Saturday, April 30, 2011

NAAJA Dearborn Journalism Conference recap

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I wanted to share with you the wonderful support letter that NAAJA received from the prestigious Washington Arab American Journalists Association. The letter is below. NAAJA officially recognizes Mohamad Dalbah and the WAAJ as our official Washington DC sister organization and will be working and networking with them in the future to organize a journalism conference there soon.

Our 6th annual convention was an amazing success. Presented several 2011 NAAJA Excellence in Journalism Awards and scholarships totaling $2,000 to three students:

2011 EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM AWARDS

George Hishmeh, Washington DC based syndicated columnist and journalist ... He worked at the Chicago sun times steer arriving in the us in 1968 and a few years later was hired by the Washington post ... Born in Nazareth, Palestine, George Hishmeh is an example of how American Arabs can walk through the door and in to journalism careers ... So for his years of service, NAAJA is proud to present George Hishmeh with the 2011 NAAJA excellence in journalism award

Laila Diab ... Laila Diab has been working in journalism and communications for nearly 30 years, writing stories about American Arabs in Chicago and across the nation ... She is an educator and a volunteer to help young people better understand in Chicago how they can be more successful in life. NAAJA is proud to present the 2011 excellence in journalism to Laila Diab

Delinda Hanley, editor, The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs is one of the most important American Arab magazines in the country. It is the one magazine that offers news and facts that are often Intentionally excluded from the coverage of the American Arab and Muslim community. Delinda Hanley has dedicated much of her life working for the Washington report which is celebrating 29 years in publication, working as the news editor. NAAJA is proud to present the 2011 excellence in journalism to Delinda Hanley for her dedicated to accuracy and professional journalism.

Christine Tatum, for SPJ President: The society of professional journalists is the leading professional journalism organizations in the world. It has more than 10,000 members working in print, broadcast and online media. For years, the SPJ has supported inclusion of American Arabs and one of the people who helped facilitate American Arab involvement ... Bringing true diversity to a fully un-diverse profession is Christine Tatum who as national SPJ president helped launched the Arab section of the organization in 2007-2008. Last year, her successor unilaterally shut that section down without ever contacting our group ... A pattern in the SPJ that is unfortunate and wrong ... For her leadership and dedication to diversity and for supporting the rights of American Arabs NAAJA is proud to present the 2011 excellence in journalism award to Christine Tatum.

SCHOLARSHIPS ... Presented by Rehab Amer, and NAAJA Coordinator Reima Abuarabi

1 --​​  Batoul  Baidoun, Presented by Rehab Amer; Star International Academy, High school senior. Batoul's academic counselor is Hutham Tankersley. Batoul received a scholarship for $1,000. Batoul wrote about the role of the new media and the tragedy of Rehab Amber and the adoption of HB 4118                                                    Sponsored by Dr. Nazer Abdel-Fattah

2 --  Fadel Nabilsi, of Central Academy, Ann Arbor, MI received a scholarship for $500. Fadel wrote about the tragedy of the family of Rehab Amber and HB 4118 the Amer act. Sponsored by Nina Sky Productions (Nina Bazzy).  Fadel's instructor is Tahani Dari, who is the assessment coordinator and career adviser ...                                                                                                              

3 -- Ali Ghandour ... His career counselor is Hutham Tankersley; He is a high school senior at Star International Academy. He received a scholarship for $500 and wrote an essay about the tragedy of Rehab Amer and the Amer Act HB 4118. Sponsored by NAAJA. The Star International Academy is headed by Nawal Hamady. There are several schools in their group

Note: Central academy Ann arbor is a part of global educational excellence ... And we thank Mohammed Issa for all the work he does at global educational excellence and for supporting this conference and our students. We also had entries from many other students and institutions including universal academy ... And also from the University of Michigan scholarships to high school seniors:

We had more than 130 students attend the conference in addition to about 100 full registration attendees and more than 50 speakers on 12 panels. The students were sponsored by Mohamed Issa (65 students) and Ziyad Brothers Importing (65 students).

Dignitaries included:

- Dearborn Mayor the Honorable Jack O'Reilly who spoke forcefully about the racism of Terry Jones and the ridiculous hate claims by bigots that Dearborn is the center of Sharia Law.
- Wayne County Executive the Honorable Robert A. Ficano congratulated NAAJA and the scholarship winners.
- U.S. Rep. the Honorable John Dingell (15th) congratulated NAAJA and the scholarship winners.

