The Arab American News
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Attacks on Iran are attacks on Obama
In the last few weeks, there has been a flurry of unsubstantiated accusations against Iran. These accusations may seem to be aimed at Iran but, in fact, a pattern is emerging, which suggests that the attacks are really directed at destroying the Obama administration by discrediting its goodwill gesture toward Iran, which is a sharp...School budget cuts must be addressed
This is the time of year, when we typically talk about the academic achievement and success taking place in our school district, the time of year when we emphasize that every day, every school is deeply engaged in the mission of this district, the education of students. However, over the last several weeks one topic has been consuming...U.S. urged to increase aid and involvement in Yemen
WASHINGTON (IPS) — As President Barack Obama ponders escalating Washington's military and political investment in Afghanistan, a think tank close to his administration is urging Washington to ramp up U.S. aid and involvement in strife-torn Yemen, as well. Children sit outside a tent in al-Mazraq camp in the western Yemeni...Threat rises from within Israel
JERUSALEM (IPS) — Israelis were perturbed when new recruits at a recent passing-out parade at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the remains of Judaism's holiest site, suddenly unfurled banners reading, 'Our Sons Do Not Evacuate Jews'. Israel's President Shimon Peres (R) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend the annual...Palestinian children face daily settler attacks getting to school
AT TUWANI, West Bank (IPS) — Being able to travel to school in relative safety is something children all over the world take for granted. But, for Palestinian children living in the shadow of the ubiquitous and illegal Israeli settlements dotting the West Bank, simply walking to school can be a terrifying...Iraqi refugees move to Michigan despite poor economy
The U.S. government resettled Mazen Alsaqa in Massachusetts in February. Within a month, the Iraqi refugee moved to Michigan. Iraqi refugee Rawaa Bahoo helps her daughter Maryam, 5, with her hair as Marvin, 8, left, and Maryana, 4, watch TV in Farmington Hills, Mich. Bahoo, 29, came to Michigan in July 2008 just a few days after...Budget cuts hit education hard
Dearborn Public Schools students and parents demonstrated against expected teacher layoffs outside the district’s administrative center on Nov. 23. PHOTO: Khalil AlHajal/TAAN DEARBORN — In the district hit hardest by severe state cuts in education funding, school board members bore the brunt of students' parents' and...Arab American veterans reflect on Fort Hood attack
Maj. Nidal Hasan's face continues to haunt Muslim and Arab Americans, his image floating around news media endlessly as investigations go on, details emerge and commentators associate his alleged crimes with his religion and ethnicity. For many Arab and Muslim veterans of the U.S. military, hearing about the victims of the Fort Hood...Retailer stands by diversity message
One of the world's biggest electronics retailers this week stood by a decision to include a small "Happy Eid al-Adha" greeting in its circular advertising Thanksgiving Day sales. Right-wing internet bloggers and forum users attacked Best Buy for printing the greeting after coming under fire in past years from groups like the American...A struggle for the soul of Saudi Arabia
"Robert Lacey, Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for the Soul of Saudi Arabia" (Viking, 2009) Robert Lacey is one of the most distinguished writers of our time. The author of twenty books, Lacey is noted for his astute biographies of Queen Elizabeth II, Henry Ford and Princess Grace of...Obama returns to greater Middle East mess
WASHINGTON (IPS) — As Barack Obama arrives home from his weeklong tour of East Asia, he confronts a growing list of ever more urgent problems in the Greater Middle East that he inherited from George W. Bush's "global war on terror." President Obama in the Middle East in 2008. From Palestine to Pakistan, Obama, who also faces a...VIDEO: Comedy Central spotlights Palestinian rights activism
Rights activists Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian leader, and Anna Baltzer, an American Jew, appeared on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" last month, where host Jon Stewart immediately asked them to fight. "We're part of a pretty large group, actually, of Palestinians and Jews working together," Baltzer said about the nonviolent...IN BRIEF: Online group creates ‘Hug an Arab Day’
As world events and ultra-conservative commentators continue to wear down on the public image of Arab identity, some Facebook users hope to give Arabs a boost, one hug at a time. Hug an Arab Day, listed as an event on the popular social networking website, as of Thursday evening had 20,299 confirmed "guests." The day was to be...U.S. takes aim over Jordan’s shoulder
MUWAQQAR, Jordan (IPS) — In the bleak and seemingly endless desert expanse that unfolds east of Jordan's capital city, Amman, lies a crucial cog in the ambitious regional designs of the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East. The controversial police training center in Jordan.Commonly known by its acronym JIPTC, the Jordan...CIA premieres ads directed toward ethnic groups
CIA officials premiered new television recruitment ads aimed at Middle Easterners on Wednesday in Dearborn at the Lebanese American Heritage Club. Arab Americans watch one of two CIA ads geared toward recruiting Americans of Middle Eastern descent at a special screening in Dearborn on Wednesday. One ad is to premier in the......
