Harris most likely to hear our voice
November 1st, 20240 Dear readers, I am a second generation Arab American with family originating in Lebanon and Syria. My stomach turns each time I see destruction anywhere in the Mid East. Despite this, I know that governance within America is more than foreign policy. Domestic policies protecting our civil rights are paramount to sound foreign policy....Arab American support for Trump is misguided
November 1st, 20243 I was surprised to read of the reaction of some Arab Americans to VP Harris’ candidacy for president in “Harris, Trump campaigns continue their covert efforts to sway Arab and Muslim voters despite their overtly strong support for Israel.” Apparently, many think they will “punish” the Biden administration by voting for Trump....A bit confused
November 1st, 20240 Dear Mr. Siblani, I've been thinking about your statement in the recent Politico article and decided to write. Your community is being presented a rare opportunity due to the outsize power of its voting bloc this election. This might not come again. Yet rather than leveraging it, you’d prefer to just keep protesting? Politics are...Trump would allow Netanyahu to commit unparalleled genocide
November 1st, 20240 Dear editor, I am a Jew, born and raised in Detroit. I urge and feel it essential that fellow Detroiters and the Arab community to vote to elect Kamala Harris for president. Michigan can deliver the presidency to either Harris or Trump. If the Arab community, once a stalwart of Democratic support, refrains from voting for president or...Imam Bilal Alzuhairi: Voting for Trump…. really?
November 1st, 20240 In a few days, we Americans will become accustomed to the “F” word for the next four (or more) years. There exists a possibility that for the first time in the 250 years of its existence as a republic, a fascist will be installed as president of the United States! It sounds ominously hysterical, hyperbolic and overblown, but wait...Unique opportunity for the recognition of Arab & Muslim votes
November 1st, 20241 Irrespective of the colors of past, present and future U.S. administrations, the U.S. policy in the Middle East was and will remain biased against Arabs and their causes for at least the foreseeable future. The U.S. administration’s unlimited diplomatic and military support for Israel wasn’t only dictated by the organized...Trump = genocide for Palestinians
November 1st, 20240 Pissed off over President Biden’s unquestioned support for Israel’s war upon Gaza? Feel that Biden is complicit in genocide against the Palestinian people? Angry at Kamala Harris for being part of the Biden administration and want to blame her for the suffering of the Palestinians? Understandable feelings, justified anger. So, what...
Israeli officials candidly admit to genocide
January 12th, 20240 Letter to the editor: The government of South Africa — whose people know a thing or two about the evils of apartheid — is charging Israel with the crime of genocide before the International Court of Justice. Israeli spokespersons and apologists may scream and howl in protest, but, as Pretoria’s legal brief documents, the...
It’s time to update the 1887 Electoral Count Act
August 30th, 20220 — Mike Shesterkin is executive director of the Southeast Michigan Sustainable Business Forum. On Jan. 6, 2021 the world witnessed the chaos that gripped our nation’s capital. What took place that day was clearly an attempt to overthrow a duly elected president. What enabled the chaos of January 6, and the brazen attempt to ignore...
Let’s talk about mental health in our community
June 20th, 20211 A letter to The Arab American News: Do you think our leaders in Dearborn have done enough to promote mental health within our community? Every single one of us know at least one person struggling with depression, anxiety or other types of mental health problems. Why is it that we as a community turn away from the one issue that is...
Let us build bridges and not walls
April 3rd, 20210 - From Nada Almawiri My name is Nada and I am a Yemeni American student at the University of Detroit Mercy. My current instructor is Abbas Al Haj Ahmad, who is also a writer at The Arab American News. Mr. Abbas Al Haj Ahmad has been a great mentor, instructor and an active member of our community. I am very saddened to see what...
