The Arab American News
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Former principal of Arabic language school loses case against NYC
WASHINGTON — An Arab American slated to serve as the principal of the first Arabic-language public school in New York was pressured to resign in 2007 over comments she made to the media. This month, a judge dismissed Deborah Almontaser's case against the city, saying her free speech and due process rights were not...WITH VIDEO: First recall efforts against state Rep. Rashida Tlaib dismissed by commission
DETROIT — The Wayne County Election Commission voted unanimously Thursday to reject the language of three recall petitions filed against state Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who represents southwest Detroit. A crowd of supporters of state Rep. Rashida Tlaib cram into a small hearing room Thursday at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center...
CIA director, community leaders to meet
September 11th, 20090 DEARBORN — Leon Panetta, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, is scheduled to meet with local Arab and Muslim community leaders during a Sept. 16 visit to Dearborn. Leon Panetta, director of the CIA The CIA has implemented a sweeping outreach and recruitment campaign in Arab American communities over the last...Prevention best deterrant to property crime wave
DEARBORN —Thieves are known for their unpredictable behavior, but what happened roughly three weeks ago on a beautiful Dearborn afternoon in mid-August was about as surprising as it gets. A woman in her mid-50s had begun walking home from a produce market with two bags of groceries near Wyoming and Warren in Dearborn when a van...Feeding the hungry during Ramadan
DETROIT — Several area mosques, with the help of the Muslim Center in Detroit and charitable group Islamic Relief, will serve and distribute hot meals, food boxes and clothing on Sept. 12 in observance of Ramadan. Free health screenings will also be provided, according to a release from the Council on American-Islamic Relations —...Judge rules in favor of airline
DETROIT — A U.S. District Judge on Sept. 3 ruled in favor of American Airlines in a lawsuit filed by five local Arab American men who claimed their ethnicity caused a flight from San Diego to Chicago to be canceled in 2007. Taher Alwatan, one of five local Arab Americans whose presence on an airplane caused a flight to be...Dearborn-based charity to host annual iftar fundraiser
DEARBORN — Thanks to the generosity of many humble, benevolent community members, thousands of orphans of war-torn Lebanon have been assured adequate housing and educational services, facilitating an opportunity to reach their full human potential. The cause is one many in the Dearborn area are intensely passionate about. Al Mabarrat...
Filmmakers, activists protest Toronto film fest over Tel Aviv spotlight
September 11th, 20090 The 2009 Toronto International Film Festival is facing a barrage of protests over a series of movies scheduled to be screened to spotlight the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, in the festival's inaugural City to City program. Canadian filmmaker John Greyson Canadian filmmaker John Greyson withdrew his documentary short film on the first...
Lebanon’s PM-designate Hariri quits
September 11th, 20090 BEIRUT — Saad Hariri, Lebanon's prime minister-designate, is stepping down just 10 weeks after being asked to form a unity government. Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman (L) meets with prime minister-designate Saad al-Hariri at Beiteddine palace in Beiteddine village, Mount Lebanon September 10, 2009. Hariri said on Thursday...Chiropractor urges holistic approach to health
DEARBORN — Adding to what is becoming an impressive medical district in Dearborn, the new Genex Physical Therapy office just north of Michigan Avenue on Schaefer Road will open on Monday, September 14. Doctors Kallil Kazan (left) and Naim Khanafer are both seasoned chiropractors who look forward to serving Dearborn residents...A distinctly Tunisian women’s day: New York celebration explores Arab World feminism
NEW YORK — Serving up a women's rights movement retrospective with a dollop of harissa, a New York celebration of feminism last month had a distinctly Tunisian kick. Director of the NYC Tunisian Cultural and Information Center Naima Remadi speaks during a celebration of Tunisian Women's Day in New York on Aug. 20. The NYC...
Thousands of worshippers shut out of East Jerusalem
September 5th, 20090 QALANDIA (IPS) — The future of East Jerusalem and of Palestinian access to it has again been brought under the spotlight. In this 2008 BBC photo, West Bank Palestinians wait to be granted access through the Israeli checkpoint at Kalandia so they can attend Friday prayers in the al-Aqsa mosque in Israeli-occupied East...
