Ziad Asali

Dr. Ziad Asali, MD
Born Feb. 24, 1942
Jerusalem
Occupation Physician
Known for Founder of the American Task Force on Palestine
Spouse Naila Asali

Ziad J. Asali, M.D., is the President and founder[1] of the American Task Force on Palestine, a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-partisan organization.

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Education

Asali was born in Jerusalem, where he completed his elementary and secondary education. He received his B.S. from the American University of Beirut (AUB) in 1963 and an M.D. from AUB Medical School in 1967.

Medical career

Asali completed his residency in internal medicine and endocrinology at the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. He practiced medicine in Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem before returning to the United States in 1973 to serve as the Medical Director, Laboratory Director, and Chairman of the Board at the Christian County Medical Clinic and St. Vincent Memorial (now Taylorville Memorial) Hospital in Taylorville, Illinois, until he retired in 2000. He remains licensed to practice medicine in Illinois, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. He is a member of several medical societies such as the American Medical Association, the American Society of Internal Medicine and the American Academy of Medical Directors. He is a Diplomat of the Board of Internal Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Activism

Asali is a long-time activist on Middle East issues. He has been a member of the Chairman's Council of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) since 1982, and served as ADC’s President from 2001-03. He served as the President of the Arab-American University Graduates (AAUG) from 1993–95, and was Chairman of the American Committee on Jerusalem (ACJ), which he co-founded, from 1995-2003.

Asali has testified before the United States Senate on the issue of Palestinian education. On February 10, 2005, he testified before a full committee hearing of the House International Relations Committee on “the way forward in the Middle East peace process". He served as a member of the United States official delegation to the funeral of Yasser Arafat and as a member of the United States official delegation to observe the Palestinian Presidential elections in January 2005. He was also a delegate with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) to monitor the Palestinian Legislative election in January 2006.

Asali was a member of the US Presidential Delegation to the Palestine Investment Conference (PIC) in Bethlehem in 2007 and again in 2010.[2]

On February 12, 2009, he testified at a House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia hearing on the aftermath of the war in Gaza.[3] At the hearing, ATFP also submitted an extensive 50-page report on the circumstances, aftermath and consequences of the war.[4]

On March 4, 2010, Asali spoke before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on "Middle East Peace: Ground Truths, Challenges Ahead".[5]

Media and publications

Asali has written in Al Ahram Weekly,[6] the Washington Times,[7] and in the Forward. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, Detroit Free Press, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Miami Herald, and The Daily Star. He has provided television commentary and interviews for CNN, CBS, Charlie Rose, MSNBC, Fox News, BBC, C-Span, Voice of America and numerous syndicated cable programs. He has also appeared on several Arabic television networks, including Al Jazeera, Al-Arabiya, Al-Hurra, Nile TV, ART, Egyptian television, Abu Dhabi TV, and the Dubai satellite channel. His opinions have appeared in newspapers throughout the Arab world including Al-Hayat, Al-Ahram, Al-Rai, Al Khaleej, Jordan Times and Akhbar Al-Arab.

He is a regular speaker at international conferences, Arab-American conventions and academic groups. He has spoken at Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell Universities, George Washington University, Georgetown University and Harvard University.

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References

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