For Immediate Release May 28, 2009
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT OBAMA
AND PRESIDENT ABBAS OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
IN PRESS AVAILABILITY
Oval Office
5:15 P.M. EDT
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Hello, everybody. Well, it is a great pleasure to welcome President Abbas to the Oval Office. We had -- we just completed an extensive conversation, both privately as well as with our delegations, about how we can advance peace in the Middle East and how we can reaffirm some core principles that I think can result in Palestinians and Israelis living side by side in peace and security.
As I've said before, I've been a strong believer in a two-state solution that would provide the Israelis and Palestinians the peace and security that they need. I am very appreciative that President Abbas shares that view. And when Prime Minister Netanyahu was here last week I reiterated to him that the framework that's been provided by the road map is one that can advance the interests of Israel, can advance the interests of the Palestinian people, and can also advance the interests of the United States.
We are a stalwart ally of Israel and it is in our interests to assure that Israel is safe and secure. It is our belief that the best way to achieve that is to create the conditions on the ground and set the stage for a Palestinian state as well. And so what I told Prime Minister Netanyahu was is that each party has obligations under the road map. On the Israeli side those obligations include stopping settlements. They include making sure that there is a viable potential Palestinian state. On the Palestinian side it's going to be important and necessary to continue to take the security steps on the West Bank that President Abbas has already begun to take, working with General Dayton. We've seen great progress in terms of security in the West Bank. Those security steps need to continue because Israel has to have some confidence that security in the West Bank is in place in order for us to advance this process.
And I also mentioned to President Abbas in a frank exchange that it was very important to continue to make progress in reducing the incitement and anti-Israel sentiments that are sometimes expressed in schools and mosques and in the public square, because all those things are impediments to peace.
The final point that I made was the importance of all countries internationally, but particularly the Arab states, to be supportive of a two-state solution. And we discussed how important it is that the Arab states, building off of some of the recognition of the possibilities of the two-state solution that are contained in the Arab Peace Initiative continue to provide economic support, as well as political support, to President Abbas's efforts as he moves the Palestinian Authority forward, as he continues to initiate the reforms that have taken place, and as he hopefully is going to be able to enter into constructive talks with the Israelis.
So, again, I want to thank President Abbas for his visit and a very constructive conversation. I am confident that we can move this process forward if all the parties are willing to take on the responsibilities and meet the obligations that they've already committed to, and if they keep in mind not just the short-term tactical issues that are involved, but the long-term strategic interests of both the Israelis and the Palestinians to live side by side in peace and security.
So, thank you again, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT ABBAS: (As translated) Thank you very much, Mr. President, for receiving us here at the White House. We came here to tell you first of all that we congratulate you for the confidence that was expressed by the American people in electing you President of the United States. And we wish you all success in your mission.
Mr. President, you referred to the international commitment as we stipulated in the road map. I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm to you that we are fully committed to all of our obligations under the road map, from A to Z. And we believe, like you, Mr. President, that carrying out the obligations of all parties under the road map will be the only way to achieve the durable, comprehensive, and just peace that we need and desire in the Middle East.
Mr. President, I believe that the entire Arab world and the Islamic world, they are all committed to peace. We've seen that through the Arab League Peace Initiative that simply talks about land for peace as a principle. I believe that if the Israelis would withdraw from all occupied Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese land, the Arab world will be ready to have normal relationships with the state of Israel.
On our part, we are carrying our security and responsibility in the West Bank, and have law and order in that areas under our control because we believe that it is in our interest to have security. It's in the interest of stability in the region. And here I would like to pay tribute and thank you to General Dayton and all those who work with him in helping and supporting and training our security organizations to carry out their duties and responsibilities.
Mr. President, I believe that time is of the essence. We should capitalize on every minute and every hour in order to move the peace process forward, in order to cement this process, in order to achieve the agreement that would lead to peace.
Thank you very much.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. We got time for a couple of questions. Julianna.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. I'm going to ask you a question about your trip next week to Riyadh. Reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil is a cornerstone of your energy policy. And when you meet with Riyadh's King Abdullah next week, what message will you take to him about U.S. energy policy, oil prices, output quotes, and the like?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, you know, Saudi Arabia has been an important strategic partner in providing us with our critical energy needs. We appreciate that. It's a commercial relationship as well as a strategic relationship.
And I don't think that it's in Saudi Arabia's interests or our interests to have a situation in which our economy is dependent, or better yet, is disrupted constantly by huge spikes in energy prices. And it's in nobody's interest, internationally, for us to continue to be so heavily dependent on fossil fuels that we continue to create the greenhouse gases that threaten the planet.
So in those discussions I'll be very honest with King Abdullah, with whom I've developed a good relationship, indicating to him that we're not going to be eliminating our need for oil imports in the immediate future; that's not our goal. What our goal has to be is to advance the clean energy solutions in this country that can strengthen our economy, put people back to work, diversify our energy sources.
And, you know, interestingly enough, you're seeing the Saudis make significant investments both in their own country and outside of their country in clean energy, as well, because I think they recognize that we've got finite -- we have a finite supply of oil. There are going to be a whole host of countries like China and India that have huge populations, need to develop rapidly.
If everybody is dependent solely on oil as opposed to energy sources like wind and solar, if we are not able to figure out ways to sequester carbon and that would allow us to use coal in a non-polluting way, if we don't diversify our energy sources, then all of us are going to be in trouble. And so I don't think that will be a difficult conversation to have.
Q (Question asked in Arabic.) Mr. President, if Israel keeps declining to accept the two-state solution and to freeze the settlement activities, how the U.S. would intervene in the peace process?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: We'll, I think it's important not to assume the worst, but to assume the best. And in my conversations with Prime Minister Netanyahu I was very clear about the need to stop the settlements; to make sure that we are stopping the building of outposts; to work with the Palestinian Authority in order to alleviate some of the pressures that the Palestinian people are under in terms of travel and commerce, so that we can initiate some of the economic development plans that Prime Minister Netanyahu himself has said are so important on the ground.
And that conversation only took place last week. I think that we don't have a moment to lose, but I also don't make decisions based on just the conversation that we had last week because obviously Prime Minister Netanyahu has to work through these issues in his own government, in his own coalition, just as President Abbas has a whole host of issues that he has to deal with.
But I'm confident that if Israel looks long term -- looks at its long-term strategic interests, that it will recognize that a two-state solution is in the interests of the Israeli people as well as the Palestinians. And certainly that's how the United States views our long-term strategic interests -- a situation in which the Palestinians can prosper, they can start businesses, they can educate their children, they can send them to college, they can prosper economically. That kind of situation is good for Israel's security. And I am confident that the majority of the Israeli people would see that as well.
Now, obviously the Israelis have good reason to be concerned about security, and that's why it's important that we continue to make progress on the security issues that so often end up disrupting peace talks between the two parties.
Q (Previous question translated.) President Abbas, you've met with President Obama, and perhaps you shared some of your ideas about permanent status resolution. What was in these ideas, and what kind of appropriate mechanism that you have discussed to realize them and carry them out?
PRESIDENT ABBAS: We have shared some ideas with the President, but all of them basically are embodied in the road map and the Arab League Initiative, without any change, without any modification.
Regarding the mechanism to carry it out, of course, there is a mechanism through the Quartet as well as the follow-up committee from the Arab nations. Such a proposal will need to be looked at, studied; then we'll see where to go from here.
Q Mr. President, do you plan to unveil any part or all of your proposal for Mideast peace when you're speaking in Cairo next week, or is it some other message you intend to deliver?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I want to use the occasion to deliver a broader message about how the United States can change for the better its relationship with the Muslim world. That will require, I think, a recognition on both the part of the United States as well as many majority Muslim countries about each other, a better sense of understanding, and I think possibilities to achieve common ground.
I want to emphasize the importance of Muslim Americans in the United States and the tremendous contributions they make, something that I think oftentimes is missed in some of these discussions. But certainly the issue of Middle East peace is something that is going to need to be addressed. It is a critical factor in the minds of many Arabs in countries throughout the region and beyond the region. And I think that it would be inappropriate for me not to discuss those.
I'm not going to give you a preview right now, but it's something that we'll certainly discuss.
One thing that I didn’t mention earlier that I want to say I very much appreciate is that President Abbas I think has been under enormous pressure to bring about some sort of unity government and to negotiate with Hamas. And I am very impressed and appreciative of President Abbas's willingness to steadfastly insist that any unity government would have to recognize the principles that have been laid by the Quartet.
In the absence of a recognition of Israel and a commitment to peace, and a commitment to previous agreements that have already been made, it would be very hard to see any possibility of peace over the long term. And so I want to publicly commend President Abbas for taking that position because I think it's a position that's in the interest of the Palestinian people, in the interests of peace in the region, and it's something that the United States very much agrees with.
Q (Asked in Arabic.) Mr. President, if I may, President Bush hoped that you would have a Palestinian state by the time he leaves office. It didn't happen. Do you have a time frame when this Palestinian state is going to happen? Are you talking about a timetable for negotiation?
(Previous question translated.) The first question to President Abbas: Mr. President, did you receive any kind of clear-cut commitments from President Obama, or any pledges that would help you to strengthen your hands when you are dealing with the Palestinian public and opposition among Palestinians that this peace process activities could be viable and could be actually productive?
And the second question was, did President Obama ask you to have a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu?
PRESIDENT ABBAS: President Obama basically talked and reaffirmed the international commitments that we all agreed to, and they are all embodied in the road map. He talked about the necessity to have two states, he talked about the importance of stopping settlement activities, and he also talked about the importance of achieving peace through negotiating all permanent status issues.
Obviously without discussing and negotiating permanent status issues there will be no progress. We know that all the six issues of permanent status were discussed with the previous Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Olmert, and what is needed right now is to resume the discussions with the current Israeli government.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: And in terms of a timetable, I have not put forward a specific timetable. But let me just point out, when I was campaigning for this office I said that one of the mistakes I would not make is to wait until the end of my first term, or the end of my second term, before we moved on this issue aggressively. And we've been true to that commitment.
From the first week that I arrived in this office, I insisted that this is a critical issue to deal with, in part because it is in the United States' interest to achieve peace; that the absence of peace between Palestinians and Israelis is a impediment to a whole host of other areas of increased cooperation and more stable security for people in the region, as well as the United States. And so I want to see progress made, and we will work very aggressively to achieve that.
I don't want to put an artificial timetable, but I do share President Abbas's feelings and I believe that many Israelis share the same view that time is of the essence, that we can't continue with a drift**, with the increased fear and resentments on both sides, the sense of hopelessness around the situation that we've seen for many years now -- we need to get this thing back on track. And I will do everything I can, and my administration will do everything I can -- my special envoy, George Mitchell, is working as diligently as he can, as is my entire national security team, to make sure that we jumpstart this process and get it moving again.
All right.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Palestinian American Congress Conference May 22-23
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release Contact: Amani Ghouleh
May 21, 2009 708.601.3713
Palestinian American National Conference
Palestine …The Key To Peace
Chicago - The Palestinian American National Conference (PANC) is an educational cultural conference about the history of the Palestinian struggle in the Middle East. The community will be holding its second annual conference hosted this May in Chicago, Illinois.
This year’s keynote speaker, Mr. Abdel Bari Atwan, the Editor of Al-Quds Newspaper in London. Mr. Atwan is dedicated, strong voices for the peace process and justice in the Middle East.
Organizers state “The convening of a Palestinian American National Conference inclusive of every Palestinian living in America will be an annual event. The American Palestinian people are an important and integral part of American Society and as such should be empowered to become an effective force in US policy towards Palestine. Therefore, as responsible American citizens we have a duty and a right to convince our government that there will be no peace in the Middle East without a free Palestine. On May 22nd and 23rd, of 2009, we are holding this conference in Chicago at the Rosemont Crowne Plaza Hotel, with recognized International and American speakers, panel discussions and a full range of activities. This conference will be held to appeal to a wide audience to help rescue our people from the slums of the refugee camps and the brutality of the Israeli Military Occupation “.
Conference details:
Friday and Saturday, May 22 & 23, 2009
Crowne Plaza, 5440 N. River Road
Rosemont, IL 60018
www.panconference.com
A Press Conference will be held on Friday May 22nd, 2009 at 5:30 PM
Scheduled Press Conference Speakers include:
Abdel Bari Atwan, Editor of Al-Quds Al-Arabi Newspaper of London, United Kingdom.
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Palestinian Minister of Agriculture and Social Affairs.
Anna Baltzer, International Women’s Peace Service.
Adam Shapiro, Documentary Producer.
Dr. Gada Talhami, Professor of Third World Politics and Women Studies, Lake Forest College, IL
Dr. Joel Kovel, Former Professor of Social Studies at Bard College.
For Immediate Release Contact: Amani Ghouleh
May 21, 2009 708.601.3713
Palestinian American National Conference
Palestine …The Key To Peace
Chicago - The Palestinian American National Conference (PANC) is an educational cultural conference about the history of the Palestinian struggle in the Middle East. The community will be holding its second annual conference hosted this May in Chicago, Illinois.
This year’s keynote speaker, Mr. Abdel Bari Atwan, the Editor of Al-Quds Newspaper in London. Mr. Atwan is dedicated, strong voices for the peace process and justice in the Middle East.
Organizers state “The convening of a Palestinian American National Conference inclusive of every Palestinian living in America will be an annual event. The American Palestinian people are an important and integral part of American Society and as such should be empowered to become an effective force in US policy towards Palestine. Therefore, as responsible American citizens we have a duty and a right to convince our government that there will be no peace in the Middle East without a free Palestine. On May 22nd and 23rd, of 2009, we are holding this conference in Chicago at the Rosemont Crowne Plaza Hotel, with recognized International and American speakers, panel discussions and a full range of activities. This conference will be held to appeal to a wide audience to help rescue our people from the slums of the refugee camps and the brutality of the Israeli Military Occupation “.
Conference details:
Friday and Saturday, May 22 & 23, 2009
Crowne Plaza, 5440 N. River Road
Rosemont, IL 60018
www.panconference.com
A Press Conference will be held on Friday May 22nd, 2009 at 5:30 PM
Scheduled Press Conference Speakers include:
Abdel Bari Atwan, Editor of Al-Quds Al-Arabi Newspaper of London, United Kingdom.
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Palestinian Minister of Agriculture and Social Affairs.
Anna Baltzer, International Women’s Peace Service.
Adam Shapiro, Documentary Producer.
Dr. Gada Talhami, Professor of Third World Politics and Women Studies, Lake Forest College, IL
Dr. Joel Kovel, Former Professor of Social Studies at Bard College.
Friday, May 15, 2009
New Arab Cable TV option with broader channel selections comes to US
Talfazat Expands Online Service to Stream Top-Rated Arabic Content Direct to Television in North America
Leading Provider of Arabic Entertainment Welcomes New Viewing Platform
Talfazat announces the launch of its set-top-box service providing the Arabic community with content delivered in high digital quality direct to the television set via the Internet. This debut expands the online presence of Talfazat.com to now offer leading Arabic-language entertainment and top rated channels on the television.
Building from the international success of Talfazat's online platform, the set-top-box service streams content both live and on-demand. The service is available to subscribers in North America and features 26 channels in the U.S. and 35 channels in Canada including Al Jazeera, MBC, Future TV, Al Arabiya, and Abu Dhabi Sports Channel as well as other popular live and on-demand television channels from leading Arabic content providers.
As the first to market, and only North American platform streaming live Arabic channels over the Internet direct to the television set, Talfazat TV showcases a variety of the best and most up to date Arabic Series, entertainment, religious programming, talk shows, music, movies, comedies and more. Subscribers can easily implement the set-top-box service at home without the need for cable or satellite installation.
Talfazat delivers a true multi-platform Arabic television service and brings Arabic language television into the mainstream. In addition to unveiling the set-top-box service, Talfazat has also developed an enhanced online offering. The online presence depicts a new site design and improved package options. The service possesses new on-demand capabilities: faster video playback, better streaming quality and DVR controls to pause, rewind and fast forward. The online service remains available to viewers worldwide.
"Talfazat's channel line-up is strong and the value pricing is unmatched. With the launch of the set-top-box and enhanced online service, Talfazat TV and Talfazat.com focus on being customer friendly and offering subscribers more channels for less money. We are proud to provide the Arabic community the freedom of more channel choices at an affordable price," said Judeh Siwady, general manager of Talfazat TV and Talfazat.com.
In addition to the vast array of Arabic content, the Sky Angel Family Package is also available as part of the Talfazat TV service for $19.99 a month. Subscribers can enjoy a bundle of additional programming through the set-top-box that includes: Fox News Channel, NFL Network, Discovery Channel, Hallmark Channel, QVC and many other top channels.
Talfazat comes to the marketplace through leading technology provider NeuLion (TSX: JTV). As an end-to-end turnkey service, NeuLion is the backbone of both the online and set-top-box services for Talfazat and a number of other International partners.
The Talfazat TV service is now available in North America. All Talfazat TV customers receive access to the online channels at Talfazat.com at no additional charge. The Talfazat TV set-top-box is free to customers with a six month commitment, or can be purchased. Call 1-888-91-TALFAZAT or visit www.talfazat.com.
About NeuLion
Based in Plainview, NY, Sanford, Florida and Toronto, Ontario, NeuLion and JumpTV (TSX: JTV) work with content partners to develop end-to-end solutions for multimedia IPTV services. The NeuLion IPTV Platform encodes, delivers, stores and manages an unlimited range of multimedia content and the Operational Support System (OSS) maintains all billing and customer support services. Content partners are responsible for content aggregation and the sales and marketing for the individual IPTV service. The Company ranks as a world leader in customer/partner relationships with sports and international television content partners including, in sports, the NHL, the NFL, NCAA Division I schools and conferences and, in respect to international television aggregators and networks, KyLinTV (Chinese), ABS-CBN (Filipino), Talfazat (Arabic), TV-Desi (South Asian) and faith-based partner Sky Angel (Christian). Customer/partner content can be viewed by way of Internet on PCs and on the television through the Company's IPTV set-top-box.
