Celebrating our twenty-ninth anniversary, quietly
September 13th, 20130 It is our 29th anniversary. Although the occasion is worth celebrating, talk of war has overshadowed anything else. September 7, 1984, marks the birth-date of The Arab American News. On this day, the first word was written in the first story that would go into the first edition of a publication that would make history in this...Obama has no authority to attack Syria
Despite his own recent statements to the contrary, President Barack Obama has no legal authority to assault the government of Syria, even as “a warning shot.” Neither the United States Constitution, nor the War Powers Act of 1973 gives him such authority in the absence of an emergency that allows Congress no time to react.Obama...
Not another immoral, illegal war in our name
September 6th, 20130 Without a doubt, the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq will be remembered as shameful and devastating events in our nation’s history. One would have hoped that the worldwide criticism of the U.S. for entering these wars would prevent the same mistakes from happening again. However, that is clearly not the case, as the U.S. government...Twelve years later, Arabs remain victims of 9/11 tragedy
When the planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, I was a young boy in Beirut, watching the tragedy unfold with a mix of fear and compassion for the victims. At that point in time, I did not have a full comprehension of international politics. I did not consider the motives or affects of the terrorist...U.S. air strikes on Syria will not serve U.S. or Arab interests
The media continue to beat war drums for a new war in the Middle East: Washington is about to launch an air and sea strike on Syria. The White House is convinced that the Syrian government is responsible for the use of chemical weapons on the opposition and that it is time for the U.S. to respond militarily. The intervention is intended...The politics of death: Human lives devalued in the Middle East
How many Egyptians have been killed since the January 2011 revolt? My pursuit for exact figures has proven to be futile. Various sources suggest all sorts of numbers, some scrambled in such a way as to make a political point. It is as if the life of the ordinary Egyptian doesn’t matter on its own, as an absolute value that must be...Garage ordinance is a safety issue, not an Arab issue
Controversy over the City of Dearborn’s newly proposed garage ordinance is growing, as the measure could be approved at the next City Council meeting Sep. 10. Many Arab Americans plan on attending the meeting and voicing their opposition to the ordinance. The Arab American News, however, would urge these residents not to take that...Decline and fall: The second stage is anger
Not too long ago, I predicted that if I live to the average American male lifespan of 76 — I’m 46 now — I’ll have outlived the United States as we know it.At the time, I feared I was being over-optimistic, but lately I’m leaning the other way and thinking that my timetable may have been unduly timid. The United States may be...Challenging internal bigotry on the anniversary of the March on Washington
The 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., should be a time of reflection for all with regard to the status of race relations in America. Our country has progressed in the area of overt racism; not just pertaining to African-Americans, but all people of color; yet we, as a society, have...Helen Thomas stayed true to herself until the end
A few months ago, I was out to lunch with a friend, who asked about my most memorable moment as a reporter. Without thinking, I immediately responded that I was lucky enough to have interviewed, twice, legendary White House Correspondent Helen Thomas, an icon in American journalism. I’ll never forget those two unique...How Congress overlooked NSA spying
Complaints have been heard that members of Congress are not sufficiently informed by the Executive Branch to conduct proper oversight of secret programs, such as those National Security Agency’s collection activities that are the subject of much controversy. The complaints are misplaced.A bigger factor is the chronic attention deficit...General Dempsey warns on Syrian war, again
General Martin Dempsey is at it again. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is traveling throughout the Middle East, seemingly making it clear that he doesn’t want any part of the war in Syria. In a letter to members of Congress, Dempsey had earlier warned that all of the options open to the United States in the Syrian civil war...The Arab turmoil: Where do we stand?
Seasons come and go, yet Arab countries remain in ongoing turmoil. They called it an ‘Arab Spring,’ but even if that ‘spring’ had ever existed in the shape and form that the media portrayed it to be, it never really lasted. It has now morphed into something far more complex.But it is not an ‘Islamic winter’ either; a...Will Zionism sink Mideast peace?
President Barack Obama and his congressional colleagues are carrying on an established, yet clearly dangerous, tradition of U.S. foreign policy — the mixing up of national interest and the parochial interests of powerful lobby groups.Indeed, given the way U.S. federal politics has long operated, national interest is, except in rare...Standing up for Helen Thomas
From the Archive: Helen Thomas, a courageous trailblazer for women, covering power politics, has died at the age of 92. Though recalled for her tough questioning of presidents, her career was unceremoniously ended when her media colleagues ostracized her over a clumsy remark about Israel, Robert Parry reported in 2010.(Originally......
On the death of Helen Thomas
Helen Thomas, who died on July 20 at the age of 92, was the first woman journalist to cover the White House and did so for an unprecedented 50 years. She lasted in that job despite always asking the tough questions. It was a glorious run, besmirched only late in her career by opportunistic attacks by Zionist American ideologues.When that...
Helen Thomas lives on in work of journalists she inspired
July 26th, 20130 Legendary White House correspondent Helen Thomas passed away peacefully on July 20 at her Washington D.C. apartment, while surrounded by family and friends. She was 92. Still, Thomas will always live in the work of others she inspired. “I will always carry a piece of her in how I approach things. She was an...Trayvon Martin: On moral ground
Last week, a Florida Jury acquitted George Zimmerman in the murder of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African American high school student. On the fateful night of February 26, 2012, Trayvon was gunned down by Zimmerman, as he was walking through Zimmerman’s gated neighborhood. As a member of the “neighborhood watch,” an...Government should not decide who is a journalist
On Wednesday, July 19, the Dearborn Police Department held a press conference to address the murder and abduction that was committed on July 15 at the Family Dollar store in downtown west Dearborn. Unfortunately, The Arab American News was not allowed to attend, because this reporter did not have any "press credentials.""My tape recorder......
Banks’ discriminatory account closures are pervasive and widespread
Last week, my firm, Jaafar & Mahdi Law Group, along with the firms of Nabih H Ayad & Associates and Barry A. Seifman, filed a class action lawsuit against Huntington Bank for closing large numbers of bank accounts in a discriminatory manner. Huntington targeted members of the Arab, Middle Eastern and Muslim communities for...Israel’s indigenous invaders
On June 24th, the "Prawer Plan for the Arrangement of Bedouin-Palestinian Settlement in the Negev" passed its first reading in the Israeli parliament. If implemented, the Plan will constitute "the largest single act of forced displacement of Arab citizens of Israel since the 1950s", expelling an estimated forty thousand Palestinian......
ElBaradei’s democracy: How Egypt’s ‘revolution’ betrayed itself
“The revolution is dead. Long live the revolution,” wrote Eric Walberg, a Middle East political expert and author, shortly after the Egyptian military overthrew the country’s democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi on July 3.But more accurately, the revolution was killed in an agonizingly slow death, and the murders were...Palestinians: “Hope is all we have”
As the son of a Palestinian woman, I was raised hearing about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Recently, I was given the opportunity to visit Palestine for the first time with Project Hope, to witness, first-hand, the struggles that many Palestinians endure on a daily basis.When I first heard of Project Hope and the annual trip......