Hassan Khalifeh
Author's Posts
‘P is for Palestine’: Children’s book introduces pride, stirs outrage
December 8th, 20170 DEARORN/NEW YORK — President Trump sent shock waves around the world and stirred anger among Arabs and Muslims when he recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Wednesday. For Palestinians living there, the declaration was a wake-up call that the fight for freedom is far from over. For refugees, it's a wrench thrown in an already...
Locals, Muslim leaders condemn ‘rogue’ reenactment during Arba’een procession
December 1st, 20170 DEARBORN — Preserving heritage as well as cultural and religious practices have been the undertaking of generations of Arab and Muslim Americans. But as the heat intensifies due to the nation focusing its magnifying lens on the "Arab capital of America", a recent "religious" reenactment held in the city's streets has local Muslim...
Dearborn Heights’ Crestwood schools undergoing major renovations
November 23rd, 20170 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — The Crestwood School District's facilities will look very different for students and faculty going back to school next fall. Major renovations to buildings across the school district are well underway, following the passing of a $35 million bond last May that's set to thoroughly replace damaged property,...
State Senate OKs carrying concealed weapons in houses of worship, schools
November 17th, 20173 DEARBORN — Amid a recent spike in threats against places of worship, officials and mosques in Metro Detroit are tightening security and bashing a new gun legislation that passed in the Michigan Senate last week. It was tense at the Michigan Capitol on Wednesday, Nov. 8, when the Senate passed in a 25-12 vote a bill allowing the...
Lebanese Americans in Michigan condemn Saudi intervention, stand by Hariri
November 17th, 20170 DEARBORN — They might be thousands of miles away, but news of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri's resignation – and the prospect that Saudi Arabia has something to do with it – has Lebanese expatriates on edge. Dozens of Lebanese Americans in Metro Detroit joined a protest at the Lebanese American Heritage Club in Dearborn...
Two new women join Dearborn City Council, Arab Americans top vote getters
November 10th, 20170 DEARBORN — A few months ago, a slew of new names on the Aug. 8 ballot signaled a community was gaining leverage in the local political sphere. While Arab Americans dominated the polls on Nov. 7, their victories were not among the elected candidates, but in the weight of their vote. Dearborn's primary elections saw a handful of...
Dearborn re-elects Mayor O’Reilly to ‘finish what he started’
November 10th, 20170 DEARBORN — It was the city's contentious mayoral race that drove most voters to the polls. Many voters told The AANews reporters they hoped for a change of course in the city government, as things have changed since Mayor O'Reilly was elected a decade ago. But voters re-elected O'Reilly with 10,999 votes (57 percent) in the Nov....
Arab Americans eye voter unity, representation in city government ahead of Nov. 7 elections
November 3rd, 20170 DEARBORN – Since it was established in 1927, Dearborn has become recognized as a model city where families enjoy top-notch public schools, safety, city services and national landmarks. Unified on maintaining that level of city services, residents have taken a particular interest in their municipal elections throughout the decades,...
Community celebrates political strides, weighs challenges at AAPAC’s 20th anniversary gala
November 3rd, 20170 DEARBORN – The Arab American Political Action Committee’s (AAPAC) 20th anniversary gala was a celebration of political successes. Six days before the Nov. 7 municipal elections, Arab Americans packed a large dinner hall at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center in Dearborn and reflected on two decades of achievements and looking forward...
Mayor O’Reilly discusses achievements, lays out his plans for Dearborn
October 27th, 20170 DEARBORN — There is a lot on the line in the city — from major investments and revitalization projects, to alleviating high property taxes and diversifying the workforce. As they battle in a heated race, the two mayoral candidates say that on Nov. 7, Dearbornites will have a chance for the first time since 2001 to stick with already...
Hamtramck: Fair representation, voter fraud allegations steer elections
October 27th, 20171 HAMTRMACK – A few divisive races and shake ups in the City Council are bound to emerge during elections in a town as diverse as Hamtramck. After a contentious debate over who to appoint as the new city manager, disparaging remarks by a Council member and a state investigation over voter fraud by an incumbent Council candidate,...
AAPAC announces endorsements for key municipal races
October 20th, 20170 DEARBORN – It was an unfavorable outcome for some new candidates in Dearborn and neighboring cities' primary elections, but some might have another shot at making it into office on Nov. 7. After a passionate debate on Tuesday, Oct. 17, The Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) endorsed candidates in the general elections...