Talfazat Contact:
Judeh Siwady
General Manager
Leading Provider of Arabic Entertainment Welcomes New Viewing Platform
Talfazat announces the launch of its set-top-box service providing the Arabic community with content delivered in high digital quality direct to the television set via the Internet. This debut expands the online presence of Talfazat.com to now offer leading Arabic-language entertainment and top rated channels on the television.
Building from the international success of Talfazat's online platform, the set-top-box service streams content both live and on-demand. The service is available to subscribers in North America and features 26 channels in the U.S. and 35 channels in Canada including Al Jazeera, MBC, Future TV, Al Arabiya, and Abu Dhabi Sports Channel as well as other popular live and on-demand television channels from leading Arabic content providers.
As the first to market, and only North American platform streaming live Arabic channels over the Internet direct to the television set, Talfazat TV showcases a variety of the best and most up to date Arabic Series, entertainment, religious programming, talk shows, music, movies, comedies and more. Subscribers can easily implement the set-top-box service at home without the need for cable or satellite installation.
Talfazat delivers a true multi-platform Arabic television service and brings Arabic language television into the mainstream. In addition to unveiling the set-top-box service, Talfazat has also developed an enhanced online offering. The online presence depicts a new site design and improved package options. The service possesses new on-demand capabilities: faster video playback, better streaming quality and DVR controls to pause, rewind and fast forward. The online service remains available to viewers worldwide.
"Talfazat's channel line-up is strong and the value pricing is unmatched. With the launch of the set-top-box and enhanced online service, Talfazat TV and Talfazat.com focus on being customer friendly and offering subscribers more channels for less money. We are proud to provide the Arabic community the freedom of more channel choices at an affordable price," said Judeh Siwady, general manager of Talfazat TV and Talfazat.com.
In addition to the vast array of Arabic content, the Sky Angel Family Package is also available as part of the Talfazat TV service for $19.99 a month. Subscribers can enjoy a bundle of additional programming through the set-top-box that includes: Fox News Channel, NFL Network, Discovery Channel, Hallmark Channel, QVC and many other top channels.
Talfazat comes to the marketplace through leading technology provider NeuLion (TSX: JTV). As an end-to-end turnkey service, NeuLion is the backbone of both the online and set-top-box services for Talfazat and a number of other International partners.
The Talfazat TV service is now available in North America. All Talfazat TV customers receive access to the online channels at Talfazat.com at no additional charge. The Talfazat TV set-top-box is free to customers with a six month commitment, or can be purchased. Call 1-888-91-TALFAZAT or visit www.talfazat.com.
About NeuLion
Based in Plainview, NY, Sanford, Florida and Toronto, Ontario, NeuLion and JumpTV (TSX: JTV) work with content partners to develop end-to-end solutions for multimedia IPTV services. The NeuLion IPTV Platform encodes, delivers, stores and manages an unlimited range of multimedia content and the Operational Support System (OSS) maintains all billing and customer support services. Content partners are responsible for content aggregation and the sales and marketing for the individual IPTV service. The Company ranks as a world leader in customer/partner relationships with sports and international television content partners including, in sports, the NHL, the NFL, NCAA Division I schools and conferences and, in respect to international television aggregators and networks, KyLinTV (Chinese), ABS-CBN (Filipino), Talfazat (Arabic), TV-Desi (South Asian) and faith-based partner Sky Angel (Christian). Customer/partner content can be viewed by way of Internet on PCs and on the television through the Company's IPTV set-top-box.
Talfazat Contact:
Judeh Siwady
General Manager
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
ANERA names new board
ANERA NAMES FOUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS
May 12, 2009, Washington, DC - ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) is pleased to announce the election of four new members to its Board of Directors.
Marleine Davis is Director of Government Relations for Motorola where she works on Motorola’s government affairs strategy and business development initiatives in the Middle East. Davis has more than two decades of experience in management and business development. Prior to joining Motorola, she was Director of Operations for the National-US Arab Chamber of Commerce.
George DeBakey is Director of Business Development for ePals and a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce. ePals is the largest online community of K-12 learners, enabling over half a million educators and millions of students across 200 countries and territories to safely connect, exchange ideas, and work together. Earlier in his business career, he was one of the founders of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt when he was General Manager of the Rockwell International office in Cairo.
Nadia Hijab is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies. She manages her own business, Development Analysis and Communication Services, and has worked with several UN and other international organizations. Hijab has authored a variety of publications and reports on gender, human development, and human rights.
Judith Judd is a lawyer and journalist, currently residing in Colorado. She has years of experience living and working the Middle East in the fields of education and development. Judd was one of the first women administrators at Princeton University when she held the post of Assistant Director of Development.
“Each of our new board members brings with them a wealth of experience and knowledge of the Middle East and humanitarian outreach, “ said ANERA President Bill Corcoran. “We are fortunate to have them on ANERA’s Board.”
Since 1968, ANERA has been a leading provider of development, health, education and jobs programs to Palestinian communities and impoverished families throughout the Middle East
-------------------------------
Laurie Kassman
Media Relations
www.anera.org
May 12, 2009, Washington, DC - ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) is pleased to announce the election of four new members to its Board of Directors.
Marleine Davis is Director of Government Relations for Motorola where she works on Motorola’s government affairs strategy and business development initiatives in the Middle East. Davis has more than two decades of experience in management and business development. Prior to joining Motorola, she was Director of Operations for the National-US Arab Chamber of Commerce.
George DeBakey is Director of Business Development for ePals and a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce. ePals is the largest online community of K-12 learners, enabling over half a million educators and millions of students across 200 countries and territories to safely connect, exchange ideas, and work together. Earlier in his business career, he was one of the founders of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt when he was General Manager of the Rockwell International office in Cairo.
Nadia Hijab is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies. She manages her own business, Development Analysis and Communication Services, and has worked with several UN and other international organizations. Hijab has authored a variety of publications and reports on gender, human development, and human rights.
Judith Judd is a lawyer and journalist, currently residing in Colorado. She has years of experience living and working the Middle East in the fields of education and development. Judd was one of the first women administrators at Princeton University when she held the post of Assistant Director of Development.
“Each of our new board members brings with them a wealth of experience and knowledge of the Middle East and humanitarian outreach, “ said ANERA President Bill Corcoran. “We are fortunate to have them on ANERA’s Board.”
Since 1968, ANERA has been a leading provider of development, health, education and jobs programs to Palestinian communities and impoverished families throughout the Middle East
-------------------------------
Laurie Kassman
Media Relations
www.anera.org
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Palestinian group condemns Israeli land theft in West Bank as contributing to conflict
Press Release
Annexing more of the Palestinian Lands to expand Israeli Settlements
The Department of Arab and International Relations condemns the Israeli recent decision to annex 12000 Dunums (1200 Hectares) of the Palestinian lands in order to expand Maaleh Adumim Jewish settlement by building another 6000 settling houses, east of Occupied Jerusalem.
A special Israeli ministerial committee approved a plan that aims at annexing Kidar settlement to be part of Maaleh Adumim settlement. Kidar is 3 kilometers east of Maaleh Adumim. The plan is one of a number of illegal Israeli measures that aim to expand Jewish settlements and connect them to each other on the expense of privately-owned Palestinian lands. By doing this Israel will be blocking the geographical contiguity of the anticipated Palestinian state.
Maaleh Adumim is the second Israeli settlement in space; the settlement is built on 62000 dunums of land (1% of the West bank area).
By the time Israel expands its settlements, the Palestinian Jerusalemite houses will be demolished; the Israeli authorities issued demolition warnings of 30 Palestinian Jerusalemite houses. Total number of Israeli demolition warnings escalated to 1052, since the beginning of 2009.
DAIR appeals to the International Community to practice pressure on Israel in order to stop its unilateral measures. The Israeli stealing of the Palestinian lands to build and expand Israeli settlements must be stopped; such actions violates the International law and the principles of the Road map for peace.
Department of Arab & International Relations /PLO
Ramallah- Palestine
April 28th, 2009
Annexing more of the Palestinian Lands to expand Israeli Settlements
The Department of Arab and International Relations condemns the Israeli recent decision to annex 12000 Dunums (1200 Hectares) of the Palestinian lands in order to expand Maaleh Adumim Jewish settlement by building another 6000 settling houses, east of Occupied Jerusalem.
A special Israeli ministerial committee approved a plan that aims at annexing Kidar settlement to be part of Maaleh Adumim settlement. Kidar is 3 kilometers east of Maaleh Adumim. The plan is one of a number of illegal Israeli measures that aim to expand Jewish settlements and connect them to each other on the expense of privately-owned Palestinian lands. By doing this Israel will be blocking the geographical contiguity of the anticipated Palestinian state.
Maaleh Adumim is the second Israeli settlement in space; the settlement is built on 62000 dunums of land (1% of the West bank area).
By the time Israel expands its settlements, the Palestinian Jerusalemite houses will be demolished; the Israeli authorities issued demolition warnings of 30 Palestinian Jerusalemite houses. Total number of Israeli demolition warnings escalated to 1052, since the beginning of 2009.
DAIR appeals to the International Community to practice pressure on Israel in order to stop its unilateral measures. The Israeli stealing of the Palestinian lands to build and expand Israeli settlements must be stopped; such actions violates the International law and the principles of the Road map for peace.
Department of Arab & International Relations /PLO
Ramallah- Palestine
April 28th, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Bilin stands in face of Israeli carnage and war crimes
One Week After the Murder of Bassem Abu Rahmah, 25 Injured in Bil’in Demonstration to Build his Memorial
Twenty five protesters were injured today following the end of the 4th Annual International Conference of Popular Resistance in Bil’in. Injuries ranged from light to moderate and most were caused by rubber coated steel bullets. Fadi Al-Arori from Routers news agency, Mohib Barghouti from Al-Haya newspaper and Israeli activist and filmmaker, Shai Pollack, all had their cameras broken by the Israeli army. The rest of the wounded are all from the village: Fadil Al Khatib, brothers Ahmed and Awada Abu Rahmah, brothers Riyad and Iyad Burnat, Khalid Al Khatib, Abdullah Abu Rahmah, Mohammed Al Khatib, Wael Fahmi, Basel Mansour, Tariq Al Khatib, Abdullah Yasin, Tamir Al Khatib, Nizar Abu Rahmah, Husam Al Khatib, Mohammed Nabil Abu Rahmah, Nour Yasin, Ibrahim Burant, Ahmad Abu Rahmah (Bassem’s Brother) and Adeeb Abu Rahmah who was detained by the army for three hours.
The Bil’in conference this week was attended by a large number of international, Israeli and Palestinian activists. Also at the conference were Luisa Morgantini, vice president of the EU Parliament; Mairead Maguire, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Mustafa Al Barghouti, head of the Palestinian Initiative; Khalidah Jarrar, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. The demonstrators began their marched after closing the conference. They carried pictures of the martyr Bassem Ab Rahmah and succeeded in building a memorial for Bassem Abu Rahmah near the gate, despite a constant barrage of tear gas and rubber bullets fired by the Israeli army.
Luisa Morgantini stated, “We succeeded to build the memorial for Bassem Abu Rahmah, as respect for his spirit. We will never forget him; he was a friend of everyone. We have to continue the popular resistance which has begun to expand to the Jordan valley, Al Ma’asarah, Ni’lin, and Jayyous”.
Mairead Maguire said “We came to Bil’in more than five times and we went to Gaza also, we are going to continue our struggle to end the occupation and the siege. What happened in Bil’in and losing Bassem is a tragedy to everyone. Let’s all work together for peace and end the oppression and occupation”. Maguire and Morgantini expressed their condolences to Bassem’s family.
Thank you for you continued support,Iyad Burnat- Head of Popular Commitee in Bilinco-founder of Friends of Freedom and Justice - BilinEmail- bel3in@yahoo.comMobile- (00972) (0) 547847942Office- (00972) (2) 2489129Mobile- (00972) (0) 598403676www.bilin-ffj.org
Twenty five protesters were injured today following the end of the 4th Annual International Conference of Popular Resistance in Bil’in. Injuries ranged from light to moderate and most were caused by rubber coated steel bullets. Fadi Al-Arori from Routers news agency, Mohib Barghouti from Al-Haya newspaper and Israeli activist and filmmaker, Shai Pollack, all had their cameras broken by the Israeli army. The rest of the wounded are all from the village: Fadil Al Khatib, brothers Ahmed and Awada Abu Rahmah, brothers Riyad and Iyad Burnat, Khalid Al Khatib, Abdullah Abu Rahmah, Mohammed Al Khatib, Wael Fahmi, Basel Mansour, Tariq Al Khatib, Abdullah Yasin, Tamir Al Khatib, Nizar Abu Rahmah, Husam Al Khatib, Mohammed Nabil Abu Rahmah, Nour Yasin, Ibrahim Burant, Ahmad Abu Rahmah (Bassem’s Brother) and Adeeb Abu Rahmah who was detained by the army for three hours.
The Bil’in conference this week was attended by a large number of international, Israeli and Palestinian activists. Also at the conference were Luisa Morgantini, vice president of the EU Parliament; Mairead Maguire, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Mustafa Al Barghouti, head of the Palestinian Initiative; Khalidah Jarrar, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. The demonstrators began their marched after closing the conference. They carried pictures of the martyr Bassem Ab Rahmah and succeeded in building a memorial for Bassem Abu Rahmah near the gate, despite a constant barrage of tear gas and rubber bullets fired by the Israeli army.
Luisa Morgantini stated, “We succeeded to build the memorial for Bassem Abu Rahmah, as respect for his spirit. We will never forget him; he was a friend of everyone. We have to continue the popular resistance which has begun to expand to the Jordan valley, Al Ma’asarah, Ni’lin, and Jayyous”.
Mairead Maguire said “We came to Bil’in more than five times and we went to Gaza also, we are going to continue our struggle to end the occupation and the siege. What happened in Bil’in and losing Bassem is a tragedy to everyone. Let’s all work together for peace and end the oppression and occupation”. Maguire and Morgantini expressed their condolences to Bassem’s family.
Thank you for you continued support,Iyad Burnat- Head of Popular Commitee in Bilinco-founder of Friends of Freedom and Justice - BilinEmail- bel3in@yahoo.comMobile- (00972) (0) 547847942Office- (00972) (2) 2489129Mobile- (00972) (0) 598403676www.bilin-ffj.org
Sunday, April 26, 2009
ADALAH to file challenge to Israeli Apartheid policies favoring settlers
April 2009
Dear Colleagues,
Greetings to you from Adalah. Below please find a press release concerning a hearing tomorrow, Monday 27 April 2009 at 9 am before a Jerusalem planning committee on an objection filed by Adalah against the Eastern Ring Road. A short briefing paper on the objection is attached for your information.
ADALAH PRESS RELEASE
26 April 2009
Tomorrow, Monday 27 April 2009 at 9 a.m at Shlomzion Hamalka Street 1, Jerusalem:
Jerusalem Planning Committee to Hear Objection Filed by Adalah to the Eastern Ring Road
(Haifa, Israel) Tomorrow, Monday 27 April 2009 at 9 a.m., an investigator nominated by the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee, which is part of the Israeli Interior Ministry, will hear objections submitted by Adalah as well as other groups against the plan for The Eastern Ring Road ? Central Section. Following these arguments, a member of the Jerusalem Municipality will then respond to the objections. Adalah Attorney Suhad Bishara will represent the objectors before the investigator and set forth the main arguments against the plan.
The objection submitted by Adalah on 2 March 2008 demanded the cancellation of the plan, which is essentially intended to create an apartheid road that, if implemented, would confiscate vast amounts of Palestinian private property, isolate Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem from one other, and sever East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.
Adalah filed the objection on behalf of Palestinian human rights and community organizations which are members of the Civic Coalition for Defending the Palestinians' Rights in Jerusalem (CCDPRJ); the mayors of Abu Dis, Izzariya, Suahara; and a group of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem. The objection was filed by Adalah Attorneys Fatmeh El-?Ajou and Suhad Bishara and Adalah?s Urban and Regional Planner, Hana Hamdan.
The plan is part of a broad project that encompasses East and West Jerusalem and contains two main sections, an Eastern and Western ring road. The ring road is planned on vast stretches of land (amounting to approximately 1,200 dunams), most of which would be expropriated from its private Palestinian owners. The planned route runs alongside the following Palestinian neighborhoods, to the west of the route: Sala, Jabis, Bashir, Sakriyat, Al-Qunbar, Hai al-Madaris, Umm Lison and Zur Bahar; and to the east the following Palestinian towns and neighborhoods: Abu Dis, Surhai, Sawahri Sharqiya and Sheikh Sa?ad. The Eastern Ring Road is the only remaining part of the project yet to be completed.
Adalah expects that the sub-committee for objections, which is comprised of representatives from the Ministries of Transportation and Justice, planners, and the head of the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council, will decide in the coming months on whether to accept or deny the objections or to make changes to the plan.
For more information including a short briefing paper on the objection, see: http://www.adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?file=08_03_17.