Our Keynote speakers were:

- Lawrence Pintak, author "The New Arab Journalist”
- Mohamed Abdel Dayem, Middle East & North Africa Program Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists

At the end of the program, I performed standup comedy, (raking Ikhras and KabobFest across the coals) to thunderous laughter.

And phenomenal Middle Eastern music was provided by the Usama Blabaki orchestra

Our emcee was Warren David. The Detroit Chapter of NAAJA including Laila alhusinni, our chapter coordinator, and NAAJA staff Sameh Alhady, Reima Abouarabi, Zena Zahr, Saira Mussani and Areej Kattan, organized the event at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn. More than 35 organizations sponsored the dinner.

RAY HANANIA

WAAJ Letter
April 29, 2011

Dear members of NAAJA

Dear Ray

It is with profound honor and pride that we at Washington Association of Arab Journalists (WAAJ) congratulate you and the NAAJA members as well as the Arab community in Dearborn for making this conference a success.

We at WAAJ consider NAAJA a sister organization that represents journalists of Arab heritage across the nation.  WAAJ on the other hand is a representative of Arab and Arab –American journalists in the Washington D.C area.  Our institution represents newspapers and Satellite channels that transmit from the Arab World into and outside the Arab world.

With this in mind, we at WAAJ hope and aspire that we can join forces with NAAJA to build a much bigger and stronger organization that will represent us all.

A new organization that will have NAAJA’s grass root national presence and WAAJ’s Washington and the Arab world strong presence will be the best hope to defend our members’ rights and above all present the story and the perspective of the Arab world in this country.

Ray, as a “historic figure” in the Chicago Arab press and media, you know how important for our community and its institutions to speak in one voice and to be represented by strong institutions. Therefore, my friend, let’s put our hands together and start working together.

In closing, we, again, congratulate you and Liala Hussini for your hard work and efforts to make this conference a success and our hope and goal that by next year, conference there will one big organization that represent us all, and we all will be in one conference.

Thank you so much and God Bless all of you

Yours truly
Mohammad Dalbah
President

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Dearborn Arab Journalism Conference features local leaders and journalists from across country

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                 Ray Hanania
APRIL 28, 2011                                                                                 rayhanania@comcast.net
                                                                                                                                    Laila alhusinni
                                                                                                            lealhusinni@yahoo.com

Dearborn Arab Journalism Conference features
local leaders and journalists from across country

Chicago/Detroit – Journalists from across the country will join more than 300 attendees and 120 students at a weekend-long conference to address challenges facing the nation’s American Arab and Muslim community in the decade since the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Welcoming the attendees at the 6th Annual Conference of the National American Arab Journalists Association at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn, Michigan beginning Friday April 29 are Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, and Congressmen John Conyers Jr., and John Dingell.

Keynote speakers at the Saturday Gala dinner include Mohamed Abdel Dayem of the Committee to Protect Journalists and author Lawrence Pintak (“The New Arab Journalist”). The luncheon speaker Saturday is veteran journalist and columnist George Hishmeh. Warren David president of the highly popular online media site, ArabDetroit.com, is the evening’s emcee. Middle East entertainment will be provided by the Usama Balbaki Orchestra and award winning journalist Ray Hanania, columnist for Creators Syndicate, will provide laughter offering his special brand of Palestinian American Comedy.

The evening will feature the presentation of the first annual NAAJA Journalism Scholarships to three high school students pursuing careers in journalism or communications. More than 120 students are being sponsored courtesy of several sponsors including Ziyad Brothers Importing.

Twelve panels beginning Saturday morning at 9 am in two rooms will address a wide range of issues including the pro-Democracy protests sweeping the Arab World, the struggle for freedom by Palestinians, the challenges facing American Arab newspaper publishers, techniques for using social and online media, immigration reform, healthcare issues, civil rights in the 10 years since Sept. 11, and how to tell the American Arab and Muslim story to mainstream Americans.

A panel will also discuss the growing challenges facing American Arabs in journalism reviewing the assaults on Octavia Nasr and Helen Thomas, while another will explore U.S. Policy in the Middle Eat with the State Department’s Near Affairs Director of Public Diplomacy Phil Frayne and journalists George Hishmeh and Ali Younes.

The complete program is available online at www.NAAJA-US.com.

