Washington, Asharq Al-Awsat—President Obama met with the leaders of several Arab-American organizations at the White House yesterday, in preparation for his first trip to the Middle East since his re-election.

The leaders of the organizations represented reportedly told the president that he should offer a positive message to Palestinians in the absence of any major new effort to advance the Arab-Israeli peace process.

According to a statement issued by the participants, they offered Obama “recommendations for the vital message that he should convey to the Palestinian people.”

The president met with Jewish-American community leaders last week, and said that he was making the trip without a “grand peace plan”, but did not rule out efforts in the future.

James Zogby, who attended the meeting as the head of the Arab-American Institute, said that even if Obama did not make a speech to a Palestinian audience he directly, he should use “opportunities for him to say things that get into the public discourse about America’s commitment to them, about America’s understanding of their situation.”

He continued: “Meeting with the leadership is great. You have to do it, but that by itself will not give Palestinians a sense of hope or optimism . . . That’s what we’re hoping they’ll do, talk to people in general, to the constituency that’s given up hope.”

The White House has not yet released the schedule for the trip, though it is expected to take place next week, and Obama will visit Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan, for talks Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian leaders.

In a statement issued following the meeting, the Arab-American leaders welcomed the White House’s invitation to talks as a positive step, and expressed hope that it would continue in the future, saying: “We thank President Obama for engaging Arab American leaders in this critical dialogue, and we look forward to using this meeting as a springboard for robust ongoing conversations on US policy in the Middle East.”