Land deal puts Dearborn mayoral race in media crossfire
October 17th, 20170 DEARBORN — The city has had its fair share of shock and scandal during recent elections, but it took the first contested mayoral race since 2001 to land incumbent Mayor Jack O'Reilly and his opponent, long-time City Councilman Tom Tafelski, in a media frenzy over poor judgment and regretted deals. Increasing transparency in...
National Arab Orchestra plays stereotypes away, empowers youth
October 13th, 20170 DEARBORN — It was a night reminiscent of an era most Arab Americans are uncannily familiar with, but had never experienced themselves. On October 1, concert goers traveled back in time to hear traditional Arabic musical classics presented by the National Arab Orchestra (NAO). It was its eighth season of “A Night of Tarab” at the...
BRIDGES meeting with federal official focuses on ‘Terror Watchlist’
October 6th, 20170 DEARBORN — To those who are regularly held for questioning at airports or border crossings and believe they may be wrongfully placed on a federal watch list, the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center has news: You are most likely a terrorist or somehow connected to a suspected terrorist. In Dearborn, where about half of residents are......
Dearborn Historical Commission debates wording of Hubbard statue plaque after contentious meeting
September 29th, 20170 DEARBORN — On the two-year anniversary of the removal of former Dearborn Mayor Orville Hubbard’s statue from City Hall, the city’s historical commission made a decision in hopes of putting the much-debated issue to rest. However, it didn't come without some contention among museum administrators. On Sept. 26 at the...
Dearborn Historical Museum lacks Arab American presence
September 22nd, 20170 DEARBORN — For the last few months, all eyes have been on the city's government and how it will respond to calls for proper representation of Arab Americans, who make up about half of its population. Many also have deep roots in the community. As the city's residents and officials argue over the fate of the statue of famous......
AMER: First Muslim foster care facility coming to Dearborn
September 22nd, 20170 DEARBORN — The cries of a local mother's children as they were dragged away by state officials still echo after three decades. Wrongfully accused in 1985 of murdering her 2-year-old son, Rehab Amer relives the horrors of trying to bring her other children back every day. Now, she's making sure other children's distress calls do not...
Trott’s retirement creates opportunity for Michigan Democrats
September 14th, 20171 WASHINGTON — As U.S. Rep. Dave Trott (R-Birmingham), known for his anti-immigrant stance, is set to retire from Congress at the end of his second term and return to the private sector, questions have been raised regarding the possibility for a Democrat to take his place. “Our country’s Founding Fathers envisioned a government...
Hamtramck councilman under fire for blaming trash problem on immigrants
September 14th, 20172 HAMTRAMCK — A councilmember in one of the most diverse cities in the nation is facing a backlash after he blamed a trash problem on immigrant residents. "There is an issue with trash in Hamtramck," Councilman Ian Perrotta said in an interview on WWJ AM 950. "I think some of it comes from the fact that some of our immigrant...
Community, officials celebrate Arab American successes at Judge Mariam Bazzi’s investiture
September 8th, 20170 DEARBORN — If you didn't already know what she looked like, you'd be surprised to see Mariam Bazzi greeting a line of guests at the entrance to her own investiture ceremony. Bazzi – appointed by Gov. Snyder in May as a judge in the Wayne Country Third Circuit Court – pointed attendees to the auditorium, and judges and family......
A list of employees shows hardly any Arab Americans in Dearborn’s government
September 8th, 20170 DEARBORN — There is little doubt that Arab Americans have become significantly more civically engaged in the past decade, yet Dearborn residents and businesses have not yearned any less for their issues to be better adequately reflected in city government. In this Detroit suburb – with about half its population as Arab Americans,...
From Michigan to Texas: Harvey victims find refuge among Arab and Muslim Americans
September 7th, 20170 HOUSTON, DEARBORN — Striding strenuously down a freeway, mostly mothers and their children were knee deep in water, making the journey away from their drowned homes. They carried on their shoulders only what they could save. The water rose so fast that few families in Southeast Texas were left unthreatened by Hurricane Harvey's......
Locals give hope to refugee widows and orphans
August 25th, 20170 WARREN — “Should I even bring this little girl into the world? How will my child be raised? In a refugee camp?” These are the distressed thoughts— told by an Arab American teen— of Hanana Asaad, a young mother ready to give birth at a Jordanian refugee camp. She reportedly walked three miles, malnourished and weak, to the...
Few Arab Americans serve on city commissions. Why?
August 18th, 20170 DEARBORN — Many gears work in concert to make a city run. Government bodies like the mayor's office and the City Council, as well as departments like human resources and engineering, and several commissions, all play vital roles in maintaining the high quality services residents expect. Most Dearbornites, almost half of whom are of......
