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SPECIAL COMMENTARY

Only In America

Washington, D. C.
() n Aug. 27, Democratic vice-
presidential nominee Sen.
Joseph Lieberman met with
a group of Michi-
gan Arab Ameri-
can leaders. The
meeting was
important and
historic for a
number of rea-
sons — some
obvious, some
not so obvious.
While Lieber-
JAMES ZOGBY man's break-
through nomina-
Special to
tion has delighted
the Jewish News
many in the
American Jewish
community, it has created some dis-
comfort among Arab Americans. This
should not be surprising. Recall the
wariness with which American Jewish
groups greeted the appointment of
Arab American John Sununu as Presi-
dent George Bush's chief of staff.
It is not Lieberman's religion that is
of concern. In part, Arab Americans
worry about the senator's voting
record on issues of importance to the
community. His effort to move the
U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem,
which would have disrupted the Mid-
dle East peace process, and his
endorsement of the 1998 Senate letter
that sought to restrain President Bill
Clinton's peace efforts are two cases in
point.
There is also resentment and some
degree of fear borne of Arab Ameri-
cans' experience with exclusion at
many levels of U.S. politics. As recent-
ly as the last decade, some political
campaigns were still openly rejecting
Arab-American involvement and sup-
port. Oftentimes, campaigns would
directly tell Arab Americans that their
reason for excluding the community
was the fear that their involvement
might alienate Jewish support.
In a similar vein, Arab Americans
view with alarm their near total
absence from meaningful positions in
the White House, State Department
and Department of Justice. It was just
one year ago that major Jewish leaders
launched a campaign demanding the
removal of my son Joseph from his
post at the State Department. [Joseph
Zogby had been special assistant in
the Near East Affairs Bureau of the

James Zogby is president of the Arab
American Institute, based in Washing-
ton, D.C.

State Department.]
Given this history, some Arab
Americans have expressed the concern
that Lieberman's nomination, which
many Americans have heralded as
promising a breakthrough for other
minority groups, might not, in the
end, include the same promise for
them.
Hence, the Arab Americans' meet-
ing with Lieberman provided an
important opportunity to clear the air
and create a degree of confidence
between the candidates and our com-
munity. As a participant, I felt that it
was important for other reasons as
well.

New Responsiveness
First and foremost, the meeting was
a recognition of Arab Americans'
growing stature in the United States,
and especially in Michigan politics.
There are more than 350,000 Arab
Americans in Michigan, and given
the community's higher than average
turnout in national elections, they
count for four to five percent of
Michigan's electorate. The presence
of a number of Michigan's Democ-
ratic congressional delegates at the
event provided further evidence of
this recognized clout. [There was
recognition] that Arab-American
concerns with the Middle East peace
process, the suffering of the Iraqi
people and the civil rights of immi-
grants are critical issues that must be
addressed.
What was also important was the
new responsiveness being shown
toward Arab Americans. It is not only
President Clinton who has reached
out to the community. Vice President
Al Gore addressed a national confer-
ence of Arab Americans held in
Michigan in November 1999 (the
third time he spoke before an Arab-
American national gathering during
his vice presidency). His wife, Tipper
Gore, spent an afternoon visiting with
Michigan's Arab-American communi-
ty in March 2000 and now, on his
first solo campaign swing, Lieberman
spent over an hour in a frank and
open exchange with Arab-American
leaders.
The meeting was described by both
the senator and leaders of the Arab-
American community as "the promis-
ing beginning of a new dialogue."
There were no dramatic break-
throughs, no "epiphanies of the soul."
There was, however, an honest and
thorough discussion of issues, and a
determined effort to create under-

