Memorial services to be held for Gaza aid flotilla victims
Demonstrators line up for funeral prayers on a main street leading to the residence of Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Gabby Levy in Ankara June 1, 2010. REUTERS/Umit BektasDEARBORN — The Congress of Arab American Organizations in Michigan is to hold memorial services to the humanitarians who lost their lives last week...
Local community condemns Israeli piracy, demands lifting of Gaza blockade
June 5th, 20100 About 450 people from various ethnic and religious backgrounds assembled on the steps of Dearborn City Hall on Tuesday, June 1 in solidarity with protesters from countries across the world to demonstrate against Israel's raid on aid ships heading to Gaza in international waters that killed at least 9 and injured...Israel averts international probe on Gaza atrocities
UNITED NATIONS — Less than 48 hours after the Israeli attack on a flotilla of six ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, the most powerful political body at the United Nations acted most ineffectively: it opted for a shaky "presidential statement" instead of a demanding resolution.The United States diluted that statement even further...State Department officials visit Detroit, discuss issues facing Iraqi refugees
TROY and DEARBORN — U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of near Eastern Affairs Michael Corbin and the Deputy Assistant for Refugee Issues Larry Bartlett visited southeast Michigan this week with a focus on gathering information from the local Iraqi American community. Their visit included a Town Hall meeting with...Oak Park market, restaurant lost in fire
OAK PARK - Kashat International Foods market and Sahara Restaurant were lost in a fire on Wednesday evening. Both businesses, located in Oak Park, MI near the intersection of Coolidge and 9mile, were open and filled with customers at the time of the incident.“When I walked out, the smoke covered my face and we couldn’t see,” said...Sister of local flotilla activist urges action at vigil
DEARBORN - Speaking in Dearborn for the first time since her sister, University of Michigan graduate and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement Huwaida Arraf, was located and found to be safe in Israel following the Gaza humanitarian aid flotilla attacks, Mariam Arraf told a gathered crowd of about 150 people at Dearborn...Leyton, two Republicans vying for Michigan Attorney General
With Attorney General Mike Cox running for governor in 2010, several candidates are looking to replace him in this year’s election on November 3. BishopSenate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, former State Appeals Judge Bill Schuette and Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton are all in the running for the attorney general’s...American Lebanese Center honors bridge-builders at first awards dinner
DEARBORN - The American Lebanese Center (ALC) honored compelling leaders for building bridges between communities for over 20 years during its first-ever awards dinner on May 30 at the Byblos Banquet Center in Dearborn.“It’s an opportunity to recognize people who have spent so much time and effort to improve the community. The...ACC awarded federal grant to assist refugees with job placement
DETROIT — The Arab American and Chaldean Council (ACC) was recently awarded a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration to provide employment training and job placement services to Iraqi refugees and other dislocated workers residing in the Detroit metropolitan area. The program,...Arab Americans to demonstrate against fatal attack on Gaza aid flotilla
An injured pro-Palestinian activist reacts after Israeli commandos landed on a Gaza-bound ship in the Mediterranean Sea in this frame grab taken from footage released by DHA on May 31, 2010. Israeli commandos intercepted Gaza-bound aid ships on Monday and at least 10 pro-Palestinian activists on board were killed in bloodshed that...Local girl sacrifices life to save sister
DETROIT — The body of Nadaa Thabet was recovered Wednesday three quarters of a mile from where she was last seen on Belle Isle in Detroit. Thabet, 16, lost her life May 22 around 6 p.m. after her body disappeared into the Detroit river. Nadaa ThabetAccording to family members, Thabet, a Yemeni American, jumped into the river in an...
The new face of America
May 23rd, 20100 DEARBORN — Ask any of Rima Fakih's friends, co-workers, and family members about what allowed her to win Sunday's Miss USA pageant, and they will invariably all talk about her physical beauty. Rima Fakih gives a thumbs up after being crowned Miss USA during the 2010 Miss USA pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las...
Arab American crowned Miss USA!
May 17th, 20100 Miss Michigan Rima Fakih reacts after being crowned Miss USA during the 2010 Miss USA pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada May 16, 2010. REUTERS/Steve MarcusLAS VEGAS — Rima Fakih of Dearborn was crowned Miss USA Sunday. Miss Michigan Rima Fakih gives a thumbs up after being crowned Miss USA during...
