The Arab American News
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Hard line on Hizbullah clashes with political reality
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Lebanese President Michel Sleiman visited Washington last week for his first visit with President Barack Obama. The meeting was a quick one, tucked in amongst the myriad of domestic issues that are demanding Obama's attention. Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks via a giant screen...
Season’s Greetings
December 24th, 20090 As is our practice, we have combined the final two issues of the year to give our staff a much-needed break and to facilitate the observance of all the year-end holidays of 2009. We at The Arab American News wish all of our readers and advertisers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. While 2009 was a special year for the...
Gaza must be rebuilt now
December 24th, 20090 It is generally recognized that the Middle East peace process is in the doldrums, almost moribund. Israeli settlement expansion within Palestine continues, and PLO leaders refuse to join in renewed peace talks without a settlement freeze, knowing that no Arab or Muslim nation will accept any comprehensive agreement while Israel retains...Minaret ban indicates evolving fascism
There are many reasons to be worried about the Swiss minaret ban, but one of the most important – and least discussed – is the fact that a far right party was successful in mobilizing people to institutionalize racism. The success of the Swiss People's Party in this endeavor points to the dark truth that fascism isn't dead, but...
Groundbreaking study examines Arab Americans
December 24th, 20090 This is an excerpt from the newly published book,"Citizenship and Crisis: Arab Detroit After 9/11," by the Detroit Arab American Study Research Team, of the University of Michigan. The team conducted in-depth interviews with a scientific sample of 1,016 Arab Americans and Chaldeans from southeast Michigan in 2003. Ron Stockton is a...Western Union rewards customers in promotional giveaway
Sending money back home has always been a major part of the immigrant experience. This season, some who transferred money overseas got a little something back. Western Union Market Development Director Darrin Russell, right, presents customer Amin Nadi, of Dearborn, with an $1,800 travel voucher at Super Greenland Market on...Transportation service with a smile
The ability to move around freely is something many people take for granted, but others aren't so lucky. Pride Ride’s spacious, custom-designed vans help to accomodate customers’ needs. For those who get around in a wheelchair or have ambulatory difficulties or other injuries, simple rides to the doctor or to visit friends...
Trouble in north and south of Yemen
December 18th, 20090 SANAA— Facing growing international concern that Yemen is becoming a new haven for Al Qaeda operatives, Yememi security forces struck back hard this week against suspected militants. In separate attacks, they arrested 17 Al Qaeda suspects and killed 34, including a top leader and four operatives who had planned suicide bombings abroad,...Egypt mediator to Jerusalem to consult on prisoner exchange
GAZA — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invited a senior Egyptian mediator to Jerusalem on Sunday, raising speculation that Israel is about to make its latest response to the Islamist group Hamas for a major prisoner swap. Israeli police officers detain a Palestinian protester in front of the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's...
Obama meets with Lebanese President
December 18th, 20090 WASHINGTON — U.S. President Barack Obama this week asked Lebanese President Michel Sleiman in White House talks to take action against arms smuggling into Lebanon which he said threatened Israeli security. U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman in the Oval Office at the White House...Report: Human rights deteriorated throughout Arab World in 2009
NEW YORK — Human rights abuses in Arab countries increased throughout the Middle East and North Africa during 2009, according to the annual report of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, released earlier this week. Egypt and Syria were singled out as leading offenders in the torture report. ...House passes sanctions bill on Iran
WASHINGTON (IPS) — In advance of U.S. President Barack Obama's end of the year deadline for Iran to respond to negotiations aimed at bringing a halt to the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, the House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday to sanction companies that sell refined petroleum to Iran. A long-range, improved...Hizbullah fortifies frontier against Israel
NABATIYEH (IPS) — In the mountains towering above this southern city, Hizbullah (Party of God) is building a new line of defense on lands where a fierce war was once fought between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel. An asphalt road rising up from the sea seems to carve up the southern chain of mountains of Jabal...
Occupation eats away Israel’s heart and soul
December 18th, 20090 JERUSALEM — After Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank torched a mosque and desecrated copies of the Qur'an in the Palestinian village of Yasuf, last Friday morning, they ran into a wall of condemnation. Israeli police officers detain a Palestinian protester in front of the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City December...Arab American testifies before House subcommittee on terrorism risk
President of the Washington-based Arab American Institute, Jim Zogby, testified Tuesday before the U.S. House subcommittee on intelligence, information sharing and terrorism risk assessment. Jim Zogby Zogby spoke alongside a civil liberties leader and psychiatry and policy scholars, addressing the topic "Violent Extremism:......
Travel agent accused of scamming customers
NEW YORK — A Brooklyn travel agent has been charged with cheating customers out of $14,000 after a New York Arab American organization notified authorities of complaints. Fatma Aly, 42, specialized in booking travel to the Middle East. She is accused of taking cash from customers without fully processing their ticket orders, at...
Mormon Senator, Arab singer create Hanukkah tune
December 18th, 20090 A Republican, Mormon U.S. Senator has teamed with an Arab American singer to record a song for Hanukkah. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and singer Rasheeda Azar from Indiana, recorded "Eight Days of Hanukkah," a cheerful pop ballad, in New York in October and released it through a Jewish online magazine...
Weathering the storm at schools
December 18th, 20090 During these times of economic crisis, when our state is scrambling to balance the generation of revenue against the spending required to maintain services needed for our citizens, it is not uncommon for the blame game to begin. Many rumors and accusations have been launched over the past few months. Fingers are being pointed from our...Iran sanctions are counterproductive
Following his vote against H.R. 2194 — Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009 — Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) released the following statement outlining his opposition: I strongly oppose the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009. This legislation obstructs the Obama administration's ongoing negotiations with......
Lebanon not ready for radical reform
In attempting to reform their state, the Lebanese fear the unraveling of their nation. President Obama was well briefed on Lebanon's fragile, "national unity" government when he received Lebanese President Michel Suleiman on December 14 at the White House. Vehicles are seen in a traffic jam along a main road after a heavy...The lobby within dictates policy
A just and peaceful solution to the protracted Palestinian-Israeli conflict is only possible if the U.S. ceases to block every attempt made towards it. This assertion might raise many questions. For example, just how is one to define a just and peaceful resolution? And for what reasons would the U.S. obstruct such a possibility,......
Confronting radicalization online
The recent arrests of five American Muslim youth in Pakistan on suspicion of attempting to join militant groups there has provoked deep concern about the existence of homegrown extremism among Muslim American youth. Until recently, it was believed that this was a problem confined to other Western countries such as the UK. The fact that...
Smokers under siege, businesses will have to adjust to new law
December 18th, 20090 Dozens of restaurants and hookah lounges in Dearborn and throughout the region could struggle to stay open after the state smoking ban that Gov. Jennifer Granholm was expected to sign Friday goes into effect May 1. A Mangos Cafe customer smokes argeela on the restaurant/hookah bar’s crowded patio last summer. PHOTO: Nafeh......
