Author's Posts
Ibrahim Aljahim’s criminal sexual conduct charges dismissed without prejudice
November 21st, 20190 HAMTRAMCK — 31st District Court Judge Alexis G. Krot dismissed all criminal sexual conduct charges against prominent Yemeni community activist Ibrahim Aljahim on Thursday, concluding the now long running preliminary exam. The case was dismissed without prejudice, with Krot informing Wayne County prosecutors that they were free to...
Coalition of churches applauds EU’s decision to accurately label Israeli products
November 20th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), a coalition of 29 church communions and organizations, applauded this week the European Union’s Court of Justice November 12 decision that products made in Israeli settlements could no longer be labeled as though they were made in Israel. Since 1984, CMEP has worked to...
Oregon invests pension funds in Israeli spyware company
November 19th, 20190 TIGARD — $233 million in Oregon’s state employee pension funds have been invested in a private equity firm that owns majority share of the Israeli spyware company NSO Group, according to a recent report by AP. The deal between Novalpina Capital, which along with other partners recently bought majority stock in NSO, occurred in...
FBI releases official statistics on hate crimes
November 17th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Bureau of Investigations released its Hate Crime Statistics 2018 report this week. The report is the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program’s latest compilation about bias motivated incidents throughout the nation. The 2018 data was submitted by 16,039 law enforcement agencies that provided...
Sen. Gary Peters meets with Michigan faith leaders to discuss securing houses of worship
November 17th, 20190 SOUTHFIELD – On Friday, November 8, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, met with faith leaders and law enforcement officials to discuss his bipartisan efforts to improve security for faith-based institutions in Michigan. A fact sheet compiled by the National...
Virginia elects its first Muslim state senator
November 17th, 20190 RICHMOND — Virginia elected its first Muslim state senator last week. Ghazal Hashmi, who migrated with her family to the United States at the age of 4, won over a Republican incumbent in a district that includes suburban Richmond. Her victory is a part of a blue shift in Virginia. Democrats clenched key victories on election...
Preliminary exam for Ibrahim Aljahim continues, defense seeks dismissal
November 9th, 20190 HAMTRAMCK – Both sides rested their cases at yet another continuation of a preliminary exam for Yemeni activist Ibrahim Aljahim's sexual assault case, with the defense attorney reminding the court that he had filed a motion to dismiss earlier in the week. Tension were high and objections and interruptions caused 31st District Court...
Dearborn based poet finds beauty in ruin in her poem “Thawra: a whatsapp message gone viral”
November 9th, 20190 DEARBORN —As the Lebanon protesters clash against elite institutions and moneyed influence in their country, local Lebanese expats have come together to bring fresh perspectives on the political storm unleashed across their homeland. Many have gathered in Dearborn’s most recognizable institutions, with its municipal buildings...
New report shows how tech companies profit from anti-Muslim violence and bigotry
November 9th, 20190 CHICAGO — The Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE), in collaboration with Crescendo and the Public Accountability Initiative, released a report this week that looks at the role that Big Tech platforms, Wall Street firms and right-wing media corporations have played in fanning the flames of White supremacy and anti-Muslim...
Three in, three out: Hamtramck to see new faces on its City Council
November 9th, 20190 HAMTRAMCK – With City Councilman Saad Almasmari losing his seat in Tuesday’s general election, all three incumbents will now be replaced by three new faces. One, of course, belongs to a well-known Hamtramck politico. Young, well-spoken and tenacious, Nayeem Leon Choudhury's second go at a City Council seat proved wildly successful...
It’s election time: Exercise your right and perform your duty
November 2nd, 20190 The following editorial is a collaboration between our newsroom and our editorial board: Voters from Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Inkster, Hamtramck and many of the surrounding communities in Southeast Michigan will go to the polls this Tuesday to exercise their constitutionally protected right and to perform their duty of voting on...
Wayne County Sheriff raids drug house on Dearborn border known to have Arab American clients
November 2nd, 20190 DEARBORN – A drug house in Detroit near the city's border with Dearborn that had a known Arab American clientele was raided on Thursday by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office. As drug overdoses prove to be a public health epidemic in the Arab American community, with recent tragedies showing Dearborn and Dearborn Heights to be...