Phone contact: Salah Mohsen, Adalah Media Coordinator, Mobile: 052-595-0922
Adalah ? The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel is an independent human rights organization. It works to promote and defend the rights of Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Visit our website at http://www.adalah.org/eng/index.php
Dear Colleagues,
Greetings to you from Adalah. Below please find a press release concerning a hearing tomorrow, Monday 27 April 2009 at 9 am before a Jerusalem planning committee on an objection filed by Adalah against the Eastern Ring Road. A short briefing paper on the objection is attached for your information.
ADALAH PRESS RELEASE
26 April 2009
Tomorrow, Monday 27 April 2009 at 9 a.m at Shlomzion Hamalka Street 1, Jerusalem:
Jerusalem Planning Committee to Hear Objection Filed by Adalah to the Eastern Ring Road
(Haifa, Israel) Tomorrow, Monday 27 April 2009 at 9 a.m., an investigator nominated by the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee, which is part of the Israeli Interior Ministry, will hear objections submitted by Adalah as well as other groups against the plan for The Eastern Ring Road ? Central Section. Following these arguments, a member of the Jerusalem Municipality will then respond to the objections. Adalah Attorney Suhad Bishara will represent the objectors before the investigator and set forth the main arguments against the plan.
The objection submitted by Adalah on 2 March 2008 demanded the cancellation of the plan, which is essentially intended to create an apartheid road that, if implemented, would confiscate vast amounts of Palestinian private property, isolate Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem from one other, and sever East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.
Adalah filed the objection on behalf of Palestinian human rights and community organizations which are members of the Civic Coalition for Defending the Palestinians' Rights in Jerusalem (CCDPRJ); the mayors of Abu Dis, Izzariya, Suahara; and a group of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem. The objection was filed by Adalah Attorneys Fatmeh El-?Ajou and Suhad Bishara and Adalah?s Urban and Regional Planner, Hana Hamdan.
The plan is part of a broad project that encompasses East and West Jerusalem and contains two main sections, an Eastern and Western ring road. The ring road is planned on vast stretches of land (amounting to approximately 1,200 dunams), most of which would be expropriated from its private Palestinian owners. The planned route runs alongside the following Palestinian neighborhoods, to the west of the route: Sala, Jabis, Bashir, Sakriyat, Al-Qunbar, Hai al-Madaris, Umm Lison and Zur Bahar; and to the east the following Palestinian towns and neighborhoods: Abu Dis, Surhai, Sawahri Sharqiya and Sheikh Sa?ad. The Eastern Ring Road is the only remaining part of the project yet to be completed.
Adalah expects that the sub-committee for objections, which is comprised of representatives from the Ministries of Transportation and Justice, planners, and the head of the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council, will decide in the coming months on whether to accept or deny the objections or to make changes to the plan.
For more information including a short briefing paper on the objection, see: http://www.adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?file=08_03_17.
Phone contact: Salah Mohsen, Adalah Media Coordinator, Mobile: 052-595-0922
Adalah ? The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel is an independent human rights organization. It works to promote and defend the rights of Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Visit our website at http://www.adalah.org/eng/index.php
Friday, April 17, 2009
International Olympic Committee mourns loss of member Abdel Mohamed Halim
Death of Abdel Mohamed Halim, IOC Honorary Member since 1988
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is greatly saddened to learn of the death of Abdel Mohamed Halim, IOC Honorary Member in Sudan, at the age of 99.
Elected to the IOC in 1968, he remained a member until 1982. He was a founder member of the African Football Confederation (1956), then its Vice-President (1976-1978) and President (1987-1988). He was a member of the IOC Eligibility Commission (1972-1976) and Olympic Solidarity Commission (1973-1980).
Abdel Mohamed Halim organised the first African Nations Cup in 1957, as well as the third session of the Arab Olympic Committee in 1958. Halim was a member of the FIFA Executive Committee; Vice-Chairman of the FIFA Medical Committee (1966-1980); a member of the FIFA Technical Committee (1972-1980); and an Honorary Member of FIFA since 1980.
A physician by profession, he was Director of Omdurman Civil Hospital (1950-1953), and then Senior Physician at Khartoum Teaching Hospital (1954-1964). Halim was also a member of the Supreme Council of State of the Republic of Sudan (1964-1965); Chairman of the Council of the University of Khartoum (1956-1963); President of the Sudan Medical Association (1949-1964); Consultant Physician to the Ministry of Health; and Mayor of Khartoum (1953-1960).
In all his activities, he promoted the Olympic values. Abel Mohamed Halim also made significant contributions to publications including Congress newspapers as well as medical articles, and co-authored “Death of a World” (in Arabic).
The IOC expresses its deepest sympathy to Abdel Mohamed Halim’s family.
###
For further information, please contact the IOC Communications Department, Tel: +41 21 621 60 00
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is greatly saddened to learn of the death of Abdel Mohamed Halim, IOC Honorary Member in Sudan, at the age of 99.
Elected to the IOC in 1968, he remained a member until 1982. He was a founder member of the African Football Confederation (1956), then its Vice-President (1976-1978) and President (1987-1988). He was a member of the IOC Eligibility Commission (1972-1976) and Olympic Solidarity Commission (1973-1980).
Abdel Mohamed Halim organised the first African Nations Cup in 1957, as well as the third session of the Arab Olympic Committee in 1958. Halim was a member of the FIFA Executive Committee; Vice-Chairman of the FIFA Medical Committee (1966-1980); a member of the FIFA Technical Committee (1972-1980); and an Honorary Member of FIFA since 1980.
A physician by profession, he was Director of Omdurman Civil Hospital (1950-1953), and then Senior Physician at Khartoum Teaching Hospital (1954-1964). Halim was also a member of the Supreme Council of State of the Republic of Sudan (1964-1965); Chairman of the Council of the University of Khartoum (1956-1963); President of the Sudan Medical Association (1949-1964); Consultant Physician to the Ministry of Health; and Mayor of Khartoum (1953-1960).
In all his activities, he promoted the Olympic values. Abel Mohamed Halim also made significant contributions to publications including Congress newspapers as well as medical articles, and co-authored “Death of a World” (in Arabic).
The IOC expresses its deepest sympathy to Abdel Mohamed Halim’s family.
###
For further information, please contact the IOC Communications Department, Tel: +41 21 621 60 00
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Palestinian American Congress Conference May 22-23
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release Contact: Amani Ghouleh
April 6, 2009 708.601.3713
Palestinian American National Conference
Palestine …The Key To Peace
Chicago - The Palestinian American National Conference (PANC) is an educational cultural conference about the history of the Palestinian struggle in the Middle East. The community will be holding its second annual conference hosted this May in Chicago, Illinois.
This year’s speakers include, Abdel Bari Atwan, the Editor of Al-Quds Newspaper in London, and Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Palestinian Minister of Agriculture and Social Affairs. Both are dedicated, strong voices for the peace process and justice in the Middle East.
Organizers state “The convening of a Palestinian American National Conference inclusive of every Palestinian living in America will be an annual event. The American Palestinian people are an important and integral part of American Society and as such should be empowered to become an effective force in US policy towards Palestine. Therefore, as responsible American citizens we have a duty and a right to convince our government that there will be no peace in the Middle East without a free Palestine. On May 22nd and 23rd, of 2009, we are holding this conference in Chicago at the Rosemont Crowne Plaza Hotel, with recognized International and American speakers, panel discussions and a full range of activities. This conference will be held to appeal to a wide audience to help rescue our people from the slums of the refugee camps and the brutality of the Israeli Military Occupation “.
Conference details:
Friday and Saturday, May 22 & 23, 2009
Crowne Plaza, 5440 N. River Road
Rosemont, IL 60018
www.panconference.com
A Press Conference will be held on Friday May 22nd, 2009 at 4:30 PM
Scheduled Press Conference Speakers include:
Abdel Bari Atwan, Editor of Al-Quds Al-Arabi Newspaper of London, United Kingdom.
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Palestinian Minister of Agriculture and Social Affairs.
Anna Baltzer, International Women’s Peace Service.
Adam Shapiro, Documentary Producer.
Dr. Gada Talhami, Professor of Third World Politics and Women Studies, Lake Forest College, IL
Rev. Dr. Don Wagner, Director of Center of Middle Eastern Studies, North Park University, IL.
Dr. Joel Kovel, Former Professor of Social Studies at Bard College.
Dennis Kucinich, Ohio Congressman (D). (Video Conference)
For Immediate Release Contact: Amani Ghouleh
April 6, 2009 708.601.3713
Palestinian American National Conference
Palestine …The Key To Peace
Chicago - The Palestinian American National Conference (PANC) is an educational cultural conference about the history of the Palestinian struggle in the Middle East. The community will be holding its second annual conference hosted this May in Chicago, Illinois.
This year’s speakers include, Abdel Bari Atwan, the Editor of Al-Quds Newspaper in London, and Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Palestinian Minister of Agriculture and Social Affairs. Both are dedicated, strong voices for the peace process and justice in the Middle East.
Organizers state “The convening of a Palestinian American National Conference inclusive of every Palestinian living in America will be an annual event. The American Palestinian people are an important and integral part of American Society and as such should be empowered to become an effective force in US policy towards Palestine. Therefore, as responsible American citizens we have a duty and a right to convince our government that there will be no peace in the Middle East without a free Palestine. On May 22nd and 23rd, of 2009, we are holding this conference in Chicago at the Rosemont Crowne Plaza Hotel, with recognized International and American speakers, panel discussions and a full range of activities. This conference will be held to appeal to a wide audience to help rescue our people from the slums of the refugee camps and the brutality of the Israeli Military Occupation “.
Conference details:
Friday and Saturday, May 22 & 23, 2009
Crowne Plaza, 5440 N. River Road
Rosemont, IL 60018
www.panconference.com
A Press Conference will be held on Friday May 22nd, 2009 at 4:30 PM
Scheduled Press Conference Speakers include:
Abdel Bari Atwan, Editor of Al-Quds Al-Arabi Newspaper of London, United Kingdom.
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Palestinian Minister of Agriculture and Social Affairs.
Anna Baltzer, International Women’s Peace Service.
Adam Shapiro, Documentary Producer.
Dr. Gada Talhami, Professor of Third World Politics and Women Studies, Lake Forest College, IL
Rev. Dr. Don Wagner, Director of Center of Middle Eastern Studies, North Park University, IL.
Dr. Joel Kovel, Former Professor of Social Studies at Bard College.
Dennis Kucinich, Ohio Congressman (D). (Video Conference)
Obama to meet with Jordanian King Abdullah II
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For immediate release
April 15, 2009
Upcoming Working Visit by His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan to Washington
President Obama will meet with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House on Tuesday, April 21. Jordan is a close ally and partner of the United States and the President looks forward to discussing ways in which the two countries can strengthen cooperation on regional affairs, military and security issues, and reform efforts. The President looks forward to consulting with King Abdullah on the pursuit of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including moving forward with the Arab Peace Initiative, and on ways to deepen cooperation on other issues in the bilateral relationship.
###
Office of the Press Secretary
For immediate release
April 15, 2009
Upcoming Working Visit by His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan to Washington
President Obama will meet with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House on Tuesday, April 21. Jordan is a close ally and partner of the United States and the President looks forward to discussing ways in which the two countries can strengthen cooperation on regional affairs, military and security issues, and reform efforts. The President looks forward to consulting with King Abdullah on the pursuit of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including moving forward with the Arab Peace Initiative, and on ways to deepen cooperation on other issues in the bilateral relationship.
###
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
ADC Chicago to honor five Chicagoland journalists May 12
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ray Hanania
April 2, 2009 rayhanania@comcast.net
ADC Chicago to honor five top Chicagoland journalists
for professional journalistic excellence
(Chicago) The Chicago Chapter of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is proud to announce five recipients of the ADC Excellence in Media Professionalism to be honored at the 30th Annual ADC Media Awards Banquet.
ADC is the nation’s largest grassroots organization championing the fight against bigotry and discrimination, with more than 2,000 paid members in the Chicagoland area.
The ADC Chicago board voted unanimously to award this year’s honors to
Mr. Jay Levine senior reporter for WBBM (CBS) TV Chicago
Ms. Amani Ghouleh, publisher of al-Offok al-Arabi American Arab Newspaper.
Mr. Burt Constable, columnist for the Arlington Heights Daily Herald Newspaper
Mr. Mansour Tadros, publisher of al-Mustaqbal American Arab Newspaper
Mr. Stephen Franklin, former Middle East correspondent for the Chicago Tribune (now with Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism)
All five recipients will be honored at a dinner banquet to be held Tuesday May 12, 2009 at the Drury Lane Oak Brook Center, 100 Drury Lane Oak Brook. The reception begins at 6 pm, followed by dinner and awards ceremony at 7 pm.
“All five recipients of this year’s American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Award have earned the respect not only of our community but the entire Chicagoland region for their fair, balanced and sensitive coverage,” said Fadi Zanayed, ADC Chicago President.
“The presentation of these awards is a tradition driven not by political considerations but rather a respect for the challenges that journalists must overcome in today’s world to provide accurate, fair, balanced and sensitive news reporting and coverage,” said Shafic Budron, ADC Chicago Vice President and National Board member.
“All of the recipients have demonstrated the highest in professional journalism over the years and are role models for all who pursue the journalism professional as a career,” said Ray Hanania, a veteran Chicago journalist, radio talk show host and chairman of the Media Awards Event.
The event is open to the public. Tickets to the event are available at $60 each with discounted tickets available to students with valid student IDs for $30.
For more information on the event and ceremony and bios of the award winners, visit the ADC Chicago web page at www.ADCChicago.com.
Contact Fadi Zanayed, 708-257-7755 for information
# # #
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ray Hanania
April 2, 2009 rayhanania@comcast.net
ADC Chicago to honor five top Chicagoland journalists
for professional journalistic excellence
(Chicago) The Chicago Chapter of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is proud to announce five recipients of the ADC Excellence in Media Professionalism to be honored at the 30th Annual ADC Media Awards Banquet.
ADC is the nation’s largest grassroots organization championing the fight against bigotry and discrimination, with more than 2,000 paid members in the Chicagoland area.
The ADC Chicago board voted unanimously to award this year’s honors to
Mr. Jay Levine senior reporter for WBBM (CBS) TV Chicago
Ms. Amani Ghouleh, publisher of al-Offok al-Arabi American Arab Newspaper.
Mr. Burt Constable, columnist for the Arlington Heights Daily Herald Newspaper
Mr. Mansour Tadros, publisher of al-Mustaqbal American Arab Newspaper
Mr. Stephen Franklin, former Middle East correspondent for the Chicago Tribune (now with Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism)
All five recipients will be honored at a dinner banquet to be held Tuesday May 12, 2009 at the Drury Lane Oak Brook Center, 100 Drury Lane Oak Brook. The reception begins at 6 pm, followed by dinner and awards ceremony at 7 pm.
“All five recipients of this year’s American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Award have earned the respect not only of our community but the entire Chicagoland region for their fair, balanced and sensitive coverage,” said Fadi Zanayed, ADC Chicago President.
“The presentation of these awards is a tradition driven not by political considerations but rather a respect for the challenges that journalists must overcome in today’s world to provide accurate, fair, balanced and sensitive news reporting and coverage,” said Shafic Budron, ADC Chicago Vice President and National Board member.
“All of the recipients have demonstrated the highest in professional journalism over the years and are role models for all who pursue the journalism professional as a career,” said Ray Hanania, a veteran Chicago journalist, radio talk show host and chairman of the Media Awards Event.
The event is open to the public. Tickets to the event are available at $60 each with discounted tickets available to students with valid student IDs for $30.
For more information on the event and ceremony and bios of the award winners, visit the ADC Chicago web page at www.ADCChicago.com.
Contact Fadi Zanayed, 708-257-7755 for information
# # #
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Obama commemorates 30th Anniversary of Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release March 26, 2009
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE 30th ANNIVERSARY OF THE PEACE TREATY BETWEEN EGYPT AND ISRAEL
Today marks the anniversary of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, signed thirty years ago at the White House. As we commemorate this historic event, we recall that peace is always possible even in the face of seemingly intractable conflicts. The success of Prime Minister Begin, President Sadat, and President Carter, begun at Camp David, demonstrated that progress results from sustained efforts at communication and cooperation. While much work remains, we honor the courage and foresight of these leaders, who stood together in unity to change the course of our shared history. Today, as we seek to expand the circle of peace among Arabs and Israelis, we take inspiration from what Israel and Egypt achieved three decades ago, knowing that the destination is worthy of the struggle.
###
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release March 26, 2009
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE 30th ANNIVERSARY OF THE PEACE TREATY BETWEEN EGYPT AND ISRAEL
Today marks the anniversary of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, signed thirty years ago at the White House. As we commemorate this historic event, we recall that peace is always possible even in the face of seemingly intractable conflicts. The success of Prime Minister Begin, President Sadat, and President Carter, begun at Camp David, demonstrated that progress results from sustained efforts at communication and cooperation. While much work remains, we honor the courage and foresight of these leaders, who stood together in unity to change the course of our shared history. Today, as we seek to expand the circle of peace among Arabs and Israelis, we take inspiration from what Israel and Egypt achieved three decades ago, knowing that the destination is worthy of the struggle.
###
White House announces key staff aides for Vice President Biden
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President
___________________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2009
Vice President Biden Announces Key Staff Appointments
WASHINGTON, DC – Vice President Joe Biden announced the following key staff appointments today: Edward DeSeve, Special Advisor to the President, Assistant to the Vice President and Special Advisor to the OMB Director for Implementation of the Recovery Act; Jon Wolfsthal, Special Advisor to the Vice President for nonproliferation; Matt Teper Speechwriter for the Vice President; and Kirsten White, Policy Director for Dr. Jill Biden. Herro Mustafa is also joining the Vice President’s staff, detailed from the State Department, as Special Advisor to the Vice President for the Middle East and South Asia.
