October 1989, Page 58

The American Educational Trust

Publishers' Page

Holiday Book Giving

Holiday gift-buying time is when being a Washington Report subscriber pays financial as well as intellectual dividends. The AET Book Club is the only place in the world where every book, whether an evergreen or a brand-new 1989 issue, is available at two for the jacket price of one. What do you do with second (or third or fourth) copies? Give them to someone on your holiday gift list.

AET invests its funds in books for the first eight months of each calendar year, buying in lots of 1,000 copies per title in order to sell them at these unmatchable rates to Washington Report subscribers. Do yourself a favor with one-stop holiday shopping with AET this year, and us a favor by clearing our warehouse so that we can buy new 1,000-copy lots next year and keep offering the best in Middle East books to our readers at the best prices in the world.

Yes, We Need Interns Again

This year we were oversubscribed for summer internships, but now are having trouble filling the ranks during the school year. If you are a student in the national capital area who can work a few hours each week (at minimum wage), we'll give you preference for a paid intern job next summer. Knowledge of two or more Middle East countries is a plus. Touch typing is a must.

We Also Need Volunteer Editors

A lot of homemakers and retirees have offered to help us out over the years. We remember one of the latter who was excited about what we are doing and had time on his hands. The first time we called to say we had a task for him, he said he'd love to do the job we had in mind but that particular month he would be trekking in Nepal. The next time he and his wife had just put down the money for a tour of the Galapagos. We offered to take the trip for him and let him mind our desk while we were gone, but just at that moment he got a call-waiting signal. He must have forgotten to call back to finish the conversation. Pity.

For others who are between visits to the Riviera, or Oshkosh, and have rudimentary typing or editorial skills (or both), we have found ways to utilize volunteer work at times, and even places, of your own choosing. It involves editorial responsibility for production of one of our upcoming non-periodical publications, or for compiling lists of recipients of particular books or periodicals donated by people who gave only general instructions as to recipient categories.

You could work in our offices because we'll have a bit more space during the winter, or at home, even if home is in a different state or country. Write or call Janet McMahon if you're interested.

Want Our Authors to Speak to Your Group?

This year marks the first time in several years that AET has been organized to assist groups in finding speakers on Middle East-related subjects. If your group is looking for a keynote speaker or panel participants, or if you want to organize a series of programs in your community around a particular issue or speaker, we're here to help. For ideas, look over the authors of the articles in the Washington Report, authors in the AET Book Club catalog, and directors of the American Educational Trust (a complete list is contained in the AET brochure). Janet McMahon and Uzra Zeya can tell you what subjects they cover, and how they relate to different kinds of audiences. They also can suggest names if you have none in mind, give you ideas on how to stretch your organization's speaker budget, and act as intermediaries between your group and any particular speaker you have in mind.

Ms. Zeya's specialty is mainstream speakers for Islamic groups, and speakers about Islam for mainstream groups. Ms. McMahon handles all the rest.

Book or Periodical Displays for Your Programs

Whether or not you have a speaker, Washington Report Circulation Director Catherine Willford would like to hear about upcoming programs and meetings of Middle East, peace, civic, business or religious groups that might be interested in receiving sample back copies of the Washington Report (at no charge) for distribution to members and their guests. If you have something more elaborate in mind, like space for book displays, talk to AET Book Club Editor Sally Nyhan. She can send you a selection of sample AET Book Club offerings for which you can take orders-as a member service, a fund-raising operation, or just for the sake of spreading some wisdom.

Group Subscriptions

If you would like to save all of the members of an organization to which you belong some money on their subscriptions to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, consider organizing a group subscription. It can be a membership incentive, a gift from you to other members of the group, or a voluntary program for which interested members sign up. Cost for any of these types of annual subscription is only $5 per participant, with a minimum of 15 subscriptions per group. For batches of 100 or more subscriptions, payments and address changes may be submitted on a quarterly basis.

Make a Difference-This Month

Normally, in this space we suggest what readers may want to tell members of Congress, editors of local newspapers, and members of the clergy over the next 30 days. This month's suggestion is on this issue's inside back cover (facing this page).

We'll use this space, instead, to ask that subscribers join AET's own 1,000 points of light program for 1989 by sending names and addresses of 12 people in such categories as those listed above, and $60 to the tax-exempt AET Library Endowment to cover 12 one-year subscriptions to the Washington Report at the opinion molder gift rate. At the end of the year we'll ask the recipients to renew their own subscriptions, and then inform the donor of the results.

If 12 names are too many, readers may prefer to send 6 names and addresses and instructions to send each a $5 annual subscription and also a copy of Paul Findley's book,They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby. We have a special $5 rate that includes postage to donate a copy of the Findley book to anyone in the United States. Over the years we have sent out more than 25,000 copies of the Findley book under his program. Many of the recipients subsequently have contacted former Congressman Findley about assisting with his own organization, Citizens for the National Interest. (Ask us for details.)

If $60 is a bit steep, we'll send a subscription to this magazine or a copy of the Findley book, or both, in your name, to one, two or any number of recipients you designate, at $5 per item. If, on the other hand, you can afford more, we'll welcome whatever you can spare not only for such subscriptions, but for other related AET endeavors. If you plan to deduct your contribution from your 1989 federal income tax, make your contribution to the tax-exempt AET Library Endowment.

Contributors of $100 or more are enrolled in AET's own "Choir of Angels" ($5,000 or more-conductors; $2,500-bassos profundo and contraltos; $1,000-baritones and mezzo-sopranos, $500-tenors and sopranos; $250-accompanists; $100-hummers.) We'll list the names of 1989 choir members in the November issue.

Whether you send $5 for a single opinion molder subscription, or $5,000 to help us reach 1,000 editors, teachers, clergy and legislators, you can make a difference-this month.