YALLA VOTE ‘08 Our Voice. Our Future.

This past Thursday, I had the amazing opportunity to go to the World Council Affairs Meeting which took place in the heart of Los Angeles. The main topic of the night was on the Arab-Israeli conflict, why peace hasn’t occurred, what needs to be done, and the problems on both sides. As in any discussion about Palestine and Israel, things got heated and people were voicing their opinion about the problems. The highlight of the dinner was Marwan Muasher who is the former Jordanian ambassador and currently serves as the senior vice president for the World Bank In External Affairs. Mr. Muasher spoke about the problems currently impeding progress on the peace process in the Middle East and promoted his new book, “The Arab Center”.

Overall, the event was a success and I was able to mingle with diplomats and network for the “YALLA VOTE ” campaign. I got a chance to meet the president of the Jordanian Embassy in Los Angeles, and was able to talk politics with people on both sides of the issue. In the end, despite all the heated debate and arguing, the sentiment was one of Peace. Everyone wants the conflict to end and this is the reason why we all gathered for this event. I talked to Marwan Muasher about the Yalla Vote Campaign and he was really happy to know that a movement was on the way to get Arabs more active. I also met people who were donors to AAI , and they were happy to know there money was put to good work. The night was great, I heard an informative speech, met many people, networked, introduced people to the Yalla Vote Campaign… So until the next adventure… The best field organizer in the United States will be off…

Salam

Samar Alhinnawi