Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, November 2006, pages 62-63

Arab-American Activisms

Virginians Hold Town Hall Meeting

THE ARAB-AMERICAN community of Northern Virginia held an Aug. 23 town hall meeting at Mason District Government Center in Fairfax Country, to discuss Israel’s bombing of Lebanon. Co-sponsored by the Arab American Institute (AAI) and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s (ADC) DC chapter, the impressive gathering of more than 100 participants was organized by AAI national policy council member Marwan Burgan, ADC-DC chapter board member Mona Hamoui and AAI member Fred Shwery. 

U.S. Rep Jim Moran (D-8th), staff members for Reps. Frank Wolf (R-10th) and Tom Davis (R-11th), as well as Virginia Sen. George Allen’s legislative director heard views from Arab-American constituents, especially concerning Lebanon. Speakers included Dr. George Cody, executive director of the American Task Force for Lebanon (ATFL), public policy analyst Dr. Imad Harb, and Dr. Samer Ellahham, a nationally renowned cardiologist.

Dr. Cody gave an informative historical overview of the conflict between Israel and Lebanon which provided a better understanding of the context of the ongoing border skirmishes that suddenly became an all-out Israeli war on the people of Lebanon. To explain the magnitude of the conflict, Dr. Cody extrapolated the casualty figures in relation to the U.S. population, noting that one million Lebanese displaced, even temporarily, was equivalent to almost 77 million Americans, and the number of Lebanese victims is comparable to 91,134 Americans dead and 312,384 injured.

Dr. Ellahham, who, unable to enter Lebanon, provided medical attention to victims evacuated to Syria, gave an emotional presentation. He described the harm resulting from Israel’s attack on Lebanon’s civilian population, including the physiological impact of post-traumatic stress syndrome, as well as the effect the war had on the cardiovascular systems of many of the patients he examined.

Dr. Ellahham also expressed his concern as a physician about the long-term health effects caused by Israel’s bombing of the oil depot and the subsequent pollution of Lebanon’s coastal waters. Those effects were expected to reach Syria, Cyprus and Greece as well.

Dr. Harb analyzed the harmful impact of the war on Lebanon’s fragile democracy.

Following the presentations, several audience members passionately requested that their Northern Virginia congressional delegates take seriously Arab Americans’ concerns about U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, pointing out that an estimated 135,000 Arab Americans make Virginia their home.

—Jamal Najjab

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