(RNS) — Bob Silverman, a Jew who spent most of his diplomatic career in Muslim-majority nations, will now reach out to Muslims in his own country. The American Jewish Committee recently hired him as its first U.S. director of Muslim-Jewish relations.
As a U.S. Foreign Service officer for 27 years, the Des Moines, Iowa, native served in Israel, Azerbaijan, Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Sweden, and retired from the government last year. Now 58, he works at the New York headquarters of the 110-year-old AJC, which was founded to combat discrimination against Jews but has historically defended other minority groups as well.
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday lifted a half-century-old ban on selling arms to Vietnam, looking to bolster a government seen as a crucial, though flawed partner in a region that he has tried to place at the center of his foreign policy legacy.
Obama announced the full removal of the embargo at a news conference where he vowed to leave behind the troubled history between the former war enemies and embrace a new era with a young, increasingly prosperous nation. Obama steered clear of harsh condemnation of what critics see as Vietnam's abysmal treatment of dissidents, describing instead modest progress on rights in the one-party state. Activists said his decision to lift the embargo destroyed the best U.S. leverage for pushing Vietnam on abuse.