Edward DeSeve, Special Advisor to the President, Assistant to the Vice President and Special Advisor to the OMB Director for Implementation of the Recovery Act:
In this role, Edward will support the Vice President in his leadership on Recovery Act implementation, and coordinate efforts at OMB on this project. He will focus on interagency coordination and lead White House efforts to make sure that the Recovery Act is implemented quickly and effectively. His management efforts inside the Executive Office of the President will complement the oversight work led by the independent Accountability and Transparency Board, chaired by Earl Devaney.
Mr. DeSeve is the former Deputy Director for Management of OMB. During his tenure in this position, he played a major role in coordinating the highly-successful federal approach to dealing with the “Y2K” computer problem. He was most recently the Chairman of Strategies and Solution LLP, which provides sustainability and consulting services to governments and non-profits. He spent the previous eight years as a professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, as a Senior Fellow at James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership, and currently serves as a Senior Lecturer at the Fels Institute for Government of the University of Pennsylvania
Mr. DeSeve has served in all three levels of government. In addition to his role as Deputy Director for Management at OMB, he worked as the Controller for OMB and as the Chief Financial Officer at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mr. DeSeve was also Special Assistant to the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Director of Finance for the City of Philadelphia.
In the private sector, Mr. DeSeve worked at KPMG Peat Marwick as a partner and national industry director, at Merrill Lynch Capital Markets as a Managing Director and at Affiliated Computer Services as a Senior Vice President. He established and led several consulting firms, including Public Financial Management Incorporated.
Mr. DeSeve has published numerous works on the federal budget, financial management, and information technology. He received a B.S. in Labor Economics from Cornell University and his Master of Government Administration in Public Finance from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jon Brook Wolfsthal, Special Advisor to the Vice President for Nonproliferation
In this position, Wolfsthal will provide support for the Vice President and the National Security Council on matters related to nuclear nonproliferation and global nuclear security.
Immediately before joining the administration, he served as a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and, before that, as Deputy Director of the Nonproliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is a globally recognized expert on nuclear security and nonproliferation, and previously served in the Department of Energy in a variety of positions. He has also been, until recently, a professorial lecturer teaching nuclear weapons policy at Georgetown University.
A native of New York City, he has lived for the past 20 years in Washington DC. He is the author of numerous article, reports and op-eds on nuclear policy, and co-author of Deadly Arsenals: Tracking Weapons of Mass Destruction. He is a graduate of Emory University.
Herro Mustafa, Special Advisor to the Vice President for the Middle East and South Asia
Herro Mustafa has been a State Department Foreign Service Officer since 1999. Immediately prior to joining the Vice President’s office as a detailee from the State Department, she was Deputy Director of the Afghanistan Office at the State Department. She was previously the Chief-of-Staff for Under Secretary for Political Affairs Bill Burns and an Advisor on the Middle East for former Under Secretary Nicholas Burns.
Herro was Director for Iran and Israeli-Palestinian Affairs at the National Security Council from 2005-2006 and Director for Iraq and Afghanistan from 2004-2005. As part of her Foreign Service career, Herro was the lead Civilian Coordinator in Mosul, Iraq; she reopened the U.S. non-immigrant visa section in Beirut, Lebanon; and she covered human rights, trafficking in persons, and domestic politics in Athens, Greece.
Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Herro was a Senior Editor at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where she edited several books and journals. Prior to that, she was an Elections Supervisor in Bosnia with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Herro grew up in Minot, North Dakota and speaks Arabic, Farsi, Kurdish, Greek, and Turkish. She has an undergraduate degree from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and a Masters from Princeton University.
Matt Teper, Speechwriter for the Vice President
Matt Teper was most recently the full-time speechwriter at Independent Sector, a leadership forum and advocacy group representing the interests of foundations and charities across the country. Matt has been writing in Washington since graduating from law school in 2002, including as a Writer/Editor at another advocacy group, focusing on federal judicial appointments and gun policy, and as a Senior Writer in the creative department of a public affairs firm.
He served in a freelance capacity as managing editor of Rock the Vote’s blog during the 2004 election season and has written and edited numerous speeches, op-ed’s, letters to the editor, blog posts, film scripts, and a host of other communications materials for nonprofit leaders, CEOs, elected officials, television personalities, and others. Matt holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin School of Law. He lives in Washington, DC.
Kirsten White, Policy Director for Dr. Jill Biden
Kirsten White most recently worked as an Associate in the Labor and Employment practice group at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. In addition to representing clients in cases before the National Labor Relations Board and in federal court, she advised clients on current legislative developments and federal labor standards. Prior to attending law school, she served as a Legislative Clerk on the Senate Judiciary Committee staff of Senator Russell D. Feingold, where she prepared the Senator for hearings and votes on civil rights, congressional reform, crime and justice, federal judicial nominations, and other issues within the Committee’s jurisdiction. Kirsten also served on Senator Feingold’s personal office staff, where she worked on health care, budget, taxes, and environmental issues.
She received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she was as a Senior Editor on the Journal of Labor and Employment Law and worked as a law clerk at the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Kirsten, originally from Charleston, ME, is a 2000 graduate of Middlebury College.
###
Office of the Vice President
___________________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2009
Vice President Biden Announces Key Staff Appointments
WASHINGTON, DC – Vice President Joe Biden announced the following key staff appointments today: Edward DeSeve, Special Advisor to the President, Assistant to the Vice President and Special Advisor to the OMB Director for Implementation of the Recovery Act; Jon Wolfsthal, Special Advisor to the Vice President for nonproliferation; Matt Teper Speechwriter for the Vice President; and Kirsten White, Policy Director for Dr. Jill Biden. Herro Mustafa is also joining the Vice President’s staff, detailed from the State Department, as Special Advisor to the Vice President for the Middle East and South Asia.
Edward DeSeve, Special Advisor to the President, Assistant to the Vice President and Special Advisor to the OMB Director for Implementation of the Recovery Act:
In this role, Edward will support the Vice President in his leadership on Recovery Act implementation, and coordinate efforts at OMB on this project. He will focus on interagency coordination and lead White House efforts to make sure that the Recovery Act is implemented quickly and effectively. His management efforts inside the Executive Office of the President will complement the oversight work led by the independent Accountability and Transparency Board, chaired by Earl Devaney.
Mr. DeSeve is the former Deputy Director for Management of OMB. During his tenure in this position, he played a major role in coordinating the highly-successful federal approach to dealing with the “Y2K” computer problem. He was most recently the Chairman of Strategies and Solution LLP, which provides sustainability and consulting services to governments and non-profits. He spent the previous eight years as a professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, as a Senior Fellow at James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership, and currently serves as a Senior Lecturer at the Fels Institute for Government of the University of Pennsylvania
Mr. DeSeve has served in all three levels of government. In addition to his role as Deputy Director for Management at OMB, he worked as the Controller for OMB and as the Chief Financial Officer at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mr. DeSeve was also Special Assistant to the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Director of Finance for the City of Philadelphia.
In the private sector, Mr. DeSeve worked at KPMG Peat Marwick as a partner and national industry director, at Merrill Lynch Capital Markets as a Managing Director and at Affiliated Computer Services as a Senior Vice President. He established and led several consulting firms, including Public Financial Management Incorporated.
Mr. DeSeve has published numerous works on the federal budget, financial management, and information technology. He received a B.S. in Labor Economics from Cornell University and his Master of Government Administration in Public Finance from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jon Brook Wolfsthal, Special Advisor to the Vice President for Nonproliferation
In this position, Wolfsthal will provide support for the Vice President and the National Security Council on matters related to nuclear nonproliferation and global nuclear security.
Immediately before joining the administration, he served as a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and, before that, as Deputy Director of the Nonproliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is a globally recognized expert on nuclear security and nonproliferation, and previously served in the Department of Energy in a variety of positions. He has also been, until recently, a professorial lecturer teaching nuclear weapons policy at Georgetown University.
A native of New York City, he has lived for the past 20 years in Washington DC. He is the author of numerous article, reports and op-eds on nuclear policy, and co-author of Deadly Arsenals: Tracking Weapons of Mass Destruction. He is a graduate of Emory University.
Herro Mustafa, Special Advisor to the Vice President for the Middle East and South Asia
Herro Mustafa has been a State Department Foreign Service Officer since 1999. Immediately prior to joining the Vice President’s office as a detailee from the State Department, she was Deputy Director of the Afghanistan Office at the State Department. She was previously the Chief-of-Staff for Under Secretary for Political Affairs Bill Burns and an Advisor on the Middle East for former Under Secretary Nicholas Burns.
Herro was Director for Iran and Israeli-Palestinian Affairs at the National Security Council from 2005-2006 and Director for Iraq and Afghanistan from 2004-2005. As part of her Foreign Service career, Herro was the lead Civilian Coordinator in Mosul, Iraq; she reopened the U.S. non-immigrant visa section in Beirut, Lebanon; and she covered human rights, trafficking in persons, and domestic politics in Athens, Greece.
Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Herro was a Senior Editor at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where she edited several books and journals. Prior to that, she was an Elections Supervisor in Bosnia with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Herro grew up in Minot, North Dakota and speaks Arabic, Farsi, Kurdish, Greek, and Turkish. She has an undergraduate degree from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and a Masters from Princeton University.
Matt Teper, Speechwriter for the Vice President
Matt Teper was most recently the full-time speechwriter at Independent Sector, a leadership forum and advocacy group representing the interests of foundations and charities across the country. Matt has been writing in Washington since graduating from law school in 2002, including as a Writer/Editor at another advocacy group, focusing on federal judicial appointments and gun policy, and as a Senior Writer in the creative department of a public affairs firm.
He served in a freelance capacity as managing editor of Rock the Vote’s blog during the 2004 election season and has written and edited numerous speeches, op-ed’s, letters to the editor, blog posts, film scripts, and a host of other communications materials for nonprofit leaders, CEOs, elected officials, television personalities, and others. Matt holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin School of Law. He lives in Washington, DC.
Kirsten White, Policy Director for Dr. Jill Biden
Kirsten White most recently worked as an Associate in the Labor and Employment practice group at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. In addition to representing clients in cases before the National Labor Relations Board and in federal court, she advised clients on current legislative developments and federal labor standards. Prior to attending law school, she served as a Legislative Clerk on the Senate Judiciary Committee staff of Senator Russell D. Feingold, where she prepared the Senator for hearings and votes on civil rights, congressional reform, crime and justice, federal judicial nominations, and other issues within the Committee’s jurisdiction. Kirsten also served on Senator Feingold’s personal office staff, where she worked on health care, budget, taxes, and environmental issues.
She received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she was as a Senior Editor on the Journal of Labor and Employment Law and worked as a law clerk at the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Kirsten, originally from Charleston, ME, is a 2000 graduate of Middlebury College.
###
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
PROFILE: Ray Hanania, Arab World needs American Arab journalists to help
Palestinian radio talk show host takes on mainstream and Middle East issues
(Arab American Writers Group Syndicate) – Ray Hanania has always been a fighter. He has no choice. He is American Arab, and he refuses to put his ethnicity in the back of the bus where many Americans today demand Middle Eastern people sit.
Hanania, who has written seven books, authors a syndicated column, and hosts both a radio and TV Show in Chicago, Illinois, believes that the answer to the challenges facing the Arab World is to empower American Arab journalists to help change the false stereotypes and perceptions that undermine justice and feed anti-Arab bias in the West.
“The Arab World is making a critical error by believing that they can change the Western mindset by simply writing about world events and doing so mainly in the Arabic language,” argues Hanania, who is managing editor of Arabisto.com and whose columns often appear in the mainstream American and Arab world media.
“They have failed to take advantage of the one single asset that can empower the Arab voice in the West and especially in America, the American Arab professional journalists.”
Hanania, who is a co-founded of the National Arab American Journalists Association, reports that the voice of American Arabs are shifting from partisan activism to professional journalism.
“We have more than 90 independent American Arab ethnic newspapers and magazines, a dozen radio and cable TV programs hosted by American Arabs, and we have more than 250 journalists in this country, half of whom work full or parttime in mainstream American journalism positions,” Hanania says.
“The failure of the Arab World to support that growing movement has handicapped efforts to correct inaccurate stereotypes among Americans of the Arab World, and has undermined efforts to correct injustices often times driven by misguided American foreign policy. With the new sense of justice of the administration of Barack Obama, the Arab World is poised to change all that. But they must empower American Arab journalists to help lead that change in America.”
The American-born Palestinian quickly rose through the ranks of the Palestinian American community in the early 1970s under the guidance of then Northwestern Political Science Professor Ibrahim Abu-Lughod, who helped Hanania become spokesman for the Arab American Congress for Palestine in 1975.
That year, Hanania also launched an English language newspaper that immediately put him in the sights of the Midwest Office of the FBI – resulting in a two-year long investigation and secret FBI report – and a head-to-head debate on national Public TV with Israel’s Foreign Minister, Abba Eban.
Since then, Hanania entered journalism believing that Arab cultural tradition of directing young children into white collar professions like medicine, engineering, law and even corporate and retail business had to be changed. American Arabs had to enter the field of journalism.
“Communications is the most powerful profession in America and in the world,’ says Hanania, who has since won three Society of Professional Journalism awards for his columns and was named Best Ethnic Columnist in America by the New America Media.
“In America, perception is reality. Americans oftentimes do not care about the facts or the truth. They care more about who is saying the facts and the truth. And if you do not look and sound exactly like them, oftentimes justice falters and injustice rises to a national clamor.”
The view has pushed him into frequent clashes with the leadership of the American Arab community, especially with those who have relied on emotion and tragedy to keep the community in line.
Hanania, whose father is from Jerusalem and mother from Bethlehem, also advocates that Palestinians must reject violence and even resistance, and embrace a compromise with Israel arguing that failing to do so has resulted in giving the Israelis carte blanche not only in the PR field but in the reality of everyday life for Palestinians in Palestine.
“Every day, Israel is erasing the rights and existence of the Palestinian people. They have played a cunning, deceptive and clever game of advocating for peace while increasing illegal settlements, stealing Palestinian owned lands, expelling Palestinians from their homes, and engaging in terrorism themselves through the military and through the terrorist settler movement,” Hanania explains.
“What has been our response as Palestinians and Arabs? To help Israel by responding not with our brains but with our emotions. With our anger. Instead of being strategic, as the Israelis have been, we have been reckless in our leadership. When you argue reason, community leaders who have based their leadership not on skills but manipulating and exploiting the tragedy and emotions of our people have responded by calling you a traitor and worse. We have to stop letting our emotions control our destiny because so far it has not worked.”
Hanania believes that the problem is compounded by the absence of American Arabs in Western mainstream journalism.
“It’s not enough to have Arab journalists in the Middle East covering these events because they are writing primarily in Arabic and they are writing under a system of repression that is oftentimes more harsh for them in Arab countries than under Israeli occupation,” Hanania asserts.
“Arab World journalists are faltering by failing to speak to the Western audiences in the English language. And in those few instances where they try to write and broadcast in English, the Western audiences have resisted and rejected those programs. The answer is to build a new Arab Media not in the Middle East but in the heartland of America. Strengthen the voices of professional American Arab journalists and empower them to engage the American and Western publics in a natural form of English and in a professional form of Journalism.”
Hanania was one of the first Palestinians to enter professional journalism full time in 1976, covering Chicago City Hall and politics for 16 years. He currently is the only American Arab to host a weekday Monday through Friday morning radio show in Chicago (WJJG 1530 AM) which speaks to mainstream American issues with an “Arab flare.”
“We are American like anyone else in this country. We served in the military and are often more patriotic than the so-called patriots who disparage and attack and defame the Arab people in this country,” Hanania says.
“No one can more effectively speak for the Arab cause in America and the West than American Arabs who have integrated themselves into American life while still clinging to their Arab heritage with pride.”
Hanania’s morning show, which covers the Chicagoland region with a more than 6 million audience reach, aggressively asserts its Arab heritage in almost every topic discussion.
“Americans need to know that we Arabs are just like them. We are no different. We can do that better than anyone else,’ Hanania argues.
(For more information on Ray Hanania, visit www.TheMediaOasis.com or his radio web site at www.RadioChicagoland.com. He can be reached at rayhanania@comcast.net.)
(Arab American Writers Group Syndicate) – Ray Hanania has always been a fighter. He has no choice. He is American Arab, and he refuses to put his ethnicity in the back of the bus where many Americans today demand Middle Eastern people sit.
Hanania, who has written seven books, authors a syndicated column, and hosts both a radio and TV Show in Chicago, Illinois, believes that the answer to the challenges facing the Arab World is to empower American Arab journalists to help change the false stereotypes and perceptions that undermine justice and feed anti-Arab bias in the West.
“The Arab World is making a critical error by believing that they can change the Western mindset by simply writing about world events and doing so mainly in the Arabic language,” argues Hanania, who is managing editor of Arabisto.com and whose columns often appear in the mainstream American and Arab world media.
“They have failed to take advantage of the one single asset that can empower the Arab voice in the West and especially in America, the American Arab professional journalists.”
Hanania, who is a co-founded of the National Arab American Journalists Association, reports that the voice of American Arabs are shifting from partisan activism to professional journalism.
“We have more than 90 independent American Arab ethnic newspapers and magazines, a dozen radio and cable TV programs hosted by American Arabs, and we have more than 250 journalists in this country, half of whom work full or parttime in mainstream American journalism positions,” Hanania says.
