Ziad Asali
Encyclopedia
Ziad J. Asali, M.D., is the President and founder of the American Task Force on Palestine
, a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-partisan organization.
(AUB) in 1963 and an M.D. from AUB Medical School in 1967.
in internal medicine
and endocrinology
at the LDS Hospital
in Salt Lake City, Utah
. He practiced medicine in Saudi Arabia
and Jerusalem before returning to the United States in 1973 to serve as the Medical Director, Laboratory Director, and Chairman of the Board at the Christian County Medical Clinic and St. Vincent Memorial (now Taylorville Memorial) Hospital in Taylorville, Illinois
, until he retired in 2000. He remains licensed to practice medicine in Illinois
, Virginia
, and Washington, D.C.
He is a member of several medical societies such as the American Medical Association
, the American Society of Internal Medicine and the American Academy of Medical Directors. He is a Diplomat of the Board of Internal Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians
.
issues. He has been a member of the Chairman's Council of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
(ADC) since 1982, and served as ADC’s President from 2001-03. He served as the President of the Arab-American University Graduates (AAUG) from 1993–95, and was Chairman of the American Committee on Jerusalem (ACJ), which he co-founded, from 1995-2003.
Asali has testified before the United States Senate
on the issue of Palestinian
education. On February 10, 2005, he testified before a full committee hearing of the House International Relations Committee on “the way forward in the Middle East peace process". He served as a member of the United States official delegation to the funeral of Yasser Arafat
and as a member of the United States official delegation to observe the Palestinian Presidential elections in January 2005. He was also a delegate with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) to monitor the Palestinian Legislative election in January 2006.
Asali was a member of the US Presidential Delegation to the Palestine Investment Conference
(PIC) in Bethlehem
in 2007 and again in 2010.
On February 12, 2009, he testified at a House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia hearing on the aftermath of the war in Gaza. At the hearing, ATFP also submitted an extensive 50-page report on the circumstances, aftermath and consequences of the war.
On March 4, 2010, Asali spoke before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on "Middle East Peace: Ground Truths, Challenges Ahead".
Asali has written in Al Ahram Weekly, the Washington Times, and in the Forward. He has written for the Los Angeles Times
, Detroit Free Press
, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Miami Herald, and The Daily Star
. He has provided television commentary and interviews for CNN
, CBS
, Charlie Rose
, MSNBC
, Fox News, BBC
, C-Span
, Voice of America
and numerous syndicated cable programs. He has also appeared on several Arabic television networks, including Al Jazeera
, Al-Arabiya, Al-Hurra, Nile TV
, ART, Egypt
ian television, Abu Dhabi TV
, and the Dubai
satellite channel. His opinions have appeared in newspapers throughout the Arab world including Al-Hayat, Al-Ahram, Al-Rai, Al Khaleej, Jordan Times
and Akhbar Al-Arab.
He is a regular speaker at international conferences, Arab-American conventions and academic groups. He has spoken at Carnegie Mellon
, Columbia
, Cornell Universities
, George Washington University
, Georgetown University
and Harvard University
.
American Task Force on Palestine
The American Task Force on Palestine is an organization founded in 2003 to advocate that it is in the American national interest to promote an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through the creation of a Palestinian state that will live alongside Israel in peace and security...
, a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-partisan organization.
Education
Asali was born in Jerusalem, where he completed his elementary and secondary education. He received his B.S. from the American University of BeirutAmerican University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
(AUB) in 1963 and an M.D. from AUB Medical School in 1967.
Medical career
Asali completed his residencyResidency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
in internal medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
and endocrinology
Endocrinology
Endocrinology is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions called hormones, the integration of developmental events such as proliferation, growth, and differentiation and the coordination of...
at the LDS Hospital
LDS Hospital
LDS Hospital is a general urban hospital and surgical center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The hospital was originally owned by the LDS Church but is now owned and operated by Intermountain Healthcare...
in Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. He practiced medicine in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and Jerusalem before returning to the United States in 1973 to serve as the Medical Director, Laboratory Director, and Chairman of the Board at the Christian County Medical Clinic and St. Vincent Memorial (now Taylorville Memorial) Hospital in Taylorville, Illinois
Taylorville, Illinois
Taylorville is a city in Christian County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,246 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat and largest city in Christian County.-Geography:Taylorville is located at ....