Ponzi scheme strikes Arab community
May 16th, 20100 A federal racketeering lawsuit was filed on May 6 by about 100 Iraqi Americans alleging that they have been victimized in two Ponzi schemes involving millions of dollars.The plaintiffs have not identified themselves in the case and are seeking a protective order from the judge in order to keep their identities secret for fear of...Miss USA contestant has community backing in Vegas
LAS VEGAS — When the brights lights and cameras turn on for Sunday night's opening dance number at the 2010 Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas, 51 contestants from across the country will be on full display in front of millions of people on NBC at 7 p.m. Rima Fakih being crowned Miss Michigan in Port Huron in 2009.But what many TV viewers......
Celebrity visits Dearborn, dines at Habib’s
DEARBORN — The movie company Mandalay Productions was in Dearborn from Monday, May 3 to Wednesday, May 5 filming scenes from the movie “Salvation Boulevard” starring former James Bond title character actor Pierce Brosnan as well as Ed Harris.Brosnan stopped at Habib's Restaurant on Michigan Avenue during a break in the filming...
Blacks, Arab Americans support each other as NAACP observes 101 years of activism
May 13th, 20100 Local Arab American activist Zohair Alawie (far left), AAPAC VP Nabih Ayad, NAACP Detroit Executive Director Heaster Wheeler, The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani, NAACP Detroit President Rev. Wendell Anthony, and ADC-MI Regional Director Imad Hamad pose at the NAACP's annual dinner at Cobo......
Groups meet to address youth violence
May 13th, 20100 DETROIT — The American Bar Association Coalition on Racial and Ethnic Justice held a town hall meeting at the Youthville Detroit complex on Monday, May 3 with the goal of bringing together various community and government leaders to discuss ways to curb youth violence, especially from teens. Judge Dennis Archer keynoted the...Unity or annihilation — the real choice for the Palestinians (again)
With Israel seriously considering how best to destroy Hamas (and Hizbullah and possibly Iran) and bolster the stooge leadership of Fatah's Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian friends have been asking me what I think the Palestinians could and should now do to improve their prospects for obtaining an acceptable amount of justice. A Palestinian...
Iran a threat? I mean, really?
May 2nd, 20100 With all the current hype about the "threat" from Iran, it is time to review the record - and especially the significant bits and pieces that find neither ink nor air in our Israel-friendly, Fawning Corporate Media (FCM). First, on the chance you missed it, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said publicly that Iran "doesn't directly...
Arizona is messing with the Constitution
May 2nd, 20100 Last week, the elected Republican members of the State Government of Arizona declared their support for an awful, dangerous and probably unconstitutional bill signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer that would make illegal immigration a state crime and empower local and state law enforcement to ask people (read: Latinos and dark-skinned......
Israel’s security lies in regional peace
Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu on March 22 defiantly declared to the world that: "there will be no freeze on construction in Jerusalem. Everyone knows it." An enduring occupation requires a high level of arrogance and a poker face in rationalization of injustice. The international community is well aware that Israel may have...Hookah lounge owners unify, weigh options for May 1 smoking ban
About 50 hookah café, restaurant, and bar owners gathered at Greenfield Manor in Dearborn April 26 to discuss their next course of action in relation to Michigan's May 1 smoking ban, which could have a disastrous affect on their businesses. About 50 hookah business owners attended the meeting, but many of them are still......
Detroit panel discussion attacks mortgage fraud crisis
With the problem of mortgage fraud exacerbating the current and ongoing housing crisis in America, the need for immediate solutions has come to the forefront both locally and nationally. On Friday, April 23 at the Theodore Levin U.S. District Federal Courthouse in Detroit, a diverse group of panelists shared their insight on mortgage...Helping the dreams of Palestinian children
Islamic Relief USA hosted a fundraising dinner entitled "A Night for the Love of Palestine" on Friday, April 23, 2009, raising an estimated $170,000 to be used for critical supplies for families. Egyptian actress and humanitarian worker Hanan Turk served as keynote speaker for the event. Photo: Nafeh Abunab Well-known Egyptian......