Audacity of hope falters: Settlement freeze no longer required?
September 5th, 20090 The U.S. has decided to be "flexible" regarding its once touted call for a total Israeli freeze on the expansion of its occupied territories' settlements, all illegal under international law. An Israeli soldier pushes away a foreign activist who arrived to protest the demolition of a man-made reservoir on a Palestinian farm near...In Syria, delicate preservation work is pushing against profit-driven speed
DAMASCUS — It claims to be the world's oldest capital city, outlived only by Aleppo, Syria; and Jericho, on the West Bank. The proof is there, in Mesopotamian texts that mention Damascus and in a deep urban foundation of streets, houses, and sewers from every civilization, piled on top of one another. An old Damascus...Israel threatens Lebanon and Obama
Suddenly they were all over the place, arriving not as singles but in battalions. Many, like Maryland's 5th District Rep Steny Hoyer, had been to Israel nearly a dozen times; career stalwarts once more showing fealty to Israel's brutal occupation of Palestine while lamely telling their constituents that they were on a legitimate "fact......
This Ramadan, give without fear
September 5th, 20090 American Muslims face unique and troubling challenges in trying to fulfill their religious obligations to give charity or zakat. The laws meant to serve the legitimate purpose of preventing the diversion of humanitarian aid to terrorist groups are, instead, overly broad, ambiguous and constitutionally suspect. Sweeping powers granted to...
Swine flu: 10 things you need to know
September 5th, 20090 ATLANTA — Since it first emerged in April, the global swine flu epidemic has sickened more than 1 million Americans and killed about 500. It's also spread around the world, infecting tens of thousands and killing nearly 2,000. This summer, the virus has been surprisingly tenacious in the U.S., refusing to fade away as flu viruses......
Rosen accuses AIPAC of espionage
Steven J. Rosen's defamation lawsuit against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is now entering a critical phase. A series of cross-filings stakes out the critical court terrain. Rosen intends to show that obtaining and leveraging classified U.S. government information in the service of Israel is common practice at...
Support needed for Iraqi child’s surgeries
September 5th, 20090 The old military phrase "going beyond the call of duty" means different things to different people, and oftentimes, it isn't rewarded with a medal or a ribbon. Twelve-year-old Mohammed was brought to Michigan from Iraq by a U.S. military officer for reconstructive surgery. He's undergone four procedures and is in need of three...DSO to give free concerts in Dearborn, Detroit, Oakland County
New Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Leonard Slatkin. DETROIT — The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has scheduled a series of free concerts in Dearborn, Detroit and Beverly Hills between Sept. 14 and 18. The "DSO in Your Community" performance in Dearborn is set for 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15 in the Michael A. Guido...Creative entrepreneurship keeps businesses going
Sam Bazzi, at 24, has been a business owner for over 10 years. Sam Bazzi, L, and Mike Chammout That's right. He was 14 years old when he started his own valet service. Before he was able to drive, he was booking gigs, hiring valets and catching rides to events from his employees. Bazzi said he saw others making money......
Protest against Starbucks draws bypasser support
Protestors demonstrated against apartheid outside Cobblestone Farm in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, Sept. 2 during a meeting between Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and employees. The group believes Schultz contributes large sums of money to support occupation in Israel. Photo courtesy of Blaine Coleman The city of Ann Arbor has long...Grocery store tax incentive has potential to create jobs, boost sales
LANSING – The Michigan Departments of Agriculture (MDA) and Treasury this week released information on Public Act 231, a new tool geared to support grocery store development and give citizens better access to fresh food through tax incentives. Under Public Act 231, certain retail food establishments that expand, improve or open in......
Lebanese give to needy communities
For the past four years, the Future Movement USA's Michigan group in Dearborn has held a traditional iftar during Ramadan, and it was always a hit. But this year, in light of current economic troubles, the group decided to spend their money differently. Future Movement Michigan volunteers pack boxes full of essential food items...There are more slaves today than at any time in human history
The world suffers global recession, enormous inequity, hunger, deforestation, pollution, climate change, nuclear weapons, terrorism, etc. To those who say we're not really making progress, many might point to the idea that at least we've eliminated slavery. But sadly that is not the truth. One hundred forty-three years after......