“The failure of the Arab World to support that growing movement has handicapped efforts to correct inaccurate stereotypes among Americans of the Arab World, and has undermined efforts to correct injustices often times driven by misguided American foreign policy. With the new sense of justice of the administration of Barack Obama, the Arab World is poised to change all that. But they must empower American Arab journalists to help lead that change in America.”
The American-born Palestinian quickly rose through the ranks of the Palestinian American community in the early 1970s under the guidance of then Northwestern Political Science Professor Ibrahim Abu-Lughod, who helped Hanania become spokesman for the Arab American Congress for Palestine in 1975.
That year, Hanania also launched an English language newspaper that immediately put him in the sights of the Midwest Office of the FBI – resulting in a two-year long investigation and secret FBI report – and a head-to-head debate on national Public TV with Israel’s Foreign Minister, Abba Eban.
Since then, Hanania entered journalism believing that Arab cultural tradition of directing young children into white collar professions like medicine, engineering, law and even corporate and retail business had to be changed. American Arabs had to enter the field of journalism.
“Communications is the most powerful profession in America and in the world,’ says Hanania, who has since won three Society of Professional Journalism awards for his columns and was named Best Ethnic Columnist in America by the New America Media.
“In America, perception is reality. Americans oftentimes do not care about the facts or the truth. They care more about who is saying the facts and the truth. And if you do not look and sound exactly like them, oftentimes justice falters and injustice rises to a national clamor.”
The view has pushed him into frequent clashes with the leadership of the American Arab community, especially with those who have relied on emotion and tragedy to keep the community in line.
Hanania, whose father is from Jerusalem and mother from Bethlehem, also advocates that Palestinians must reject violence and even resistance, and embrace a compromise with Israel arguing that failing to do so has resulted in giving the Israelis carte blanche not only in the PR field but in the reality of everyday life for Palestinians in Palestine.
“Every day, Israel is erasing the rights and existence of the Palestinian people. They have played a cunning, deceptive and clever game of advocating for peace while increasing illegal settlements, stealing Palestinian owned lands, expelling Palestinians from their homes, and engaging in terrorism themselves through the military and through the terrorist settler movement,” Hanania explains.
“What has been our response as Palestinians and Arabs? To help Israel by responding not with our brains but with our emotions. With our anger. Instead of being strategic, as the Israelis have been, we have been reckless in our leadership. When you argue reason, community leaders who have based their leadership not on skills but manipulating and exploiting the tragedy and emotions of our people have responded by calling you a traitor and worse. We have to stop letting our emotions control our destiny because so far it has not worked.”
Hanania believes that the problem is compounded by the absence of American Arabs in Western mainstream journalism.
“It’s not enough to have Arab journalists in the Middle East covering these events because they are writing primarily in Arabic and they are writing under a system of repression that is oftentimes more harsh for them in Arab countries than under Israeli occupation,” Hanania asserts.
“Arab World journalists are faltering by failing to speak to the Western audiences in the English language. And in those few instances where they try to write and broadcast in English, the Western audiences have resisted and rejected those programs. The answer is to build a new Arab Media not in the Middle East but in the heartland of America. Strengthen the voices of professional American Arab journalists and empower them to engage the American and Western publics in a natural form of English and in a professional form of Journalism.”
Hanania was one of the first Palestinians to enter professional journalism full time in 1976, covering Chicago City Hall and politics for 16 years. He currently is the only American Arab to host a weekday Monday through Friday morning radio show in Chicago (WJJG 1530 AM) which speaks to mainstream American issues with an “Arab flare.”
“We are American like anyone else in this country. We served in the military and are often more patriotic than the so-called patriots who disparage and attack and defame the Arab people in this country,” Hanania says.
“No one can more effectively speak for the Arab cause in America and the West than American Arabs who have integrated themselves into American life while still clinging to their Arab heritage with pride.”
Hanania’s morning show, which covers the Chicagoland region with a more than 6 million audience reach, aggressively asserts its Arab heritage in almost every topic discussion.
“Americans need to know that we Arabs are just like them. We are no different. We can do that better than anyone else,’ Hanania argues.
(For more information on Ray Hanania, visit www.TheMediaOasis.com or his radio web site at www.RadioChicagoland.com. He can be reached at rayhanania@comcast.net.)
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Iraqi Writers Association Workshop, Saturdays in April, Ferndale, Michigan
Iraqi Artists Association
Presents:
Connecting American Writers of Middle Eastern Backgrounds through a Workshop
Workshop Led by:
Weam Namou - Yatooma
Novelist, Poet & Freelance Writer
In this FREE Creative Writing Workshop:
● You receive honest, constructive feedback.
● The courses are structured towards your learning style.
● You’re allowed to write at your own pace.
● You learn to write with a published author as your mentor.
American Writers of Middle Eastern background have been around for a long time but have not been acknowledged even though…
Writing started in Mesopotamia, now called Iraq, over 7300 years ago. The first writer in recorded history was Enheduanna, a woman from ancient Iraq. She lived, composed and taught roughly 2,000 years before Aristotle.
This workshop is designed to improve your writing skills and allow you to reach your full writing potential. Whether you're dreaming of writing the great American novel or you've just got a few poems you're trying to publish, this workshop is for you!
Every Saturday for the Month of April (April 4, 11, 18 & 25) 12:00– 4:00 pm
Location:
800 Livernois Ferndale, MI 48220
This event is free and open to anyone of Middle Eastern background
Please register early as seating is limited
By calling Weam Namou Yatooma (586) 212-4490 or weamn@hotmail.com
Sponsored by Poets&Writers, the Chaldean Educational Center of America
& Iraqi American Media Network
Presents:
Connecting American Writers of Middle Eastern Backgrounds through a Workshop
Workshop Led by:
Weam Namou - Yatooma
Novelist, Poet & Freelance Writer
In this FREE Creative Writing Workshop:
● You receive honest, constructive feedback.
● The courses are structured towards your learning style.
● You’re allowed to write at your own pace.
● You learn to write with a published author as your mentor.
American Writers of Middle Eastern background have been around for a long time but have not been acknowledged even though…
Writing started in Mesopotamia, now called Iraq, over 7300 years ago. The first writer in recorded history was Enheduanna, a woman from ancient Iraq. She lived, composed and taught roughly 2,000 years before Aristotle.
This workshop is designed to improve your writing skills and allow you to reach your full writing potential. Whether you're dreaming of writing the great American novel or you've just got a few poems you're trying to publish, this workshop is for you!
Every Saturday for the Month of April (April 4, 11, 18 & 25) 12:00– 4:00 pm
Location:
800 Livernois Ferndale, MI 48220
This event is free and open to anyone of Middle Eastern background
Please register early as seating is limited
By calling Weam Namou Yatooma (586) 212-4490 or weamn@hotmail.com
Sponsored by Poets&Writers, the Chaldean Educational Center of America
& Iraqi American Media Network
Friday, March 20, 2009
Lebanese Singer Fares Karam to perform in place of Kazem al-Saher at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond Indiana Friday March 20
Lebanese Singer Fares Karam to perform in place of Kazem Al-Saher at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino on March 20, 2009
Chicago, IL (March, 20, 2009) – The Venue at Horseshoe Casino announced today that due to unexpected circumstances, Arab singer Kazem Al-Saher will not perform at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino on Friday, March 20.
Faraz Karam, considered on of the most upbeat and brilliant performers in the pop Middle Eastern scene will take the stage and perform in Mr. Al-Saher’s place. Fares Karam has achieved big success in a short time, choosing a purely Lebanese style ''Dabkah'' to make his works distinct from contemporary Arab-speaking artists and very popular in Lebanon, having performed in concerts, public celebrations and festivals all over the world. His several hit singles include ''El-Tannoura'' and ''Chari'a Al Hamra''.
The show begins at 8:00 p.m. at The Venue, doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Customers are directed to check The Venue at Horseshoe Casino website, www.thevenue-chicago.com or call the box office 219-473-6060 with any questions.
ABOUT HARRAH’S ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. is the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, nearly 70 years ago, Harrah's has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casinos on four continents. The company's properties operate primarily under the Harrah's, Caesars and Horseshoe brand names; Harrah's also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. For more information, please visit: www.harrahs.com
ABOUT HORSESHOE HAMMOND
The all new 500 million-dollar Horseshoe Casino, a Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. property, just 20 minutes from downtown Chicago is the premier entertainment and gaming destination in Chicagoland. Where legendary gaming lives on, Horseshoe boasts more than 350,000 square feet with 3,200 slot machines, nearly 100 table games, the largest poker room in the Midwest, keno and more. The Venue at Horseshoe Casino is proud to offer the ultimate concert and entertainment destination. In conjunction with AEG Live and created by the award-winning designers of Sceno Plus, The Venue offers a premier experience in a flexible space that can hold up to 4,000 guests. Dining elegance is not overlooked and guests can choose from a variety of dining options including; Jack Binion's Steak House which overlooks Lake Michigan, around-the-globe variety at the Village Square Buffet, a taste of Chicago at Benny's Home Cookin, scrumptious fare at J.B.s Gourmet Sandwiches and Salads and the delicious Asian cuisine at Fai Choi. For more information, please visit: www.horseshoehammond.com
Know when to stop before you start.® Gambling problem? Call 1.800.9.WITH.IT. ©2008 Harrah's License
Company, LLC.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Leah Eisenstein, XA, The Experiential Agency, 312.239.2339, leah@expagency.com
###
Chicago, IL (March, 20, 2009) – The Venue at Horseshoe Casino announced today that due to unexpected circumstances, Arab singer Kazem Al-Saher will not perform at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino on Friday, March 20.
Faraz Karam, considered on of the most upbeat and brilliant performers in the pop Middle Eastern scene will take the stage and perform in Mr. Al-Saher’s place. Fares Karam has achieved big success in a short time, choosing a purely Lebanese style ''Dabkah'' to make his works distinct from contemporary Arab-speaking artists and very popular in Lebanon, having performed in concerts, public celebrations and festivals all over the world. His several hit singles include ''El-Tannoura'' and ''Chari'a Al Hamra''.
The show begins at 8:00 p.m. at The Venue, doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Customers are directed to check The Venue at Horseshoe Casino website, www.thevenue-chicago.com or call the box office 219-473-6060 with any questions.
ABOUT HARRAH’S ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. is the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, nearly 70 years ago, Harrah's has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casinos on four continents. The company's properties operate primarily under the Harrah's, Caesars and Horseshoe brand names; Harrah's also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. For more information, please visit: www.harrahs.com
ABOUT HORSESHOE HAMMOND
The all new 500 million-dollar Horseshoe Casino, a Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. property, just 20 minutes from downtown Chicago is the premier entertainment and gaming destination in Chicagoland. Where legendary gaming lives on, Horseshoe boasts more than 350,000 square feet with 3,200 slot machines, nearly 100 table games, the largest poker room in the Midwest, keno and more. The Venue at Horseshoe Casino is proud to offer the ultimate concert and entertainment destination. In conjunction with AEG Live and created by the award-winning designers of Sceno Plus, The Venue offers a premier experience in a flexible space that can hold up to 4,000 guests. Dining elegance is not overlooked and guests can choose from a variety of dining options including; Jack Binion's Steak House which overlooks Lake Michigan, around-the-globe variety at the Village Square Buffet, a taste of Chicago at Benny's Home Cookin, scrumptious fare at J.B.s Gourmet Sandwiches and Salads and the delicious Asian cuisine at Fai Choi. For more information, please visit: www.horseshoehammond.com
Know when to stop before you start.® Gambling problem? Call 1.800.9.WITH.IT. ©2008 Harrah's License
Company, LLC.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Leah Eisenstein, XA, The Experiential Agency, 312.239.2339, leah@expagency.com
###
Thursday, March 05, 2009
HBO documentary on transexuals in Iran
HBO DOCUMENTARIES
presents
BE LIKE OTHERS
A film by Tanaz Eshaghian
Premieres May 20, 2009
In the Islamic Republic of Iran, a country with strict social mores and traditional values, sex-change operations are legal. Over twenty years ago, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa (religious edict) making sex change permissible for “diagnosed transsexuals.” Yet homosexuality is still punishable by death.
With Iran’s international arms negotiations dominating news headlines worldwide, a very private kind of drama is unfolding behind the scenes. Highly feminine and attracted to members of the same sex, yet forced to live in secret for fear of retribution, a generation of young Iranian men are adopting an identity legally allowed to them—transsexual. In pursuit of what one man calls simply, “a decent life,” they flock to the country’s best-established gender reassignment surgeon, Dr. Bahram Mir Jalali, and are counseled by 24-year-old Vida, a post-op woman who claims to be “reborn” but warns of dangers that still await.
Iranian-American filmmaker Tanaz Eshaghian accompanies several young men as they contemplate and prepare for their transformation, then follows them into and out of surgery. Intimate and unflinching, BE LIKE OTHERS is a fascinating look at those on the fringes of Iranian life—those looking for acceptance through the most radical of means.
About Tanaz Eshagian:
Tanaz Eshaghian was born in Iran in 1974 and left with her mother at the age of six, at the start of the Iran-Iraq war. She grew up in New York City, where she still lives, and graduated from Brown University in 1996 with a BA in Art Semiotics. Tanaz began making films a few years later, with a focus on documenting the Iranian experience in America. In 2001 she made the short documentary I CALL MYSELF PERSIAN. Framed by the Iran hostage crisis of 1979 and the World Trade Center attacks, the film reveals how Iranians living in the U.S. are often stereotyped and held responsible for anti-American activity, and weighs the effects on their identity. Her second film, the 63-minute LOVE IRANIAN-AMERICAN STYLE (2005), was shot over a period of four years and documented her own traditional Iranian family’s obsession with marrying her off. Sexual purity, money and a mother’s worries come together in this humorous guided tour lead by Tanaz through the Iranian-Jewish communities in New York and Los Angeles. BE LIKE OTHERS is her first film set in Iran—a country she had not visited for decades.
TO REQUEST AN INTERVIEW WITH TANAZ ESHAGIAN
OR A SCREENER OF THIS FILM, PLEASE CONTACT:
Lauren Schwartz
Donna Daniels Public Relations, LLC
20 West 22nd Street, Suite 1410
New York, NY 10010
presents
BE LIKE OTHERS
A film by Tanaz Eshaghian
Premieres May 20, 2009
In the Islamic Republic of Iran, a country with strict social mores and traditional values, sex-change operations are legal. Over twenty years ago, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa (religious edict) making sex change permissible for “diagnosed transsexuals.” Yet homosexuality is still punishable by death.
With Iran’s international arms negotiations dominating news headlines worldwide, a very private kind of drama is unfolding behind the scenes. Highly feminine and attracted to members of the same sex, yet forced to live in secret for fear of retribution, a generation of young Iranian men are adopting an identity legally allowed to them—transsexual. In pursuit of what one man calls simply, “a decent life,” they flock to the country’s best-established gender reassignment surgeon, Dr. Bahram Mir Jalali, and are counseled by 24-year-old Vida, a post-op woman who claims to be “reborn” but warns of dangers that still await.
Iranian-American filmmaker Tanaz Eshaghian accompanies several young men as they contemplate and prepare for their transformation, then follows them into and out of surgery. Intimate and unflinching, BE LIKE OTHERS is a fascinating look at those on the fringes of Iranian life—those looking for acceptance through the most radical of means.
About Tanaz Eshagian:
Tanaz Eshaghian was born in Iran in 1974 and left with her mother at the age of six, at the start of the Iran-Iraq war. She grew up in New York City, where she still lives, and graduated from Brown University in 1996 with a BA in Art Semiotics. Tanaz began making films a few years later, with a focus on documenting the Iranian experience in America. In 2001 she made the short documentary I CALL MYSELF PERSIAN. Framed by the Iran hostage crisis of 1979 and the World Trade Center attacks, the film reveals how Iranians living in the U.S. are often stereotyped and held responsible for anti-American activity, and weighs the effects on their identity. Her second film, the 63-minute LOVE IRANIAN-AMERICAN STYLE (2005), was shot over a period of four years and documented her own traditional Iranian family’s obsession with marrying her off. Sexual purity, money and a mother’s worries come together in this humorous guided tour lead by Tanaz through the Iranian-Jewish communities in New York and Los Angeles. BE LIKE OTHERS is her first film set in Iran—a country she had not visited for decades.
TO REQUEST AN INTERVIEW WITH TANAZ ESHAGIAN
OR A SCREENER OF THIS FILM, PLEASE CONTACT:
Lauren Schwartz
Donna Daniels Public Relations, LLC
20 West 22nd Street, Suite 1410
New York, NY 10010
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Caesars in Windsor features Middle East and mainstream entertainers
Award-winning actors, musicians and comedians featured in the new line-up at Caesars Windsor
Media Contact: Holly Ward, Director of Communications and Community Affairs Direct: 519.985.2869 or 1.800.991.7777 ext. 22869 ward@caesarswindsor.com
For immediate release: March 4, 2009
Windsor, Ont. – The new line-up at the Colosseum at Caesars Windsor offers a wide variety of performances scheduled for May and June. These concerts will go on sale at noon on March 11, 2009:
Assi El Hellani: 9 pm on Saturday, May 2. Tickets are $45 and $80 Canadian. Enjoy the music of “The Arab Knight,” a major artist in the Middle East since the 1990s.
Soap Opera Festival: 4 pm on Saturday, May 9. Tickets are $10 Canadian. Join these stars from “The Young and the Restless”, Christian LeBlanc, Sharon Case and Jeanne Cooper along with Kyle Lowder from “The Bold and the Beautiful” for an afternoon of conversation about the latest plot lines from these two hit soap operas.
Don Felder (formerly of The Eagles), An Evening at the Hotel California: 9 pm on Saturday, May 23. Tickets are $29.50 and $39.50 Canadian.
