US Rep. Keith Ellison Calls For Obama-Rouhani Summit

Shortly before an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor in a modest hotel in Tel Aviv, US Rep. Keith Ellison had just returned from a visit to the Gaza Strip. The 50-year-old Democrat from Minnesota, who in 2006 was the first Muslim to be elected to Congress, does not belong to mainstream politics. He proudly champions human rights issues, peace and reconciliation.

Ellison says that his mother never believed that she would live to see the day there was a black man in the White House. Ellison himself was arrested at a human rights rally and laments the discrimination against African-Americans, which reared its ugly head following the recent acquittal of the man who had been charged with the murder of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida. Although his constituency includes a significant number of Jews, many of whom, according to Ellison, voted for him, he does not hesitate to make statements that will not make him a favorite on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) monitoring lists.

In an interview summarizing his visit to Israel, including meetings in the settlement of Shilo, in the West Bank and in Gaza as well as a meeting with Israel’s President Shimon Peres, Ellison expresses unreserved support for negotiations with Hamas and active American involvement in the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. If that were not enough, he is vehemently opposed to cranking up sanctions against Iran. He is more concerned about human rights in that country than the possibility that it will become a nuclear state. He suggests that President Barack Obama promote an initiative to demilitarize the Middle East, indeed the world, from nuclear weapons. And as for the question of whether Obama should meet with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, Ellison replies with a resounding “Yes, definitely.”

Al-Monitor:  You have been the first US congressman to visit Gaza since Israel imposed the closure on its people. What is your impression from this visit?

Ellison:  During this trip we talked with Israelis, settlers, Israeli Arabs, diverse group of people. I pray that my colleges in the US Congress try to have trips more like this one. I don't mind that they have the AIPAC trip — that is good — but don't only go to that trip and spend your time only talking to officials. Spread your horizons. I also want to see the US International Development Agency going back to Gaza.

Al-Monitor:  The United States is kind of punishing the people of Gaza for voting for Hamas …

Ellison:  Yes, that is right, and they should not do it. And so is Israel and Egypt. About 55% of the people who live in Gaza are under 18 years old, so most people in Gaza did not vote for Hamas. Only a certain percentage of the people who were eligible to vote voted for Hamas. And then, of the people who voted for Hamas, many of them are against terrorism, but they are also against corruption, and they wanted to try something new besides the others they did not have any faith in.

So when you are talking about voters who wanted a terrorist, a violent government calling to throw Israel into the sea, you are talking about a tiny percent of people, but yet everyone is punished. This is a mistake. If I were an Israeli, I would try to expand friends and isolate enemies.

Al-Monitor:  Do Israel and the US need to engage Hamas in the peace talks?

Ellison:  You’ve got to talk to everybody, but that I cannot decide about negotiating with Hamas. You’ve got to make peace with those who are in conflict with you. The Israeli government actually negotiated with Hamas over the release of [abducted Israeli soldier] Gilad Shalit.

Al-Monitor:  You visited the settlement of Shilo. Can you imagine that one day there will be any Israeli government who will be able to remove the people who live there and thousands of other people, off what they think is their land?

Ellison:  I believe that the people I met in Shilo have every right to want to be connected to their side, which is holy to them. And I also believe this, too: If Israel has citizens who are Muslims or Christians, who are Palestinians, why shouldn't Palestine have citizens who are Jewish?

Al-Monitor:  How come Muslims in the US do not have their own lobby?

Ellison:  There are 6 million Muslims in the United States. They are a very diverse group with various agendas. Also among US Jews, there is a lot of diversity of opinions. For instance, JStreet has an explosive scope, so it must be speaking for some people who didn't feel spoken for. And they are there to stay.

Al-Monitor:  How do you see the American role in the current Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations?

Ellison:  The American role is important. The conflict is not only an Israeli or Palestinian problem. It is also an American problem, and we need to treat it as such. We are equal partners in this. I disagree with those who say that the US cannot want peace more than the parties. We are one of the parties. Israel is not a foreign-policy issue, it is a domestic issue.

Any time you have a tragedy, you can entrench yourself into the tragedy or you can try to transcend it. One of the problems you have now is that the people who want to talk about negotiation and reconciliation are always second-guessed by the people on the other side. I would tell President Obama, "We cannot do this alone. Find a way to get Israelis, Palestinians and Americans being involved. If all you do is to settle at the negotiating table, and don't go further, it doesn't heal the society. Israelis and Egyptians don't feel close to each other because we did not go further than the negotiating table. The component of reconciliation is imperative and there needs to be a process that permits the wounds to heal."

Al-Monitor:  You are still in favor of a Middle East free of nuclear weapons?

Ellison:  I am certainly for a world free from nuclear weapons. I believe that countries that produce nuclear weapons have an obligation to get rid of them. And countries that don't have them should not acquire this kind of weapon. So when Obama discussed with Russia a nuclear reduction, I saw it as extremely positive. We need to have real integrity on this.

Al-Monitor:  And you believe in the diplomatic option vis-à-vis Iran?

Ellison:  I absolutely do. The US never had real sustained negotiation with them. We had 17-18 years of intense economic hostility with them. We have been implementing sanctions for decades, but are willing to give negotiations only a few months. It doesn't make sense. And particularly now, when Rouhani has just been elected, on a platform of outreach, and Iranians voted for him, I hope that President Obama will give negotiations a real chance and that the US Congress does not screw things up. The congressmen need to dig into the issue and be a little more serious. Most of the Congress doesn't want to see the United States in another war, but we don't understand that we don't go from a state of war to a state of total peace. There are steps.

Al-Monitor:  If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were sitting here, he would say that you are naïve, that the Iranians are bluffing and buying time …

Ellison:  We have been saying this for over a decade. The bottom line is both American and Israeli intelligence say that Iran has not made a political decision to acquire a nuclear weapon. How many years have you been hearing that "next year Iran will cross the red line?"

Al-Monitor:  You would invite Rouhani to the White House?

Ellison:  Yes, of course. But he might not come, because Iran has its hard-liners, too. But maybe we could meet in Oslo, in Istanbul. There are places to meet, but there needs to be the will to meet. The American people want a president who hates war and seeks peace, and uses war only to protect the American people.

Al-Monitor:  And how does this help the people in Syria?

Ellison:  If the United States had direct negotiations with Iran, the first item should be stopping the bloodshed in Syria.

Al-Monitor:  How does it feel to be a Muslim these days, hearing time and again that while not all the Muslims are terrorists, most of the terrorists are Muslims?

Ellison:  It is sad to see people pervert the faith that I know. It is disappointing to see people turn a beautiful faith into an ideology justifying violence. But when people act up violently, they put up political justifications, not religious ones.

I am an American and I am from an Afro-American heritage. I think about Martin Luther King, a deeply religious person who used religion to build bridges, not wars. So that is my orientation.