The Arab American News
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New report card for Dearborn elementary students
DEARBORN — After four months of meetings, reviewing report cards from nine other districts, and considerable discussion the elementary report card committee, comprised of more than 40 teachers and administrators, has developed a new elementary report card for grades kindergarten through five. The goals of the committee were to...Our endorsements: Fate of five Wayne County proposals to be decided
The Arab American News has taken a position on five Wayne County ballot proposals only residents of the county will have the opportunity to vote on in the Nov. 6 general election. The proposals could amend sections of the Wayne County Home Rule Charter. One of the proposals is an attempt to get Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano...Ballot proposals crucial, could amend state constitution and change laws
There are six major statewide ballot proposals you will have the opportunity to vote on during the Nov. 6 general election that will impact everything from determining the legitimacy of Michigan’s controversial emergency financial law and the future of collective bargaining in Michigan to whether an additional bridge connecting the...
The Arab American Vote: What’s at stake on election day
November 5th, 20120 DEARBORN — With the general elections approaching this week, many Arab Americans still remain uncertain over which presidential candidate to support on Tuesday as both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have made minimal efforts to reach out to the community, leading many residents to question whether they should cast a vote for a president...Obama ends term on disappointing note over Mideast
CAIRO — Three years after he promised a rapt Cairo audience a shift in his country's unpopular Middle East policy, U.S. President Barack Obama goes to the polls leaving disappointment in a region swept by the Arab Spring.Obama's critics say he has not honored his pledges, such as settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, or improving...Iran war on the ballot
A deal to resolve the Iranian nuclear dispute, based on face-to-face negotiations between Iranian and U.S. officials, could follow quickly upon President Barack Obama’s reelection on Nov. 6, but those bilateral relations would likely veer toward confrontation if Mitt Romney wins and his neocon advisers retake control of U.S. foreign...
Is the detritus of the Iraq war harming the babies of Fallujah?
November 5th, 20120 Anecdotal tales of inexplicable sickness and deformities have abounded in Iraq for years. In their broad brushstrokes, they seem plausible. The first Gulf War had littered much of Iraq with depleted uranium from the armor-piercing bullets the U.S. used to destroy Saddam Hussein's retreating columns in1991. (The Monitor's Scott Peterson...Blame game sets off amid obvious divorce between Washington, Syrian SNC
The head of the main opposition Syrian National Council on Thursday blamed the international community's failure to react to the country's conflict for fueling Islamic extremist sentiment.The comments came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the opposition should "strongly resist the efforts by the extremists to...
AAPAC gears up for historic election, encourages Arab voter turnout at grand annual banquet
November 3rd, 20120 DEARBORN-On Friday, Nov. 2, the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) hosted its 15th annual banquet at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center here. Over 600 attendees turned out for the sold-out event, including local officials, activists, leaders and candidates who showed their support towards an organization that continues to...
Consider what’s at stake: Re-elect Barack Obama
November 3rd, 20120 Like most other Americans, the top five issues of importance to Arab American voters are jobs and the economy, education, health care policy, Medicare and Social Security, and civil rights. In almost every area, Arab Americans agree more with President Barack Obama's ideas and policies than with those of Governor Mitt...
Eye on elections: Muslim voters disappointed with Obama, wary of GOP
November 3rd, 20120 SAN FRANCISCO — There are an estimated 8 million Muslim Americans living in the United States, with close to 100,000 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Four years ago, an overwhelming majority of them — close to 90 percent — voted for President Obama.But Javed Ali, founder and publisher of Illume Media based the East Bay city of...U.S. housing market threatened by changes to short sales
DETROIT — As lenders continue to see rising default rates and a backlog of foreclosures and bad debt piling up, short sales have been extremely attractive to sellers, banks, buyers and realtors. Instead of having a house sit vacant for months at a time, mortgage servicers have successfully used the short sale process to determine which...Local charity group helps increase breast cancer awareness with female football tournament
DEARBORN — Play for the Cure, a charity group that was started by Dearborn resident Shireen Hachem and her husband Bassel Hachem, helps spread awareness on the serious conditions of breast cancer by bringing together young women in the community in a unique way. The women compete in a yearly football tournament hoping to raise proceeds...Arab man brutally beaten after car accident
DEARBORN — An Arab American man was brutally beaten around noon Thursday after getting involved in a car accident and checking to see whether others involved were fine.Three vehicles are known to have been involved. One was among several other vehicles driving West on Ford Road in a funeral procession. Initially the victim was...ACCESS health conference reveals obesity, smoking among major global problems
DEARBORN — The sixth international Conference on Health Issues in Arab countries was held at the Dearborn Inn by Access last week, where over 300 people and representatives from 17 countries were in attendance. The event not only focused on the health issues of Arabs in the Middle East, but also on health issues with Americans in......
