Paul Jabber has contacts on his phone that most people don’t have. As the director for the Middle East at New York City’s Council on Foreign Relations and a retired scholar in residence on counterterrorism for the CIA, he can call a number of prestigious people, such as former prime ministers.
Today, Jabber is using his connections for a new purpose. He is a member of the Las Vegas chapter of the World Affairs Council, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to educating Americans on global issues.
With his connections, Jabber is able to bring speakers to the Las Vegas chapter to enlighten locals and tourists on issues that affect them every day — which can be a challenge because many Americans are apathetic about global topics.
Jabber and his co-board members, including Lena Walther and Jerome Snyder, hope to change that. The Sun spoke with the three members to find out more about the World Affairs Council and its goal.
To learn more
If you are interested in joining the World Affairs Council or attending its events, go to www.waclv.org. The annual membership fee is $40. Members and nonmembers must pay a separate fee to attend the lunches and dinners.
Why is an organization like yours important for Las Vegas and important for Las Vegans to know?
Walther: It’s one of the few organizations in Las Vegas that brings speakers who have knowledge in international issues. I really don’t know who else is doing it on a regular basis.
Snyder: And the thrust of the tourism industry, which we are dependent upon in this city, is governed now on increasing the amount of foreign tourists. We need greater exposure to show that we are an international community.
Jabber: We’re helping the business community in this city get connected. There’s networking that goes on. In a sense, it is making the local business community more aware of conditions in different parts of the world and of the politics and environments in those countries where they might pursue some business. Sometimes that can help promote the business of companies here in Southern Nevada.
Why did you join the council?
Walther: I came here 20 years ago from Washington, D.C. I lived in 10 different countries. I spent 20 years in the diplomatic service of Swedish and American consulates. I came to Las Vegas and there were no international organizations. I was very upset. It took years before the World Affairs Council was formed. I was constantly looking for something international. When the World Affairs Council finally started, I was very delighted. I finally got to hear about international issues.
Jabber: I’ve been here for six years. Two years after I moved here, I was introduced to the council by a former president because she knew me and my interests. For me it was a discovery. I’m very interested in what’s going on in the world. This was like a no-brainer. I was very happy to find a group that shares my interest.
Snyder: I came here professionally as a lawyer in 1964. I had businesses domestically and internationally forever and wasn’t aware of the World Affairs Council in Las Vegas. I was familiar with the events in Los Angeles for their World Affairs Council. I am the most recent member of the board. There was an immediate attraction for me to it because I’m interested in international relations.
What is it about Las Vegas do you think that makes people seem ignorant of global issues sometimes?
Snyder: It’s the lack of exposure from the media.
Jabber: It’s isolation to some extent.
Walther: If you look at New York, you have all the embassies and all the international organizations. That makes for a population that only cares about international issues. Here, you don’t have that. You still have a large portion of the population that’s interested, but they don’t know where to go.
Do you think getting people to care about global issues is difficult because a lot of Americans feel insulated from the rest of the world?
Jabber: That is a problem. People are generally not interested.
Walther: The U.S. is a big country. People don’t have to worry about it, they think. When we bring our speakers, we show how things affect the U.S.
How do you grab the interests of younger audiences?
Walther: We’re trying to form a relationship with UNLV because we think students would really benefit from listening to our speakers. Of course, students cannot pay the fee. We’re trying to form a relationship with UNLV where they would sponsor the students.
Jabber: We do reach out to communities on an individual basis that we think are relevant to the subject that’s being discussed.
Snyder: We try to have speakers that are going to speak on topics of timely interests, to appeal to the younger generation or to retired people.
If you were speaking to an average American, what would you tell them to get them to care about global issues?
Jabber: I would first ask them, “You’re a taxpayer, aren’t you?” Do you know that our military budget is not only the largest in the world, it is larger than the next 20 countries? We have gotten involved all over the world. What’s happening there impacts you: how much you pay in taxes and what happens to your children. There are so many ways in which what’s happening out there affects you directly, but you don’t think about it and you don’t know about it. You’re going to elect the next president of the United States in the next 13 months. On what basis? Whatever it is, do you know what issues are involved? We’re so large as a country and we’re surrounded by water, so we don’t feel vulnerable. Every country in the world feels very vulnerable by what’s going on in the world. We don’t. That’s what leads to this complacency. You need to know because the essence of democracy is an informed electorate.
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