The Arab American News
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Hit Palestinian-Israeli TV comedy series now on DVD
NEW YORK— The first season of the hit television series and international sensation "Arab Labor" will be available on DVD nationwide July 14 through E1 Entertainment Distribution, it was announced by Alive Mind. The series premiered on U.S. television on Link TV this past fall to enormous success and media attention. The uniqueness...
The uprising in Iran will live
July 4th, 20090 The struggle will continue in Iran. This great country is on a political fault line, and its people know it. A woman supporter demonstrator shows stones used for throwing during clashes with police in Tehran June 13, 2009. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadalla The wise words of Khaled Mohammad Khaled, an Islamist scholar, are relevant to the...Subsidies for Israel, sanctions for Iran
President Barack Obama's fiscal year 2010 budget request for $2.775 billion in military aid to Israel is proceeding smoothly through the Congress. On June 17 the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs held a markup session on the budget. The subcommittee came under pressure from an antiwar...Dearborn Heights man accused of plotting to have county prosecutor killed
A Dearborn Heights man put a contract out on the life of Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor and Arab American Political Action Committee Endorsement Chair Abed Hammoud, who was investigating the man for mortgage fraud, according to federal court records unsealed this week. Sabastian Restum The Detroit News reported Thursday...California imam killed in fire, Muslim group suspicious of hate crime
The Council on American-Islamic Relations' Greater Los Angeles office (CAIR-LA) called for an FBI investigation into the death of a Yermo, Calif. imam as a potential hate crime after the Muslim religious leader's body was discovered inside a burned-down residence this past weekend. California imam Ali Mohammed Ali...
For black America, Jackson was an icon who transcended race
July 4th, 20090 LOS ANGELES — Sitting alone in a corner coffee shop in the heart of black L.A., Elisa Gomez Taylor explains why the black community is so endeared to Michael Jackson and why that endearment will probably never stop. A fan holds a tattered photo Michael Jackson outside a public memorial at the Apollo Theater in New York June...Future of Fatah in doubt
RAMALLAH — The future of Palestinian unity talks is far more complex than the bitter rivalry, bloodshed and division which represent the yawning chasm separating Palestine's two main political factions, Hamas and Fatah. There are serious issues within Fatah that need to be resolved. After two decades of power struggles and acrimony...
Arab American comedy night in Livonia
July 3rd, 20090 From top left: Comedians Amer Zahr, Joey "The Wacky Iraqi" Nibras and Mike Batayeh Seven Middle Eastern comics from the U.S. and Canada are scheduled to perform at Joey's Comedy Club, 36071 Plymouth Road in Livonia on July 9. Local comics Amer Zahr, Joey "The Wacky Iraqi" Nibras, Sarah Bazzi and Ali "Bulldog" Abdallah are set to...Metro Detroit Youth Day July 8
DETROIT — About 35,000 youths are expected to gather at Belle Isle on July 8 for a colorful celebration of athletics, academics and service. An Arab American volunteer is seen painting the arm of a youngster during the 2008 Metro Youth Day. Photos courtesy of Ed Deeb The fun at Metro Detroit Youth Day is scheduled to begin at...Yemen Nights Café serves unique flavors
Because Dearborn is home to some of the best food in southeast Michigan, it's tempting for many residents to stay in town for most of their meals. Yemen Nights offers a new twist on Arabic food dining in the Dearborn area as well as a comfortable place to relax with friends. But those who venture just outside of city limits to...Conventions and festivals fill summer schedule
SAN FRANCISCO — Palestinians from across the U.S., along with some who traveled from Palestine, celebrated the 51st annual Ramallah convention here last week. A fashion show held during the annual Ramallah Convention in San Francisco on June 26. PHOTO: Ramsey El-Qare The convention was held at the San Francisco International...