KC & The Sunshine Band: 9 pm on Friday May 29. Tickets are $34.50 and $44.50 Canadian.
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons: 9 pm on Saturday, June 6. Tickets are $50 and $60 Canadian.
Huey Lewis & The News: 9 pm on Saturday, June 13. Tickets are $40 and $50 Canadian.
David Cassidy: 8 pm on Thursday, June 18. Tickets are $39.50 and $49.50 Canadian.
Tim Conway and Friends: 9 pm on Saturday, June 27 and 4 pm on Sunday, June 28. Tickets are $35 and $45 Canadian.
Tickets can be purchased through www.caesarswindsor.com or at the Box Office located in the main casino building on the second floor, open Wednesday to Sunday from noon to
8 pm. On concert days, the Box Office is open noon until midnight, call 1-800-991-8888. Guests must be 19 years of age or older to attend concerts, to enter the casino and all other outlets. Prices listed do not include applicable taxes and fees.
Other headliners already on sale include: George Thorogood and The Destroyers (March 6), Cedric the Entertainer (March 7), Brooks and Dunn (March 13), The Temptations with The Four Tops (March 20/21), Wynonna (March 26) Chicago (March 27/28), Dr. Phil (April 2), Seal (April 3), The Ten Tenors (April 14-19) Howie Mandel (April 23), LeAnn Rimes (April 25), Joe Cocker (May 7), Sara Evans (May 8) and Heart (May 15).
-30-
The Life You Were Meant To Live. Caesars Windsor.
Media Contact: Holly Ward, Director of Communications and Community Affairs Direct: 519.985.2869 or 1.800.991.7777 ext. 22869 ward@caesarswindsor.com
For immediate release: March 4, 2009
Windsor, Ont. – The new line-up at the Colosseum at Caesars Windsor offers a wide variety of performances scheduled for May and June. These concerts will go on sale at noon on March 11, 2009:
Assi El Hellani: 9 pm on Saturday, May 2. Tickets are $45 and $80 Canadian. Enjoy the music of “The Arab Knight,” a major artist in the Middle East since the 1990s.
Soap Opera Festival: 4 pm on Saturday, May 9. Tickets are $10 Canadian. Join these stars from “The Young and the Restless”, Christian LeBlanc, Sharon Case and Jeanne Cooper along with Kyle Lowder from “The Bold and the Beautiful” for an afternoon of conversation about the latest plot lines from these two hit soap operas.
Don Felder (formerly of The Eagles), An Evening at the Hotel California: 9 pm on Saturday, May 23. Tickets are $29.50 and $39.50 Canadian.
KC & The Sunshine Band: 9 pm on Friday May 29. Tickets are $34.50 and $44.50 Canadian.
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons: 9 pm on Saturday, June 6. Tickets are $50 and $60 Canadian.
Huey Lewis & The News: 9 pm on Saturday, June 13. Tickets are $40 and $50 Canadian.
David Cassidy: 8 pm on Thursday, June 18. Tickets are $39.50 and $49.50 Canadian.
Tim Conway and Friends: 9 pm on Saturday, June 27 and 4 pm on Sunday, June 28. Tickets are $35 and $45 Canadian.
Tickets can be purchased through www.caesarswindsor.com or at the Box Office located in the main casino building on the second floor, open Wednesday to Sunday from noon to
8 pm. On concert days, the Box Office is open noon until midnight, call 1-800-991-8888. Guests must be 19 years of age or older to attend concerts, to enter the casino and all other outlets. Prices listed do not include applicable taxes and fees.
Other headliners already on sale include: George Thorogood and The Destroyers (March 6), Cedric the Entertainer (March 7), Brooks and Dunn (March 13), The Temptations with The Four Tops (March 20/21), Wynonna (March 26) Chicago (March 27/28), Dr. Phil (April 2), Seal (April 3), The Ten Tenors (April 14-19) Howie Mandel (April 23), LeAnn Rimes (April 25), Joe Cocker (May 7), Sara Evans (May 8) and Heart (May 15).
-30-
The Life You Were Meant To Live. Caesars Windsor.
Chicago Sister Cities Acting Call
Calling for volunteers for films about Chicago!
Chicago 2016 is looking for girls, ages 6 – 14, to participate in a film about Chicago’s
Sister Cities. The girl’s family must be from the region of among Chicago’s 27 sister
cities, and she should be able to say “Hello Sister” in the language of the region
(with a parent’s or grandparent’s help is sufficient, but native fluency is preferred.)
We are also looking for boys in the same age range, but they do not need to have
foreign language capabilities.
About Chicago Sister Cities
Established in 1960, Chicago Sister Cities International serves as Chicago’s best
ambassador to the world, embracing a citizen diplomacy model and using people-to people relations to promote mutual understanding and international exchange.
From hosting foreign dignitaries, to uniting the diverse ethnic communities of
Chicago, to serving as the first point-of-contact for visiting business leaders,
cultural icons and educational institutions, Chicago Sister Cities plays a critical role
in bringing the world to Chicago and Chicago to the world. For a full listing of
Chicago’s 27 sister cities, please refer to page 2.
About the Filming
The filming will take place on Saturday, March 14, and Sunday, March 15, and will
take 3 to 4 hours. Exact location is to be determined. Snacks will be provided.
For the girls, please bring along a few changes of clothes as well as any clothing
traditional to the region. Please feel free to bring siblings and other family
members as we need still photographs of Chicagoans for use in another film.
Please direct questions to Bonnie Vansteen at 312.220.4846. To participate in the
filming, email Bonnie.Vansteen@leoburnett.com** by Monday, March 9, with your
contact information and your child’s recent photo, name, age, and language ability.
You will be contacted with more information by Wednesday, March 11. Thank you.
** Yahoo! Mail users, please contact Bonnie Vansteen at Vansteen.B@gmail.com
T + 1.312.552.2016 * F + 1.312.861.4801
200 RANDOLPH * SUITE 2016 * CHICAGO, IL 60601
WWW.CHICAGO2016.ORG
Chicago’s Sister Cities
Accra, Ghana
Amman, Jordan
Athens, Greece
Belgrade, Serbia
Birmingham, UK
Busan, Korea
Casablanca, Morocco
Delhi, India
Durban, South Africa
Galway, Ireland
Gothenburg, Sweden
Hamburg, Germany
Kyiv, Ukraine
Lahore, Pakistan
Lucerne, Switzerland
Mexico City, Mexico
Milan, Italy
Moscow, Russia
Osaka, Japan
Paris, France
Petach Tikva, Israel
Prague, Czech Republic
Shanghai, China
Shenyang, China
Toronto, Canada
Vilnius, Lithuania
Warsaw, Poland
Chicago 2016 is looking for girls, ages 6 – 14, to participate in a film about Chicago’s
Sister Cities. The girl’s family must be from the region of among Chicago’s 27 sister
cities, and she should be able to say “Hello Sister” in the language of the region
(with a parent’s or grandparent’s help is sufficient, but native fluency is preferred.)
We are also looking for boys in the same age range, but they do not need to have
foreign language capabilities.
About Chicago Sister Cities
Established in 1960, Chicago Sister Cities International serves as Chicago’s best
ambassador to the world, embracing a citizen diplomacy model and using people-to people relations to promote mutual understanding and international exchange.
From hosting foreign dignitaries, to uniting the diverse ethnic communities of
Chicago, to serving as the first point-of-contact for visiting business leaders,
cultural icons and educational institutions, Chicago Sister Cities plays a critical role
in bringing the world to Chicago and Chicago to the world. For a full listing of
Chicago’s 27 sister cities, please refer to page 2.
About the Filming
The filming will take place on Saturday, March 14, and Sunday, March 15, and will
take 3 to 4 hours. Exact location is to be determined. Snacks will be provided.
For the girls, please bring along a few changes of clothes as well as any clothing
traditional to the region. Please feel free to bring siblings and other family
members as we need still photographs of Chicagoans for use in another film.
Please direct questions to Bonnie Vansteen at 312.220.4846. To participate in the
filming, email Bonnie.Vansteen@leoburnett.com** by Monday, March 9, with your
contact information and your child’s recent photo, name, age, and language ability.
You will be contacted with more information by Wednesday, March 11. Thank you.
** Yahoo! Mail users, please contact Bonnie Vansteen at Vansteen.B@gmail.com
T + 1.312.552.2016 * F + 1.312.861.4801
200 RANDOLPH * SUITE 2016 * CHICAGO, IL 60601
WWW.CHICAGO2016.ORG
Chicago’s Sister Cities
Accra, Ghana
Amman, Jordan
Athens, Greece
Belgrade, Serbia
Birmingham, UK
Busan, Korea
Casablanca, Morocco
Delhi, India
Durban, South Africa
Galway, Ireland
Gothenburg, Sweden
Hamburg, Germany
Kyiv, Ukraine
Lahore, Pakistan
Lucerne, Switzerland
Mexico City, Mexico
Milan, Italy
Moscow, Russia
Osaka, Japan
Paris, France
Petach Tikva, Israel
Prague, Czech Republic
Shanghai, China
Shenyang, China
Toronto, Canada
Vilnius, Lithuania
Warsaw, Poland
Monday, March 02, 2009
Palestinian and Israeli leaders discuss peace on Comcast Cable TV program in Chicago
PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASERay Hanania708-403-1203
rayhanania@comcast.net
Palestinian & Israeli leaders discuss Middle East peace on local TV show
Orland Park – Leaders from the Palestinian and Israeli community are the featured guests on the latest edition of TV Chicagoland on Comcast Cable TV Channel 19.
Guests Fadi Zanayed, President of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Chicago Chapter, and David Steiner, president of Friends of Peace Now, talk about ways to overcome the divide that separates the two important Chicagoland communities as events spiral out of control in the Middle East.
The show, hosted by journalist Ray Hanania, is broadcast every Friday night in 145 Chicagoland suburban communities on Channel 19 on Comcast Cable TV at 7 pm and 8:30 pm, the broadcast time depends on your suburb.
The show features an interview Zanayed and Steiner conducted on Hanania’s morning radio show “Radio Chicagoland” which is broadcast every Monday through Friday at 8 am on WJJG 1530 AM Radio, “The G.”
For more information on the TV or radio shows, visit www.TVChicagoland.com and also www.RadioChicagoland.com.
END
rayhanania@comcast.net
Palestinian & Israeli leaders discuss Middle East peace on local TV show
Orland Park – Leaders from the Palestinian and Israeli community are the featured guests on the latest edition of TV Chicagoland on Comcast Cable TV Channel 19.
Guests Fadi Zanayed, President of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Chicago Chapter, and David Steiner, president of Friends of Peace Now, talk about ways to overcome the divide that separates the two important Chicagoland communities as events spiral out of control in the Middle East.
The show, hosted by journalist Ray Hanania, is broadcast every Friday night in 145 Chicagoland suburban communities on Channel 19 on Comcast Cable TV at 7 pm and 8:30 pm, the broadcast time depends on your suburb.
The show features an interview Zanayed and Steiner conducted on Hanania’s morning radio show “Radio Chicagoland” which is broadcast every Monday through Friday at 8 am on WJJG 1530 AM Radio, “The G.”
For more information on the TV or radio shows, visit www.TVChicagoland.com and also www.RadioChicagoland.com.
END
Sunday, March 01, 2009
The Arab-Israeli Cookbook featured at Theater Mir production March 5 - April 5
“THE ARAB-ISRAELI COOKBOOK”
Theatre Mir gives voice to the Arab-Israeli conflict in theatrical production and special programs at the Chicago DCA Storefront Theater March 5 – April 5, 2009
Theatre Mir, in association with Chicago DCA Theater, presents the Midwest premiere of The Arab-Israeli Cookbook by British playwright Robin Soans. The production comes to Chicago DCA Theater’s Storefront Theater at 66 E. Randolph Street, from March 5 through April 5, 2009. Members of the press are invited to the opening performance on Saturday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m.
The Arab-Israeli Cookbook brings Arab and Israeli voices together in the stories of ordinary people living in a rich yet divided world in Israel and the West Bank. Based on real-life interviews, this deeply human play weaves the stories and recipes of more than forty characters who reveal common culture and experiences amidst the daily conflict. In restaurants, shops, cafes, and homes, everyone has a story to tell and a recipe to cook.
In 2003, playwright Robin Soans and directors Rima Brihi and Tim Roseman – the one Arab, the other Jewish – traveled to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. The play was originally presented in a hit production at London’s The Gate Theatre. It has since been produced in Canada, Japan, and the United Stated and broadcast on BBC World Service in 2006. Theatre Mir’s production is the play’s Midwest premiere.
Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $23 for general admission, $18 for seniors, and $15 for students. Discounts are also available for groups of ten or more. All tickets are available by calling 312.742.TIXS (8497), visiting www.dcatheater.org, or stopping by the box office, open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 4 p.m.; and one hour prior to each performance. Post-show discussions moderated by Scott Hibbard and Khalil Marrar of the DePaul University Political Science Department will follow the preview performances on March 5 and 6.
Cast and Production Team
Cast
Walter Brody, Maggie Cain, Susaan Jamshidi, Stephen Loch, Julian Martinez, Mark Richard, Frank Sawa, and Rachel Slavick.
Production Team
Rob Chambers (Director), Marianna Csaszar (Sets), Brandon Wardell (Lights), Laura B. Kollar (Costumes), Brett Masteller (Sound), Christina Pretsch and Chris Chapin (Stage Managers), Eva Breneman (Dialects), Zev Valancy (Dramaturgy), Andrea Fears (Assistant Director), Danica Ivancevic (Producer).
Special Events
In association with the production, Theatre Mir and Chicago DCA Theater will present a series of special events designed to further explore the themes and issues raised in The Arab-Israeli Cookbook.
Monday, March 16, 7pm
Discussion “Staging Conflict: Theatrical Narratives of the Holy Land”
Claudia Cassidy Theater, Chicago Cultural Center
FREE, Reservations encouraged at 312.742.TIXS (8497), or at www.dcatheater.org
Silk Road Theatre Project and Theatre Mir present scenes from their productions of Motti Lerner’s “Pangs of the Messiah” and Robin Soans’ “The Arab-Israeli Cookbook,” two plays portraying unique perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the former an intra-Jewish story about a family of religious West Bank settlers set in 2012 and the latter a verbatim play based on interviews with Christians, Jews and Muslims living in Israel and the West Bank. The program includes a lively panel discussion on the challenges of dramatizing the personal and political within the context of the Middle East.
Wednesday, April 1, 6:30pm
Film Screening “Encounter Point”
Claudia Cassidy Theater, Chicago Cultural Center
FREE, Reservations encouraged at 312.742.TIXS (8497), or at www.dcatheater.org
“Encounter Point” is a poignant documentary about a former Israeli settler, a Palestinian ex-prisoner, a bereaved Israeli mother and a wounded Palestinian bereaved brother who risk their lives and public standing to promote a nonviolent end to the conflict. Their journeys lead them to the unlikeliest places to confront hatred within their communities. The film explores what drives them and thousands of other like-minded civilians to overcome anger and grief to work for grassroots solutions in the face of government inaction. It is a film about the everyday leaders in our midst.
Saturday, April 4, 11am
World Kitchen Class “The Arab-Israeli Cookbook”
Gallery 37 Center for the Arts, 66 E. Randolph
$30, Tickets go on sale Wednesday, March 4 at 12 noon
The Department of Cultural Affairs’ World Kitchen offers this special hands-on cooking class that brings some of The Arab-Israeli Cookbook’s Middle Eastern recipes into your home kitchen. Students must be 16 years or older. Tickets can be purchased at Chicago DCA Theater’s box office, at 312.742.TIXS (8497), or at www.dcatheater.org
Theatre Mir was created in 2007 to actively engage audiences about issues affecting our world today – to entertain as well as to inform. Inspired by the Russian word “mir”, which means both peace and world, Theatre Mir's mission is to create opportunities through entertainment and related education programs for artists and audiences to explore issues facing our multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society and world today. The company presented a production of “The Prisoner’s Dilemma” in 2008 at the Raven Theatre. More information on Theatre Mir can be found at www.theatremir.com.
The Storefront Theater and the Studio Theater, its companion theater located in the Chicago Cultural Center at 77 E. Randolph Street, comprise Chicago DCA Theater, an anchor of the downtown theater district. Chicago DCA Theater offers downtown audiences an off-Loop theater experience with an exciting look at the vibrant emerging and developing theater companies that call Chicago home. Proposals for creative and innovative productions for the January to June 2010 season are now being accepted until May 15, 2009.
Discounted parking is available at Wabash Randolph Self Park at 20 E. Randolph. Patrons can receive the $14 rate by validating their ticket at the Storefront Theater box office.
For more information about Theatre Mir’s The Arab-Israeli Cookbook and Chicago DCA Theater, visit call 312.742.TIXS (8497) or visit www.dcatheater.org. The enhanced website features more information about DCA Theater performances and programs, including a blog, photo galleries, and visitor information.
-###-
Note to Press: Electronic images are available at www.dcatheater.org/press or by request.
Theatre Mir gives voice to the Arab-Israeli conflict in theatrical production and special programs at the Chicago DCA Storefront Theater March 5 – April 5, 2009
Theatre Mir, in association with Chicago DCA Theater, presents the Midwest premiere of The Arab-Israeli Cookbook by British playwright Robin Soans. The production comes to Chicago DCA Theater’s Storefront Theater at 66 E. Randolph Street, from March 5 through April 5, 2009. Members of the press are invited to the opening performance on Saturday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m.
