Skip to content
  • Image
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Podcasts
  • Email
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Contact
The Arab Daily News

The Arab Daily News

Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem

  • About
    • About
    • Our Writers
    • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
    • Book Store
    • Contact
    • Submit Book Reviews, Press Releases
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Corrections Policy
    • Profile on Ray Hanania
    • Submit Press Release
  • Features
    • Food
    • Book Review
    • Humor
    • Movies
    • Travel
  • Arab Stores Targeted
  • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Heritage America resources
    • Directory
      • Groups & Organizations
      • Mosques, Churches
      • Restaurants
      • 2008 & 2014 Arab Media Directories
    • National Arab Heritage Month
    • Video: Chicago Arab History
    • Video: Photo Array of Chicago Arabs
    • Overview of Arabs in America
    • Hanania standup comedy
    • Arabs on the Titanic
    • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
    • Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast
    • Arab News Ray Hanania Radio
    • Arab Radio Podcast intro
    • Radio Baladi Detroit
  • Hanania on Tiktok
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Toggle search form
  • photo credit author Nehemia Gershuni-Aylho www.NGPhoto.biz and Wikipedia
    Emergency Court Motions to Stop Elbit Drone Parts Shipment via Frankfurt Airport  Activism
  • American Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh murdered by Israeli soldiers May 11, 2022
    Documentary names soldier it says killed Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022 American Arabs
  • Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ
    Jordan bans 12 news sites for ‘spreading media poison’ following corruption report Arab World
  • CAIR Logo. Council on American Islamic Relations
    CAIR Condemns MIT for banning Class President from Graduation Ceremony over Anti-Genocide speech Activism
  • ADC creates emergency fund to defend people who are being punished for expressing views on the American-sanction violence by Israel in the Gaza Strip. Photo courtesy of ADC
    ADC Condemns ADL, Rep. Torres’ Defamation of Dr. Lara Sheehi Activism
  • UN Special Committee on Israeli practices in occupied territories warns of a second Nakba  Arab World
  • Arab American community liaison Hassan Nijem, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Basta at the Arab American Heritage Month event hosted by Pappas’s office.
    Pappas honors Arab American business and community leaders for Heritage Month Activism
  • 04-28-25 Pappas Arab Heritage Month
    Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas recognizes Arab American Heritage Month by honoring business and community leaders American Arabs
  • Stuffed Grape Leaves. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    A recipe on how to make Stuffed Grape Leaves with lamb, ox tail and rice American Arabs
  • Andrew Boutros, interim US Attorney Northern District of Illinois. Photo courtesy of the US Attorney's Office
    Andrew S. Boutros Takes Oath of Office as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois American Arabs
  • Israeli massacres of Palestinian civilians March 18 2025
    Palestinians demand investigation of Israeli war crimes in Gaza Strip Arab World
  • Illinois Muslim Action Day April 9 2025
    Illinois Muslim Action Day Policies at April 9 Statehouse News Conference American Arabs
  • Investigation demanded in March 23 massacre of 15 first responders by Israel's military in Rafah
    Investigation demanded into Israel slaughter of First Responder in Rafah on March 23, 2025 Arab World
  • More than a dozen candidates running for various local offices in the Chicagoland suburbs attended an Ifatr dinner Thursday, March 13, 2025 hosted by the Arab American Chamber of Commerce at the Jerusalem Banquet Hall in Bridgeview.
    Candidates promise fairness and engagement at Arab Chamber Iftar event March 13 Activism
  • Orland Fire Protection District, Fiscal Voices, receive endorsement of the Arab American Democracy Coaliton
    Independent candidates for Orland Fire receive Arab and Muslim American endorsement Activism

Obama names Rob Malley as special adviser

Posted on March 10, 2015March 10, 2015 By rayhanania No Comments on Obama names Rob Malley as special adviser
SHARE ...
          
 
  

  • Tweet

Obama names prominent Middle East diplomat Rob Malley as the Special Assistant to Middle East, North African and Gulf Region. The appointment was immediately attacked by pro-Israel extremist groups led by the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), a group with a history of racist anti-Arab bashing that represents the interests of a foreign country, Israel. (Updated)

By Ray Hanania

Robert Malley speaking at an April 3, 2012 conference as part of the Belfer Center's Middle East Initiative Speaker Series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INGS-rq4rbc
Robert Malley speaking at an April 3, 2012 conference as part of the Belfer Center’s Middle East Initiative Speaker Series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INGS-rq4rbc

President Barack Obama named veteran diplomat Rob Malley as his new Special Assistant to the President and White House Coordinator for Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Region in an announcement released this week.

Malley will succeed Philip Gordon, according to a statement released by National Security Adviser and United Nations Ambassador Susan E. Rice. Rice said Malley began the new post on April 6.

“For more than six years, Phil Gordon has been an indispensable member of the President’s foreign policy team, as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from 2009-13 and as Middle East Coordinator since March 2013,” Rice said.

