Obama defends Guantanamo closure, Cheney defends torture
May 23rd, 20090 NEW YORK — President Barack Obama cautiously minced his way Thursday through a political minefield filled with imminent explosions from human rights advocates, national security hawks, and a Congress terrified by the potential political backlash of any move to bring Guantanamo Bay prisoners to the U.S. for trial or...Yemen on the brink of war?
On May 3, the US Embassy in Sana'a issued a statement on the political violence in South Yemen that claimed eight lives last week. The United States stressed that "Yemen's unity depends on its ability to guarantee every citizen equal treatment under the law." What the Yemeni government calls unity, the protesters call...
The question of our time
May 9th, 20090 Why does Israel have a right to exist, but Palestine doesn't? A Palestinian protester runs from incoming tear gas fired by Israeli security forces during a protest against the construction of the controversial Israeli separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin near Ramallah May 8, 2009. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside This is...Obama faces Israel’s angst
"Could the Taliban get the bomb before Iran does?" read the headline in my favorite Israeli newspaper, Haaretz. The columnist, Bradley Burston, was joining Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in thinking the unthinkable, that the Taliban in Pakistan might soon have their hands on what the country's former President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto...
Court should not ban niqab
May 2nd, 20090 The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, with the support of a diverse group of religious, ethnic and domestic violence organizations, submitted a comment this week to the Michigan Supreme Court asking the court to change a proposed court rule that would effectively close the courthouse doors to Muslim women who wear a niqab, a...
Time to end U.S.-Israel free trade agreement
May 2nd, 20090 A legal filing to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) by the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep) calls for suspension of the US-Israel Free Trade Area. We agree it's high time this drain on U.S. jobs and income is stopped. The "Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974" filing includes previously unreleased...Israel is more a liability than an asset to the U.S.
The Zionist Lobby (AIPAC), which is a tiny segment of the U.S. population, has gained an outrageously disproportionate and dangerous influence over our political machinery and as a result our country is on a foreign policy path that is counter to its best interests. The power of the Israeli lobby has brought about a situation in...
Do you have your organ donor sticker?
April 18th, 20090 There are approximately 3,000 of our family members, friends and neighbors in Michigan currently awaiting an organ transplant—and the miracle of a second chance at life. For some, the wait for a donor organ may take years. For others, the phone call announcing that one has been found may never come. The difference a lifesaving...Obama’s trip a success
U.S. President Barack Obama participates in a town hall meeting with university students at the Tophane Cultural Center in Istanbul April 7, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Reed The Obamas' European Odyssey was a success — despite the predictable complaints of some U.S. critics. The president and first lady took the continent by storm,...ADC addresses immigration reform on the Hill
Each week, ADC receives numerous inquiries about how and when comprehensive immigration reform will be passed. The Obama administration has indicated that the president will publicly address the issue in May, with hopes of having reform a reality before 2010. ADC has been addressing the issue of reform with Congressional members and...Israeli nuclear arsenal prohibits U.S. aid
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) are heavily lobbying Congress for $2.775 billion in military aid to Israel. However credible reports from the U.S. Army and a former president confirm the existence of an Israeli nuclear weapons arsenal. This could prohibit U.S. taxpayer funded...Changing the rules of war
The extent of Israel's brutality against Palestinian civilians in its 22-day pounding of the Gaza Strip is gradually surfacing. Israeli soldiers are testifying to lax rules of engagement tantamount to a license to kill. One soldier commented: "That's what is so nice, supposedly, about Gaza: You see a person on a road, walking along a...
Intifada: A third chapter?
March 28th, 20090 Israeli border police officers detain a Palestinian woman in east Jerusalem March 23, 2009, during an event marking Jerusalem's tenure as the Arab League's "capital of Arab culture" for 2009. According to an Israeli police spokesperson, several activists were detained as the police dispersed an illegal gathering. REUTERS/Ammar...America must find courage to stand up to Israel, injustice
During a recent visit to Washington, I met with several members of Congress to discuss the prospects for Palestinian and Israeli peace. This included a marvelous, unexpected introduction to Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the courageous civil rights advocate. The Palestinian National Initiative, which I head, works to emulate the nonviolent...Obama rides the same old policies in Palestine
President Obama has ridden in on the winds of change, promising diplomacy rather than belligerence as U.S. foreign policy; but he has yet to speak clearly against the policy of underdevelopment and "removal" Israel deploys against Palestinians living under occupation. Unfortunately, Obama's voice overseas, Secretary of State Hillary......
The United Nations is a useless, toothless organization
I used to think the U.N., both in principle and in practice, was the closest thing we'd have to a world government, coming together to tackle the challenges faced by all humanity. Now I feel that the U.N. is an utterly useless organization when it comes to protecting human rights and enforcing security. U.S. President Barack...
Justifying censorship at Edsel Ford High
March 7th, 20090 When Deanna Suleiman, copy editor of Edsel Ford High's school newspaper, The Bolt, used her free speech right to express dissatisfaction with American and Israeli policies toward the Palestinians, she had no idea what trouble she was about to cause. Deanna and her colleagues at The Bolt had excitedly prepared and posted the......
In response to censorship at Edsel Ford
To the editor: I am writing in response to your paper picking up the story regarding Edsel Ford High School and their pulling of Deanna Suleiman's OP-ED piece regarding the Israel/Palestine conflict from the school's website. Regardless of whether or not people liked the content of the article — the paper, the school, and the author...FBI losing partnership with Arab, Muslim communities
The revelation this week that the FBI used paid informants and agents provocateur in U.S. mosques who have participated in law enforcement outreach efforts undermines the decade-long relationship that Arab Americans and American Muslims have built with law enforcement. This news sends a devastating message to community leaders and imams...
Hassan or Grant — no religion excuses domestic violence
February 21st, 20090 Muzzammil Hassan, 44, allegedly beheaded his wife, Aasiya Hassan, 37, last week and surrendered to police. Hassan was later charged with the second-degree murder of his wife, whose body was found at the office of Bridges TV, their television station in Orchard Park, near Buffalo, New York. Muzzammil Hassan and his late wife...Why we must boycott Starbucks
The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against apartheid Israel is gaining momentum around the world. The boycott of Starbucks is Michigan's modest contribution to the worldwide movement. Here are a few other examples: • South African dock workers refused to unload Israeli ships (Feb. 3rd 2009) • Church of......
Please, no more charades
James AbourezkAbe Foxman, head of the "Anti-Defamation League," claims that George Mitchell is too fair to be a broker between Israel and the Palestinians. I guess that Foxman, in denouncing the choice of Mitchell for Middle East negotiator, shows that he is accustomed to such impartial mediators as Dennis Ross, who, when he...
The horror of Gaza witnessed
February 7th, 20090 A Palestinian girl carries her sister in front of a destroyed house in Jabalya, in the northern Gaza Strip, February 4, 2009. Thousands of Palestinians are living in tented camps after Israel's three-week assault on the Gaza Strip, hoping for a swift end to Israel's blockade so they can rebuild their homes. Reuters Over the......
State Senator Martha Scott: LOVE IS NOT ABUSE
Senator Scott: Dating violence is at epidemic proportions, resulting in thousands of preventable deaths. I hope you can do your part by becoming a MADE member and help me protect our youth. Join the MADE coalition by signing the petition at www.loveisnotabuse.com/made. The majority of this country sees Valentine's Day as an...
After Gaza genocide, what next?
January 30th, 20090 Palestinian students study at the yard of al-Fadilah Islamic school in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip January 26, 2009. The school was destroyed in an Israeli air strike during Israel's 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa The recent tentative ceasefire may have halted Israel's military thrashing of......
