Cleric Sadr wins Iraq vote, former PM Maliki close behind
October 11th, 20210 Shi'a Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's party was the biggest winner in an Iraqi election on Monday, increasing the number of seats he holds in parliament, according to initial results, officials and a spokesperson for the Sadrist Movement. Former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki looked set to have the next largest win among Shi'a...
Racial justice vs. the Israel lobby: When being pro-Palestine becomes the new normal
October 7th, 20210 There is an unmistakable shift in American politics regarding Palestine and Israel, a change that is inspired by the way in which many Americans, especially the youth, view the Palestinian struggle and the Israeli occupation. While this shift is yet to translate into tangibly diminishing Israel’s stronghold over the U.S. Congress, it...
Judge survives bid to remove him from Beirut blast investigation
October 4th, 20210 BEIRUT — The judge investigating Beirut's catastrophic port explosion survived attempts to have him removed from the inquiry when a court dismissed two complaints against him on Monday. The investigation into the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion, one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts in history, has made little headway amid a smear campaign...
The untold story of why Palestinians are divided
October 3rd, 20210 The political division in Palestinian society is deep-rooted and must not be reduced to convenient claims about the “Hamas-Fatah split”, elections, the Oslo accords and subsequent disagreements. The division is linked to events that preceded all of these, and not even the death or incapacitation of the octogenarian Mahmoud Abbas will...
Angry relatives of Beirut blast victims protest probe delays
September 29th, 20210 BEIRUT — Hundreds of relatives of victims of last year's Beirut port explosion, some chanting and some silent, took to the streets on Wednesday, angry that an investigation into the disaster had been delayed for the second time this year. Some carried miniature figures of people on death row with signs below reading "the end for...
Lebanon at risk of complete blackout by end of the month
September 23rd, 20210 BEIRUT — Lebanon's state electricity company said on Thursday it risked a total blackout across the country by the end of September as its fuel oil reserves dwindle. Lebanon, in the throes of one of the worst economic meltdowns of modern history, has been plagued by worsening fuel shortages for the past few months with most...
House passes Democrat-introduced bill for $1 billion for Israel’s Iron Dome
September 23rd, 20211 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved $1 billion for Israel’s Iron Dome "missile defense system" on Thursday. The vote came days after some Democrats successfully managed to get it removed from a stopgap spending bill, but then was introduced as stand-alone bill by another Democrat. The...
Netanyahu suggests on Facebook that Biden fell asleep meeting new Israeli PM
September 20th, 20210 ISRAEL — Israel's former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested in a Facebook video posted on Sunday that President Biden had fallen asleep when meeting the new Israeli leader, Naftali Bennett, last month. A Reuters fact check previously debunked the idea that Biden dozed off, after social media users shared a video clip of...
From the “iron wall” to the “villa in the jungle”: Palestinians demolish Israel’s security myths
September 19th, 20210 Twenty-five years before Israel was established on the ruins of historic Palestine, a Russian Jewish Zionist leader, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, argued that a Jewish state in Palestine could only survive if it exists “behind an iron wall” of defense. Jabotinsky was speaking figuratively. However, future Zionist leaders, who embraced...
Israeli spyware strikes again, causing panic among Apple users
September 17th, 20210 An alarming discovery that the Israeli spyware company NSO Group targeted an ordinary citizen’s iPhone yet again caused Apple to deliver an important security update to its users. Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab said a security issue in Apple’s software was exploited to plant spyware on a Saudi...
Hezbollah brings Iranian fuel into Lebanon, checks U.S. sanctions with cheers from locals
September 16th, 20210 Hezbollah began bringing Iranian fuel into Lebanon via Syria on Thursday, a move the group says should ease a crippling energy crisis but which opponents say risks provoking U.S. sanctions. Dozens of trucks carrying Iranian fuel oil entered northeastern Lebanon near the village of al-Ain, where Hezbollah's yellow flag fluttered from...
Israeli prime minister visits Egypt in first official trip in a decade
September 13th, 20210 CAIRO — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday for talks on Israeli-Palestinian relations and bilateral issues, Egypt's presidency said, in the first official trip by an Israeli head of government to Egypt in a decade. Bennett, the head of a far-right party who took office...
Hashtag “untie_our_hands”: How many more Palestinians must die for Israel’s “security”?
September 12th, 20210 A large Israeli army campaign is taking social media by storm. The unstated aim of what is known as the “#Untie_Our_Hands” initiative is the desire to kill, with no accountability, more Palestinian protesters at the Gaza fence. The campaign was motivated by the killing of an Israeli sniper, Barel Hadaria Shmueli, who was reportedly...