, until he retired in 2000. He remains licensed to practice medicine in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
He is a member of several medical societies such as the American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
, the American Society of Internal Medicine and the American Academy of Medical Directors. He is a Diplomat of the Board of Internal Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians
American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is a national organization of doctors of internal medicine —physicians who specialize in the prevention, detection, and treatment of illnesses in adults. With 130,000 members, ACP is the largest medical-specialty organization and second-largest physician group in...
.
Activism
Asali is a long-time activist on Middle EastMiddle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
issues. He has been a member of the Chairman's Council of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee states that it is the largest Arab American grassroots civil rights organization in the United States. According to its web page it is open to people of all backgrounds, faiths and ethnicities and has over 40 chapters in 24 states and members in all...
(ADC) since 1982, and served as ADC’s President from 2001-03. He served as the President of the Arab-American University Graduates (AAUG) from 1993–95, and was Chairman of the American Committee on Jerusalem (ACJ), which he co-founded, from 1995-2003.
Asali has testified before the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on the issue of Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
education. On February 10, 2005, he testified before a full committee hearing of the House International Relations Committee on “the way forward in the Middle East peace process". He served as a member of the United States official delegation to the funeral of Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
and as a member of the United States official delegation to observe the Palestinian Presidential elections in January 2005. He was also a delegate with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) to monitor the Palestinian Legislative election in January 2006.
Asali was a member of the US Presidential Delegation to the Palestine Investment Conference
Palestine Investment Conference
The Palestine Investment Conference is aimed at strengthening the economy of Palestine and supporting a future Palestinian State. It took place in Bethlehem in 2008 and 2010. The conference was hosted in 2008 by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and in 2010 by Palestinian President Mahmoud...
(PIC) in Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
in 2007 and again in 2010.
On February 12, 2009, he testified at a House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia hearing on the aftermath of the war in Gaza. At the hearing, ATFP also submitted an extensive 50-page report on the circumstances, aftermath and consequences of the war.
On March 4, 2010, Asali spoke before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on "Middle East Peace: Ground Truths, Challenges Ahead".
Media and publications
- "Coronary Artery Spasm Causing Myocardial Infarction" (1983)
- “Expedition to Jerusalem” (1990)
- “Zionist Studies of the Crusades” (1992)
- “From Crusades to Zionism” (1993)
Asali has written in Al Ahram Weekly, the Washington Times, and in the Forward. He has written for the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Miami Herald, and The Daily Star
Daily Star (Lebanon)
The Daily Star is a pan-Middle East English language newspaper edited in Beirut. It was founded in 1952 by Kamel Mrowa, the publisher of the Arabic daily Al-Hayat to serve the growing number of expatriates brought by the oil industry...
. He has provided television commentary and interviews for CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose
Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993...
, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, Fox News, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, C-Span
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
, Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
and numerous syndicated cable programs. He has also appeared on several Arabic television networks, including Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
, Al-Arabiya, Al-Hurra, Nile TV
Nile TV
Nile TV International is a state-owned Egyptian television channel. It is the second Egyptian satellite television news network in Egypt, and the first Arab satellite channel to broadcast its programs in foreign languages: English, French, and Hebrew....
, ART, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian television, Abu Dhabi TV
Abu Dhabi TV
Abu Dhabi Al Oula is an Arabic television station that originally launched in 1969 but was re-launched in 2000 and again in 2008. It broadcasts from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates and is owned by Abu Dhabi Media Company...
, and the Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
satellite channel. His opinions have appeared in newspapers throughout the Arab world including Al-Hayat, Al-Ahram, Al-Rai, Al Khaleej, Jordan Times
Jordan Times
The Jordan Times is an English daily newspaper in Amman, Jordan. The newspaper was established in 1975 and is owned by the Jordan Press Foundation, which also runs the Arabic-language daily Al-Rai, the Kingdom's best selling daily....
and Akhbar Al-Arab.
He is a regular speaker at international conferences, Arab-American conventions and academic groups. He has spoken at Carnegie Mellon
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
, Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Cornell Universities
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.