Arabs are decent family men too
I like to think I'm a decent African-American family man just like Barak Obama. So what I saw on October 10 was as stunning to me as two blows to the stomach. The first blow took my breath away: a supporter of Republican presidential candidate John McCain at a McCain rally in Lakeville, Minnesota declared he was afraid to raise his...ADC combats immigration fraud
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) has received a generous grant from the American Bar Association (ABA) Fund for Justice and Education through a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, to combat the increasing problem of notario fraud within the Arab American community. According to the ABA, "notarios" or...There’s only one answer to the money crisis
The democratic system is the best governing system in the world, because it gives you a choice. The only problem is that the choice is between two negatives. It is like telling you: "You are getting ready to get slapped. Which hand do you want to get slapped with? The left hand or the right?" And the mainstream media gets you so involved...Islamophobia, the new anti-Semitism
Last year, when the notorious Daniel Pipes came to speak at the University of Michigan, there seemed to be a flurry of anti-Islamic activity occurring all over the place. The incidents below are just a random sampling of far right activities that have the perceived "Islamic threat" in common; its status as a political goldmine was...Sheriff says cyber bullying is a real concern
With school just getting back into session most parents will, at some level, worry a bit about their child's well being as it relates to his or her new classmates. No matter what school district your child is in, there always seems to be at least one troublemaker who causes them great anxiety through aggressive behavior....
Religious freedom ultimate protector
October 11th, 20080 During a press conference held this week at the Interfaith Alliance in Washington, DC, prominent religious Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders condemned the recent distribution of an anti-Muslim DVD to more than 28 million households in key election swing states. Rabbi Jack Moline, Chair of the Interfaith Alliance, also called on both...Why America should listen to Ahmadinejad
Although our Founding Fathers would have comprehended and endorsed Ahmadinejad's speech to the United Nations, present-day Americans would find it strange should they happen to hear about it. Unlike their forbears, Americans today live a material life, not a spiritual one. Americans are far too likely to dismiss Ahmadinejad's words...New FBI investigative powers deeply troubling
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is deeply troubled by new guidelines that will give federal law enforcement authorities carte blanche to conduct investigations of individuals on the mere suspicion of questionable activity or upon meeting the FBI's assessment of what it considers a threat. This change will...Vested interests drove new Pakistan policy
WASHINGTON (IPS) — The George W. Bush administration's decision to launch commando raids and step up missiles strikes against Taliban and al Qaeda figures in the tribal areas of Pakistan followed what appears to have been the most contentious policy process over the use of force in Bush's eight-year presidency. That decision has...The Syria-Israel peace gambit
Few would argue that the indirect Israel-Syria talks through Turkish mediation, which were first announced 21 May, were a sign of political maturity and readiness for peace. In fact, while the discussions seemed concerned with the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and Israel's desire for security at its northern borders, the true...The license to target Islam
The late Reverend Jerry Falwell's comment about the "impersonal" God of Islam is a dramatic example of televangelical deviation from ethics of interfaith dialogue. Pope Benedict's unfortunate lecture on Islam and reason illustrates the characteristically condescending stance of the church on the faith of Mohammad. President Bush's...Tzipi Livni needs three things
Here's one major difference between Tzipi Livni, the new leader of Israel's Kadima party, and her rivals for leadership: There are no war crime charges against her. In what must be a relief for some in Israel, Livni doesn't have to look over her shoulder in case she gets arrested when she gets off a plane overseas. Kadima...The Oakland Press tortures the truth
One of the gratifying things about the Fair of Shame protest on August 21st was the response of so many of the Israeli youth. As we stood outside the Jewish Federation's celebration of Israel's creation, dozens of big, yellow school buses passed by. Because traffic was backed up the teens inside had a chance to read our anti-Zionist,...Shame on The Oakland Press
In an editorial this week, The Oakland Press attacked The Arab American News for running an opinion piece by Michelle Kinnucan on the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit's celebration at the Michigan State Fairgrounds of Israel's 60th anniversary. ("Detroit Jewish Federation: Celebrating racism and making money at it," The Arab...Sarah Palin’s frontier justice
Long before any of us knew about Sarah Palin's daughter's baby-daddy, the stage was being set. And the narrative that preceded her apotheosis was one of life and death. The Palin family "chose not to murder that beautiful soul," said an evangelical friend, as she closed her eyes and lifted her palms heavenward. "Choosing not" to......
Neither respected nor feared
In an exalted phrase, the keynote speaker at the Republican convention reviewed the record of the administration, and asked, "When have we rested more secure in friendship with all mankind?" That wasn't in St. Paul, where the Republicans are gathered this week, but at the 1904 Republican convention in Chicago, when the speaker was Elihu...
Our twenty-fourth year
September 6th, 20080 With this issue of The Arab American News, we head down the stretch to our Silver Anniversary. That momentous event will occur September 7, 2009. Twenty four years ago, not many people believed it would ever happen. Over the past year, we have strengthened our outreach to and coverage of the local community, one of our primary......
My response to the Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit
In a press release issued August 27, 2008, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit (JCRC) criticized my article "Detroit Jewish Federation: Celebrating racism and making money at it" as "despicable." The article was published in the August 9-15, 2008, edition of The Arab American News and is available on the...The audacity of critique
African Americans should pressure Senator and Democratic presidential nominee Barak Obama to change U.S. policy toward the occupation of Palestine. Despite the warm response Obama enjoys from American Muslim and Arab American voters, we should stand for the right of our Muslim and Arab brothers and sisters to critique Obama. We should in...Hang up on Motorola
Advocates for Palestinian rights are calling for a boycott of Motorola phones. The U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, an advocacy group based in Washington, DC, urged its members to contact Motorola leaders about the company's role in providing communications technology to Israeli occupation forces. Motorola...Lebanon’s economic task is daunting but possible
The challenge for the national unity government in Lebanon is how to pull the country out of poverty and address its many problems. For Lebanon to grow at self-sustaining rates of seven to ten percent for one or two decades, it must significantly increase its economic freedom. This can be achieved by implementing three top-priority......
Collapse of the Middle East peace process
Political turmoil and uncertainty in both Israel and the United States have now brought an end to the grim farce of Middle East peace-making. Under the faltering sponsorship of U.S. President George W. Bush, no discernable progress has been achieved since the Annapolis summit of November 2007, and no progress can be expected for...Three wrongs make a big mess
Trivia time: This Middle Eastern country has long denied a genocide happened in the past. It has worked, in public and behind the scenes, to convince others this genocide didn't happen and undo any efforts to recognize the event as such. Now, what country am I talking about? If your answer is Iran, that's understandable, given the......
After ordeal, U.S. cancels some Palestinian Fulbright scholarships
Public disagreements between top Israeli and American officials are not too common. The most recent conflagration occurred over Israel's refusal to allow seven Palestinian Fulbright scholars to leave Gaza. It was widely seen as an embarrassment to American diplomats. After pressuring Israel to allow them...A one-state solution for Israel and Palestine
At first sight, the idea of a single state in Israel-Palestine is barely intelligible; the region is permeated by bitterness and hate, everyday life there involves pervasive fear and violence, and there is calculated interference by foreign lobbies and other states. Even the most conciliatory positions seem to offer some form of......