Ziad Asali

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

Ziad Jameel Rasheed 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.

Education

Asali was born in Jerusalem to a renowned nobel Jerusalemite family. He received his B.S. from the American University of Beirut in 1963 and an M.D. from the American University of Beirut 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.

Dr. Asali's leadership extends to other initiatives and non-partisan organizations. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Middle East Investment Initiative. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of A Different Future as well as a member of the Trustees Advisory Council of OneVoice and a member of the Advisory Board for the Middle East of Search for Common Ground.

Dr. Asali is also founder and Chairman of the American Charities for Palestine (ACP). In August 2008 the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ACP initiating a partnership to help harness the generosity of the American people to help meet Palestinian humanitarian needs.

Official Designations

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.

In August 2007 Dr. Asali traveled with Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes to Palestine as a member of the official delegation of the U.S. Department of State to monitor the launch of the Middle East Investment Initiative Program. On December 3, 2007, he was appointed co-chair of the U.S. Public-Private Partnership, an initiative launched by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to promote economic and educational opportunities for the Palestinian people. In May 2008 he served as a member of the U.S. Presidential delegation to the Palestine Investment Conference in Bethlehem. 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,[8] and Foreign Policy Magazine.[9] 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.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About the American Task Force on Palestine".
  2. ↑ Palestine is Open for Business Huffington Post, June 17, 2010
  3. ↑ "Oral Testimony of Dr. Ziad J. Asali - February 12, 2009 | The American Task Force on Palestine". Americantaskforce.org. 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  4. ↑ "ATFP Testimony at Congressional Hearing on Gaza - February 12, 2009 | The American Task Force on Palestine". Americantaskforce.org. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  5. ↑ "ATFP President Emphasizes Convergence Between Diplomacy, State-Building at Senate Hearing | The American Task Force on Palestine". Americantaskforce.org. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  6. ↑ "Fear and loathing in America". Al-Ahram Weekly. 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  7. ↑ "ASALI: Mideast political conundrum". The Washington Times. 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  8. ↑ Asali, Ziad. "'Price Tag' Attacks Pose Test for Israel". The Jewish Daily Forward.
  9. ↑ Asali, Ziad. "Train Wreck in Turtle Bay". Foreign Policy.
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