The Arab American News
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Israel blamed in death of Canadian
Israel was at fault in the deaths of four observers from the U.N. Truce Supervision Organization, including Canadian Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener. That was the finding made public February 1 by a Canadian Forces Board of Inquiry. The incident occurred during the Israeli-Hizbullah conflict. The observers were killed by...Khan is back
Welcome back, Wajid Khan. MP Wajid Khan was forced out of the Conservative parliamentary caucus when he was faced with charges of overspending during his campaign for office. He was elected as a Liberal but after serving Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper as an envoy to bring back a report on the Middle East and...Afghan torture scandal widens
After the Conservative Harper government admitted that it had stopped transferring prisoners to Afghan authorities last November following evidence of torture, new evidence has surfaced showing that Canadian officials were aware of torture at least as far back as April, 2007. As with the earlier revelations, the new information...The tragic future of Iraq
Any analysis of the current state of the ongoing U.S. occupation of Iraq that relied solely on the U.S. government, the major candidates for president or the major media outlets in the United States for information would be hard pressed to find any bad news. In a State of the Union address which had everything except a "Mission...
Arab Americans and Obama’s false hope
February 9th, 20080 At what point does an individual stop supporting the lesser of two evils? The question has become particularly important in the Democratic primary race, as one man has ascended to political stardom, ostensibly breaking free from the evils of mainstream politics and creating a platform based on hope and change. This transcendent figure is...‘Persepolis’ provides window on lives of Iranians
In recent years, there's been a crop of memoirs from young to middle-aged Iranians recounting their experiences growing up under the Shah and witnessing the revolutionary transition from a monarchy to a theocracy. These stories vary, but many of them contain similar themes: Life was good under the Shah, the revolution happened for no...Dimona signals Palestinian defiance
Moral judgments notwithstanding, the suicide bombing in Dimona on Monday is another chink in the siege imposed on all Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and it represents a continuity of the Palestinian rebellion that breached the wall between Gaza and Egypt last week. The fact that two fighters succeeded in reaching Dimona in...Hordes of street kids no longer ignored
Cairo — Kareem and Mustapha were little more than toddlers when their parents sent them onto Cairo's streets to sell mints and tissues. They had begun on the path trod by Cairo's growing thousands of street kids — sleeping on streets, joining gangs for protection, underfed and covered with the filth of a city packed with 18 million...Democracy charade undermines rights
Washington — The established democracies are accepting flawed and unfair elections for political expediency, Human Rights Watch said this week in releasing its World Report 2008. By allowing autocrats to pose as democrats, without demanding they uphold the civil and political rights that make democracy meaningful, the United States, the...Love yourself this Valentine’s Day
Yardley, PA —Valentine's Day is fast approaching and if you listen closely you'll hear America heave a collective sigh of resignation (from the couples who must run out and buy obligatory gifts) and gloom (from the singles who feel like hiding sulkily under the covers). Yes, many people dread this seemingly benign holiday more than a...Speak for Peace Tour in Detroit
CHICAGO — The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) will be a hosting a Speak for Peace Tour that will include Raed Jarrar, an Iraqi who was featured in several speaking tours organized by AFSC, as well as Iraq War veteran Patricia McCann, currently a resident of Chicago. They will be talking about their experiences in Iraq, about...Students encouraged to nominate a teacher for annual award
DEARBORN — Nomination forms for the 2007-08 Alberta Muirhead Teacher of the Year Award, sponsored by the Dearborn Chamber of Commerce, are now available on the district web site at www.dearbornschools.org or the Chamber website, www.dearbornchamber.org. Forms are also available at all Dearborn public schools, and the district...Local boxer maintains perfect record
DEARBORN — As he stepped into the boxing ring at the Palace of Auburn Hills on February 1st to do battle with yet another opponent on his quest for a title shot, Dearborn's own Brian Mihtar couldn't help but feel the pressure. In the lower bowl stood dozens of Mihtar's hometown fans, cheering him on and heckling his opponent. Behind...New exhibit at Museum of Contemporary Art
DETROIT — Holy Hip Hop! Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Common and Russell Simmons are coming to the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD). Twelve paintings featuring the royalty of hip-hop music will make their world debut at MOCAD in the exhibition Holy Hip Hop!: New Paintings by Alex Melamid, from February 8 to April 20,...Arab bloggers and the Obama phenomenon
With Super Tuesday leaving no clear Democratic nominee, Arab Americans are yet to be sold on either candidate. Arab American views towards Barack Obama, in particular, are a mixed bag. While support for him among chattering classes in the Arab world runs high, according to ABC News, Arab American writers are often ambivalent.......
A hole in the wall
As the massacres against unarmed Palestinians continued under the policy of ethnic cleansing which has been utilized by the global Zionist movement since the beginning of its occupation of Palestine, two important studies concerning the preparations for the war on Iraq were released in the West. The first study, "Flimsy...House of Commons passes security legislation
Facing a February 23 deadline set by the Supreme Court of Canada, the House of Commons passed a new law on February 4 authorizing security certificates for non-citizens deemed to be a potential danger to the country. The Court unanimously struck down the old one as a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms because it failed......
U.S. Methodist Church renews drive for divestment from Israel
Tensions are re-emerging between Jewish organizations and some mainline Protestant churches in the wake of a renewed drive for churches to divest from companies doing business with Israel. The United Methodist Church opened discussions last Friday on a resolution calling for divestment from Caterpillar, the tractor manufacturer,...Lebanon: The show must go on
BEIRUT (IPS) — A bomb tears through the bustling Chevrolet area on the outskirts of Beirut. Bad news travels fast: Captain Wissam Eid from the Internal Security Forces has been killed in the blast. This is a typical day for Lebanese citizens. The year 2007 has already been grim for most Lebanese businesses. Crisis after crisis has...Classic Arabic music in Ann Arbor
The golden age of Egyptian music has returned on "The Music of the Three Musketeers," (al-Fursan at-Talatha) by the Arabesque Music Ensemble. The three endearingly-labeled composers — Zakariyya Ahmad, Muhammad al-Qasabji, and Riyad al-Sunbati — wrote a large majority of pieces performed by the Arab world's most famous singer, Umm Kulthum...Legal issues surrounding citizenship
Be very careful if you leave the country for more than six months Because most of the issues I address in this article relate to holders of "Green Cards," I would like to address the term "Green Card." The card is now officially known as a "Permanent Resident Card." In fact, it's no longer even green in......
Where’s the American Jewish condemnation?
For years now, I have heard demands that we Americans of Palestinian descent condemn various military actions taken by Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. And we do so, because innocents should never pay for the sins of their military forces and government. But I'd like to know if the American Jewish community will ever...
Lebanon edges closer to civil war
February 7th, 20080 BEIRUT — There will be blood. That was the message this week in the neglected southern suburbs of Beirut. At least eight persons were killed and more than twenty injured when shots were fired at crowds of demonstrators protesting the power outages that have been plaguing their areas. Details of the incident that took place near the Mar......
George Habash leaves legacy of resistance, violence
George Habash, known with affection as al-Hakim, the doctor, came to the end of his life without reaching his dream of Palestinian liberation. He was born in Lyd, Palestine in 1925 and saw al-Nakba first-hand as volunteer medical staff, then as a displaced Palestinian. After dedicating his life to the Palestinian cause, he was...Fallout from the Gaza earthquake
The mass break-out of some 700,000 Palestinians from Israel's open-air prison at Gaza has profoundly changed the political landscape of the Middle East. In magnitude, it can be compared to the impact on Europe of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Nothing will be the same again. There can be no return to the past. All the main actors in the......