“We are very excited to have everyone that counts in American Arab and Muslim journalism attending this conference,” said Conference Coordinator and NAAJA Detroit organizer Laila alhusinni. “Everyone and anyone who fashions themselves as a journalist and who cares about the future of American Arabs and Muslims will be at this three-day conference.”

Ms. Alhusinni, co-host of the weekly morning radio show Radio Baladi simulcast live on radio in Chicago on WJJG AM 1530 and in Detroit on WNZK AM 690, said the conference will also present four NAAJA Excellence in Journalism Awards.

“We are honored to have so many high quality professional journalists speaking at this event,” said Hanania, who is a political columnist with the Southwest News-Herald and Lawndale News in Chicago, and with the Jerusalem Post Newspaper and PalestineNote.com. Hanania is the national coordinator for NAAJA.

Panel speakers at the conference on Saturday include:

- Suzanne Manneh, New America Media
- Hunaid M. Baliwala, President, Bridges TV
- Stephen Franklin, former Chicago Tribune Middle East correspondent, reporter Detroit Free Press now director of Ethnic Media for the Chicago Community Media Workshop
- Ginnnah Muhammad, radio talkshow host
- Stephen Coats, Sabeel Media
- Weam Namu, journalist
- Brian Bowe, visiting assistant professor of journalism in Grand Valley State University's School of Communications
- Geri Alumit Zeldes, assistant professor in the School of Journalism at Michigan State University
- Ali Beydoun, Arab American Student Union, Wayne State University
- Laura Fawaz, photographer, journalism graduate, Oakland University
- Delia Habhab, Wayne State University Communications graduate
- Faiz Ahmed, Editor-in-Chief of the East West Link newspaper, and studies at Oakland University
- Peter J. Hammer, Prof. of Civil Rights, Wayne State Uni.
- Ron Scott, radio talk show host
- Imad Hamad, ADC Michigan
- Dawud Walid, Executive Director of CAIR Michigan
- Hasan Nawash, Palestine Center Dearborn
- Janice Milhem, president of Milhem Images, Inc.
- Barbara Harvey, Jewish Voice for Peace, Detroit Chapter board member
- Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire
- Gregg Krupa, editor and reporter at newspapers and magazines in New York City, Boston, Detroit and Providence, Rhode Island
- Niraj Warikoo, reporter, Detroit Free Press
- Joe Grimm is a professor of media at Michigan State University, former editor, recruiter at the Detroit Free Press
- Roop Raj, reporter Fox 2 News Mornings in Detroit
- Oralandar Brand-Williams, Detroit News reporter
- Steven N. Garmo, Esq. Attorney & Counselor at Law, Law Offices of Garmo & Associates, P.C.
- Marshal E. Hyman, Esq. Attorney specializing in Immigration and Nationality Law
- Lena Masri, Esq. immigration attorney
- Charlie Langdon, news analyst for Fox News
- Renée Ahee, APR, Facilitator and presenter, Executive Director, National Arab American Medical Association
- Ahmad Adam, President/CEO and Founder of Crescent Foods
- Dr. Raymond Hilu, internal medicine specialist at St. John Health System and a teaching physician, has confirmed his participation.
- Cindy Goodaker, executive editor of Crain’s Detroit Business, has confirmed her participation.
- Kim Koslowski, Journalist, the Detroit News
- Christine Tatum, former President of the Society of Professional Journalists
- Lloyd Weston, journalist and Wayne State University alumni
- Peter Wirth, President GW Associates, Washington DC
- Mansour Tadros, al-Mustaqbal Chicago
- Warren David, ArabDetroit.com
- Khalil Ramal, Veteran journalist and reporter covering Detroit and the Middle East
- Delinda C. Hanley, news editor, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
- Phil Frayne, Director, Office of Press and Public Diplomacy, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, US State Department
- Ali Younes, Washington DC based columnist
- George Hishmeh, award winning journalist

More than 35 organizations, businesses and journalism associations are co-sponsoring the conference.

NAAJA also hosts the new Arab American News Wire (www.ArabAmericanNewsWire.com) which will pay freelance writers to write news and feature stories about American Arab and Muslim communities that will be distributed free-of-charge to American Arab and Muslim publications and media.

A limited number of registrations will be accepted at the conference.