Schools might be opening back up too soon
February 25th, 20210 From Younes Bazzi: Schools are set to reopen for in person learning as early as March for Dearborn Public schools, but this is quite concerning. As of right now teachers are getting the new COVID-19 vaccine, However there is no vaccine officially authorized for people under the age of 16. The soonest we can expect a possible vaccine...We should be grateful for our Constitution
Concerning your editorial of Aug. 27, about the proposed Mosque in Sterling Heights: There is a teachable lesson that we can all learn from… and that is; sometimes it takes the newer citizens— those who are the most grateful for our Bill of Rights, those who vividly remember the oppression they are fleeing— to remind us what a...Letter to the editor
Dear Mr. Siblani: I was greatly disturbed with a recent opinion piece featured in The Arab American News titled “Chaldeans at AIPAC do not speak for the community” and would be remiss if I did not bring my concerns to your attention. The Chaldean community does not wish to engage in a debate pertaining to Arab and Jewish relations....Terrorism against Muslims
The horrific crime in North Carolina last week shocked our community. Did anybody expect it? Not really, as we thought , may be by illusion, that in we are safe in the U.S. Islamophobia is spreading in Europe. It has roots here, too. We did not expect that the words would translate to bullets so quickly, and the anger will shed......
To Dearborn City Council: Boycott the butchers
When you demand a boycott against Israel, it gets splashed across their mass media. It’s a shock they never expected. They killed so many Arabs, so easily; they never expected a big red “Stop” sign in their face.That’s exactly what each “Boycott Israel” resolution is. It shocks them like a slap in the face.Do you...Interfaith cooperation builds bridges and understanding
While US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew arrived in Detroit this week to "highlight the Obama Administration's continued commitment to the city's revitalization," we were appalled Monday night by Bill O'Reilly's peppering and pressuring of Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, to admit that there are “jihadist mosques” in......
Dix area residents feel ignored by the City
Dear Editor:I am a concerned resident of the Southend of Dearborn. For over 50 years, I have seen changes; some for the better, but a lot for the worse. The best days for south end residents were during the administration of the late honorable Mayor Michael Guido (God rest his soul). During that time, police patrolled our streets...When will we put our money where our mouth is?
Dear Editor: Alan Hart is a writer, journalist and activist who has made it his life’s work to promote the truth about the core of the Middle East’s century-old state of conflict; That core being the Zionist propaganda machine’s campaign to portray Israel as a poor, helpless victim of worldwide anti-Semitism, which entitles...Author’s portrayal on aging Arab Americans not entirely accurate
Dear Editor,I would like to congratulate the Arab American News for publishing a series of articles on aging Arab Americans. The first article in the series, authored by Mohamad Ozeir, introduced the importance of the topic, which deserves recognition in the Arab American community. However, the most recent...Ellison challenges Bachmann: Put up or shut up
A few weeks back, the sensation-seeking Representative Michelle Bachmann did her best imitation of the late senator Joseph McCarthy. She and four of her Congressional colleagues released letters they had collectively sent to the inspectors general of the departments of state, justice, defense, and homeland security, and the Office of the......
Commentary crossed line from perspective to stereotype
To The Editor:It is not unusual to find harsh criticism of Israeli government policies published in The Arab American News. But Mazin Qumsiyeh's piece in the August 13th issue crossed the line into blatant stereotyping of Jews and should have been edited or excluded from the paper. Ancient anti-Semitic canards of Jewish...Journalism degree from WSU no longer what it once was
To the editor: I read in the papers that my beloved alma mater, Wayne State University, has "retired" the Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity in the Media award because of controversial remarks made by the award's namesake. In reading some of these remarks – at the time they were made, and again today – I find that, in every......
Race relations in Detroit have worsened since 9/11
To the editor: I am that which could be called a "standard-issue white guy." My mother was Irish, my father was French-Canadian. I live, and work, in Detroit, and I am married to a black woman, with whom I have two sons. I mention all of that to illuminate the fact that while I am, in some ways, "on the outside looking...A plea to the FDA
In June 2006, my mom was diagnosed with early stage two breast cancer. Avastin, a cutting-edge cancer medicine, saved her life. But in December, the FDA is expected to withdraw its approval of the drug. (The decision was initially scheduled for September, but was recently postponed until Dec. 17.) When my mother was diagnosed with......