“At the National Security Council, Phil played a critical role on some of the most important and challenging issues facing this country, including the Iranian nuclear program; our strategic partnership with Israel; Middle East peace; Syria; Iraq; U.S. relations with the Gulf States; and the democratic transitions in Egypt and North Africa.  I thank him for his service and wish him all the best as he departs the NSC to spend some well-deserved time with his family and pursue other professional endeavors.”

Rice called Rob Malley one of her “most trusted advisers,” adding, “There could be no better successor to Phil Gordon.”

Rice said she expects Malley will bring about “a seamless transition.”

“One of our country’s most respected experts on the Middle East, since February 2014 Rob has played a critical role in forming our policy on Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the Gulf.  I look forward to working with him in his new role,” Rice said.

Rob Malley served as Executive Assistant to National Security Advisor Sandy Berger between 1996 and 1998.  In October 1998, he was appointed Special Assistant to President Clinton for Arab-Israeli Affairs, a post he held until the end of the administration in 2001.  Between 2001 and 2014, he directed the Middle East Program at the International Crisis Group.

Malley is a Harvard-trained lawyer who worked, until his appointment to the National Security Council last year, at the International Crisis Group, which is affiliated with the highly respected billionaire and investor George Soros.

Barack Obama addressing a joint session of Con...
Barack Obama addressing a joint session of Congress (State of the Union-like) on the night of February 24, 2009. Standing in front of Vice President Joe Biden (left) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (right). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Robert Malley attended Yale University and in 1984 was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, where he earned a Ph.D. in political philosophy. He then went on to earn a J.D. at Harvard Law School, which he attended at the same time as Barack Obama. And in 1991–92, Malley clerked for Supreme Court Justice Byron White.

Malley also serves on the Advisory Council of J Street, the moderate American Jewish and pro-Israel organization that has rejected extremism and embraced peace between Israel and Palestine through negotiations and Two States. J Street is sometimes described as the moderate, pro-American alternative to AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) which has made a foreign country, a greater priority than American interests.

Malley’s father was an activist in Egypt and a close confidant of the late Palestinian President Yasir Arafat who fought and opposed Hamas extremism and crafted the peace accords with the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The Rabin-Arafat agreement served as a basis for a final resolution of the violence between Israel and the Palestinians, until in 2005 when Rabin was murdered by an Israel extremist. Rabin, Arafat and former Israeli President Shimon Peres received the Noble Peace Prize for their efforts to end the conflict and violence and save Jewish and Arab lives.

The highly respected and former U.S. Consul General to Jerusalem, Ed Abington, noted that Malley’s Jewish heritage should be acknowledged.

“He is American Jewish. His father is/was a very prominent French intellectual from Egypt and founder of the very respected journal Afrique-Asia,” Abington wrote. “Rob is one of the most thoughtful people in Washington on the Israeli/Palestinian issue and his appointment is a positive development.”

The appointment was immediately attacked by the Zionist Organization of America and its national president Morton A. Klein, who has put the interests of the foreign nation of Israel above the interests of the United States where his organization actively solicits funds and financial support from donors.

Susan Rice, US Ambassador to the UN.
Susan Rice, US Ambassador to the UN. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Klein lambasted Malley for having negotiated with Hamas. And, Klein associated Malley with a long line of Americans who have placed the national interests of the United States and best interests of the American people over those of Israel, including former Senator and U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel; former Secretary of State Zbigniew Brzezinski; former U.S. President Jimmy Carter; former Chief of Staff to President Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, James Baker; and, NS Director Susan Rice.

Said one observer, “The fact that Klein associates Malley with some of the most dedicated and committed American leaders like Hagel,Carter, Brzenzinski, Baker and Rice undermines Klein’s idiotic racist attack against Malley. Klein is a fool who not only undermines peace, he undermines Israel’s best interests, too.”

Leaders of the American Arab community praised Obama and Rice for the appointment.

Tensions between Obama and Israel’s rightwing government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were aggravated in recent days following Netanyahu’s speech to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, which was organized by Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Obama’s Republican foes. And, this week, the Republican leadership sent a letter to Iran that undermined the security of the United States by attempting to undermine the President’s negotiations to encourage Iran to limit its nuclear program to energy and non-weapons needs.

The ZOA has been one of the many pro-Israel organizations that have supported this anti-Obama push and that have put Israel’s foreign interests above the interests of the United States.

A Video of Rob Malley speaking at a conference in 2012:

[Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article identified Malley as being American Arab. His father was a French activist who worked in Egypt, and is Jewish. An earlier edition incorrectly identified Malley in the headline as “American Arab.”]

newswire info
  • About
  • Latest Posts
rayhanania
rayhanania
Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster at The Arab Daily News
Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.  

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.

Follow RayHanania at Twitter
rayhanania
Latest posts by rayhanania (see all)
  • Israelisnipers shooting and killing hospital workers in Gaza - December 11, 2023
  • CAIR Condemns Israeli Executions of Wounded, Unarmed Palestinian in West Bank   - December 11, 2023
  • Arab and Muslim American voters face a “simple choice” between Biden’s inhumanity and Trump’s edgy politics - December 9, 2023

  • Tweet

SHARE ...
          