# # #

Al Jazeera celebrates one million Facebook fans

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Al Jazeera celebrates one million Facebook fans

Doha, Qatar, 28 April, 2011 - Al Jazeera is proud to announce that it has reached more than one million fans on its Arabic Facebook page making it the first and only Arabic news channel to do so. 

Al Jazeera has been particularly praised for its social media efforts in recent months. The network's new media team has been seen as crucial in both newsgathering and news broadcasting during the Arab uprisings. Fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter have increased dramatically during this period.

Al Jazeera’s Head of Social Media, Riyaad Minty, stated: “This is a huge moment for us. The really wonderful thing has been that these numbers have been achieved organically till now – we have not invested huge amounts of money in building this fanbase.

“I can remember first launching the page in 2009, and watching it grow has been phenomenal.  At that time it was seen as a somewhat strange move, but as we can see from this milestone, the page is central to our output.

“We want to continue to grow. Across all of our Facebook pages, including the English one, we have over two million fans in total. Our presences on YouTube are amongst the most popular channels there.”

[ENDS]

Notes
A picture of Al Jazeera's social media team celebrating with a specially branded cake is available on request from saeedo[AT] al jazeera.net

Links:
Al Jazeera Arabic on Facebook www.facebook.com/aljazeerachannel
Al Jazeera English on Facebook  www.facebook.com/aljazeera

Friday, April 22, 2011

DC: Syrian-Americans to React to Pro-Democracy Friday Protests

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DC: Syrian-Americans to React to Pro-Democracy Friday Protests

(Washington, DC 4/22/11) - On Friday, April 22nd, representatives of the Syrian-American Council (SAC) will hold a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to offer their reaction to major protests scheduled for earlier that day throughout Syria.

The Syrian-American leaders will also call on the Syrian government to end any use of violence against peaceful protesters and allow Syrians to freely express their demands for democratization, governmental accountability and freedom without fear of reprisal.

In Syria, Protesters and Government Mobilize for Friday
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/22/world/middleeast/22syria.html

WHAT: Americans Press Conference in Washington, D.C.
WHEN: Friday, April 22, 2011, 10 a.m.
WHERE: Murrow Room, National Press Club, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
CONTACT: Dr. Louay Safi: louaysafi@gmail.com / Cell: 317 679 6894; or M. Yaser Tabbara: tabbara@zktlaw.com / Cell: 312 718 3725

Since March 15th, pro-democracy activists have been protesting in the streets of many Syrian cities culminating in a mass demonstration of tens of thousands in the streets of Syria’s third largest city, Homs, a few days ago.

SAC is a grassroots organization devoted to promoting educational, civic, economic, and human development, as well as advancing civil liberties and human dignity in Syria.

#End#

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

NAAMA ESTABLISHES EMERGENCY MEDICAL RELIEF FUND; APPEALS FOR DONATIONS

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Press Release


Contact:  RenĂ©e Ahee, NAAMA Executive Director, 248-646-3661 or rahee@naama.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAAMA ESTABLISHES EMERGENCY MEDICAL RELIEF FUND;
APPEALS FOR DONATIONS

BIRMINGHAM, MI, April 21, 2011 – The National Arab American Medical Association (NAAMA) and the NAAMA Foundation announce the establishment of the NAAMA Emergency Medical Relief Fund for the purpose of providing urgently needed medical supplies wherever they are required in the Arab world.

Dr. Hareth Raddawi, chair of the NAAMA Foundation, said,Witnessing the dire events in the Arab World over the past couple months, it has become clear that our valiant brothers and sisters in the healthcare sector providing emergency and other medical care are operating under abysmal circumstances compounded by lack of security, total disregard of the sanctity of ambulances and hospitals and, more importantly, a major shortage of basic medical equipment and supplies.

It is our moral obligation to come to their aid in any way possible, consistent with NAAMA's humanitarian mission.”

NAAMA has chosen to utilize the infrastructure and warehouses of an existing medical relief group with connections in the Arab world.  The logistics and delivery of the medical relief supplies will be coordinated through AmeriCares: Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Aid Organization, one of the largest and most reputable medical relief and charitable organizations in the US.  Established in 1982, AmeriCares has provided over $10 billion of relief around the world, much of it in Iraq, Gaza and Lebanon. Money donated to NAAMA’s Emergency Medical Relief Fund will be utilized to provide medical supplies to areas in need with the help of AmeriCares, ANERA and similar NGOs.

