CAIRO: The American University in Cairo (AUC) appointed former US diplomat Daniel C. Kurtzer as a member of its Board of Trustees.
Kurtzer was previously the US ambassador to Egypt and to Israel, he is also the S. Daniel Abraham Professor of Middle East Policy Studies at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
He served as US ambassador to Egypt from 1997 to 2001, followed by a stint in Israel from 2001 to 2005. Kurtzer previously worked as an officer in the US embassy in Egypt in 1981, afterwards he served at the US embassy in Israel from 1982 to 1986.
Controversy looms over Kurtzer’s appointment mainly because he coauthored US President Barack Obama’s speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee during his presidential campaign last June.
The speech included statements that did not sit well with the Middle Eastern audience, namely “Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.
In addition, he rationalized Israel’s use of violence in the region in the same speech. “The threats to Israel start close to home, but they don’t end there.
Syria continues its support for terror and meddling in Lebanon. And Syria has taken dangerous steps in pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, which is why Israeli action was justified to end that threat, Obama said.
However, Kurtzer is a strong advocate for a two-state solution. In an interview with the New York Times last February he said, “The United States should work hard and not to give up on the longer-term goal of a two-state solution.
Former Al-Ahram Washington bureau chief Atef El-Ghamry wasn’t a big fan of Kurtzer up until he published his book “Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace: American Leadership in the Middle East with Scott B. Lasensky in April 2008.
“He gave an objective vision regarding the region and the peace process, giving the reasons previous US administrations have failed in the Middle East and he presented the solution to having an Israeli state and a Palestinian state, so we strongly welcome Kurtzer on the board of trustees of a university in Egypt, he said.
Emad Gad, political expert at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies said there should be no objection to Kurtzer’s appointment. “Kurtzer was both the US ambassador to Israel and to Egypt, being Jewish is no reason why AUC shouldn’t appoint him, he said.
B. Boyd Hight, chair of AUC’s Board of Trustees, noted that the board continues to strengthen its ranks with “distinguished members drawn from public service and business professions in Egypt, the region and the world, according to a statement by AUC.
“The appointment of someone of Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer’s caliber represents a valuable addition to our board and will play a vital role in advancing AUC’s goal to become a leading global university, Hight said in the statement.
“All of us on the board are extremely pleased to welcome him as a trustee as he joins the AUC community at this time of extraordinary transition in the life of the university, he added.
AUC’s board of trustees includes members recognized for their accomplishments in the areas of business, law, education, philanthropy and scholarship. Members nominate several candidates to join the board and elect one person.
According to Rehab Saad El-Domiati, associate director for media relations at the office of communications and marketing at AUC, it is all operated internally and no outside party is involved in the process.
