Delivered to The Israel Lobby and American Policy conference March 24, 2017 at the National Press Club
The Israel Lobby and American Policy conference was solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep). This is a rush transcript.
Delinda Hanley: I’m Delinda Hanley, the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs news editor and executive director of the American Educational Trust.
Dr. Hanan Ashrawi has broken through the glass ceiling that can prevent women around the world from reaching the top. She was the first woman to be elected a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian [sic] Liberation Organization in 2009. She served as the official spokesperson of the Palestinian delegation to the Middle East Peace Process from 1991 to 1993 and participated in the 1991-1992 Madrid Peace Conference. In 1993, Dr. Ashrawi founded the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens’ Rights, PICCR, to investigate Israeli and Palestinian human rights violations recording her experiences in This Side of Peace: A Personal Account which she would just sign at lunch time.
In 1996, Ashrawi was elected and subsequently reelected many times to the Palestinian Legislative Council. In 1996, she also accepted the post of Minister of Higher Education and Research. In 1998, Ashrawi founded and continues to serve in MIFTAH in the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy. It is not hyperbolic to say that Dr. Ashrawi has also broken through the Palestinian sound barrier, the wall of silence in America’s media which excludes Palestinian voices. She is the Palestinian Iron Dome. Whenever Israel sends war planes, troops, and weaponized drones to attack her people, we can count on Hanan Ashrawi to be out there trying to stop the bombs and the Israeli propaganda. Her only weapon, her articulate reasonable voice and demand for justice and fair play. She will address the Israel lobby and the peace process. Welcome, Hanan Ashrawi.
Hanan Ashrawi: Thank you very much. Thank you. This is indeed heartwarming and humbling. I thank you all for coming. Thank you, Delinda, for your invitation. Thank you, Grant. Thank you, John for picking me up also and all the people who made this possible. I’m delighted to be here with you. I’m delighted to be part of this occasion, this endeavor which in many ways is extremely timely. It does respond to a sense of urgency really. I need to intervene and to say policy and discourse. And it’s wonderful to hear all these not just distinguished people but very profound and persuasive people and courageous people, really, who are speaking truth to power and who are standing up for justice. I don’t want to waste too much time because I have a lot to say. So you have to let me know ahead of time.
As you know this is a very significant occasion because we’re talking about…