The vision for the Emergency Medical Relief Fund is to have funds available not only for the ongoing tragedy in Libya but to have contingency plans for emergency medical relief wherever the need may suddenly arise in other parts of the Arab world. 

Donation checks should be made payable to NAAMA Foundation, with Emergency Medical Relief Fund written in the memo line and mailed to the NAAMA National Office, 801 S. Adams Road., Suite 208, Birmingham, MI 48009.  Online donations can be made at www.naama.com.  For more information, please contact NAAMA Executive Director RenĂ©e Ahee, rahee@naama.com or 248-646-3661.

Established in 1975, NAAMA is a non-profit, non-sectarian professional association of physicians and other healthcare professionals of Arab background who serve communities all over the United States.  In addition to its professional and educational mission, NAAMA carries out its humanitarian mission through the NAAMA Foundation.  Headquartered in Birmingham, MI, NAAMA has 27 chapters nationwide.

# # #

Friday, April 15, 2011

Al-Wasat founder dies in custody in Bahrain

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Committee to Protect Journalists
330 Seventh Avenue, 11th Fl., New York, NY 10001 Phone: +1 (212) 465-1004 Fax: +1 (212) 465-9568
Contact: Mohamed Abdel Dayem, program coordinator. Phone: (212) 465-1004; E-mail: m.abdel.dayem@cpj.org   
Al-Wasat founder dies in custody in Bahrain

New York, April 15, 2011- The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Bahraini authorities today to conduct an immediate and transparent investigation into the death in state custody of Karim Fakhrawi, founder and board member of Al-Wasat, the country's premier independent daily.

Fakhrawi died Tuesday, a week after he was apparently taken into custody, according to news reports. Human rights defenders told CPJ that Fakhrawi had gone to a police station on April 5 to complain that authorities were about to bulldoze his house.

Earlier this month, the government accused Al-Wasat of  "deliberate news fabrication and falsification." Since then, the government has announced it will file criminal charges against three of the paper's senior editors and has deported two other senior staffers.

Fakhrawi is one of numerous investors in Al-Wasat, local journalists told CPJ. He is also a book publisher, the owner of one of Bahrain's biggest bookstores, and a member of Al-Wefaq, Bahrain's chief opposition party.

Bahrain's official news agency said on its Twitter feed that Fakhrawi died of kidney failure. Photographs published online, however, show a body identified as that of Fakhrawi with extensive cuts and bruises.

"The crackdown on dissent in Bahrain has taken a deadly turn with two deaths in custody in unexplained circumstances in less than a week," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. "The Bahraini authorities must clarify how they reached the conclusion that Karim Fakhrawi died of kidney failure when photographs show his body covered in cuts and bruises."
                                             
Online journalist Zakariya Rashid Hassan al-Ashiri also died under mysterious circumstances while in government custody. Authorities claimed that al-Ashiri, who died April 9, had suffered complications from sickle cell anemia. Al-Ashiri was the first Bahraini journalist to die in direct relation to his work since CPJ began keeping detailed death records in 1992.
                      
Elsewhere in the region:

In Libya, authorities released Al-Jazeera cameraman Ammar al-Hamdan on Thursday, the Qatar-based news station said. Al-Hamdan was detained in mid-March. An Al-Jazeera colleague, Kamel Atalua, remains in custody.

In Syria, authorities released Mohammad Dibo, a contributor to Jordanian and other international outlets, and the political blogger Ahmad Hadifa, regional news reports said.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.

Al-Wasat founder dies in custody in Bahrain

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Committee to Protect Journalists
330 Seventh Avenue, 11th Fl., New York, NY 10001 Phone: +1 (212) 465-1004 Fax: +1 (212) 465-9568
Contact: Mohamed Abdel Dayem, program coordinator. Phone: (212) 465-1004; E-mail: m.abdel.dayem@cpj.org   
Al-Wasat founder dies in custody in Bahrain

New York, April 15, 2011- The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Bahraini authorities today to conduct an immediate and transparent investigation into the death in state custody of Karim Fakhrawi, founder and board member of Al-Wasat, the country's premier independent daily.

Fakhrawi died Tuesday, a week after he was apparently taken into custody, according to news reports. Human rights defenders told CPJ that Fakhrawi had gone to a police station on April 5 to complain that authorities were about to bulldoze his house.