Groups call for DOJ investigation of FBI raid
Several major rights advocacy organizations sent a letter to the U.S. Justice Department on Monday calling for an investigation into potential civil rights violations commiteed during the Oct. 28 FBI raid conducted in Dearborn in which a religious leader was killed. Demonstrators protest the Oct. 28 FBI killing of Imam Luqman...Wahabism is the greatest challenge of the 21st century
September 11, 2001, forced us to look into the dark and mysterious world of Islamic militants. It seems that they emerged from the deserts of Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, fully grown, already angry, and holding a Kalashnikov. Recently, Major Nidal Malik Hasan went on a shooting spree, which left 12 soldiers and one civilian dead and......
Arab film on Oscar short list
BEVERLY HILLS — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 82nd Academy Awards. Eighty-nine pictures had originally qualified in the category. The short list includes "Garbage Dreams," by director Mai Iskander. "Garbage...Israeli Jews and the one-state solution
"Anyone who rejects the two-state solution, won't bring a one-state solution. They will instead bring one war, not one state. A bloody war with no end." — Israeli President Shimon Peres, 7 November 2009. A Palestinian child looks out of a window during the demolition of a house in the Arab neighborhood of Isawiyeh in east...Iraqi MPs to reconsider vote law
Iraq's parliament is to meet at the weekend to decide whether to amend a crucial election law vetoed by the vice-president. Ayad al-Samarie, the parliamentary speaker, said MPs would meet on Saturday to discuss Tariq al-Hashemi's veto and could send it back to the three-member presidency council for approval without changes. "We have...Dinner supports upcoming Gaza Freedom March
Despite the outpouring of support for Gaza from the international community after the Israeli attacks in January, there is still an overwhelming amount of work to be done as winter approaches and conditions remain in a desperate state, activists say. But hope is finally on the horizon as the Gaza Freedom March is expected to take......
Affirmative action having its day in court
DETROIT – A group of civil rights organizations asked a panel of appeals court judges this week to reverse a lower court's decision and strike down Proposal 2, the 2006 ballot initiative banning affirmative action in Michigan. The groups argued that the ban unconstitutionally discriminates against students of color by removing race...Locals celebrate Lebanon’s independence
As Lebanon forged ahead with its new unity government, celebrations of the nation's 66th Independence Day took place across metro Detroit and beyond, including on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at the Westin Hotel in Southfield. A traditional dance troupe performs during a Lebanese Independence Day celebration in Southfield on Tuesday.......
U.S. AG keynotes Detroit community-law enforcement banquet
November 21st, 20090 From right: Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, NAACP Detroit Executive Director Heaster Wheeler, ALPACT co-chair Nabih Ayad, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Detroit FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew Arena, Fox 2 News Anchor Huel Perkins, ACLU Michigan Executive Director Kary Moss, and Detroit Deputy Mayor Saul Green stand for a flag...
Arab American seeks Miss USA crown after capturing Miss Michigan title
November 21st, 20090 As a relative newcomer in a field of contestants who had been intensely schooled on the intricacies of the pageant circuit from youth, it was only natural for Rima Fakih to feel a bit nervous at the Miss Michigan USA pageant in Port Huron. Fakih was crowned Miss Michigan in September and will be part of the Miss USA pagent in......
