Will a Palestinian autumn follow an ‘Arab spring’?
With much of the Arab world experiencing uprisings in recent months, there has been one resounding question among Palestinians: why not us? It is a sad irony that the Palestinians, under Israeli occupation for nearly 44 years, watch from the sidelines as other Arabs shake off their repressive shackles by pouring into the streets...An open letter to Terry Jones
@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Dear Pastor Terry Jones, This letter might come too late, but I still need to say...
Goldstone: An act of negligence
April 8th, 20110 @font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } In the wake of a monumental victory in the human rights community to move the Goldstone Report out of the...
Learning all the wrong lessons in Jordan
April 1st, 20110 @font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } King Abdullah's regime is cracking down on protesters who want reforms and, perhaps, a constitutional...Michigan’s “Arizona Bill” could be disastrous
@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Michigan's version of the controversial "Arizona Immigration Law" has been introduced again recently...From a spy to a patriot: Muthanna al-Hanooti
@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }Three years ago, when the Department of Justice announced Muthanna al-Hanooti's indictment, they alleged he was a spy for Iraq....King’s hearings a ‘disgraceful display’
Congressman Keith Ellison’s poignant testimony last week before the House Homeland Security Committee brought to mind Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. Ellison, who broke down mid-way through his remarks, told the heroic story of Salman Hamdani, a New York City paramedic of Islamic faith who died in the tragedy of...People of Yemen: We need a change
We need a change in Yemen. People are fed up with the suffering of hardship and injustice they have to deal with every day in their own country. For many Yemeni citizens, it has become far easier to emigrate and live in other countries than staying in their own land. Being a citizen in Yemen is like a bird in a cage deprived from the...ASU should be commended for honoring Amer family
I recently read an article in The Arab American News (March 5-11, 2011) regarding the University of Michigan-Dearborn chapter of the Arab Student Union's (ASU) efforts to honor the Amer family, in whose name legislation was passed at the end of 2010 to help reform Michigan's foster care system. The Amer Act, or House Bill 4118, was...Democratically elected Arab governments won’t follow Washington’s orders
U.S. President Barack Obama has still not fully grasped the essence of the revolutions underway in the Arab world. He genuinely seems to believe that the people rallying for democracy in the region are making a pro-Western, if not pro-Israeli, statement. "All the forces that we're seeing at work in Egypt are forces that naturally should...
Putting American Muslims on trial is detrimental to U.S.
March 12th, 20110 Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives, John D. Dingell (D-MI) testified at the Homeland Security hearing entitled "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and That Community's Response." His words bear repeating here. "I am pleased to have the opportunity to talk to you about the Muslim American community I...A new era in the Arab world
The sheer brutality of the Libyan suppression of anti-government protests has exposed the fallacy of the post-colonial Arab dictatorships, which have relied on revolutionary slogans as their source of legitimacy. Lebanese and Arab students carry placards during a sit-in against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and to express...Till September: The PA’s meaningless deadlines
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his supporters in the Fatah party want us to believe that dramatic changes are underway in the occupied Palestinian territories.Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his supporters in the Fatah party want us to believe that dramatic changes are underway in the occupied...How to challenge your property tax assessment
Metro Detroit, it’s that time of year — residents and business owners are receiving property tax notices of assessment and after four years of a battered real estate market, many suspect they're being overtaxed on inflated values or properties. If you own a home or business you will receive a “Notice of Assessment,"...The resurrection of pan-Arabism
The Egyptian revolution, itself influenced by the Tunisian uprising, has resurrected a new sense of pan-Arabism based on the struggle for social justice and freedom. The overwhelming support for the Egyptian revolutionaries across the Arab world reflects a sense of unity in the rejection of tyrannical, or at least authoritarian, leaders,......
From the Gulf to the ocean: The Middle East is changing
Now that the Egyptian people have finally wrestled their freedom from the hands of a very stubborn regime, accolades to the revolution are pouring in from all directions. Even those who initially sided with Hosni Mubarak's regime, or favored a neutral position, have now changed their tune. "Arabs celebrate from the Gulf to the ocean,"...Arabs celebrate the end of an era
After Tunisia and Egypt, it is time to celebrate. For decades, the Arabs have been on a course of misguided politics. It is high time to allow talent to lead, privilege to spread and freedom to shine. Millions of young people dream of a better future. Citizens are no longer scared to think, to ask pivotal questions and imagine the......
Protecting your assets, making your small business an LLC
In the first edition of my regular legal column in TAAN, I thought it would be valuable to explore a question that I get from local business owners on a regular basis: What is the advantage of forming your business as an LLC as opposed to a sole proprietorship? For many business owners, forming a new entity, and all of the necessary...Arab World’s moment of truth is coming
The massive social and political volcano that erupted in Tunisia with the death of Mohamed Bouazizi has burned the foundations of the oppressive Pharaohic establishment in Egypt for the last three weeks. So far, the protesters have won some unprecedented concessions. Their main demand is still the same: "Step down Mubarak, the...‘Jewish Voice for Peace’ stands with Egyptian protesters
'Jewish Voice for Peace,' a national organization with a Michigan branch that is committed to ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine, released a statement in support of the Egyptian uprising and struggle for democracy and freedom. The following are excerpts from the statement: “We at Jewish Voice for Peace are deeply inspired by...From an Egyptian to my fellow Americans
Dear fellow people of America, I am Egyptian. I have been ruled by the state of emergency for 30 years…yes 30 years. During these thirty years, 40 percent of my people have lived under the poverty line; 30 to 40 percent are illiterate. During these black years, and unlike you, we never had fair and transparent elections; we, unlike......
Why did Finkelstein avoid Zionism questions?
Norman Finkelstein’s talk at UM-D on Wednesday was instructive and revealing—though not, I’m sure, in the way he intended. The event began with him speaking for about an hour and 20 minutes, mostly on the December 2008 invasion and massacre in Gaza. He recounted the usual facts about that tragic event, facts that were...A new truth dawns on the Arab world
Riot police clash with protesters in Cairo January 26, 2011. Thousands of Egyptians defied a ban on protests by returning to Egypt's streets on Wednesday and calling for President Hosni Mubarak to leave office, and some scuffled with police.REUTERS/Goran TomasevicLeaked Palestinian files have put a region in revolutionary......
Lebanon should reject Hariri tribunal
January 28th, 20110 A supporter of Lebanon's outgoing premier Saad al-Hariri prays at the grave of assassinated former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri, during a protest against the appointment of Najib Mikati as Prime Minister, in Beirut January 26, 2011. Hundreds of angry protesters burnt tyres and blocked roads across Lebanon on Tuesday after Mikati,...Blockading Gaza is irrational and illegal
In June, columnist and Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer wrote an article titled “Blockading Gaza Rational and Legal” on the Israeli attack of the flotilla which was heading towards the Gaza Strip from Turkey, killing nine. In typical fashion, the country’s intellectuals attempted to justify such brutal acts, paying little......