As protests swell in Iraq, local Iraqis speak out about the troubles in their homeland
November 2nd, 20190 DETROIT – A sea-change in Iraqi governance looms as tens of thousands of Iraqis across ethnic and sectarian divides have taken to the streets to demand their right towards prosperity and self-determination. Prominent support towards the ousting of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi will likely not be enough to quell the fury behind the...
Paletko vows to fight on as court sides with Dearborn Heights City Council once again
November 2nd, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS – At a hearing in the Third Circuit Court in Detroit last Friday, October 25, Judge Muriel Hughes denied three motions by Dearborn Heights Mayor Daniel Paletko in an ongoing legal battle between him and the majority members of the Dearborn Heights City Council. Paletko told The Arab American News that he plans to...
Young Arab American woman found dead in Staten Island park in New York
October 30th, 20190 NEW YORK – The New York Police Department identified an Arab American woman found dead in a Staten Island park last week as 25-year-old Ola Salem. Salem was found by a jogger near the side of the road in a wooden park last Thursday morning. Salem’s body did not show any obvious signs of trauma, though sources told The New York Post......
Top U.S. official downplays longterm effects of Baghdadi’s killing
October 30th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. counterterrorism official spoke at a House hearing on global national security threats on Wednesday to tell members of congress that a new leader of ISIS will eventually emerge, following the killing of Abu al-Baghdadi in last weekend’s raid. AP reports that National Counterterrorism Center Acting...
AAPAC’s 22nd annual banquet: Celebrating Arab American achievements with the community
October 27th, 20190 DEARBORN — The Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) celebrated its 22nd year as Metro Detroit’s premiere political organization at the Byblos Banquet Center in Dearborn on Wednesday. The event featured a wide array of speakers, honorees and special guests who reflected on issues relevant to the area’s thriving Arab......
Meet the candidates for this year’s Hamtramck City Council election
October 27th, 20196 HAMTRAMCK – Six candidates are vying for three seats on the Hamtramck City Council in the November 5 general election. City Council is the only item on the ballot for the densely populated and culturally diverse city nestled within Detroit. The two-square-mile city of almost 23,000 residents continues to face big challenges, with...
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson encourages voters to apply for Michigan independent redistricting commission
October 26th, 20190 DETROIT – Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson joined other officials and community leaders on Thursday, Oct. 24, in Detroit to announce the state’s new Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. The state is now accepting applications from eligible Michigan residents to help draw the state’s next political district...
Dearborn native becomes rising star representing Lebanon in international rugby
October 26th, 20190 DEARBORN — Michigan sports can often seem dominated by college and pro football, baseball and basketball leagues, overlooking others that have international interest and are no less athletically demanding. Sports in the Arab American communities in Metro Detroit are no exception to this bias. For instance, not many may know of a...
Dearborn Heights responds to new state rules for lead testing in tap water
October 21st, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS - In 2018, the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act (MSDWA) was changed to include more stringent procedures for testing and analysis for lead and copper. The new regulations are intended to have a more proactive approach in monitoring each community’s lead and copper levels. Since 1992, the City of Dearborn Heights,......
Judge spares prison time for Detroit-area men who sent millions to Yemen
October 20th, 20191 DETROIT - U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn refused to send to prison a group of Detroit-area men who transferred millions of dollars to Yemen without registering as a money transfer business. Cohn refused such sentencing, even though legal guidelines called for a few or more of the men to see prison time. The group of men reportedly...
Alnadwa Free Thinking Society holds first annual banquet
October 20th, 20190 DEARBORN — Members of the greater Dearborn area public met for a rationalist meeting of the minds last Wednesday in the Annex of the Arab American Museum on Michigan Avenue at the first annual Alnadwa Free Thinking Society Dinner. Honorees and speakers covered a wide array of topics relating to scientific rationalist thinking, free......
New report shows immigrants contribute significantly to Wayne County’s economy
October 18th, 20190 Detroit — New research from New American Economy (NAE), in partnership with the office of the Wayne County executive and Wayne United, reveals that immigrants contributed more than $10.5 billion to Wayne County’s GDP in 2017. In addition to their financial contributions, including $430.5 million to Social Security and $110.6...
As fires raged in Lebanon, one Beirut woman joined heroic rescue mission
October 17th, 20190 BEIRUT – Villages in the west of Lebanon, just south of Beirut, experienced intense wildfires on early Tuesday morning, forcing villagers to flee their homes, with the Lebanese government sending rescue missions to affected areas. Described by officials as the worst wild fires to have hit the country in decades, the fires were......
