James Abouretsk

James George Abouretsk

James George Abourezk (born February 24, 1931 in Wood , Mellette County , South Dakota ) is a former American politician ( Democratic Party ). He was a member of the US House of Representatives from 1971 to 1973 and then from 1973 to 1979 US Senator for the state of South Dakota.

Early years

Born February 24, 1931 to Christian Lebanese parents, Abouretsk lived in South Dakota for most of his life. Between 1948 and 1952 he served in the US Navy during the Korean War . He then graduated from the South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City in 1961 as a civil engineer . He then reached a higher degree at the Law Faculty of the University of South Dakota in Vermillion in 1966. He then opened a law practice in Rapid City. After his political work he is currently working again as a lawyer and writer in Sioux Falls .

politics

Abouretsk was elected a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives, where he represented the 2nd Congressional District of South Dakota from 1971 to 1973 . He was then elected to the United States Senate, where he remained until 1979. Karl Earl Mundt was his Senate predecessor and Larry Pressler was his successor when he decided not to run for re-election. In the Senate, he served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Native American Affairs and the American-Indian Policy Revision Commission. He gained a great reputation as a "lone fighter" who questioned the political " status quo " .

author

In 1980, Abouretsk founded the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee , a grassroots civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of Americans of Arab descent and promotes balanced United States foreign policy in the Middle East . In 1989 he wrote Advise and Dissent: Memoirs of South Dakota and the US Senate , and is the co-author of Through Different Eyes: Two Leading Americans - a Jew and an Arab - Debate US Policy in the Middle East . ”(Viewed from different perspectives: Two leading Americans - a Jew and an Arab - debate US policy for the Middle East.)

Notoriety

An interview with Abouretsk in April 2006 in the magazine “Counterpunch” published his designation of the groups Hamas and Hezbollah as “ resistance fighters ” and further that US America's support for Israel only lasted because “Congress is very dependent on money from radical Zionists ”.

Abouretsk became known to a wider public through the publication of a letter he wrote in December 2006:

“I can tell you from my own experience that, at least in Congress, the support that Israel has in this institution is based entirely on a great fear of defeat for anyone who does not do what Israel wishes to have done. I can also tell you that, at least while I was there, very few members of Congress had any affection for Israel or its lobby . What they have is contempt, but it remains hidden for fear that it will be discovered exactly how they really feel. I've overheard too many washroom conversations with Senate members expressing bitter feelings about being pushed around this lobby to think differently. In private you can hear the aversion to Israel and the tactics of this lobby, but none of them are prepared to incur the hatred of this lobby by making their feelings public. ... I believe that the withdrawal, and in particular cutting off, US aid to Israel would immediately cause Israel to give up the West Bank and leave the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians . Such pressure would work, I imagine, because the Israeli public would be able to determine what is causing their misery and demand that an immediate peace agreement be reached with the Palestinians. "

Publications

• Advise and Dissent: Memoirs of South Dakota and the US Senate ( ISBN 1-55652-066-2 )
• Through Different Eyes: Two Leading Americans - a Jew and an Arab - Debate US Policy in the Middle East

Web links

Wikiquote: James Abouretsk  - Quotes

• James Abourezk in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee official website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ [1]
2. ↑ [2]