True champions of humanity in Türkiye and Syria: We thank you
February 22nd, 20230 On February 7, a funeral was held in the northern Syrian town of Jinderis. It was one of numerous such funerals to be held on that day across Syria and Türkiye, following a devastating earthquake that killed and injured thousands. Each one of these funerals represented two seemingly opposite notions: Collective grief and collective...
Opinion: Syria held hostage by the U.S. and its allies
February 17th, 20230 By Nimri Aziz Perhaps the most agonizing experience for a family, for any bystander, even for humanitarian professionals, is a double tragedy —a death or calamity where they are refused access, where they are forced to helplessly witness suffering, unable to offer succor. This is surely what faces millions of able-bodied Syrians...
Two cheers for Matt Gaetz’s Ukraine war resolution
February 16th, 20230 By Thomas L. Knapp On February 9, U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and 10 Republican co-sponsors introduced a resolution "expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States must end its military and financial aid to Ukraine, and urges all combatants to reach a peace agreement." When Matt Gaetz is...
The passing of prominent Lebanese American Dr. Daher Boutros Rahi
February 10th, 20230 By Chris Rahi Kassab With his adoring family by his side, Dr. Daher Boutros Rahi of Grosse Pointe Shores died January 31 at the age of 92. Dad was born in a village in Lebanon called Hemlaya. He lived there with his parents, Boutros and Chafika, and his sister, Emily. To say that the family was poor is an understatement. They...
Syria stands alone in healing its wounds from devastating earthquake
February 10th, 20230 The dawn of February 6, 2023 will be recorded as a typical tragedy that befell the peoples of the eastern Mediterranean, or to be precise, part of their peoples. The fear and panic, despite their magnitude, can’t be compared to the horror and devastation of being buried under the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings. It is an...
Palestine is my cause: Arabs reaffirm support for Palestinians, rejection of the occupation
February 2nd, 20230 By Ramzy Baroud The latest Arab Opinion Index 2022 is yet more proof that Arab societies are diverse in every possible way, from their assessment of their economic situation and living conditions to their take on immigration, state institutions and democracy. With one single exception: Palestine. Seventy-six percent of all...
More school counselors could turn the tide on the youth mental health crisis
January 30th, 20230 By Cameka Hazel More than 130 children's organizations recently called on President Biden to declare a national emergency in response to America's youth mental health crisis. That news came just days after an expert panel recommended that all children ages 8to 18 receive routine screenings for anxiety. These developments drew new...
U.S. House dysfunction is cause for alarm
January 22nd, 20230 Like many Americans, I watched with dismay this month as the House of Representatives struggled through 15 votes over four days to select a new speaker. The sense of dysfunction was remarkable. Anyone watching might well have wondered about our ability to govern ourselves. For a week, there was no speaker to call the House to order....
World Cup 2022 – a promise fulfilled?
January 15th, 20230 By Duggan Flanakin The pyrotechnics have finally settled in Doha on what was a truly sensational and hard fought 2022 World Cup, the stadiums no longer emanating the joyous cheers from audiences who for weeks remained at the edges of their seats, taking in upset after upset — and in the place of pyrotechnics, today Qatar revels in...
Israel was never a democracy: So why is the West lamenting end of “liberal” Israel?
January 6th, 20230 Even before the new Israeli government was officially sworn in on December 29, angry reactions began emerging, not only among Palestinians and other Middle Eastern governments, but also among Israel’s historic allies in the West. As early as November 2, top U.S, officials conveyed to Axios that the Biden administration is “unlikely...
Lions’ Den is not a fleeting phenomenon: On Palestine’s looming armed revolt
December 24th, 20220 Just when Israel, and even some Palestinians, began talking about the Lions’ Den phenomenon in the past tense, a large number of fighters belonging to the newly-formed Palestinian group marched in the city of Nablus. Unlike the group’s first appearance on September 2, the number of fighters who took part in the rally in the Old...
