Dr. Clovis Maksoud receiving the award from Mr. and Mrs. Farah Munayyer .
 
Palestinian Heritage Foundation Honors 
Dr. Clovis Maksoud
 The banquet honored Ambassador Clovis Maksoud, former Arab League ambassador to the United States and the United Nations. It was attended by about 300 guests.
Faran Munayyer, PHF president, in his opening remarks welcomed the guests and friends of Dr. Maksoud.
He was followed by the distinguished speakers and Arab-American leaders who spoke highly of Dr. Maksoud manifesting his contribution to diplomacy, literature, education and defender of Arab issues. Among the speakers were: Metropolitan Philip Saliba who delivered his speech in Arabic, H.E. Farid Abboud, Ambassador of Lebanon , Rose Mary Oakar, former Congresswoman and current president of ADC, Dr. Ziad Asali , president of American Task Force on Palestine. Composer Dr. Simon Shaheen gave a Oud sonata.
In his speech, Dr. Clovis Maksoud said that with the war in Iraq, “we have a sense of passionate relief that the ruthless dictatorship has been removed.” But Iraq is becoming like Palestine, under occupation and he said that we cannot comprehend the terror that has been done at our hands and the shame and dilemma we now feel.
“How do we mentally, spiritually and emotionally medicate to separate U.S. from this dilemma?” he asked the crowd.
Maksoud spoke out about the Iraqi governing council, which he said seems not to recognize a large section of Iraqi opinion and which can cause ever more Iraqi resistance. We should recognize the future of Iraqi resistance as we work toward the liberation of Iraq, Maksoud insisted.
In addressing the road map, Maksoud said this “created complication with the promise of an independent Palestinian state. Too often Palestine is treated as a rebellion against Israel, and thus, Maksoud argued, we have to redefine our national idea when facing the Palestinian issue.
Later Maksoud addressed the stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims full of hate.
"Arabs and Muslims do not hate," he said with eloquence, "However, Arabs and Muslims are angry." We must recognize the important distinction between anger and hate, he added.
"Anger could be an invitation to engage in a dialogue" communicate," he said, while hate is about action.
"Anger has the potential for correcting things. Hate is an absolute expression of hopelessness."
It is from this context, Maksoud argued, that Arabs must reveal their political sovereignty.
"Arab nationalism has to retain its heritage, its roots, its potential," Maksoud spoke passionately. “It has to be associated with human rights," he implored as the audience applauded.
"We have the potential, we must fulfill it, he said.
Dr. Clovis Maksoud is the director of the Center for the Study of the Global South at the School of International Services at The American University. He was the Ambassador and the Permanent Observer of the League of Arab States at the United Nations and its Chief Representative in the United States, from Sept. 1, 1979 until Oct. 15, 1990. A lawyer, journalist, and diplomat, he was born in 1928. He served as the Arab League Ambassador to India and South-East Asia 1961- 1966. In 1975-76, he was a visiting professor at Georgetown University. As a journalist, Dr. Maksoud was senior editor of the daily Al-Ahram in Cairo, Egypt, between 1967-1971. In 1972, he was named editor-in-chief of Al-Nahar, an Arabic-language weekly published in Beirut. 
Dr. Maksoud is the author of several books on the Middle East and the Third World, among them: The Meaning of Non-alignment, The Crisis of the Arab Left, Reflections on Afro-Asianism, and The Arab Image. 
He graduated from the American University of Beirut(AUB) and George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and Oxford University in Britain. His wife Dr. Hala Salam Maksoud died in 2002. 
The Palestinian Heritage Foundation is a cultural and educational nonprofit organization aimed at promoting awareness and understanding of Arab and, specifically, Palestinian culture and traditions. It was founded in 1992 by Hanan and Farah Munayyer. Its programs include lectures, live costume shows and exhibits in the United States, Canada and Palestine. The PHF collection includes hundreds of traditional costumes representing all regions of Palestine and Syria, including jackets, scarves, head-dresses and jewelry. PHF produced a video documentary Palestinian Costumes and Embroidery: A Precious Legacy. explaining the history of the art of embroidery in Palestine and the Near East.
For more information visit PHF website: www.palestineheritage.org.