MERIP Media Resource List, February 4, 2005

AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS on the following topics:
- Israeli-Palestinian summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, February 8

VICKIE LANGOHR
Vickie Langohr is an associate professor of political science at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA and an editorial committee member of Middle East Report . She has published articles on Islamist political parties in the Arab world, Arab non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights groups, and prospects for Arab democratization. Her particular area of expertise is Egyptian politics. She said today: "Unprecedented popular opposition has mounted in Egypt to President Mubarak's plan to have himself 're-elected' later this year for a fifth term. In the same week that Egypt announced it is hosting a summit between Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas, the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) convened a dialogue on political reform with members of Egyptian opposition parties at which it stated that the possibility of competitive presidential elections must wait until after Mubarak's re-election. The regime has also jailed opposition activists and a member of parliament who opposed Mubarak serving another term. The government hopes that the credit it will win in the West for the Israeli-Palestinian summit will dampen the pressure for desperately needed domestic political reform."

SAMER S. SHEHATA
Samer Shehata teaches Middle East politics at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. His work has appeared in numerous publications including The International Journal of Middle East Studies , Middle East Policy , The Georgetown Journal of International Affairs , Arab Reform Bulletin , Slate , Salon , Al Hayat and others. He has also testified about US Middle East policy before the House Subcommittee on National Security. He commented today: "Although many in Washington are optimistic about progress being made toward a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the wake of Yasser Arafat's death and Mahmoud Abbas' election victory in early January, there remain reasons for extreme skepticism. First, there are indications that Ariel Sharon envisions the Gaza withdrawal as the last and not the first part of implementing the so-called 'road map.' Second, the Bush administration does not appear interested or even capable of applying the necessary pressure on Israel for a just and permanent resolution of the conflict. The Egyptian government, in the meantime, is busy warming up to Israel and appearing useful for US Middle East policy, in part to lessen pressure from Washington for domestic political reform. Hope and optimism about a possible breakthrough in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is unfounded."

ILANA FELDMAN
Ilana Feldman is assistant professor and Director of Graduate Studies at New York University's Program in Near Eastern Studies. Her research focus in Middle East anthropology and history includes government and bureaucracy, colonialism, humanitarianism, and the Egyptian administration of Gaza from 1948-1967. Feldman said today: "Many events in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been hailed in the media as breakthroughs -- such as the Nobel peace prize awarded to Arafat, Rabin and Peres in 1994, the Camp David negotiations of 2000, and the 'hudna' or truce in 2003 -- but eventually yielded no real change. So optimism for any concrete results from the upcoming summit should be tempered. Since the motivations for Egyptian and Israeli participation in this summit have little to do with securing a just peace for Palestinians, it is unlikely to produce any results in that arena. Sharon's goals are to shore up his domestic power base. By meeting with Arab leaders he signals to Israelis his ability to play a powerful role on the international stage and thus to remain in control of the terms of the Gaza withdrawal, and also respond to Israelis' desires for increased normalcy."

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