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Addendum II THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE ARAB WORLD AFTER WORLD WAR II The founding of the State of Israel in1948 led to numerous wars between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East. In the course of the conflict Israel occupied Arab lands. Today some Arab land in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria still remains under military occupation by Israel. The Difficult Present for Arab Americans and American Muslims The Arab-American community, Christian and Muslim, is outraged and agonizes over the tragedies that have befallen their relatives abroad. Arab Americans are appalled by the defamation, dehumanization, demonization, denigration, hate crimes, and harassment of Arab and Muslim people to justify Israeli occupation of Arab land; and they are appalled at the unconditional and uncritical support for Israel and lack of even-handedness in the Arab-Israeli conflict by the U.S. government. Yet despite this extremely negative defamation and stereotyping, their loyalty and support is to America first as they love and respect this country. This loyalty and love of America have been passed down from earlier appreciative generations who emigrated to America looking for a better life, the majority of whom found it here. However, after the 1967 Israeli-Arab war, some first- and second-generation American-born members of the Arab-American community became more aware of and sensitive to their Arab heritage. In Worcester a few leaders were critical of the injustices perpetuated on Arab people and the invasion of their homelands. They called for reform of the one-sided U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. But for other Arab Americans and American Muslims, the false stereotypes and myths about the Arabs and Muslims caused them to be more embarrassed than motivated to question the veracity of the statements. Their leadership was small in number, and they did not form an organization; they began to have an impact beginning in the late1960s. Local individuals brought speakers to the area to educate the public on the realities of the Arab-Israeli conflict and on the denial of human rights to the Arabs and Muslims. They encouraged concerned people to make personal contact and to correspond with their congressmen, to write letters to editors , and to demonstrate. The leadership also connected with national organizations such as the American Palestine Committee, founded in 1967. Its executive director was Norman F. Dacey, an author who was renowned for his penetrating studies of the American legal and political systems. Other organizations with which they connected were the Association of Arab-American University Graduates , Inc. (aaug), incorporated in 1967, and Search for Justice and Equality in 204 Addendum II 205 Palestine/Israel (Framingham, Mass.), founded in 1972. Its executive director is Edmund R. Hanauer. His organization ‘‘believes that justice for Palestinians and security for Israeli Jews are not mutually exclusive, but interdependent.’’ In the early 1970s a local organization was formed, Americans for Peace and Justice in the Middle East, under the same small local leadership. It was dedicated to the cause of a just Palestinian-Israeli peace, and its motto was ‘‘Justice for the Palestinians is the best security for Israeli Jews.’’ One of the speakers it sponsored at a local college on May 8, 1975, was Dr Fayez A. Sayegh, a former member of the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee and a member of the Palestine National Council. The local organization disbanded when its few members joined other large national organizations such as the American-Arab AntiDiscrimination Committee (adc) founded in 1980. The adc New England Chapter was founded in 1982, and its coordinator was George R. Najemy. Some work of the chapter was with injured, innocent Lebanese children from abroad who lost eyesight and/or limbs during the war. The victims and family members were housed locally and provided with transportation to a Boston hospital. The chapter donated to the city of Worcester an elm tree that was planted on the Common behind City Hall. It was a memorial with a plaque to honor the victims of the invasion of Lebanon and was a symbol of hope, not just sorrow —a hope that justice through peaceful means and equality will be achieved in that part of the world. (Sunday Telegram, ‘‘Elm Tree Planted on Common as Symbol of Hope for Lebanon,’’ June12,1983). In subsequent years, the plaque was removed for political reasons, and the tree was dedicated anew to another organization. At a time when Arab bashing, myths, and stereotypes about Arabs and Arab Americans...

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