Berri re-elected as Lebanon speaker
June 27th, 20090 BEIRUT — Nabih Berri, the leader of the Shi'a Muslim Amal movement, has been re-elected for a fifth term as the speaker of Lebanon's parliament. Lebanon's Parliament majority leader Saad al-Hariri (R) applauds upon announcing the re-election of Nabih Berri (front L) as house speaker at parliament in Beirut June 25, 2009....U.S. to name ambassador to Damascus after four years
WASHINGTON — After informing the Syrian embassy in Washington on Tuesday night, the U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday that President Barack Obama will be sending an ambassador to Damascus for the first time since 2005. U.S. President Barack Obama gestures while addressing a news conference in the Brady Press...
San Francisco Arab Americans allege police brutality
June 27th, 20090 SAN FRANCISCO — Arab American community groups are calling for accountability and cooperation from law enforcement after some activists suffered injuries during scuffles with police at an anti-war protest here in March. San Francisco activists scuffle with police during a March protest. PHOTOS: Ramsey El-Qare The Arab Resource...
Spike in violence as government offers referendum on withdrawal pact
June 27th, 20090 WASHINGTON – As Iraqis witness a spike in violence after a months-long relative lull, the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has decided to put its security agreement with the U.S. to a public referendum, although the move appears to be only heightening a sense of uncertainty over the fate of the......
Carter adds weight to shuttle diplomacy push
June 27th, 20090 WASHINGTON (IPS) — Pres. Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and peace envoy Sen. George Mitchell have been moving steadily ahead with the campaign Obama launched on his first day in the White House, to broker a comprehensive and sustainable Arab-Israeli peace. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter They have...Bloody showdown looming if unity talks fail
RAMALLAH – Egyptian mediators have set July 7 as deadline for final Palestinian reconciliation talks in Cairo. The Egyptians say time is running out, and if there is no progress in July, they will no longer be prepared to arbitrate. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal makes a speech during a rally in Damascus June 25, 2009.......
Seeing through all the propaganda about Iran
WASHINGTON — Iran's political crisis continues to blaze. It's still impossible to say which leaders or factions will emerge victorious, but one thing is certain: the earthquake in the Islamic Republic is shaking the Mideast and deeply confusing everyone, including the U.S. government. Highlighting the complexity of this crisis, Meir...
Democratic principles selectively applied
June 27th, 20090 Knowing things with metaphysical certainty when most of the world is operating under carefully constructed myths is painful. Why? Knowing things that others do not fosters a sense of existential loneliness and makes polite conversation about many important things all but impossible. Supporters of Iranian protesters hold a...Election law reproduces elite, preserves their power
Lebanon's June 7 national election was a box office success. It had it all: shady politicians, foreign intrigue, bribes, beautiful women, meddling religious figures, sectarian agitation, recently exposed spy rings, fundamentalists collaborating with capitalists, the poor and oppressed voting for the rich and privileged. Druze...Opposition ponders uncertain future
TYRE (IPS) — A large highway cuts through the green hills connecting Lebanon's south to the Mediterranean Sea. Here, nestled amid banana trees and colorful bougainvillaea bushes, lies the city of Tyre, a bastion of the Shi'a community and a significant base of the Lebanese opposition. Now, following the parliamentary elections and the......
Arabs need bargaining power
In their reaction to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech, Palestinians and Arabs have unanimously rejected his conditions for a two-state solution. In a major political speech, Netanyahu said Israel would accept the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state only if Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish...Time for immigration reform is now
Editor's Note: This editorial was produced in association with New America Media (www.newamericamedia.org), a national association of ethnic media, and was published by ethnic media across the country this week to bring attention to the urgency of immigration reform. The White House and members of Congress must move quickly on......
Seeing through Israel’s delay tactics
The growing divide between the Obama administration and the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's expansion of its West Bank settlements has led to delay tactics by Israel. President Obama must see through them and press his criticism or risk losing credibility among Arabs. Children of Jewish...
Mother of hit-and-run victim dies in Lebanon
June 27th, 20090 Shadia Faraj, the mother of one of two cousins killed in a Detroit car crash on May 17, died of a heart attack on June 19 in Lebanon, according to family members. She was 41. Shadia Faraj Faraj, who lived in Dearborn, went to Lebanon in May to oversee the burial of her son and nephew, whose bodies were sent there to be......