Earlier this month, the government accused Al-Wasat of  "deliberate news fabrication and falsification." Since then, the government has announced it will file criminal charges against three of the paper's senior editors and has deported two other senior staffers.

Fakhrawi is one of numerous investors in Al-Wasat, local journalists told CPJ. He is also a book publisher, the owner of one of Bahrain's biggest bookstores, and a member of Al-Wefaq, Bahrain's chief opposition party.

Bahrain's official news agency said on its Twitter feed that Fakhrawi died of kidney failure. Photographs published online, however, show a body identified as that of Fakhrawi with extensive cuts and bruises.

"The crackdown on dissent in Bahrain has taken a deadly turn with two deaths in custody in unexplained circumstances in less than a week," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. "The Bahraini authorities must clarify how they reached the conclusion that Karim Fakhrawi died of kidney failure when photographs show his body covered in cuts and bruises."
                                             
Online journalist Zakariya Rashid Hassan al-Ashiri also died under mysterious circumstances while in government custody. Authorities claimed that al-Ashiri, who died April 9, had suffered complications from sickle cell anemia. Al-Ashiri was the first Bahraini journalist to die in direct relation to his work since CPJ began keeping detailed death records in 1992.
                      
Elsewhere in the region:

In Libya, authorities released Al-Jazeera cameraman Ammar al-Hamdan on Thursday, the Qatar-based news station said. Al-Hamdan was detained in mid-March. An Al-Jazeera colleague, Kamel Atalua, remains in custody.

In Syria, authorities released Mohammad Dibo, a contributor to Jordanian and other international outlets, and the political blogger Ahmad Hadifa, regional news reports said.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.

Congressman Rothman salutes American Arabs in new Jersey for Arab Heritage Month

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 15, 2011

CONTACT: Aaron Keyak
  
Washington, DC – Congressman Steve Rothman (D-NJ) released the following statement on the importance of Arab-American Heritage Month:

I am pleased and proud to join my constituents in commemorating April as Arab-American Heritage Month and celebrating the many achievements of our Arab-American brothers and sisters. Arab-Americans’ accomplishments throughout history have strengthened this country and allowed us to achieve great things.

Courageous military service by Arab-Americans dates as far back as the Revolutionary War and continues today. Innovative ideas by Arab-Americans, such as the artificial heart and the 1949 Ford automobile, have been crucial in establishing America as an intellectual leader. Arab-Americans’ successes in literature and the arts, ranging from poetry to fashion design to music, have enriched our country’s culture. These are but a few examples of the significant contributions Arab-Americans have made throughout history. It is important that we recognize these achievements and embrace the profoundly positive impact that Arab-Americans have on America’s continued progress.

New Jersey has one of the fastest-growing Arab-American populations, and northern New Jersey in particular is home to one of the five largest Arab-American communities. I hope my constituents, New Jerseyans, and all Americans will join me in celebrating Arab-American Heritage Month and taking pride in the unique contributions that our Arab-Americans brothers and sisters have made to our nation.

###

Thirteen Departures From the Moon by Deema K. Shehabi

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Inaugural Collection from Palstinian-American Poet Deema Shehabi

(Winston-Salem, NC) March 8, 2011—Press 53 announces the publication of Thirteen Departures From the Moon by Deema K. Shehabi, an award-winning Palestinian-American poet from California. This extraordinary volume comprises lyric poems that are searching explorations of a poet’s place in the world. Narrating from a unique angle of perception, Ms. Shehabi reflects on the exiled spaces of her youth and adulthood. Her poems are aesthetic responses to straddling varying cultures.

"This first book of poems, Thirteen Departures from the Moon, is a culmination of 20 years of exile," Ms. Shehabi told Huffington Post in an interview. "It's about finding home in a seemingly impermanent situation---both in the metaphysical and literal sense.
It was only when I turned to poetry that I found comfort because it anchored me in my exile. It provided me with respite from that gnawing feeling of loss."

Deema K. Shehabi's poems root themselves in Gaza and travel through the entire breadth of the Palestinian diaspora. Herein are the stories of a displaced family—a metaphor for a displaced nation—passed down, passed down, passed down and told through the lush imagery of the Arab streets, the Gaza orchards, the fertile streams, all witnessed by the moon.

"Deema Shehabi's map is huge and deep as she weaves the threads of landscape, earth and sky, into a cloth wide enough to cover everyone," says poet Naomi Shihab Nye.
"With a stunning lyrical gift of seeing and knowing, she walks the wide world through language that redeems and blesses. Her poems are crucial, passionate, magnificent.