Lebanon agrees new government to tackle economic collapse
September 10th, 20210 BEIRUT - Lebanese leaders agreed a new government led by Sunni Muslim tycoon Najib Mikati on Friday after a year of feuding over cabinet seats that has exacerbated a devastating economic collapse, opening the way to a resumption of talks with the IMF. The breakthrough followed a flurry of contacts with France, which has led efforts to...
Inflationary pressures force Lebanese to make tough choices
September 9th, 20210 BEIRUT — Ibrahim Jaber was laid off when the fast food restaurant where he worked as a chef in Beirut shut down. Unable to find another job, he had to take his daughter out of school to put food on the table at home. He is one of many Lebanese who have found themselves facing staggering inflation just as their employers, also hit......
Tlaib, Dingell-led appeal for Lebanon TPS sees 70 cosigners
September 8th, 20210 DEARBORN — As Lebanon's humanitarian crisis worsens, some lawmakers are seeking protection against removal for the Lebanese nationals in the U.S. Last month, U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) spoke to The Arab American News about a letter they were circulating among colleagues in the House to urge...
Ending U.S. support for Israeli racism
September 4th, 20210 Israel and its Zionist supporters do not hesitate to peddle propaganda claiming that it is “the Middle East’s sole democracy.” According to them, Israel is a unique sanctuary of democracy, freedom and pluralism that protects its citizens’ rights. But this is an outright lie. Democracy in Israel only applies to Jewish Israelis,......
Lebanese state’s permission not sought for Iranian fuel, minister says
September 1st, 20210 BEIRUT — The Lebanese government has received no request for fuel to be imported from Iran, the caretaker energy minister said on Wednesday, appearing to confirm that the Shi'a group Hezbollah has bypassed the state with a move to import Iranian fuel. Hezbollah, a heavily armed group founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982,...
“Blood for blood”: On Jenin and Israel’s fear of an armed Palestinian rebellion
August 27th, 20210 The killing of four young Palestinians by Israeli occupation soldiers in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, on Aug. 16, is a consequential event, the repercussions of which are sure to be felt in the coming weeks and months. The four Palestinians — Saleh Mohammed Ammar, 19, Raed Ziad Abu Seif, 21, Nour Jarrar, 19 and...
Tlaib, Dingell ask for extension of stay for Lebanese nationals in U.S. during dire crisis
August 27th, 20211 A letter co-led by U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) is urging the Biden administration to allow Lebanese nationals an extension of their stay in the U.S. during Lebanon's dire economic crisis, by designating Lebanon for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. Support for the letter is growing in the...
Protesters in D.C. chant names of murdered Gazans ahead of Bennett, Biden talks
August 26th, 20211 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Protesters gathered outside the White House early Thursday in anticipation of a visit to Washington D.C. by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. A small crowd of about 50 people, including multiple organizations like the Palestinian Youth Movement, U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Jewish Voice for Peace......
Emirates allows travelers to Beirut from U.S. and some other countries to bring extra luggage through September
August 26th, 20210 DUBAI – Starting Thursday, Aug. 26 through Sept. 30, Emirates airline's economy class passengers traveling to Beirut from the U.S. and some other countries via Dubai will be eligible to carry an additional piece of luggage totaling 50 lbs. The additional baggage allowance will help customers pack extra items to support family and...
Israel’s new leader to present Iran plan in delayed White House visit
August 25th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Overshadowed by events in Afghanistan, the first White House meeting between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was postponed until Friday. The Israeli leader is expected to push Biden to harden his approach to Iran, with few prospects their talks will lead to renewed movement on peace talks......
The quiet rebellion: Why U.S. Jews turning against Israel is good for Palestinians
August 20th, 20210 A unique but critical conversation on Israel and Palestine is taking place outside the traditional discourse of Israeli colonialism and the Palestinian quest for liberation. It is an awkward and difficult — but overdue — discussion concerning American Jews’ relation to Israel and their commitment to its Zionist ideology. For...
“U.S.-Lebanon Friendship” congressional caucus calls for action on deteriorating situation
August 19th, 20210 A group of lawmakers wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and USAID Administrator Samantha Power, calling on U.S. support towards Lebanon’s deteriorating economic and political situation. U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn), Charlie Crist (D-FL), Darrell Issa (R-CA), and Darin LaHood (R-IL), co-chairs of the......