The Nakba Day triumph: How the U.N. Is correcting a historical wrong
December 18th, 20220 The next Nakba Day will be officially commemorated by the United Nations General Assembly on May 15, 2023. The decision by the world’s largest democratic institution is significant, if not a game changer. For nearly 75 years, the Palestinian Nakba, the "Catastrophe" wrought by the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Zionist militias in...
Addressing health disparities in Michigan with an uncommon approach to care
December 10th, 20220 By Robert MacArthur, MD Healthcare disparities are preventable differences in healthcare status, access and quality experienced by many consumers due to a variety of factors, including race, ethnicity, income, gender, neighborhood, language and education. For example, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human...
Hosting its first ever World Cup — MENA countries show up, in the stands, on the pitch
December 10th, 20220 By Marc Serber, football analyst The first-ever FIFA World Cup held in the MENA (Middle East/North African) region has brought a real opportunity to showcase football pedigree on the field and introduce the world to its fan culture in the stands and outside of Qatar’s eight stadiums. While the host nation bowed out in...
On “hate” and love at the World Cup: Palestine is more than an Arab cause
December 10th, 20220 We were mistaken to think that Palestine represents the central issue for all Arabs. Such language suggests that Palestine is an external subject, to be compared to other collective struggles that consume most Arabs, everywhere. The ongoing celebration of Palestine and the Palestinian flag at the Qatar World Cup 2022 by millions of......
Why the decision of the FBI to investigate Abu Akleh’s murder is unprecedented
November 26th, 20220 The recent decision by the United States Department of Justice to open an investigation into the killing, last May, of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is not a game-changer, but important and worthy of reflection, nonetheless. Based on the long trajectory of U.S. military and political support of Israel, and...
“Nothing works”: Europe must stop blaming others for its own crises
November 12th, 20220 The European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell is not particularly perceived by the EU’s political elite or mainstream media as a right-wing ideologue or warmonger. But seen through a different, non-Western prism, it is hard not to mistake him for one. Borrell’s recent comments that “Europe is a garden” and that...
Michigan voters hand Democrats historic victory, deal a blow to the MAGA movement
November 11th, 20220 The midterm elections shocked most observers and political experts throughout the nation. While Republicans gained a few seats in the Congress, and may perhaps still win the majority there, nothing like the widely predicted "Red Wave" came to fruition. The Senate is still up for grabs, and Democrats scored a number of major victories...
Brazil’s politics mirror our own
November 9th, 20220 By Lee H. Hamilton Watching Brazil’s presidential election from the U.S. has been like looking into a funhouse mirror. The image looks a lot like us, for better or for worse. According to official results, challenger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ousted the incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, and will take office Jan. 1. But the margin was......
Michigan Election Day guide and endorsements: Who deserves our vote
November 5th, 20220 Michigan's midterm election is on Tuesday, Nov. 8, and among the races at stake are for governor, secretary of state and attorney general. There are also three ballot proposals that could change the state's constitution, all 13 seats in the U.S. Congress and all the State House and Senate seats. The midterm elections will likely...
From ally to enemy: Australia hammers final nail in U.S. “Deal of the Century”
October 31st, 20220 U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called "Deal of the Century" was meant to represent a finality of sorts, an event reminiscent of Francis Fukuyama’s premature declaration of the ‘End of History’ and the uncontested supremacy of western capitalism. In effect, it was a declaration that ‘we’ – the U.S., Israel and a few allies......
Has the honeymoon ended?
October 28th, 20222 - Muzammil Ahmed serves on the boards of Emgage MI, CAIR MI and is the former chair of the Michigan Muslim Community Council. The opinions expressed are his own. When the Muslim community and the progressive forces came together after 9/11, it was a marriage of convenience. Arabs and Muslims needed to be loved and the Progressives...
Retired military officials say GOP secretary of state candidate threat to national security
October 26th, 20221 The following op-ed was submitted by James Pocock, major general, U.S. Army, retired; Thomas N. Edmonds, brigadier general, U.S. Air Force, retired; Axel A. Johnson, III, brigadier general, U.S. Army, retired; Mark A. Montjar, brigadier general, U.S. Army, retired; Donald Schenk, brigadier general, U.S. Amy, retired and Valerie......
