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Congresswoman Donna Edwards, Knesset Member Said Naffaa, and J Street Director Jeremy Ben-Ami Confirmed to Speak on Israeli/Palestinian Conflict at ADC Convention
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is proud to present a panel on “Pathways to Peace?” during the upcoming ADC Annual National Convention. This year’s convention, “From the Grassroots to the Nation’s Capital: Change for Our Future,” will be held from June 12 to 14, at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill.
As one of many educational panels at the ADC Convention this year, this panel will discuss the necessary steps to achieve peace in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-MD), new member of Congress, has taken a progressive and proactive stance on the issue and has held town hall meetings on the crisis in Gaza. MK Said Naffaa, a member of the National Democratic Assembly or Balad Party, represents a Palestinian constituency which continues to come under fire in Israel. Jeremy Ben-Ami, is the Executive Director of J Street, a pro-Israel and pro-Peace lobby in Washington, DC.
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:
Congresswoman Donna Edwards of Fort Washington represents Maryland’s 4th Congressional District comprising portions of Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties. She was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 110th Congress in June 2008, and began her first full-term in the 111th Congress in 2009.
Rep. Edwards is a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Science and Technology Committee. She also serves on the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.
Just prior to serving in Congress, Rep. Edwards was the Executive Director of the Arca Foundation in Washington, D.C. where she worked on issues such as securing a “living wage” for working people, protecting social security, and promoting labor and human rights both nationally and internationally. She was also the co-founder and Executive Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence where she led the effort to pass The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 that was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.
Rep. Edwards completed undergraduate studies at Wake Forest University and received her Juris Doctor from Franklin Pierce Law Center. She is the proud mother of Jared, a student at Drew University majoring in economics.
MK Said Naffaa was reelected to the Knesset in the recent Israel Parliamentary Elections. He initially joined the National Democratic Assembly, a Palestinian Arab party in Israel, in 1998. Having been raised in a patriotic Arab family in Beit Jann (Upper Galilee) MK Naffa refused to serve in the Israeli Army; a compulsory act required for members of the Arab Druze community to which he belongs. He was subsequently jailed for an extended period of time until his legal challenges prevailed and he was freed from his service in 1974. He went on to attend Tel-Aviv University Law School.
As a lawyer, Said continued to serve the Arab community in general and the Druze community in particular. He held many public positions including as Deputy Mayor and later Mayor of Beit Jann before being elected to the Knesset.
Jeremy Ben-Ami had a 25-year career in government, politics and communications, here and in Israel before joining J Street. Jeremy has served in a number of senior government positions including as President Bill Clinton’s Deputy Domestic Policy Adviser and Policy Director on Howard Dean’s Presidential Campaign. He was most recently Senior Vice President at Fenton Communications. He also has served as the Communications Director for the New Israel Fund and started the Israeli firm, Ben-Or Communications while living in Israel in the late 1990s. Jeremy’s father was born in Tel Aviv, and much of his family lives in Israel.