"Each poem in this collection is a clear, honest yet intensely transformed communication, dripping with a honey-like sweetness of literary gifts," says poet Annie Finch of Thirteen Departures From the Moon.

Thirteen Departures From the Moon
Poems by Deema K. Shehabi
Publication date: March 8, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-935708-23-0
Size: 8.5 x 5.5 inch paperback, 92 pages
Price: US $12.00

Press 53 books are distributed throughout the United States by Ingram and are available wherever fine books are sold, including www.Press53.com. Kevin Watson is Publisher. Tom Lombardo is Poetry Series Editor.
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Thursday, April 14, 2011

Israeli Supreme Court: Natserat Illit is Clearly in Contempt of Court for Failing to Post Road Signs in Arabic

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PRESS RELEASE
14 April 2011

Israeli Supreme Court: Natserat Illit is Clearly in Contempt of Court for Failing
to Post Road Signs in Arabic

(Haifa, Israel) Today, 14 April 2011, Israeli Supreme Court Justice Edmund Levy leveled scathing criticism at the lack of compliance with rulings handed down by the Supreme Court in the road signs case on a motion for contempt of court submitted by Adalah and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) against the Municipality of Natserat Illit. The municipality has refused to place Arabic lettering on street signs within the jurisdictional borders of the city.

During the hearing, the justices stated that the Municipality of Natserat Illit was in clear contempt of court and must implement the court’s ruling from 2002 immediately.

Attorney Hassan Jabareen, the General Director of Adalah, argued before the Supreme Court today that, “The Municipality of Natserat Illit’s failure of comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling is not an isolated incident, but many state authorities are not implementing Supreme Court decisions, particularly when it comes to cases involving Arab citizens of Israel and achieving equality for them.”

Attorney Awni Banna of ACRI stated, “In light of the escalation of racist attitudes today against Arabs, the state authorities must fulfill their duties and preserve a shared public space that respects all participating groups.”
The Supreme Court of Israel today held a hearing on a motion filed by Adalah and ACRI demanding that the court impose a substantial fine on the Municipality of Natserat Illit for contempt of court. The human rights organizations argued that the municipality has ignored the Supreme Court’s ruling, delivered eight years ago, to erect road signs in Arabic, in addition to Hebrew and, as is often the case, English. "Failure to comply with a decision creates an intolerable situation of daily harm,” states the motion. Adalah Attorney Haneen Naamnih drafted the motion.
The Supreme Court’s ruling from 2002 stated that the lack of Arabic signs in the mixed cities of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Led (Lod), Ramla and Natserat Illit, infringed the right to equality and the language rights of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel. The court then ordered the municipalities of the mixed cities to add Arabic to all municipal signs, including traffic signs, street signs, and signs marking public institutions and other central city locations.

More than eight years have passed since the court’s ruling and more than four since the outer time range specified in the decision for compliance. However, the Municipality of Natserat Illit has yet to comply with it. "Non-compliance with court judgments violates the principles of the rule of law, separation of powers and respect for human rights,” the human rights organizations argued. “The ruling had been handed down unequivocally to abolish human rights violations.”
                                                                             
The Attorney General in his response to the motion rebuked the Municipality of Natserat Illit for its conduct. According to the Attorney General, not only did the municipality fail to replace old signs, but also new signs without Arabic lettering had been erected within in its jurisdictional area since the decision was handed down.

Officials from the municipality claimed that it “seeks another extension (of time) in light of demographic changes, the plan to change the name of the city, and budget implications.”

Case Citation: HCJ 4112/99, Adalah, et al. v. The Municipalities of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, et al. (decision delivered 25 July 2002; request for a second hearing denied on 14 August 2003).

The Supreme Court’s decision of 2002 in English:

See also, Akiva Eldar, “Former official bemoans government’s disregard of Supreme Court,” Ha’aretz, 1 April 2011: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/former-official-bemoans-government-s-disregard-of-supreme-court-1.353406



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Nadia Ben-Youssef Law Fellow Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel 94 Yaffa Street PO Box 8921, Haifa 31090 Tel: +972(0)4-950-1610 Fax: +972(0)4-950-3140 Mobile: +972(0)52-580-7304 website: www.adalah.org