Dearborn’s nightclub, nightmare
"We cannot afford to allow these clubs to ruin our city."It's Monday night around 8 p.m., and I'm laidback in a chair watching an incident unfold on a television screen. I watch intently as five or six police cruisers roll up to a crowded nightclub parking lot around closing time. I'm watching dash cam footage as one of the cruisers...A message to our community: Condolences and commitments
My sincere condolences to the family and friends of Jamal Dabaja, the young man we lost on April 7. My deepest sympathy goes to his parents, siblings and friends. It is personally painful to me when our community members die prematurely to preventable issues— gun violence, drug abuse, depression, suicide or...Non-violent BDS should be welcomed, not condemned
A thousand Israelis and their supporters gathered in Jerusalem's International Convention Center on March 28, at a conference aimed at combating the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). The conference was a display of "fear, paranoia, anger and determination", as described by Antony Loewenstein, and featured top...Michigan Democratic superdelegates should back Sanders
Bernie Sanders Michigan victory last month was historic. Pollsters wrote him off by 20 points. And virtually every establishment Democrat in the state backed Hillary Clinton, including all of the Michigan's Democratic representatives in Washington — two senators and five representatives. While the voters rendered public opinion...AIPAC letter against Palestinian statehood harms peace
If you ask members of Congress about their ideas to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they would almost unanimously suggest the two-state solution.While Israel is a UN recognized state with a viable economy, strong military and standing government, the missing part of the two-state solution is Palestine.However, more than 350...
Exposing the truth is our responsibility
April 1st, 20160 A surveillance image of the Hamido restuarant, where a brawl erupted on March 21.A horrified woman dining at the Hamido restaurant in Dearborn shielded her young daughter as a brawl erupted on the evening of March 21. And yet, when The Arab American News posted the surveillance footage on its Facebook page earlier this week, many...College is not the only option: High school students need to learn about skilled trade
Somebody has to maintain the hospitals where all these future medical students work. Last week, I found myself standing in the middle of a classroom at Fordson High School surrounded by about 25 rambunctious teenagers. This was a first for me. I probably ended up learning more from the experience than they did. It was career night and...Arab American backing of Sanders has possibilities
Elections do have consequences and so do campaigns. In this case the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders carries more than just the promise of a political and economic revolution. His campaign so far bears more significance than the hope of a radical change on Wall Street and the offering of free tuition at...Bigotry competition: Cruz and Trump’s hatred endangers our safety
Trump and CruzArabs and Muslims have condemned terrorism; they have cooperated with law enforcement; they have held rallies and organized press conferences to denounce violence. And they continue to be the largest group of victims of terror worldwide. It seems that even if Muslims walk on water to reject terror, they will still be...
The AIPAC show was a bigoted farce
March 25th, 20160 Hillary Clinton speaking at AIPAC, March 21.Establishment politicians from both parties may disagree on many issues, but the one topic that traditional Republicans and Democrats seem to unanimously agree on is supporting Israel unconditionally at the expense of Palestinians' human rights and America's interests. Presidential...Thank you for your support
Two men tried to break into The Arab American News office in the early hours of Friday, March 11, while the staff was inside. We thank the local media, community members and responding police officers for the overwhelming support and attention that we received after the incident.It is too soon to speculate about the motives of the...U.S. elections fuel tension of Arab-Israeli conflict
America’s short sighted foreign policy on the Palestine question plays well in the current presidential elections. The Arab-Israeli conflict is an attractive medium for pandering to campaign donors and to voters. As a result, the presidential primaries add fuel to the tension between the two sides. With jaws dropped...The Arab vote proved powerful; turnout should be higher
Michigan's Arab and Muslim communities made history last week by voting for the right candidate in the Democratic primaries. In most east Dearborn precincts, which have a high concentration of Arab voters, Senator Bernie Sanders beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 2-1. Sanders also won in Dearborn Heights, home to a large...Why BDS Cannot Lose: A Moral Threshold to Combat Racism in Israel
While racism is a part of life that's practiced, observed and reported on in many parts of the world, institutionalized racism through calculated governmental measures is only practiced — at least, openly — in a few countries around the world: Burma is one of them. However, no country is as adamant and open about its racially...How most aid to the Palestinians ends up in Israel’s coffers
A Palestinian man on the rubble of a home after it was demolished by Israeli army in the West Bank, Feb. 23Diplomats may have a reputation for greyness, obfuscation, even hypocrisy, but few have found themselves compared to a serial killer, let alone one who devours human flesh. That honor befell Laars Faaborg-Andersen, the European......