The Arab-Israeli Cookbook brings Arab and Israeli voices together in the stories of ordinary people living in a rich yet divided world in Israel and the West Bank. Based on real-life interviews, this deeply human play weaves the stories and recipes of more than forty characters who reveal common culture and experiences amidst the daily conflict. In restaurants, shops, cafes, and homes, everyone has a story to tell and a recipe to cook.
In 2003, playwright Robin Soans and directors Rima Brihi and Tim Roseman – the one Arab, the other Jewish – traveled to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. The play was originally presented in a hit production at London’s The Gate Theatre. It has since been produced in Canada, Japan, and the United Stated and broadcast on BBC World Service in 2006. Theatre Mir’s production is the play’s Midwest premiere.
Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $23 for general admission, $18 for seniors, and $15 for students. Discounts are also available for groups of ten or more. All tickets are available by calling 312.742.TIXS (8497), visiting www.dcatheater.org, or stopping by the box office, open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 4 p.m.; and one hour prior to each performance. Post-show discussions moderated by Scott Hibbard and Khalil Marrar of the DePaul University Political Science Department will follow the preview performances on March 5 and 6.
Cast and Production Team
Cast
Walter Brody, Maggie Cain, Susaan Jamshidi, Stephen Loch, Julian Martinez, Mark Richard, Frank Sawa, and Rachel Slavick.
Production Team
Rob Chambers (Director), Marianna Csaszar (Sets), Brandon Wardell (Lights), Laura B. Kollar (Costumes), Brett Masteller (Sound), Christina Pretsch and Chris Chapin (Stage Managers), Eva Breneman (Dialects), Zev Valancy (Dramaturgy), Andrea Fears (Assistant Director), Danica Ivancevic (Producer).
Special Events
In association with the production, Theatre Mir and Chicago DCA Theater will present a series of special events designed to further explore the themes and issues raised in The Arab-Israeli Cookbook.
Monday, March 16, 7pm
Discussion “Staging Conflict: Theatrical Narratives of the Holy Land”
Claudia Cassidy Theater, Chicago Cultural Center
FREE, Reservations encouraged at 312.742.TIXS (8497), or at www.dcatheater.org
Silk Road Theatre Project and Theatre Mir present scenes from their productions of Motti Lerner’s “Pangs of the Messiah” and Robin Soans’ “The Arab-Israeli Cookbook,” two plays portraying unique perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the former an intra-Jewish story about a family of religious West Bank settlers set in 2012 and the latter a verbatim play based on interviews with Christians, Jews and Muslims living in Israel and the West Bank. The program includes a lively panel discussion on the challenges of dramatizing the personal and political within the context of the Middle East.
Wednesday, April 1, 6:30pm
Film Screening “Encounter Point”
Claudia Cassidy Theater, Chicago Cultural Center
FREE, Reservations encouraged at 312.742.TIXS (8497), or at www.dcatheater.org
“Encounter Point” is a poignant documentary about a former Israeli settler, a Palestinian ex-prisoner, a bereaved Israeli mother and a wounded Palestinian bereaved brother who risk their lives and public standing to promote a nonviolent end to the conflict. Their journeys lead them to the unlikeliest places to confront hatred within their communities. The film explores what drives them and thousands of other like-minded civilians to overcome anger and grief to work for grassroots solutions in the face of government inaction. It is a film about the everyday leaders in our midst.
Saturday, April 4, 11am
World Kitchen Class “The Arab-Israeli Cookbook”
Gallery 37 Center for the Arts, 66 E. Randolph
$30, Tickets go on sale Wednesday, March 4 at 12 noon
The Department of Cultural Affairs’ World Kitchen offers this special hands-on cooking class that brings some of The Arab-Israeli Cookbook’s Middle Eastern recipes into your home kitchen. Students must be 16 years or older. Tickets can be purchased at Chicago DCA Theater’s box office, at 312.742.TIXS (8497), or at www.dcatheater.org
Theatre Mir was created in 2007 to actively engage audiences about issues affecting our world today – to entertain as well as to inform. Inspired by the Russian word “mir”, which means both peace and world, Theatre Mir's mission is to create opportunities through entertainment and related education programs for artists and audiences to explore issues facing our multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society and world today. The company presented a production of “The Prisoner’s Dilemma” in 2008 at the Raven Theatre. More information on Theatre Mir can be found at www.theatremir.com.
The Storefront Theater and the Studio Theater, its companion theater located in the Chicago Cultural Center at 77 E. Randolph Street, comprise Chicago DCA Theater, an anchor of the downtown theater district. Chicago DCA Theater offers downtown audiences an off-Loop theater experience with an exciting look at the vibrant emerging and developing theater companies that call Chicago home. Proposals for creative and innovative productions for the January to June 2010 season are now being accepted until May 15, 2009.
Discounted parking is available at Wabash Randolph Self Park at 20 E. Randolph. Patrons can receive the $14 rate by validating their ticket at the Storefront Theater box office.
For more information about Theatre Mir’s The Arab-Israeli Cookbook and Chicago DCA Theater, visit call 312.742.TIXS (8497) or visit www.dcatheater.org. The enhanced website features more information about DCA Theater performances and programs, including a blog, photo galleries, and visitor information.
-###-
Note to Press: Electronic images are available at www.dcatheater.org/press or by request.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Hanan Ashrawi keynotes Chicago fundraiser for PCRF
Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF)
Chicago Fundraiser Dinner
Date: March 22nd, 2009
Time: 5pm
Place: Alhambra Palace Restaurant
(1240 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL)
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Hanan Ashrawi
PCRF’s Chicago Chapter is hosting a fundraiser dinner at Alhambra Palace Restaurant on March 22nd with keynote speaker Dr. Hanan Ashrawi. The fundraiser event will be informative and entertaining with traditional debka and oud performances, a great dinner, a silent auction, and presentations by medical specialists who have been on medical missions to Palestine.
The PCRF is one of the foremost on-the-ground organizations in Palestine and the Middle East providing free medical and humanitarian relief for children in need since 1991. The PCRF sends medical missions to treat children who cannot receive the type of specialized care in their country and also transfer children out who need more extensive surgery or care.
For ticket purchases and more information, please visit us online at http://www.pcrf.net/chicago.htm.
Chicago Fundraiser Dinner
Date: March 22nd, 2009
Time: 5pm
Place: Alhambra Palace Restaurant
(1240 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL)
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Hanan Ashrawi
PCRF’s Chicago Chapter is hosting a fundraiser dinner at Alhambra Palace Restaurant on March 22nd with keynote speaker Dr. Hanan Ashrawi. The fundraiser event will be informative and entertaining with traditional debka and oud performances, a great dinner, a silent auction, and presentations by medical specialists who have been on medical missions to Palestine.
The PCRF is one of the foremost on-the-ground organizations in Palestine and the Middle East providing free medical and humanitarian relief for children in need since 1991. The PCRF sends medical missions to treat children who cannot receive the type of specialized care in their country and also transfer children out who need more extensive surgery or care.
For ticket purchases and more information, please visit us online at http://www.pcrf.net/chicago.htm.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
President Obama names new communications team no Arabs included
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: White House Media Affairs Office, 202- 456-6238
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
President Obama Announces More Key White House Staff
WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced the following White House Staff: Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean, White House Research Director; Daniella Gibbs Leger, Director of Message Events; Macon Phillips, Director of New Media; Christina Reynolds, Director of Media Affairs; Dag Vega, Director of Broadcast Media; Dana E. Singiser, White House Office of Legislative Affairs, Amy Brundage, Regional Communications Director; Cammie Croft, Deputy New Media Director; Jason Djang, Deputy Director for Video; Corey Ealons, Director of African American Media and Coordinator of Special Projects; Shin Inouye, Director of Specialty Media; Jesse Lee, Online Programs Director; Katherine Lyons, Deputy Director of Message Events; Luis Miranda, Director of Hispanic Media; Moira Mack Muntz, Regional Communications Director; Katie Stanton, Director of Citizen Participation; Joelle Terry, Deputy Director of Message Events; Gannet Tseggai, Regional Communications Director; and Samantha Tubman, Assistant Social Secretary.
President Obama said, “Each of these individuals brings deep expertise in their fields, and a strong commitment to public service. I am confident in their abilities to fill these roles with distinction, and I welcome them to our team as we begin the work of bringing the change that the American people need in these troubled times.”
The following announcements were made today:
Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean, White House Research Director
Jarvis-Shean was the Head of Research for the Presidential Transition Team. Prior to that, she was Deputy Director of Content for the Obama campaign. She previously worked as a research and communications strategist at CNBC and as Vice President at IMS, Inc., a research consulting firm. A native of Sacramento, California, Jarvis-Shean studied at the University of Cape Town and was the fifth generation of her family to attend the University of California, Berkeley, from which she graduated with high honors in political science.
Daniella Gibbs Leger, Director of Message Events
Daniella Gibbs Leger was most recently the Vice President for Communications at American Progress. At the Center she specialized in domestic and economic policy, as well as the Center's overall communications strategy. Prior to joining the Center, Daniella was Deputy Director of Communications at the Democratic National Committee. She began working at the DNC in June of 2002 in the political department as Communications Director for the Women’s Vote Center. During her tenure at the DNC, Daniella also handled African American and specialty media and was a regional media director during the 2004 presidential cycle. Daniella spent two years at the National Newspaper Publishers Association as their marketing associate and political liaison before joining the DNC. Before moving to Washington, D.C., Daniella worked at Sony Music in New York City for three years. Daniella has been a guest on numerous TV and radio shows and has been quoted in various print publications. Daniella holds a degree in Government and a minor in Sociology from the University of Virginia.
Macon Phillips, Director of New MediaSince the election, Phillips has served as Director of New Media for the Presidential Transition Team, developing Change.gov and overseeing the transition's overall online communications. Prior to that, he served as the Deputy Director of New Media for Obama for America, managing the day to day operations of the campaign's online program. Before the campaign, Macon led Blue State Digital's strategy practice, working with clients like the Democratic National Committee and Senator Ted Kennedy. A native of Huntsville, Alabama, Phillips is a graduate of Duke University and lives with his fiancée in Washington, DC.
Christina Reynolds, Director of Media AffairsReynolds was most recently the Director of Rapid Response for the Obama-Biden campaign. Prior to that, she was research director and senior communications adviser for John Edwards' 2008 presidential primary campaign, and research director in 2004. She has also served as research director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Tim Johnson's 2002 reelection campaign and as communications director for Tom Daschle's 2004 campaign. Reynolds graduated from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dag Vega, Director of Broadcast Media
Most recently, Vega served as Director of Surrogate Press for the Obama campaign where he supervised the TV booking operation and managed the media outreach for elected officials and policy experts speaking on behalf of the campaign. Previously, he was Deputy Communications Director at the Democratic National Committee where he helped implement Chairman Howard Dean’s media strategy. A veteran of presidential races, he served as Deputy Communications Director for TV News during John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004 and a spokesperson for constituency media for Al Gore’s presidential bid in 2000. He also held communication positions in The White House Press Office during President Clinton's administration.
Dana E. Singiser, White House Office of Legislative Affairs
Singiser brings over 15 years of political, campaign, and legal experience to her position as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs. At the White House, she serves on the team charged with promoting President Obama’s legislative priorities with the U.S. Senate. During the 2008 election cycle, she focused on the women’s vote, first as Director of Women’s Outreach for then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign and then as Senior Advisor for the Women’s Vote to Barack Obama. Her other campaign experience includes serving as Deputy Political Director for Governor Howard Dean’s presidential campaign, and as staff on President Bill Clinton’s campaigns in 1992 and 1996. On Capitol Hill, Dana was Staff Director for the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee under the leadership of former Senator Clinton and Majority Leader Harry Reid. At the Committee, she led the effort to strengthen core constituency support for Democratic party positions. She practice law at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld for five years, and served in President Clinton’s Administration, both in the White House and the Department of Commerce. She grew up in Vermont and received her undergraduate degree from Brown University and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
Amy Brundage, Regional Communications Director
Brundage most recently served as a spokesperson for the Obama-Biden Transition Team and as the Midwest Communications Director in the Chicago headquarters for Obama’s presidential campaign. Prior to the campaign, she served as then-Senator Obama’s Press Secretary in his Washington, DC office. Before joining the Obama team, Brundage was Senator John Kerry’s National Press Secretary. She also served as the Communications Director for Kerry’s political action committee in 2006. Brundage worked in the scheduling department in the national headquarters during Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, and joined Kerry’s Senate staff in early 2005. A native of Rockport, Massachusetts, Brundage graduated with a B.A. in both English and Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross.
Cammie Croft, Deputy New Media DirectorCroft comes to the White House from the Obama-Biden Transition Project, where she served as the Deputy New Media Director, specializing in online communications. Prior to that, as the New Media Rapid Response Manager for the Obama for America campaign, she oversaw efforts to integrate new media and communications, including managing websites such as FighttheSmears.com and UndertheRadar.com. Before joining the campaign, Croft built the tracking and media monitoring program at Progressive Accountability, a rapid-response communications advocacy campaign that provided video of Republican Presidential candidates for the mass public. Croft also worked as the Rapid Response Mobilization Director for Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, where she led their new media efforts, working with MoveOn.org’s online tools to mobilize Americans opposed to the war. Croft holds a B.A. in Political Science and Communication from the University of Washington in Seattle, where she graduated with distinction. She is also an alumnus of the New Organizing Institute (NOI), a unique online organizing forum for technologically-savvy, progressive campaigners.
Jason Djang, Deputy Director for Video
Djang served on the New Media video teams for both Obama for America and the Obama-Biden Transition Project as an editor and producer. Prior to joining the campaign, he worked in documentary film and television in New York City and Los Angeles. Versed in all aspects of the production world, his experience includes commercials, broadcast series, and short films. Djang also has a background in church leadership and holds a Masters degree from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA. He earned his bachelors degree from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Corey Ealons, Director of African American Media and Coordinator of Special Projects
Ealons served as director of African American Media during the General Election for the Obama-Biden campaign. Prior to joining that operation he was deputy chief of staff and communications director for U.S. Representative Artur Davis of Alabama for six years. A communications professional for nearly 15 years, Ealons’ experiences include three presidential campaigns and active duty service as the public affairs director and photojournalist for the 3rd United States Infantry (The Old Guard), the Presidential Honor Guard in Washington, D.C. Ealons graduated from the University Of Alabama School Of Communications with a concentration in public relations and political communications.
Shin Inouye, Director of Specialty Media
Shin Inouye was most recently a spokesperson for the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Prior to that, he was the Constituency Communications Coordinator at the Obama for America campaign. In that capacity, he served as the communications officer for a variety of campaign constituency groups, including: LGBT, AAPI, First Americans, Veterans and Military Families, Youth, Seniors, Faith, Jewish, Rural & Sportsmen, Americans with Disabilities, and Ethnic. Before the campaign, Inouye was the Communications Director for Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-8), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. A member of the Congressman's Senior Staff, Inouye served as an official spokesperson. Prior to that, Inouye was the Senior Legislative Communications Associate at the Washington Legislative Office of the American Civil Liberties Union. During his tenure at the ACLU, Inouye played a key role in their "Keep America Safe and Free" campaign. He graduated with departmental honors from the Johns Hopkins University, with a degree in political science.
Jesse Lee, Online Programs DirectorLee worked in the New Media department for the Transition team doing online outreach, having done online communications for the Democratic National Committee during election season. Prior to that he was Senior New Media Advisor to Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the 110th Congress, having worked for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee online from 2004-2006. Lee graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 2002.
Katherine Lyons, Deputy Director of Message Events
Lyons most recently served as the Southwest regional spokesperson for the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee. Prior to that, she served as the Obama campaign’s Director of Message Events for the general election. During the presidential primaries, Lyons was New Hampshire Deputy Communications Director and spokesperson in a number of other states. Before joining the Obama campaign, Lyons coordinated communications and grassroots strategies for Dewey Square Group in California. A native of Sacramento, California, Lyons graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Luis Miranda, Director of Hispanic Media
Miranda was most recently Deputy Communications Director at the Democratic National Committee, overseeing regional and specialty press. In that capacity Miranda was the Democratic Party's lead spokesperson for Hispanic and Spanish-language media. Prior to joining the DNC, Miranda worked for John Kerry’s presidential campaign, first starting the campaign’s internet communications program, and later working as a liaison to Hispanic media. Miranda has also worked with organized labor at the Service Employees International Union’s (SEIU) Florida State Council, among other things reaching out to the union's Hispanic members. Miranda has also worked on campaigns at the local and state level, served as a Research Analyst at the DCCC, and worked as the Miami-Dade Field Director for the 2000 coordinated campaign in Florida, where he also worked on operations for the Florida recount.
Moira Mack Muntz, Regional Communications Director
Mack has advised and managed earned media strategy for numerous political, ballot initiative and issue campaigns. Most recently Mack served as deputy national press secretary for Barack Obama's presidential campaign, managing the candidate’s national interview requests. Mack spent three years at Hildebrand Tewes Consulting where she advised non-profit organizations, labor groups and U.S. Senate campaigns on communications and served as spokesperson and communications director for the multimillion dollar Iraq campaign advocating a timeline to end the war. As researcher and program coordinator at Campaign for America's Future, Mack drafted policy materials on a variety of issues and coordinated the simultaneous release of television ads and state reports in nearly 50 states. A native of Albany, NY, Mack is a graduate of the George Washington University.
