CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA // Bill Clinton and rising star Elizabeth Warren, candidate for the US Senate from Massachusetts, delivered amazing speeches on the second night of the Democratic National Convention.
But these great speeches will share headlines with the embarrassingly heavy-handed tactics used by the convention leadership to pander on Israel. The party has only itself to blame for a negative story, which for a time threatened to upend the Convention's press coverage.
The problems began shortly after the 2012 convention platform was passed on Tuesday, and it was noted that the section on the Middle East did not mention Jerusalem. Attacks came quickly from predictable sources - Republicans and some pro-Israel Members of Congress. Unable to take the heat, convention leaders attempted to silence critics by taking the unprecedented action of changing the platform after it had already been approved by the delegates.
Shortly after the opening of yesterday's session, the convention's chairman called for a suspension of the rules and then called for an amendment to the platform that would add to this year's language a passage from the 2008 platform referring to Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel.
He then called for a vote and got the surprise of his life. The amendment needed a two-thirds approval to pass, but from the sound of the "nays" it was clear that the amendment hadn't passed. Flustered, the chairman said, "Let's try that again" only to get the same result. Then after a brief consultation, he once again called for a vote. Getting the same result, he decided to ignore the will of the delegates and instead announced that the amendment had passed. Many delegates booed the decision.
The press had a field day with these antics, with reporters seeking out the many Arab American delegates in attendance for comments. Television covered the debacle and for a while major online publications featured it as their front-page story, with this bungled effort to steamroller the convention becoming a dominant news story of the day.
Now I can't get too incensed about the actual language changes that were made since, in reality, the added section on Jerusalem is both vague and inconsequential.
The original clause portion read: "It is precisely because of this commitment that President Obama and the Democratic Party seek peace between Israelis and Palestinians ... A just and lasting Israeli-Palestinian accord, producing two states for two peoples, would contribute to regional stability and help sustain Israel's identity as a Jewish and democratic state."
The new clause, amended with language from the 2008 platform is: "Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths."
What this means is that Israel will have its capital in Jerusalem but that its final status must be negotiated and the city be open and undivided.
It is important to note that there is no mention about moving the US embassy to Jerusalem - again, the issue must be negotiated - nor does it claim that Israel should have sovereignty over the entire city. And nothing in this language contradicts the notion of Jerusalem as an open city with two capitols under joint Israeli-Palestinian sovereignty.
So the amended language, despite its clear intent to pander, is not really the most serious problem. It was the heavy-handed and disrespectful way this was done that has so disturbed Arab Americans and many other Democrats. And not only are Arab Americans aggrieved. The party, the convention and the president took a negative hit in the end because of the way this entire affair was handled.
Mr Clinton and Ms Warren were stars who shone brightly last night. The former president gave one of the great political speeches of his career, contrasting the policies and values of President Obama with those of his opponent, Mitt Romney. He made a powerful case for Obama's reelection and excited and inspired the delegates.
What should be troubling to convention organisers is that commentators will not only be discussing today the themes laid out in these major addresses. They will also be distracted by the scene of heavy-handed pandering that took place at the beginning of yesterday's session.
James Zogby is president of the Arab American Institute (www.aaiusa.org and Twitter at @aaiusa)
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
more from Janine di Giovanni
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Vaccine Progress in the Middle East
Two products to make at home
Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.
2. Add the essential oil to the mix.
Air Freshener
100ml water
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this)
Method:
1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.
2. Shake well before use.
