AMPAL News
Americans & Palestinians for Peace (AMPAL) organized and sponsored a Peace Rally in the State of Iowa on August 12, 2006 to protest the Israeli Invasions of Lebanon. The rally was well attended by Arab Americans and Americans who support peace in the Middle East.
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AMPAL President and founder, John Dabeet, was honored by Sister Cities International as a Distinguished Volunteer during the Sister Cities International’s 50th Anniversary Conference in Washington, D.C. on July 15 for his role in promoting world peace and mutual respect and understanding.
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AMPAL Board member Dr. Lily Feidy was appointed the new Secretary General for the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy – MIFTAH on June of 2006.
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AMPAL President and founder, John Dabeet, was one among many speakers at the Sabeel Conference on October 14-15, 2005. The Conference title was Hope For The Holy Land: Truth And Reconciliation.
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AMPAL President and founder, John Dabeet, has been very active for the past year giving presentations about the Peace process in the Middle-East, MEPI (Middle East Partnership Initiative), and the History of the Middle East to different colleges and Universities Students across the country. Also, he was invited to talk about the same topics at different organizations, radio shows, and newspapers.
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AMPAL President and founder, John Dabeet, was invited to speak at the Iowa Business Education Association Convention October 18, 2002, in Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Dabeet gave the presentation "Can There be Pease in the Middle East?"
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AMPAL President and founder, John Dabeet, participated in "The Three Faces of Jerusalem: A Panel Discussion and Community Forum" September 24, 2002. The forum was held at Bettendorf Library in Bettendorf, Iowa. Mr. Dabeet was one of three panelists, scholars and leaders, representing a Christian, respectively, Muslim and Jewish point of view as well as the 'human' face of the struggle for peace in the Middle East region.
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AMPAL President and founder John Dabeet visited Washington, D.C., on April 19 to meet with David Hale, U.S. State Department director for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs and with Jamie McCormick, House International Relations Committee staff director, to discuss cooperative efforts to find a solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
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Between March 1st, 2002 and March 13, AMPAL president John Dabeet has been in touch with the White House, State Department, Congress, and media, regarding the killing of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli occupation forces in Palestine. John continue to urge the White House, State Dept. and Congress to put an end to the bloodbath in Palestine.
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In December 2001, AMPAL president and founder, John Dabeet was selected to serve on the board of directors for the Diversity Service Center of Iowa.
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AMPAL Board member Don Betz was the main speaker at the United Nations International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People November 29-30, 2001. This event was held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York.
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During September, October, November, and December 2001, AMPAL president and founder, John Dabeet, was invited by churches, Colleges, and organizations in Iowa and Illinois to speak about the terrorist attack on the United States, the peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis, and the Middle East.
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AMPAL President and founder Mr. John Dabeet sent letters to President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Congress, and Senate members asking them to interfere on behalf of the Palestinian people and request the Israeli government to stop their massacres against the Palestinian civilians. Also, Mr. Dabeet ask them to support the Palestinian quest for justice, freedom, and independence.
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During March and April 2001, AMPAL president and founder, John Dabeet, was invited by churches and organizations in Iowa and Illinois to speak about the peace process and uprising between the Palestinians and Israelis.
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AMPAL Board member Don Betz was the main speaker at the annual Quad Cities World Affairs Council event March 30 & 31, 2001. Dr. Betz spoke of the NGO's role in regards to Palestinian issues, the current crisis and the peace process.
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AMPAL President and founder, John Dabeet, participated in "The Three Faces of Jerusalem: A Panel Discussion and Community Forum" February 6, 2001. The forum was held at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Mr. Dabeet was one of three panelists, scholars and leaders, representing a Christian, respectively, Muslim and Jewish point of view as well as the 'human' face of the struggle for peace in the Middle East region.
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AMPAL President and founder, John Dabeet, was in contact with Iowa Senator Grassley January 10, 2001, to discuss AMPAL's work and the government's involvement in the Middle East peace process.
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AMPAL President and founder, Mr. John Dabeet, and Director of the Eastern Region, Ms. Jennifer Riley, attended the United Nations International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People November 29-30, 2000. This event was held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York.
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AMPAL opened its eastern region office in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania in early November 2000. This office will service Washington DC, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the New England States. Ms. Jennifer Riley is director of the office. Ms. Riley's interests in the Middle East were sparked by her contact with Palestinians who shared their stories of life in the West Bank. Since 1991, Jennifer has worked on the grass roots level to help realize a Palestinian State. Her personal focus has remained on the necessity of enforcing international law and the rights of Palestinians to enjoy basic human rights. She is a firm believer in the power of education and the necessity of spreading awareness and devotes her studies and her career to the accomplishment of both. Her involvement in AMPAL reflects these goals. The mailing address for this office is AMPAL, Attn: Jennifer Riley, PO Box 223, Conshohocken, PA 19428, U.S.A.
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AMPAL President and founder, Mr. John Dabeet, met with Congressman Jim Leach in his Davenport, Iowa office November 6, 2000, the day prior to elections. Congressman Leach is a member of the House International Relations Committee. The two discussed the manner in which Congress voted on the Middle East Peace Act, exchanged ideas and agreed to continue communication regarding Palestinian issues.
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AMPAL President and founder Mr. John Dabeet sent letters to President Clinton, and Vice President Gore asking them to interfere on behalf of the Palestinian people and request the Israeli government to stop their massacres against the Palestinian civilians. Mr. Dabeet also sent letters to the Israeli Embassy in Washington in which he denounced the massacre inflicted by the Israeli occupation forces on unarmed Palestinian civilians and held the Israeli government responsible for the massacre.
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AMPAL President and founder Mr. John Dabeet traveled to New York to meet with United Nations officials. The meeting took place in August 2000 to gain Accreditation as a non-governmental organization. Mr. Dabeet met with Mr. Yuri Gourov, Department of Political Affairs Secretary, and Mr. Yosuke Kobayashi, Associate Political Affairs Officer for the Division of Palestinian Affairs.
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AMPAL President and founder Mr. John Dabeet traveled to New York to meet with Mr. Marwan Jilani, Palestinian deputy Ambassador to the United Nations. The meeting took place in August 2000 at the Palestinian Mission in New York.
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AMPAL President and founder Mr. John Dabeet participated in a rally in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2000. The rally was organized by The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (Al-Awda) for the right to return for Palestinian refugees. AMPAL was one of many organizations who sponsored/endorsed this rally.
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AMPAL Board Member Dr. Don Betz traveled to Paris to chair the United Nations International Conference on Palestinian Refugees, April 26-28, 2000. Since 1982, Dr. Betz has worked for and with the United Nations in the creation and expansion of an important non-governmental organization (NGO) network pursuing peace in the Middle East. From 1982 through 1984 he served with the United Nations as Political and Liaison Officer focusing on the Question of Palestine. After leaving the United Nations he spearheaded the establishment and development of the International Coordinating Committee for NGOs on the Question of Palestine (ICCP), a representative council that has served as an important connection between the United Nations and NGOs worldwide active on Middle East peace issues. He has served as the ICCP chairman since 1985, has chaired the United Nations-sponsored International NGO Meeting on the Question of Palestine for the past fifteen years and has made appearances as an expert panelist and/or speaker at more than forty United Nations conferences, seminars and symposiums around the globe.