Democracy in Palestine: An Alternative to Yasser Arafat?

5/21/2002

From: Dr. Mey Wurmser of the Hudson Institute, 202-974-2415

News Advisory:

WHAT: A Hudson Institute Panel with Palestinian Activist Omar Karsou, Professor Bernard Lewis and Richard Perle

WHEN: Friday, May 24 2 to 4 p.m.

WHERE: Hudson Institute's Washington, D.C., office 1015 Eighteenth Street, NW, Suite 300

The call to reform the Palestinian Authority has become so overwhelming that even Yasser Arafat has embraced it, leading to new elections in the PA in the foreseeable future. On Friday May 24, a group of democratic activists in the West Bank and Gaza, including Palestinian legislators, led by Omar Karsou, a Nablus banker and human rights activist, will launch "Democracy in Palestine."

Karsou, who was profiled in the May 17 Wall Street Journal (http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110001722) rejects the occupation of the West Bank by either Israelis or "Tunisians" (Yasser Arafat and his associates who returned from exile in Tunis). Instead, he believes that a democratic movement of Palestinians, guided by the rule of law and willing to renounce the use of force to settle the dispute with Israel, can win a free and fair Palestinian election.

Karsou will unveil Democracy in Palestine at Hudson Institute's Washington, D.C., office, this Friday, May 24. He will be followed by two commentators: Professor Bernard Lewis of Princeton University, author of the best-seller What Went Wrong (Oxford University Press, September 2001), and Richard Perle, chairman, The Defense Policy Board, The U.S. Department of Defense.

Space at this important event is strictly limited. RSVP to Kim Bowling at 202-974-2430.

Press Inquiries: Contact Mark Hemingway at 202-974-2420 or mark@hudsondc.org

------ Hudson Institute is an internationally recognized public policy research organization that develops solutions and forecasts trends for governments and businesses. Founded in 1961 by the late Herman Kahn, the not-for-profit organization has more than 75 researchers and employees at its corporate headquarters in Indianapolis as well as offices in Washington, D.C.; Madison, Wis.; and Tampa, Fla. For more information about Hudson Institute, visit the organization's Web site at http://www.hudson.org or call 800-HUDSON-0.