogby has also been personally active in U.S. politics for many years; in 1984 and 1988 he served as deputy campaign manager and senior advisor to the Jesse Jackson presidential campaign. Most recently, in 1995, DNC Chairman Don Fowler appointed Zogby as co-convener of the National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Committee, an umbrella organization of Democratic Party leaders of European and Mediterranean descent. In 1999 and 2001 he was reelected to that post. Also in 2001, he was appointed to the executive committee of the Democratic National Committee, and in 2006 was also named co-chair of the DNC’s Resolutions Committee.

A lecturer and scholar on Middle East issues, U.S.-Arab relations, and the history of the Arab American community, Zogby appears frequently on television and radio. He has appeared as a regular guest on all the major network news programs and hosted the popular “A Capital View” on the Arab Network of America from 1993-2001. From 2001 until now, he hosts the award-winning “Viewpoint with James Zogby” on Abu Dhabi Television, LinkTV, Dish Network, and DirecTV.

Since 1992, Zogby has also written a weekly column on U.S. politics for the major newspapers of the Arab world. The column, “Washington Watch,” is currently published in 14 Arab and South Asian countries. He has authored a number of books including two publications, “What Ethnic Americans Really Think” and “What Arabs Think: Values, Beliefs and Concerns.”

Zogby has testified before U.S. House and Senate committees, has been guest speaker on a number of occasions in the Secretary’s Open Forum at the U.S. Department of State, and has addressed the United Nations and other international forums.

Zogby is also active professionally beyond his involvement with the Arab American community. He currently serves on the national advisory board of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Human Rights Watch Board of Directors for the Middle East and North Africa and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Additionally, he is a senior advisor for the polling firm Zogby International, where he is responsible for the firm’s groundbreaking polling across the Middle East.

For more information, contact the Chestnut Hill Business Association at 215-247-6696 or visit chestnuthillpa.com.

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