Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, April 2000, page 114

Publishers’ Page

American Educational Trust

There Was a Time…

When we thought a bloody revolution was inevitable in Iran, and perhaps in Turkey as well. The irony was that we expected the change in Iran would be away from a purely clerical regime toward a more open system, and in Turkey perhaps away from the military-enforced secularism toward Islamism, complicated by ethnic particularism. After two Iranian elections in a row in which power has shifted significantly within the clerical regime, we now believe there is real hope for a peaceful evolution toward participatory government, maybe even a multi-party democracy in Iran, although it certainly is not there yet. Given the temporary failure (again) of democracy in Pakistan, and the deteriorating situation in Turkey, the news from Iran therefore seems spectacularly good. Meanwhile, varying experiments in broader-based governments continue in parts of the Arab world (see our report on Kuwait onp. 101).

Our Hopes Are High…

About Arab Americans and Muslim Americans making their mark in election year 2000. At local levels there is much good to report. And readers will find that report in our “Election Watch” column on p. 18. We’re less sanguine about Muslim-American and Arab-American impact on the year 2000 presidential elections, where the differences between the remaining candidates on Mideast policy are increasingly discernible. That also is covered on p. 18.

There Will Be No Peace of Mind…

For either Arab Americans or Muslim Americans here at home until there’s peace in the Middle East between Jews and Arabs. And there’s going to be no peace over there until there’s an informed and open-minded U.S. president not afraid of the Israel lobby and determined to make it happen. The power to elect such a president might just be in Muslim-American and Arab-American hands this fall.

There’s a Lot at Stake Here.

Peace in the Middle East and security at home for Arab- and Muslim-Americans. And not just for this generation but for generations to come! It would be a tragic, tragic repetition of past mistakes to let personal ambitions get in the way of the political unity we all owe to future generations.

So Many Subjects, So Little Space!

Kefffiyas off to our foreign affairs columnist Gene Bird, who had triple bypass surgery in February but didn’t miss the writers’ deadline for this issue. Likewise at least a grudging salute to columnist Michael Kinsley, whose attitudes on the Middle East we didn’t like before he left CNN’s “Crossfire” to become editor of the on-line magazine Slate. But he wrote a column which appeared in The Washington Post, and apparently some other newspapers around the country, on Feb. 29 about the advantages to donors of giving stock to tax-exempt organizations rather than selling the stock, paying the capital gains tax, and then giving what little is left to the charitable group. The example he used is a donor who invested $2,000 in stock which has appreciated to a value of $10,000. If the donor sells it, he’s going to pay capital gains on $8,000. But if he donates the $10,000 in stock to a church, charity or educational organization (ahem) of his choice, the tax-exempt recipient sells the stock and keeps the $10,000, thus enabling the donor to list the whole $10,000 as a huge…

Deduction From His Income Tax!

Coincidentally, we had just received a letter from Charles Maria, a major donor in San Diego, that this year instead of his annual cash donation he would be sending us $20,000 worth of stock, and that he hoped to continue this practice annually for the rest of his life. Obviously that was afoot before the Kinsley column, but since then we’ve been informed of two other very welcome donations of stock on their way to us. It’s something to think about. Meanwhile, to our generous California benefactor of Lebanese descent, our exuberant and most sincere…

Wishes for a Very Long Life!

Now we’re going to depart from past procedures and list some group subscriptions that need sponsors this year. Checks for any of the following projects should go to the tax-deductible AET Library Endowment (federal ID#52-1460362).

Washington Report:

• one-year subscriptions @$29 to 830 U.S. mosques and Islamic centers: $24,070.

• one-year subscriptions @$29 to 640 U.S. Muslim organizations: $18,560.

• one-year subscriptions @$29 to 180 U.S. Muslim student groups: $5,220.

• one-year subscriptions @$35 to 50 Canadian mosques and Islamic centers: $1,750.

• one-year subscriptions @$35 to 18 Canadian Muslim organizations: $630.

• one-year subscriptions @$35 to 25 Canadian Muslim student groups: $725.

• one-year subscriptions @ $29 to 400 key U.S. foreign service positions overseas: $11,600.

• one-year subscriptions @$29 to 100 key foreign policymaking positions in the U.S.: $2,900.

Other Voices:

• one-year subscriptions @$15 to 830 U.S. mosques and Islamic centers: $12,450.

• one-year subscriptions @$15 to 640 U.S. Muslim organizations: $9,600.

• one-year subscriptions @$15 to 180 U.S. Muslim student groups: $15,180.

• one-year subscriptions @$15 to 50 Canadian mosques and Islamic centers: $750.

• one-year subscriptions @$15 to 18 Canadian Muslim organizations: $270.

• one-year subscriptions @$15 to 25 Canadian Muslim student groups: $375.

• one-year subscriptions @$15 to 400 key U.S. foreign service positions overseas: $6,000.

• one-year subscriptions @$15 to 100 key foreign policymaking positions in the U.S.: $1,500.

We Would Like to Issue…

Similar challenges for Arab-American student groups, but we don’t have such a list. If anyone has one, we would welcome it. Similarly, we would be happy to provide subscriptions to occupants of Canadian foreign service or foreign policymaking positions, but we would need help finding a list as well.

For Less Expansive Giving…

Let us implore readers to make sure your local library has a subscription. If the library pays for its own subscription, it gets our $150 library donation package at no extra cost (so long as it remembers to ask). If the library can’t subscribe but would welcome and put into circulation a gift subscription, please supply us the name of the library, the person you contacted and, if you can afford it, the $29 cost. But if you can’t afford it, we’ll find a donor. And, after you’ve done that, maybe you could consider donating a subscription to a local journalist or talk show host or producer. We’ve found that the donated subscriptions to newspapers and radio and television stations do get passed around, sometimes even after the original recipient has moved on.

We’ve Already Had to Dip…

Into our pockets this year to pay the printing bill for this issue, and that’s on top of the money we had to advance last year. As a result we’ll probably move the first of our two annual fund-raising appeals for 2000 up from May to April. But if you can help now, please don’t wait for the letter. Join the early birds in this year’s Choir of Angels and…

Make a Difference, This Month!

< Prev		Next >