 
  
 
          
 
 Tweet 
American Arabs, Bloggers, Commentary, Editors Picks, Israel, News, Palestine & Jordan, Ray Hanania, Spotlight Tags:Anti-Zionism, Barack Obama, Chuck Hagel, International Crisis Group, James Baker, Rob Malley, Susan Rice, Zbigniew Brzezinski

Post navigation

Previous Post: The Difficult is the Path Itself, discrimination in France
Next Post: Chicago painter leaves mark in United Arab Emirates

Related Posts

  • Abandon Biden Ceasefire Now logo
    Statement by the Abandon Biden Campaign on the April 15 Global Strike and Recent Events in the West Bank American Arabs
  • Arab Democratic Club Feb 12, 2023 Forum & Brunch flier
    Arab Democrats host forum for Chicago and suburban candidates Feb. 12 American Arabs
  • Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
    ADC leads dozens demanding Biden push Israeli Prime Minister Bennett to end oppression of Palestinians Civil Rights
  • 24 Hours of Occupation: Notes from H-2 Hebron Arab World
  • Comedian Ramy Youssef courtesy of his Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ramysfaceboo/
    Arab American Comedy Festival, 209th Anniversary National Tour returns to New York roots American Arabs
  • Mayor Rahm Emanuel stumbles in re-election bid American Arabs

More Related Articles

Real News Israel WMD Whistle Blower Vanunu Mordechai @POTUS @realDonaldTrump @nytimes #PussyPower American Arabs
IMAGINE a Thanksgiving of Real Peace: Paix, Salaam, Shalom American Arabs
National Press Club condemns Iran for journalist detention, but is silent on Israel’s killing of journalists American Arabs
California State University Tenured Professor Randa Jarrar and the late former First Lady Barbara Bush from Youtube Randa Jarrar and the racist bias of the mainstream news media American Arabs
Hypocrisy on Obama being a Muslim, and anti-Arab racism American Arabs
Beauty Pageants and the Ugly Debate Arab World

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Ray Hanania's 4 times a week columns at https://RayHanania.com at Substack

Enter Your Email to Subscribe to Ray Hanania’s Columns

  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • Photo courtesy of Journalist Abdennour Toumi
    France: Political Compromise vs Political Instability
    August 28, 2024
  • Zakia Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia
    Arabs eat Middle East food like they are making love
    June 27, 2024
  • Zwar lamb kabob and kufta with white and yellow rice
    Zwar ranked the Best Middle East restaurant in Chicagoland suburbs
    June 8, 2024
  • Pictured: Rahm Emanuel, Afghan activist Salman Aftab who was co-chair of the Iftar dinner, and several non-Arab Muslim leaders. Also pictured is Ald. Joe Moore. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania for Arab News
    Comprehensive look at the failings of former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
    January 18, 2024
  • NEWSWIRE
  • CAIR Logo. Council on American Islamic Relations
    CAIR Condemns MIT for banning Class President from Graduation Ceremony over Anti-Genocide speech
    June 1, 2025
  • Arab American community liaison Hassan Nijem, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Basta at the Arab American Heritage Month event hosted by Pappas’s office.
    Pappas honors Arab American business and community leaders for Heritage Month
    April 29, 2025
  • 04-28-25 Pappas Arab Heritage Month
    Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas recognizes Arab American Heritage Month by honoring business and community leaders
    April 27, 2025
  • Mike Ghouse
    Celebration of 500th Interfaith Marriage Ceremony
    February 14, 2025

Creative Commons License
All work on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

  • NEWS
  • photo credit author Nehemia Gershuni-Aylho www.NGPhoto.biz and Wikipedia
    Emergency Court Motions to Stop Elbit Drone Parts Shipment via Frankfurt Airport 
    June 7, 2025
  • American Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh murdered by Israeli soldiers May 11, 2022
    Documentary names soldier it says killed Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022
    June 1, 2025
  • BOOK REVIEWS
  • Faisal Abbas Book Anecdotes
    Book Review: Arab author shares his anecdotes living in the United Kingdom
    October 22, 2024
  • Columnist Ray Hanania at the ADC Convention in Dearborn with the author Susan Abulhawa
    Book Review: Mornings in Jenin bySusan Abulhawa
    September 14, 2024
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • Television set and remote. Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
    MBC GROUP unveils MBCNOW, its brand-new groundbreaking entertainment service aggregator
    February 24, 2025
  • ArabCon 2024 Gala Program features Dr. Cornel West, Macklemore, and more
    September 6, 2024
  • New-iTunes-1400-x-1400-The-Ray-Hanania-Show-Podcast-Icon-300-x-300.jpg
  • powerpr300x300ad.jpg
  • Podcast-iTunes-Logo-Chi-City-Hall-1985.jpg
  • terroristbookcover-300-x-300.jpg
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png
Arab News Newspaper Logo
Read the Arab News, the leading English language newspaper in the MIddle East

Follow Ray Hanania at
Twitter
Facebook
TitkTok
BlueSky
RayHanania Columns

Click here to get information on The Ray Hanania Radio Show and its podcasts

Copyright © 2025 The Arab Daily News.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme