Dr. Zogby co-founded the Arab American Institute in 1985 and continues to serve as its president. He is Managing Director of Zogby Research Services (ZRS) engaging in ground-breaking public opinion research across the Middle East.
In addition to holding positions in the Jackson '84 and '88, Gore 2000, Obama 2008, and Sanders 2016 campaigns, Zogby has served on the Democratic National Committee since 1992 and was a member of the DNC's Executive Committee for 16 years. He is Chair of the party's Ethnic Council and most recently and notably served on the Unity and Reform Commission.
Dr. Zogby was appointed by President Obama to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in 2013 and 2015 and twice served as the Commission's Vice-Chair. In addition to writing a weekly column published in 12 countries, Zogby was the creator and host of the award-winning call-in political television show “Viewpoint”. He is frequently featured on national and international media as an expert on Middle East affairs. In 2010, Zogby published the highly-acclaimed book, "Arab Voices". His two 2013 e-books, "Looking at Iran: The Rise and Fall of Iran in Arab Public Opinion" and "20 Years After Oslo" are drawn from his extensive polling across the Middle East with ZRS.
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The single most important issue in this year’s election will be how voters feel about Donald Trump. A recent Pew poll showed that 51 per cent of Trump voters said the major factors determining their vote were Trump’s personality, values, and leadership style, while 56 per cent of Biden voters said that what was motivating them was “voting against Trump”. This election will be about Donald Trump.
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Zogby responds to Paul Krugman’s claim that there was not a mass outbreak of anti-Muslim sentiment and violence immediately following 9/11.
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With every passing day it becomes clearer that we are in for a long and rocky ride between now and November. More troubling than the difficulties we will encounter along the way is what may occur after election day. There is legitimate fear that our very democracy, already compromised by hyper-partisanship, may be at risk.
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After two weeks of back-to-back political conventions, the choices facing voters as defined by the two parties are clear. It is either, according to Donald Trump Jr., “church, work, and school versus rioting, looting and vandalism.” Or as the Democratic Party has framed the election’s choice, “decency, compassion, and fairness versus hatred of the ‘other’, fear, and greed”.
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Over the past few decades, I have polled in Lebanon and the results are instructive. Lebanese, of all sects, want “one man one vote.” They reject sectarian governance and the tyranny of militias. And they are wary of US and Iranian meddling in their internal affairs. In other words, they want reform.
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In this opinion in The Jordan Times, Zogby explains the reticence of Democrats to address the Israel/ Palestine issue but finally sees some hope. “ It’s reflected in the courage demonstrated by Bernie Sanders and newer members of Congress, like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who are speaking out for Palestinian rights, and in polls showing that a majority of Democrats support conditioning aid to Israel based on its human rights performance.”
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During the week of August 17, thousands of Democrats elected to serve as delegates to their party’s national convention will log on to their computers to view the proceedings. They will cast electronic votes on the party platform and for their party’s nominee to challenge Donald Trump for the presidency.
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In this co-authored opinion with Jeremy Ben-Ami, Zogby asks, ‘If the next Democratic administration is serious about promoting peace, the party platform needs to condemn Israel’s illegal occupation by name.’ Ben-Ami is the founder and president of the pro-Israel, pro-peace advocacy group J Street.
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In this The Jordan Times opinion, Zogby discusses the history of AIPAC’s power in Congress, the myth that it was invincible and why that is now changing.
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For decades, the pro-Israel lobby was able to carry the day in Congress because Members feared the repercussions of criticizing Israel. That tide is turning.
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With the backdrop of his own history of involvement in the fight for civil rights, Zogby discusses why the protests against police violence today may be a sign that we are ready to fully address this country’s history.
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Zogby argues that “while the noisy backlash to the pandemic is dominating the news and can be depressing, it is important to lift up all of these silent heroes whose efforts, though unconnected and not the subject of headlines, cry out to be recognised. What is needed is to lift them up, knit them together, and see them as a collective response to the crisis which we are facing.”
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Zogby argues that while Trump’s base ‘continues to be mesmerized by the "emperor’s new clothes," the world stands aghast at the naked truth that America is not only incapable of leading the world, but also failing to protect its own people.’
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Two years ago Friday, President Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. It was an irresponsible, dangerous and cruelly insensitive act that did grave damage to the rights and well-being of Palestinians and put an end to any pretense that the United States could help negotiate a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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In this article, Dr. James Zogby describes his family's immigration story. During the 1920s, "he US Congress was in the grips of a nativist xenophobic fervor. Congressional debates termed Syrians as "parasites" with one Senator saying "we don't need any more Syrian trash coming here". Visas for Syrians and other "undesirable countries" were to remain frozen for almost three decades."
Zogby links his father's inability to get a visa to the current political situation of many undocumented immigrants - facing racism from elected officials.
"In the past, because of hard work and the fact that some leaders listened to "the voices of our better angels", the vision of the welcoming "Lady in the Harbor" has won out. It is our fight today to make sure she wins again. The soul of America is at stake. We dare not lose."
