Rosa Parks should be the face of the $20 bill
An organization committed to gender equality is demanding that President Obama put a woman on the $20 bill, which currently features Andrew Jackson. Wilma Mankiller, the first elected female chief of the Cherokee nation; civil rights leader Rosa Parks; former first lady and human rights activist Eleanor Roosevelt and African American...Saudi opposition to the Iranian nuclear deal is irrational
From the streets of Tehran to the White House, everybody was celebrating the initial nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers on April 5—except Israel, Saudi Arabia and Republicans. However, the Saudi opposition to the deal is irrational. Republicans have rejected the deal because of domestic political concerns. It is...
Yemeni Americans should manage their disagreements
April 10th, 20150 The crisis in Yemen has further divided our already divided Arab American community. The violent outcomes of the "Arab Spring", especially the Syrian war, have pitted many community members against each other and fueled the sectarian rhetoric in the Arab world as well as Arab America. And now comes the war in Yemen, which is turning...
Chelsea Manning and the call of America’s conscience
April 10th, 20150 A screenshot from the leaked video video depicting an Apache helicopter killing Iraqi civilians.April 5 marked the five year anniversary of WikiLeaks' publication of the Collateral Murder Video. the footage of a secret U.S. military video depicted an Apache helicopter killing Iraqi civilians, including two Reuters journalists. It...Into the abyss: Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen
Houthi fighters ride a patrol truck outside Sanaa Airport, March 28.Not long before the founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, died in 1953, he is purported to have said, “the good or evil for us will come from Yemen.” With the commencement of air strikes on targets in Yemen, it is increasingly likely that the latter part...
Canceling the Arab International Festival was an admission of defeat
April 3rd, 20150 They defeated us. In 2010, bigots came to our city to flaunt their racism at the Arab International Festival and ended up taking $300,000 of our tax money after suing the city for wrongful arrest. Hateful protesters kept coming back in the following two years, which proved to be the last for the festival. The American Arab...The Arab League should cease to exist
We have lived through decades of Arab divisions and infighting. But now Arab League nations have announced forming a joint military force and increasing security coordination, mainly to bomb a fellow Arab country. We prefer division to unity about the wrong cause. The historically incompetent Arab League has become a tool for the...Netanyahu the mythbuster: ‘Special relationship’ no more
Imagine if an American presidential candidate made a plea to his supporters on election day with the following statement: “The Republican administration is in danger. Black voters are going en masse to the polls. Liberal NGOs are bringing them on buses.” Even in a country where Chris Matthews is a media celebrity and Pamela Geller...Saudi intervention in Yemen will lead to more chaos
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, joined by Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Sudan, have started a military campaign against Houthi forces in Yemen. The wrath of Arab armies is manifesting itself, not against their enemies, but in an internal conflict in an Arab country. All of these countries sat idly...Terrorism by non-Muslims goes under-reported
A man walked into the New Orleans airport on March 20, swung his machete at TSA officers and sprayed poison at them. His duffel bag contained six homemade bombs. His motives remain unknown; and to many Americans, his actions do, too, because the news media paid little attention to them.Richard White, the 63-year-old attacker, died...Ten arguments for raising minimum wage
Darlene Handy of Baltimore holds up a sign during a rally to support raising the minimum wage in Maryland.One: Seven Nobel laureates in economics endorse the higher minimum wage to $10.10 by 2016, saying it does not lead to fewer jobs. Two: Job losses from raising the minimum wage are negligible. Minimum wage has already been raised 23...Clean up Dearborn
Bottles and plastic bags on a lawn in east Dearborn, March 18.As an Arabic saying puts it, "tomorrow the snow will melt and the field will be revealed." That quote demonstrates the truth's ability to eventually manifest itself through barriers of falsehood. In east Dearborn the snow melted last week, but the truth that the fields...Netanyahu’s victory demonstrates Israel’s racism
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves to supporters at the party headquarters in Tel Aviv, March 18.Last week, all opinion polls foretold that the centrist Zionist Union would grab the most seats in the Israeli elections. But the right wing Likud Party and its leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, scored a dramatic comeback and emerged...Beyond denying Sharia: let’s advertise Dearborn culture
Brian Stone.We should recognize a plain truth: Dearborn is unique in America because of our residents. We are beneficiaries of the ancient wisdom and culture of the Middle East. My question is, why don’t we advertise it? While some in Dearborn are focused on limiting the number of Hookah bars, regulating signage in Arabic and...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.......
Republican senators’ letter to Iran embarrasses the nation
Republicans lawmakers have struck again. On Monday, less than a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke before Congress at the invitation of Speaker of the House John Boehner (R- Ohio), 47 Republican senators sent a letter to Iran, warning the Islamic Republic that a nuclear deal could be...Rasmea Odeh should be honored, not imprisoned
I remember distinctly the experience that pushed me to decide I wanted to dedicate my life to making the world a better place. In 2009, I spent the year working at the Arab American Action Network in Chicago and had the opportunity to interact with so many amazing individuals who were committed to working for positive social......
Our representatives insulted us
We are disappointed that most of Michigan’s congressional delegation attended Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial and insulting speech on Capitol Hill. Their decision to stand and applaud for Netanyahu's lies as he undermines President Obama and pretends to care more about threats to world peace than our...
Chaldeans at AIPAC do not speak for the community
March 6th, 20151 Last week, Chaldean State Rep. Klint Kesto (R- Commerce Township) and California businessman Mark Arabo attended the national conference of the American Israeli Political Action Committee (AIPAC). Then, they filled their social media pages with expressions of fondness of Israel and calls to protect Iraqi Christians—sometimes in the...
City’s comments on Kroger incident call investigation into question
February 27th, 20150 Much has been made of the incident that took place at the Kroger at Michigan Ave. and Greenfield on Feb 12. While many facts may be in dispute, a separate controversy has been raised by members of the community. That controversy involves when and how public comments are made during what is expected and claimed to be an impartial...Netanyahu’s address to Congress is a decisive insult
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming address to Congress is an insult to all Americans. The Israeli right wing leader was invited to speak to a joint session of lawmakers on Capitol Hill by Speaker of the House John Boehner, who does not have the constitutional power to dwell in foreign policy. The Republican speaker......
The media sensationalized Wayne County government corruption claims
After a tedious federal investigation that lasted more than three years, the FBI found no legal wrongdoing in the top leadership of Wayne County— an outcome the local media had a hard time processing. Former County Executive Robert Ficano left the county in dreadful shape with a budget deficit close to $100 million. But the county's...Top seven myths about Daesh
The self-styled “Islamic State” Group (ISIS or ISIL), the Arabic acronym for which is “Daesh”, is increasingly haunting the nightmares of Western journalists and security analysts. I keep seeing some assertions about it that strike me as exaggerated or just incorrect. 1. It isn’t possible to determine whether Daesh is a......
To fight bigotry, we must unite
We live in critical times in the history of our country and community. The rampant bigotry, xenophobia and racism against Arabs and Muslims have turned violent. Three innocent lives were lost in Chapel Hill. The story of the victims has taunted families whose children look like Deah, Yusor and Razan and share their faith and...Students fight to keep affordable college from becoming extinct
My family's mantra is as American as apple pie and baseball: work hard, get an education and you'll succeed. It was clear, prescriptive and a fairly sound philosophy for those without great wealth or powerful connections. Like millions, I did what I was told. That recipe for success, however, comes with a very expensive price tag.......