Jessica Mokdad’s stepfather convicted in her slaying
MT. CLEMENS — Rahim Alfetlawi, the stepfather of 20-year-old Jessica Mokdad was convicted in her slaying death that occurred April 2011 in Warren. A Macomb County Circuit Court jury in Mount Clemens deliberated for a short period of time before reaching its decision recently. Mokdad was shot to death at her grandmother’s...Education, elections discussed at Islamic Institute of Knowledge fundraiser
DEARBORN — On Sunday October 21 the Islamic Institute of Knowledge (IIOK) located on Schaefer Road held their semi-annual fundraising dinner, where hundreds of guests turned out to support the organization and get the latest updates on a center that has established itself in the Dearborn community since 1983.The event, emceed by Bilal......
Crestwood School Board holds special meeting, attacks candidate Soueidan over campaign article comments
October 29th, 20120 DEARBORN HEIGHTS - On Monday members of the Crestwood Board of Education, and the district’s superintendent met at Crestwood High School to discuss information published in an article by The Arab American News (TAAN) this month on Hamid Soueidan, who was appointed to the board in August. Soueidan is currently a candidate for...
Dearborn School Board candidates discuss state school rankings, promise improvements
October 29th, 20120 DEARBORN - As Dearborn Board of Education members Aimee Blackburn and Mary Lane run for re-election they’re being struck with questions about the state of Michigan ranking some schools in the district as Focus Schools.Both Fordson and Edsel Ford High School among other schools received the title after some students performed below...
Connie Kelley hopes to implement stronger family laws in Supreme Court
October 29th, 20120 LANSING — Michigan Supreme Court candidate Connie Kelley hopes that she can represent hard working middle class families if elected to serve in the highest level of court in the state of Michigan. After serving 27 years as a lawyer, Kelley followed that by holding a position in the Wayne County Circuit Court, where she currently serves...Local businesswomen raise the bar on child care service
DEARBORN — Two local women are raising the bar on child care with the launch of their new business that’s centered around serving children in a healthy, clean and educational environment. Samera Ajami and Faten Fawzi, the managers and founders of Oakman Child Care and Development, LLC have received an overwhelming demand for......
Romney anything but a moderate on foreign policy issues
I have been reading Mitt Romney's memoir, ‘No Apology.’ It is as if Romney is two people, one a wise, thoughtful person who could work with Democrats and lead the country, the other an unreflective, unsophisticated ideologue who is dangerous. The chapter on health care shows a man who has done his homework. I know this field...Obama lead shrinking in Michigan despite improved debate performances
The tightening of the Presidential race nationally has once again seeped into Michigan, and polling statistics show a huge opportunity for the Mitt Romney campaign in the latest Foster McCollum White Baydoun (FMW)B poll for Fox 2 News Detroit of Michigan's most likely voters. President Barack Obama and Romney, the Republican......
Damascus agrees to four-day Eid ceasefire
Damascus announced it has agreed to a four-day ceasefire across Syria for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, the ‘Feast of Sacrifice.’ The truce will begin on Friday. A member of the Free Syrian Army fires at a sniper as he runs for cover during clashes with pro-government forces in Harem town, Idlib Governorate, October, 25, 2012. ...Israel an apartheid state? A majority of Jews say yes
A majority of Israeli Jews admit they are living in an apartheid state, a recent survey claimed. Many also believed that Palestinians should be denied the right to vote, and suggested that Jewish citizens should be given preferential treatment.Some 500 Jewish adults took part in the survey, answering questions put together by a group of......