Narrative

Note: This narrative highlights the history of Arab American support for Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign, with a focus on Ruth Ann Skaff of Texas—one of the Arab American delegates at the Democratic National Convention.

At the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, Palestine and the fight for Palestinian self-determination was forefront on the minds of the Arab American delegates.

As a national community, Arab Americans threw support behind Civil Rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential primary bid, as leaders in the community also did in 1984. As a part of Rev. Jackson’s “Rainbow Coalition,” Arab Americans felt seen. In Jackson’s campaign, Arab Americans found an alignment with many causes they had come to support: immigration, civil rights, economic justice and anti-militarism. Further, Jackson and his campaign offered the most realistic path for Palestinian human rights to be heard at the national level. As long-time community leader Jim Zogby writes about the movement: "By 1988, when Jackson ran a second time, the fruits of our labor were already in evidence. We elected 55 delegates to that year’s convention, passed resolutions supporting a balanced US policy recognizing Palestinian rights in 10 states, succeeded in including planks on Lebanon and condemning negative bias against Arabs and Arab Americans in the Democratic Party platform, and held the first-ever national debate on Palestinian rights from the podium of the convention."

One of the Arab American delegates at the 1988 convention was Ruth Ann Skaff. By 1988, Ruth Ann had already made a name for herself as a community leader and activist. Born into a Lebanese American Christian family, with her father serving as a well-respected Orthodox priest, she joined the Peace Corps with a desire to further engage her Arab heritage by serving in Morocco. Following 10 years in Morocco, Ruth Ann had held various positions in most of the national Arab American organizations, including the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), Arab American Institute (AAI), the Association of Arab University Graduates (AAUG), and the National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA). She was staunchly committed to justice and self-determination for the Palestinian people and eliminating bigotry against Arab Americans.

After representing Arab American community interests as a delegate for Jesse Jackson at the 1988 convention, Ruth Ann was appointed as an at-large member to the Democratic National Committee in July 1988—one of the first known Arab Americans to hold such a position. Michael Dukakis, the Democratic presidential nominee, wanted to mend fences with Jesse Jackson by including some of Jackson’s delegates on the DNC.¹

Ruth Ann had been working diligently for the Jackson campaign in the Houston region, registering Arab Americans and others to vote, and defending her position at primary caucuses. “I have always been a loyal lieutenant,” Ruth Ann says during a phone interview. “I am good on the ground, I’m good with my small cadre of troops, and good at organizing that way.”

Within a few weeks though, in September 1988, there were national calls by Republican Congress members for Ruth Ann and two other new members to be removed from the DNC. She was targeted because of her “anti-Israeli, pro-Palestinian" views, as was quoted in a New York Times piece.² In fact, in the announcement of her appointment to the Democratic National Committee, a lead story in the New York Times on July 23, 1988, listed her simply as “Ruth Ann Skaff of Texas, a vocal supporter of the Palestine Liberation Organization.”³

Being labeled as a PLO supporter in 1988 is the equivalent of being called “pro Hamas” following October 7, 2023. For the anti-Palestinian crowd, pro-PLO or pro-Hamas is shorthand for anti-Israel, anti-American and, by extension, anti-Semitic. For the Times to list her simply as a vocal PLO supporter was meant to shut down her perspective and, by extension, the fight for Palestinian rights.⁴

Because of the Times’ coverage, Ruth Ann was fearful of possible physical retribution against her, her parents and family. Afterall, this was only 3 years after the horrific bombing murder of her colleague Alex Odeh, regional director of the ADC in Southern California. Ruth Ann had worked with ADC and was a visible and vocal advocate for Palestine and Arab Americans. She spent days calling New York Times editors and staff asking for a print clarification about her support for Palestinian self-determination. As a non-Palestinian Arab American, she supported the PLO insofar as the Palestinian people selected them for their leadership. After she tracked someone down in the Houston bureau, she convinced the Times to print the following correction on August 2:

“Ruth Ann Skaff is a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause but not explicitly of the Palestine Liberation Organization; she is also the Texas coordinator for the Arab American Institute. She says that while she favors Palestinian statehood, along with security for Israel, she believes that the Palestinians have the right to choose their own representatives, whether the P.L.O. or some other body.”⁵

This two-state solution position was fairly common in Arab American circles at the time, and can be seen by present standards as a more moderate position on the Palestinian cause. But in the 1980s, as is the case in 2024, vocal support for Palestine can lead to branding as a radical, even within the Democratic party.

This is one of the main reasons why Arab American leadership put their full support behind the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s campaign. He was willing to support calls for Palestinian statehood against the backdrop of a political climate where even recognizing Palestinians could be considered radical. In fact, as Ruth Ann recalls, 1984 Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale returned $5,000 in checks that were donated to the campaign by Chicago-based Arab Americans; one of whom was the late Al Joseph, a World War II veteran and a founding board member of ALSAC/ St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.⁶ According to the Mondale campaign, they returned the checks because of the “anti-Semitic” views of these Arab Americans—a truly disgusting portrayal of the fight for Arab American inclusion in the domestic political process and Palestinian rights.

Ruth Ann said that the Arab American delegates for Jesse Jackson carried signs and wore stickers with Palestine on them during the 1988 convention, and they staged a large, effective floor demonstration in coalition with African American, peace, and Latina/o organizations. Arab Americans felt seen by the Jackson campaign, and were thrilled that Palestine was given due attention at the convention.

While the furor around her support for Palestine died down, she went on to serve out her term on the DNC through the 1992 national convention.

Ruth Ann says of the parallels between the 1988 national convention and presidential race and the importance of Palestine to the 2024 presidential election:

“It’s the same battle. Same resistance. Same equating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. We have to be constant. We cannot forfeit our seat at the table—ever.”

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References

1. Michael Oreskes, "Dukakis Sets Out to Parlay Unity into Fall Victory." New York Times, Late Edition, 23 July 1988: 1.

2. "Dukakis Is Accused of Naming Anti-Israel Members to Party Posts." New York Times, Sep 17, 1988.

3. Michael Oreskes, "Dukakis Sets Out to Parlay Unity into Fall Victory." New York Times, Late Edition, 23 July 1988: 1.

4. For more background on this conflation, see for example this piece from Al Jazeera.

5. The correction was printed in the Late City Final Edition of the New York Times on August 2, 1988.

6. "Mondale Camp Returns Funds to U.S. Arabs." New York Times, August 25, 1984: 28.