Our women deserve better
March 11th, 20160 Protesters at an event called Release Our Girls during International Women's Day, Cairo, March 8March 8 was International Women's Day. On this occasion, we extend our gratitude to Arab women for their resilience and sacrifices around the world.In the Arab American community, we are blessed to have strong female leaders in almost every...
We endorse Bernie Sanders
March 4th, 20160 Presidents serve for four years, but this presidential election will likely shape the future of the United States for generations to come. Your vote on Tuesday, March 8, will help draw Washington's policies on critical issues for the near and remote future — a Supreme Court nomination; the United States’ role in the Middle East;......
Which Republican candidate deserves your vote?
The nation is facing challenges of historic proportions — global warming, the rise of ISIS, the struggling middle class and the flawed healthcare system, to name a few. It is disheartening to see politicians vying for the highest office in the land arguing about the way they sweat on camera and the size of their opponents' hands....FBI vs. Apple is really about Snowden
The fight between Apple and the FBI has been framed as an epic battle between big tech and big government. Apple, says the Obama Administration, is siding with “its business model and public brand marketing strategy” ahead of public safety. That’s not it, says Apple CEO Tim Cook. He says his company is “a staunch...
Why Muslim Americans should vote for Bernie Sanders
February 29th, 20160 Bernie Sanders addresses supporters during a campaign rally in Rochester, Minnesota, Feb. 27. Photo: ReutersIn the 2016 presidential campaign, Islamophobia is both a campaign strategy and a wedge issue, making this a critical moment for Muslim American voters. A recent study indicates that 76 percent of Muslim Americans intend to...FBI double-standard in dealing with threats is alarming
Sarah Beebe's threat to DearbornSarah Beebe explicitly threatened Dearborn for having a large Muslim population, but she has not been charged with ethnic intimidation or terrorism, yet. She apologized and the authorities called it a day.Other threats against the community have gone unaddressed, despite being brought to the authorities'......
Transparency in Dearborn shouldn’t be so difficult
February 26th, 20160 This week, Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly announced that he cancelled his annual State of the City address, ahead of the snowstorm that impacted the city on Wednesday. It was yet another move that has contributed to what many feel is lack of transparency in Dearborn over the last several months. What many disgruntled residents don't...Animal Shelter drops Dearborn like a bad habit
As a dog owner and fellow supporter, I was pleased to learn last year that the Dearborn Animal Shelter is constructing a brand new facility capable of helping many more animals. Anyone who has visited the old shelter can easily see the benefits of a new one. Not only is this new project good for the animals and the workers, it also......
The “meta-issues” behind the Sanders-Clinton contest
The Democratic presidential primary race is shaping up to be a fascinating contest between the voters' views of two distinct political personalities. Some find this state of affairs confounding, believing that the election should have been a "slam-dunk" for Hillary Clinton—the former First Lady, twice elected Senator from New York,...Saudi Arabia and Turkey destined to lose in Syria
Residents make repairs after an airstrike on the rebel held al-Fardous neighbourhood of Aleppo, Feb. 18The battle of Aleppo is upon us and the game is about to be over. Syria is at a historic crossroads. The Turkish-Saudi camp is nervous and angry at its inability to change the balance of power that was tilted by the Russian......