To Discuss the Plight of Minorities in Iraq, ICAE Institute Host Roundtable Meeting for Washington IDC Representatives and Community Leaders

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1Tuesday, December 16, 2014
W. Bloomfield, Michigan
At the request of the Washington based In Defense of Christians (IDC) representatives Joe Cella, IDC Senior Advisor and Kristina Olney, IDC Director of Government Relations and Outreach, the Iraqi Christians Advocacy and Empowerment Institute (ICAE) hosted important roundtable meeting with more than 40 Iraqi American Christian and other Iraqi minorities leaders from Michigan . ICAE Institute is also homered and grateful for the participation of the New Elect US Congressman Dave Trott (R-MI- selected to sit on the US Congress Foreign Affairs Committee) and representatives from Michigan offices of US Senator Debbi Stabenow, New Elect US Senator Gary Peters, and US Congressman Sander Levin.
The purpose of the meeting was for IDC to better cultivate and to highlight the concerns of Diaspora Iraqi Minority Groups and to understand the plight of their people in vulnerable Iraq in order to increase awareness , advance for their cause on the Capitol Hill and the White House to provide appropriate protection for the persecuted ethno-religious Iraqis and to ensure their survival predominantly after the brutal invasion of Radical Islamists ISIS to their ancestral towns and villages in Nineveh Plain-Iraq.
Among the many suggestions made by the participants to IDC was their eagerness to see IDC advocates for a swift intervention by the US Administration and US military troops to liberate the minorities’ towns from ISIS. In the meantime, Mr. Joseph T. Kassab, President and Founder of ICAE Institute and IDC Advisory Board Member recommended several short and long term measures for IDC and the International Community to help alleviate the suffering of the persecuted and the displaced including: provide rapid and efficient humanitarian relief, immediate international protection, quick resettlement for those who decided on not to return to their homes, properties lose reparation, vigorous education of the policy makers on this catastrophic crisis, and the need for another IDC Summit to intensely discuss and highlight these much needed measures.
In Defense of Christians (IDC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to heighten awareness among policymakers and the general public of the existence of ancient and often persecuted minority communities in the Middle East, particularly Christians. IDC will also conduct policy advocacy for vulnerable Christians and other religious minorities. Through greater awareness and advocacy, IDC hopes to influence the U.S. and foreign governments to adopt policies that will safeguard and empower minority religious communities in the Middle East, especially those vulnerable to violence, marginalization, and persecution: www.indefenceofchristians.org
The ICAE Institute is a non-profit dynamic, innovative and ever-evolving institution, one that sees a future time in which our people’s rights are restored; our humanity universally respected; our capabilities re-empowered; our lives re-energized; and re-purposed with renewal of hope. ICAE Institute is established to be the world’s most engaged, effective and visible advocate defending, protecting, empowering, and ensuring the human worth and capabilities of Iraqi Christians and other minority groups in the homeland and the Diaspora. ICAE Institute founder Mr. Joseph T. Kassab utilizes his 35 years of expertise to enhance the capacity of political, social, and economic justice advocates influencing and changing public policies towards the forgotten Iraqi Christians and minorities in hope that these initiatives will lead to build a sustainable community that carries forward over two thousand year-legacy of precious cultural and religious heritage we are compel to preserve. www.advocatestoempower.org
Respectfully submitted by:
IRAQI CHRISTIANS ADVOCACY AND EMPOWERMENT INSTITUTE (ICAE)
WWW.ADVOCATESTOEMPOWER.ORG
office: (800) 666-6233 direct: (248) 882-1912 fax: (248) 671-9610
jkassab@advocatestoempower.org or jkassabict@aol.com
5779 W MAPLE ROAD, SUITE 106, WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI 48322
“Together we build sustainable communities with innovative initiatives”

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