Congressman Wexler to Accept Position as President of the Center for Middle East Peace
{Wexler to Leave Congress in January 2010 to Head Middle East Non-Profit Institute}

(Washington, DC) Today, Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) issued the following statement:

“Today, I am announcing that I will be accepting the position of president of the Center for Middle East Peace and will leave Congress effective in January of 2010.

“More than anything, I want to thank the voters of Palm Beach and Broward Counties who have allowed me the privilege of representing our community in the United States House of Representatives and the Florida Senate for the past nineteen years.  I have truly cherished the opportunity to serve my constituents – many of whom make up the generation that sacrificed in World War II and Korea and rebuilt our nation after the Great Depression.

“I have both admired and learned from my constituents, especially their love of country and commitment to community.

“I am proud that everyday I have sought to advocate for and provide a voice to my constituents: whether it was fighting for a legitimate vote during the 2000 election, working toward enacting a voter verified paper trail in Florida, or advocating for health care, education, Social Security and countless other issues. Therefore, my decision to leave Congress did not come easy.

“Those who know me, and those who have followed my career know that one of my overriding passions has been my work on the Foreign Affairs Committee helping to strengthen and preserve the unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel, and working toward a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians and between Israel and the Arab world. Additionally, I have made a special effort to improve congressional relations with key allies in the Muslim world by founding the Turkey and Indonesia caucuses. Moreover, it was an extraordinary honor to serve as a Middle East advisor to President Obama during the presidential campaign, and I treasure the experiences I had traveling the country, and especially throughout Florida, advocating for the President’s Middle East agenda.

“Taking over as president of the Center for Middle East Peace offers me an unparalleled opportunity to work on behalf of Middle East peace for an important and influential non-profit institute. After much discussion with my family, I have decided that I cannot pass up on this opportunity.

“My one regret is that I will be unable to complete my current term in office, but I truly believe there is no time to waste.  We are at a unique and critically tense moment in the history of the Middle East with both significant opportunities to succeed in the Arab-Israeli conflict as well as major challenges involving Iran, Hamas, and al Qaeda. In the coming months, Israeli and Arab leaders will be faced with monumental decisions that will dramatically affect the region and the entire world for decades to come. Critically important American security and foreign policy interests are also at stake. I am convinced that now is the time for me to engage on these issues on a full time basis.”

About the Center for Middle East Peace

The Center for Middle East Peace & Economic Cooperation is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization established in 1989 that engages with all relevant parties, Israel, the Palestinians, Arab countries, the United States, Europe, Turkey, Russia, etc. – to reach a just and comprehensive peace that will bring an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict.  The Center's activities include travel in the region, diplomatic exchanges, programming, opinion research, policy development, and conferences featuring Middle Eastern and world leaders seeking peace. The Center brings Middle Eastern policy makers, American and European officials, and international business leaders together to engage in the multifaceted diplomatic, political, economic, and people-to-people work and advocacy required to lead a robust effort to achieve a peaceful resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

For more information, please visit http://www.centerpeace.org.
 

Congressman Robert Wexler is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe and a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. Recently, Congressman Wexler served as an advisor on Middle East issues to President Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.

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