February 8th, 20190On Tuesday, the Senate passed S.1, the "Middle East bill" that included the “Combating BDS Act of 2019”, a measure that encourages state and local governments to enact legislation that bars state agencies from contracting with individuals or companies who support boycotts of Israel, more commonly known as the Boycott, Divestment and...
January 26th, 20190HOUSTON – The successes of members of the Arab American community are expanding from the political and the scientific fields to sales and entrepreneurship, among many other areas. Patience and insight guided the vision of Ali Hodroj, a child of the border town of Hunin between Lebanon and Palestine, who was named the best salesman in...
January 15th, 20190LANSING — Fadwa A. Hammoud, a resident of Dearborn, has been appointed as the state's solicitor general by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. She is the first Arab American and Muslim solicitor general in U.S. history.
“I am proud of the seasoned veterans who have chosen to return to state government – and to those who have...
January 7th, 20190SAN DIEGO - In November, Ammar Campa-Najjar hoped to become the first Latino Arab-American member of Congress. Though he was facing off against Rep. Duncan Hunter – who with an ongoing finance scandal is embroiled in controversy – he faced an uphill battle. The 50th Congressional District in California – which encompasses parts of...
December 24th, 20181The late fall and winter months bring a whole new set of challenges with them, especially health concerns present during this time of the year.
One of the biggest reasons for increased levels of the flu and other sicknesses during the fall and winter months is the pronounced lack of sunlight, exposure to which helps the human body to...
December 14th, 20180FARMINGTON HILLS — CAIR-MI filed a discrimination complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights against Greyhound on behalf of a Muslim man who was kicked off of a bus for speaking on his phone in Arabic.
Earlier this year, Abrahaim Mohamed, an American Muslim, traveled from Michigan to Ohio by Greyhound bus.
A press...
December 2nd, 20180DEARBORN – The Palestinian struggle carries countless stories of suffering and injustice. Such is the case with Mohammed Abu Hussein, a young Palestinian boy who lost his right leg in June during the Great March of Return along the Gaza border against the Israeli occupation.
Mohammed is currently in Dearborn, where he will receive a...
November 30th, 20180MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A settlement has been reached between a young Muslim man who filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Memphis, Mayor Jim Strickland in his official capacity and the Memphis Police Department Training Academy — but it's unknown what the terms of the settlement are.
Tareq Elkhayyat, an Arab American of Palestinian...
November 24th, 20180
It has never been easy for Arab Americans to advocate for Palestinian rights; and while we have made real progress, the challenges continue to grow.
I learned early on that this was not ever going to be a fair fight. In their relentless effort to silence our voice, supporters of Israel waged a relentless campaign to delegitimize...
November 12th, 20180DEARBORN — Starting as an organization co-founded by sisters Mariam and Marwa Ayyash, the Arab American Health Initiative (AAHI) highlights healthcare needs, including reducing health disparities and fighting stigma within the Arab American community.
The AAHI was first established in October 2016 and officially launched as a...
November 10th, 20180DETROIT — Rashida Tlaib will be one of two Arab American and Muslim women ever to be elected to Congress after winning the seat of former U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. and defeating Brenda Jones' last minute write-in campaign, on Tuesday.
The Palestinian American and vocal critic of President Trump was announced the winner of the 13th...
November 9th, 20181FLORIDA – Democratic candidate Donna Shalala won the seat vacated by retiring Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in Florida’s 27th Congressional District, with 51.7 percent of the votes, defeating her Republican opponent, Maria Elvira Salazar, who received 45 percent of the votes, to flip a House seat that has long been targeted by...
November 9th, 20180DEARBORN — On Tuesday, long-time real estate associate broker Sam Baydoun was elected to the 13th District Wayne County Commission seat vacated by outgoing Commission Chairman Gary Woronchak. Baydoun ran unopposed and received 30,920 votes.
Woronchak, who mounted an unsuccessful run for State Senate, will step down in...
November 9th, 20184DEARBORN — In a dramatic contrast, all five Arab American candidates failed in the Dearborn Board of Education race on Tuesday, while other Arab Americans scored victories in Dearborn Heights' Crestwood School District and the Northville School Board.
In Dearborn, the Arab American capital of the U.S., thousands of Arab voters went...
October 21st, 20182DEARBORN — Between 1995 and 2012, thousands of people visited the capital of Arab America for a taste of their homelands' cultures and a grand celebration.
