On November 29, the US city of Philadelphia officially celebrated the "International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People". Philadelphia's mayor, Jim Kenney, was the keynote speaker at the event that also featured remarks by three members of the city council, a state senator and a state representative. All spoke about the contributions that Palestinian Americans are making to the city and to America. There were Palestinian flags, music and maamoul dessert. And an official city proclamation was read, declaring solidarity with the Palestinian people.
It's normal for politicians to acknowledge the importance of, and demonstrate their support for, the many ethnic groups that make up their constituency. But this event was extraordinary for two important reasons: it marked a turning point in the broader Arab-American community's history, and this was about Palestinians.
To understand the significance of this event, it's important to recall an earlier, more painful time for the community in Philadelphia. In 1983, Wilson Goode, then candidate for mayor, attended an Arab-American fundraising event hosted by a prominent Philadelphia-based Palestinian American, Naim Ayoub. Mr Goode was engaging. In his remarks, he vowed to be "the mayor for all the people" of the city, which for those in attendance meant full recognition of the Arab-American community within the body politic.
Speaking at a synagogue the next day, John Egan, Mr Goode's opponent, denounced him for "taking money from Arabs" and accused him of being soft on Israel’s security. Instead of standing up to this bigoted assault, a headline in The Philadelphia Inquirer read: "Wilson Goode to Return Arab Money." And so, a few days later, those who had contributed at the event received envelopes with their returned cheques. To add insult to injury, Mr Goode decided to keep the cheque of only one of the attendees – a Jewish doctor, who happened to be Mr Ayoub's friend. Upon learning about how his cheque had been accepted, while the Arab-American cheques had been rejected, the doctor demanded that his contribution be returned, too.
For those caught up in the controversy, Mr Goode's response came as a shock and contrary to what he had just promised the Arab-American community. By some accounts, it was a humiliating moment and a sordid affair that was less about politics that it was about racism.
Mr Goode went on to win two terms as mayor and, despite its best efforts, never once did he meet with the Arab-American community.
Seven years later, Marwan Kreidie, one of the community's key activists in Philadelphia, organised a meeting with Ed Rendell, the Democratic candidate to succeed Mr Goode. Mr Kreidie had helped with voter registration efforts in the community – efforts that were spurred on by the political activist Jesse Jackson's presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988. He had formed a personal relationship with Mr Rendell who was Jewish and wasn't to be intimidated by his efforts to seek the support of Arab Americans.
Mr Rendell went on to win two terms as mayor and two terms as governor of the state of Pennsylvania. He appointed Arab Americans to local and statewide posts. This recognition and inclusion in politics, in turn, helped the community to grow in stature – all leading to last week's event.
Even with this growth and acceptance, the memories of past bigoted exclusion remained. They hung over the heads of many Arab Americans like a hammer waiting to fall. And so, when they learned of a letter sent to Mr Kenney, the current mayor, by the Israeli consul general urging him to reconsider his decision to headline and support the event, they recalled Mr Goode's cowardice and held their breath.
It's taken Arab Americans a long time and plenty of pain and work to get to this point
The consul general's letter was filled with inflammatory and outrageous charges against Palestinians. It spoke of anti-Semitism; charged Palestinians and their supporters with "endorsing the violent rejection of peaceful compromise"; and referred to the groups sponsoring the event as "not interested in anything other than demonising the Jewish state".
To the delight of many Arab Americans, neither the mayor nor the other elected officials backed away from the event. Nor did these officials withdraw the official proclamation. That's what made this event so remarkable.
An Israeli American, who is an editorial writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, was at the event and wrote a delightful opinion piece for his paper. He noted how the early Zionist movement spoke of Palestine as a "land without a people"; how former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir had observed that "there is no such thing as a Palestinian people"; and how Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives, had called Palestinians an "invented people". The op-ed concluded that the event was a "powerful break from a tired and offensive narrative" as it was "simply recognising the existence of a Palestinian identity and community – as the government does for so many ethnic and immigrant communities each year".
It shouldn't be too much to ask that Arab Americans be recognised and included as full members of the body politic, or that Palestinians have their humanity, identity and contributions affirmed. But it's taken the community a long time and plenty of pain and work to get to this point. That's why Arab Americans celebrate November 29 and thank all those who have struggled to get them here.
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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.”
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Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