The three-day Arab festival has been called the largest gathering of Arab Americans; it drew in three times Dearborn’s population of nearly 90,000. It was also a kind of...
October 16th, 20180Reflecting that his résumé leans "toward the terrorist side of things", Egyptian American actor Zeeko Zaki couldn’t be happier with his role as FBI special agent Omar Adom "OA" Zidan on Dick Wolf’s latest crime drama FBI. Seeing someone like himself — Arab American and Muslim — as "a protagonist in law enforcement is definitely...
September 22nd, 20180DEARBORN — Arab? Arabic? Immigrant? Native born? Is American Arabia a counterculture of America?
The Statue of Liberty stands tall and high in New York, symbolizing freedom and enlightenment and is aimed towards sealing friendship. One defining metaphor known in the United States is a "melting pot" of immigrants around the globe,...
September 15th, 20180DEARBORN – More than half of the candidates running for two seats on the Dearborn Board of Education are of Arab origin, with one of them – Aman (Amy) Fidama – being the first Yemeni American woman to run for office in Michigan.
Two six-year seats are up for grabs and voters will determine who’ll fill them on November...
September 1st, 20180By Taylor Adams
DALLAS, Texas — The second annual Arab Texas Festival returns to Mesquite on Sept. 2, offering food, performers and activities aimed at spotlighting Arabic culture. And it comes with a tempting array of food, including shawarma, falafel, meat and cheese pies and Arabic desserts.
The festival is the...
August 24th, 20180TROY — The Kresge Foundation has announced that Metro Detroit native Zenna Elhasan will join the organization on October 1 to serve as its first lead attorney. In her newly created role, Elhasan will advise the foundation’s Board of Trustees and staff on legal matters, support the development and enforcement of foundation policies...
August 24th, 20180DEARBORN ― The Greater Detroit Area Health Council has awarded Hassan Abdallah, co-founder and executive director of SAFE Substance Abuse Coalition, with the Breakthrough Award. He is the first Arab American to receive that distinction from the organization.
The GDAHC is a multifaceted leading non-profit that aims to create...
August 20th, 20181CHATSWORTH, Ga. — CNN reported that the incident took place Aug. 10. in a wooded area in Chatsworth, Ga., where Martha Al-Bishara — a Syrian and who doesn't speak English — was looking for dandelions in a wooded area, which she uses to make a salad for her husband.
Police were alerted after an employee of a Boys and Girls Club...
August 17th, 20180This week, Arab and Muslim Americans scored another historic victory in Minnesota where Ilhan Omar won comfortably a Congressional primary election.
Omar, America’s first Somali American legislator, won the Minnesota Democratic primary for Congress on Tuesday. The seat she competed for in the Fifth District is currently held by U.S....
August 10th, 20180Michigan voters set a new record of involvement this historic primary election thanks in large part to the candidacy of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Progressive Movement led by Senator Bernie Sanders, and in a twisted way thanks to President Trump and his racist rants.
Energy could be felt everywhere in this election. Rashida Tlaib’s...
August 10th, 20180DETROIT – On August 7, voters in the 13th Congressional District made history by choosing former State Rep. Rashida Tlaib in the Democratic Primary. This November, Tlaib will be the first Arab American Muslim woman elected to Congress – she’ll appear on the general election ballot with no opposition from a Republican candidate and...
July 28th, 20180NEW YORK— An Arab American immigrant will play a leading role in the upcoming CBS series “FBI”, created by Dick Wolf — best known for the “Law and Order” franchise.
Zeeko Zaki, who plays Agent Omar Adom Zidan in the show, emigrated from Egypt at just 1 month old in 1990. He grew up primarily outside of Philadelphia in...
July 6th, 20180
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal district court here issued an entry of default against an American neo-Nazi in a lawsuit filed by an Arab American comedian, Dean Obeidallah, who said Andrew Anglin and his website, The Daily Stormer, published fabricated information claiming Obeidallah was a "terrorist mastermind."
Tuesday's default entry...
July 6th, 20180PATERSON, NJ —Andre Sayegh was sworn in as the mayor of Paterson, New Jersey on Sunday afternoon, July 1, becoming the first Arab American to hold the city’s highest office.
Sayegh’s longtime political mentor, Rep. Bill Pascrell, administered the oath of office. Following his oath, Sayegh delivered a 12-minute inaugural...