Katie Stanton, Director of Citizen Participation
Katie Jacobs Stanton joins the New Media team as Director of Citizen Participation. Prior to this role, Stanton was at Google where she was a Principal in the New Business Development team responsible for OpenSocial, Google Moderator, and various election-related initiatives. Also at Google, Stanton managed several real-time vertical products including Google Finance, Google News, and Blog Search. Stanton joined Google from Yahoo! where she helped build the investing program on Yahoo! Finance as well as lead Yahoo Finance's growth internationally. Prior to Yahoo!, Stanton worked for Chase as an Associate in the Corporate Emerging Markets group. Her professional experience also includes a Fellowship at the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, a volunteer position in Kenya, and a teaching role in Japan. Stanton has an MA in International Affairs at Columbia University and a BA in Political Science from Rhodes College.
Joelle Terry, Deputy Director of Message Events
Terry most recently served as the Director of Communications Planning for the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee and as the Deputy Director of Surrogate Press during the General in the Chicago headquarters for Obama’s presidential campaign. In the Primary Terry served as the Surrogate Press Secretary. Prior to the campaign, she served as an Associate in the Dewey Square Group’s Sacramento office. In 2004, Terry worked in the regional press office in the national headquarters during Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign and later as a member of the national advance team. A native of Sacramento, California, Terry graduated with a B.A. in International Relations from the University of California, San Diego.
Gannet Tseggai, Regional Communications Director
Tseggai started on Obama’s presidential campaign as the Iowa Deputy Press Secretary in 2007 and worked in five states during the primary. During the general election, she served as the Northeast Communications Director in the Chicago headquarters. Before joining the Obama campaign, Tseggai served as Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s Deputy Press Secretary from 2005 to 2007. Prior to her work for Senator Kennedy, Tseggai spent the 2004 election cycle working for Missouri Governor Bob Holden’s re-election campaign and John Kerry’s Presidential Campaign in Missouri and Ohio. Tseggai is a Rolla, Missouri native and graduated with a B.A. in both Political Science and Communications from the University of Missouri.
Samantha Tubman, Assistant Social Secretary
Tubman served as a Press Wrangler for President-Elect Barack Obama’s presidential campaign beginning in January 2008. She first joined the campaign as a member of the Scheduling and Advance Team in February 2007. Tubman previously served as Deputy Press Secretary for Governor Edward G. Rendell’s gubernatorial campaign in 2006. Prior to this, she worked as a legal assistant at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, DC from 2001-2004. Samantha received her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Haverford College in 2001 and received her Master’s degree in Governmental Administration from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006.
##
CONTACT: White House Media Affairs Office, 202- 456-6238
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
President Obama Announces More Key White House Staff
WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced the following White House Staff: Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean, White House Research Director; Daniella Gibbs Leger, Director of Message Events; Macon Phillips, Director of New Media; Christina Reynolds, Director of Media Affairs; Dag Vega, Director of Broadcast Media; Dana E. Singiser, White House Office of Legislative Affairs, Amy Brundage, Regional Communications Director; Cammie Croft, Deputy New Media Director; Jason Djang, Deputy Director for Video; Corey Ealons, Director of African American Media and Coordinator of Special Projects; Shin Inouye, Director of Specialty Media; Jesse Lee, Online Programs Director; Katherine Lyons, Deputy Director of Message Events; Luis Miranda, Director of Hispanic Media; Moira Mack Muntz, Regional Communications Director; Katie Stanton, Director of Citizen Participation; Joelle Terry, Deputy Director of Message Events; Gannet Tseggai, Regional Communications Director; and Samantha Tubman, Assistant Social Secretary.
President Obama said, “Each of these individuals brings deep expertise in their fields, and a strong commitment to public service. I am confident in their abilities to fill these roles with distinction, and I welcome them to our team as we begin the work of bringing the change that the American people need in these troubled times.”
The following announcements were made today:
Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean, White House Research Director
Jarvis-Shean was the Head of Research for the Presidential Transition Team. Prior to that, she was Deputy Director of Content for the Obama campaign. She previously worked as a research and communications strategist at CNBC and as Vice President at IMS, Inc., a research consulting firm. A native of Sacramento, California, Jarvis-Shean studied at the University of Cape Town and was the fifth generation of her family to attend the University of California, Berkeley, from which she graduated with high honors in political science.
Daniella Gibbs Leger, Director of Message Events
Daniella Gibbs Leger was most recently the Vice President for Communications at American Progress. At the Center she specialized in domestic and economic policy, as well as the Center's overall communications strategy. Prior to joining the Center, Daniella was Deputy Director of Communications at the Democratic National Committee. She began working at the DNC in June of 2002 in the political department as Communications Director for the Women’s Vote Center. During her tenure at the DNC, Daniella also handled African American and specialty media and was a regional media director during the 2004 presidential cycle. Daniella spent two years at the National Newspaper Publishers Association as their marketing associate and political liaison before joining the DNC. Before moving to Washington, D.C., Daniella worked at Sony Music in New York City for three years. Daniella has been a guest on numerous TV and radio shows and has been quoted in various print publications. Daniella holds a degree in Government and a minor in Sociology from the University of Virginia.
Macon Phillips, Director of New MediaSince the election, Phillips has served as Director of New Media for the Presidential Transition Team, developing Change.gov and overseeing the transition's overall online communications. Prior to that, he served as the Deputy Director of New Media for Obama for America, managing the day to day operations of the campaign's online program. Before the campaign, Macon led Blue State Digital's strategy practice, working with clients like the Democratic National Committee and Senator Ted Kennedy. A native of Huntsville, Alabama, Phillips is a graduate of Duke University and lives with his fiancée in Washington, DC.
Christina Reynolds, Director of Media AffairsReynolds was most recently the Director of Rapid Response for the Obama-Biden campaign. Prior to that, she was research director and senior communications adviser for John Edwards' 2008 presidential primary campaign, and research director in 2004. She has also served as research director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Tim Johnson's 2002 reelection campaign and as communications director for Tom Daschle's 2004 campaign. Reynolds graduated from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dag Vega, Director of Broadcast Media
Most recently, Vega served as Director of Surrogate Press for the Obama campaign where he supervised the TV booking operation and managed the media outreach for elected officials and policy experts speaking on behalf of the campaign. Previously, he was Deputy Communications Director at the Democratic National Committee where he helped implement Chairman Howard Dean’s media strategy. A veteran of presidential races, he served as Deputy Communications Director for TV News during John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004 and a spokesperson for constituency media for Al Gore’s presidential bid in 2000. He also held communication positions in The White House Press Office during President Clinton's administration.
Dana E. Singiser, White House Office of Legislative Affairs
Singiser brings over 15 years of political, campaign, and legal experience to her position as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs. At the White House, she serves on the team charged with promoting President Obama’s legislative priorities with the U.S. Senate. During the 2008 election cycle, she focused on the women’s vote, first as Director of Women’s Outreach for then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign and then as Senior Advisor for the Women’s Vote to Barack Obama. Her other campaign experience includes serving as Deputy Political Director for Governor Howard Dean’s presidential campaign, and as staff on President Bill Clinton’s campaigns in 1992 and 1996. On Capitol Hill, Dana was Staff Director for the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee under the leadership of former Senator Clinton and Majority Leader Harry Reid. At the Committee, she led the effort to strengthen core constituency support for Democratic party positions. She practice law at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld for five years, and served in President Clinton’s Administration, both in the White House and the Department of Commerce. She grew up in Vermont and received her undergraduate degree from Brown University and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
Amy Brundage, Regional Communications Director
Brundage most recently served as a spokesperson for the Obama-Biden Transition Team and as the Midwest Communications Director in the Chicago headquarters for Obama’s presidential campaign. Prior to the campaign, she served as then-Senator Obama’s Press Secretary in his Washington, DC office. Before joining the Obama team, Brundage was Senator John Kerry’s National Press Secretary. She also served as the Communications Director for Kerry’s political action committee in 2006. Brundage worked in the scheduling department in the national headquarters during Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, and joined Kerry’s Senate staff in early 2005. A native of Rockport, Massachusetts, Brundage graduated with a B.A. in both English and Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross.
Cammie Croft, Deputy New Media DirectorCroft comes to the White House from the Obama-Biden Transition Project, where she served as the Deputy New Media Director, specializing in online communications. Prior to that, as the New Media Rapid Response Manager for the Obama for America campaign, she oversaw efforts to integrate new media and communications, including managing websites such as FighttheSmears.com and UndertheRadar.com. Before joining the campaign, Croft built the tracking and media monitoring program at Progressive Accountability, a rapid-response communications advocacy campaign that provided video of Republican Presidential candidates for the mass public. Croft also worked as the Rapid Response Mobilization Director for Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, where she led their new media efforts, working with MoveOn.org’s online tools to mobilize Americans opposed to the war. Croft holds a B.A. in Political Science and Communication from the University of Washington in Seattle, where she graduated with distinction. She is also an alumnus of the New Organizing Institute (NOI), a unique online organizing forum for technologically-savvy, progressive campaigners.
Jason Djang, Deputy Director for Video
Djang served on the New Media video teams for both Obama for America and the Obama-Biden Transition Project as an editor and producer. Prior to joining the campaign, he worked in documentary film and television in New York City and Los Angeles. Versed in all aspects of the production world, his experience includes commercials, broadcast series, and short films. Djang also has a background in church leadership and holds a Masters degree from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA. He earned his bachelors degree from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Corey Ealons, Director of African American Media and Coordinator of Special Projects
Ealons served as director of African American Media during the General Election for the Obama-Biden campaign. Prior to joining that operation he was deputy chief of staff and communications director for U.S. Representative Artur Davis of Alabama for six years. A communications professional for nearly 15 years, Ealons’ experiences include three presidential campaigns and active duty service as the public affairs director and photojournalist for the 3rd United States Infantry (The Old Guard), the Presidential Honor Guard in Washington, D.C. Ealons graduated from the University Of Alabama School Of Communications with a concentration in public relations and political communications.
Shin Inouye, Director of Specialty Media
Shin Inouye was most recently a spokesperson for the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Prior to that, he was the Constituency Communications Coordinator at the Obama for America campaign. In that capacity, he served as the communications officer for a variety of campaign constituency groups, including: LGBT, AAPI, First Americans, Veterans and Military Families, Youth, Seniors, Faith, Jewish, Rural & Sportsmen, Americans with Disabilities, and Ethnic. Before the campaign, Inouye was the Communications Director for Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-8), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. A member of the Congressman's Senior Staff, Inouye served as an official spokesperson. Prior to that, Inouye was the Senior Legislative Communications Associate at the Washington Legislative Office of the American Civil Liberties Union. During his tenure at the ACLU, Inouye played a key role in their "Keep America Safe and Free" campaign. He graduated with departmental honors from the Johns Hopkins University, with a degree in political science.
Jesse Lee, Online Programs DirectorLee worked in the New Media department for the Transition team doing online outreach, having done online communications for the Democratic National Committee during election season. Prior to that he was Senior New Media Advisor to Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the 110th Congress, having worked for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee online from 2004-2006. Lee graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 2002.
Katherine Lyons, Deputy Director of Message Events
Lyons most recently served as the Southwest regional spokesperson for the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee. Prior to that, she served as the Obama campaign’s Director of Message Events for the general election. During the presidential primaries, Lyons was New Hampshire Deputy Communications Director and spokesperson in a number of other states. Before joining the Obama campaign, Lyons coordinated communications and grassroots strategies for Dewey Square Group in California. A native of Sacramento, California, Lyons graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Luis Miranda, Director of Hispanic Media
Miranda was most recently Deputy Communications Director at the Democratic National Committee, overseeing regional and specialty press. In that capacity Miranda was the Democratic Party's lead spokesperson for Hispanic and Spanish-language media. Prior to joining the DNC, Miranda worked for John Kerry’s presidential campaign, first starting the campaign’s internet communications program, and later working as a liaison to Hispanic media. Miranda has also worked with organized labor at the Service Employees International Union’s (SEIU) Florida State Council, among other things reaching out to the union's Hispanic members. Miranda has also worked on campaigns at the local and state level, served as a Research Analyst at the DCCC, and worked as the Miami-Dade Field Director for the 2000 coordinated campaign in Florida, where he also worked on operations for the Florida recount.
Moira Mack Muntz, Regional Communications Director
Mack has advised and managed earned media strategy for numerous political, ballot initiative and issue campaigns. Most recently Mack served as deputy national press secretary for Barack Obama's presidential campaign, managing the candidate’s national interview requests. Mack spent three years at Hildebrand Tewes Consulting where she advised non-profit organizations, labor groups and U.S. Senate campaigns on communications and served as spokesperson and communications director for the multimillion dollar Iraq campaign advocating a timeline to end the war. As researcher and program coordinator at Campaign for America's Future, Mack drafted policy materials on a variety of issues and coordinated the simultaneous release of television ads and state reports in nearly 50 states. A native of Albany, NY, Mack is a graduate of the George Washington University.
Katie Stanton, Director of Citizen Participation
Katie Jacobs Stanton joins the New Media team as Director of Citizen Participation. Prior to this role, Stanton was at Google where she was a Principal in the New Business Development team responsible for OpenSocial, Google Moderator, and various election-related initiatives. Also at Google, Stanton managed several real-time vertical products including Google Finance, Google News, and Blog Search. Stanton joined Google from Yahoo! where she helped build the investing program on Yahoo! Finance as well as lead Yahoo Finance's growth internationally. Prior to Yahoo!, Stanton worked for Chase as an Associate in the Corporate Emerging Markets group. Her professional experience also includes a Fellowship at the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, a volunteer position in Kenya, and a teaching role in Japan. Stanton has an MA in International Affairs at Columbia University and a BA in Political Science from Rhodes College.
Joelle Terry, Deputy Director of Message Events
Terry most recently served as the Director of Communications Planning for the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee and as the Deputy Director of Surrogate Press during the General in the Chicago headquarters for Obama’s presidential campaign. In the Primary Terry served as the Surrogate Press Secretary. Prior to the campaign, she served as an Associate in the Dewey Square Group’s Sacramento office. In 2004, Terry worked in the regional press office in the national headquarters during Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign and later as a member of the national advance team. A native of Sacramento, California, Terry graduated with a B.A. in International Relations from the University of California, San Diego.
Gannet Tseggai, Regional Communications Director
Tseggai started on Obama’s presidential campaign as the Iowa Deputy Press Secretary in 2007 and worked in five states during the primary. During the general election, she served as the Northeast Communications Director in the Chicago headquarters. Before joining the Obama campaign, Tseggai served as Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s Deputy Press Secretary from 2005 to 2007. Prior to her work for Senator Kennedy, Tseggai spent the 2004 election cycle working for Missouri Governor Bob Holden’s re-election campaign and John Kerry’s Presidential Campaign in Missouri and Ohio. Tseggai is a Rolla, Missouri native and graduated with a B.A. in both Political Science and Communications from the University of Missouri.
Samantha Tubman, Assistant Social Secretary
Tubman served as a Press Wrangler for President-Elect Barack Obama’s presidential campaign beginning in January 2008. She first joined the campaign as a member of the Scheduling and Advance Team in February 2007. Tubman previously served as Deputy Press Secretary for Governor Edward G. Rendell’s gubernatorial campaign in 2006. Prior to this, she worked as a legal assistant at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, DC from 2001-2004. Samantha received her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Haverford College in 2001 and received her Master’s degree in Governmental Administration from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006.
##
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Banned book on Egypt becomes best seller
BANNED BOOK BECOMES AN INSTANT BEST SELLER
AWARD WINNING AUTHOR ALADDIN ELAASAR LATEST BOOK, THE LAST PHARAOH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York City/Newswires/2/20/09/ -AWARD WINNING AUTHOR ALADDIN ELAASAR CELEBRATEd THE INSTANT SUCCESS of HIS LATEST BOOK. “THE LAST PHARAOH: MUBARAK AND THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE OF EGYPT IN THE VOL ATILE MID EAST” was banned in Egypt and Arab countries after its initial release is now available through Beacon Press, Amazon and Mobipocket.
“The Last Pharaoh” dissects the political life in Egypt and Arab countries. The book raised the ire of the Mubarak’s government as it exposes the deep corruption, grave human rights abuses, and the authoritarianism of the Mubarak’s regime and its use of anti-Semiticism and anti-Americanism to gain popularity in the region. It also reveals one of Egypt’s worst kept secrets: the story of the expulsion and mass exodus of more than 100,000 Egyptian Jews since the military coup of 1952, and the influence of Nazism on Egyptian and Arab politics.
Packed with facts and telling the story of both modern and ancient Egypt, how the modern Arab and Islamic Worlds evolved, and interviewing experts, politicians, journalists and Western diplomats, Elaasar reveals the secrets of the personality cults behind Mubarak and other Middle Eastern leaders, and how religion has been exploited to give legitimacy to these oppressive regimes-- resulting into exporting extremism globally and undermining America’s efforts in the War on Terror.
President Obama is likely to find himself facing an unbelievably bad choice in the largest Arab country, says Elaasar-- discussing several scenarios that can take place in Egypt. “Would America intervene militarily to preserve Mubarak’s faltering rule? Would Egypt witness another Khomeini-style revolution? Considering the alarming rising poverty figures in Egypt and the disparities between the classes, could Egypt be overrun by an angry and hungry mob, French Revolu tion style?
For media inquiries, Please Contact: Beacon Press Tel 224 388 1353 Email: omaraladin@aol.com
AWARD WINNING AUTHOR ALADDIN ELAASAR LATEST BOOK, THE LAST PHARAOH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York City/Newswires/2/20/09/ -AWARD WINNING AUTHOR ALADDIN ELAASAR CELEBRATEd THE INSTANT SUCCESS of HIS LATEST BOOK. “THE LAST PHARAOH: MUBARAK AND THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE OF EGYPT IN THE VOL ATILE MID EAST” was banned in Egypt and Arab countries after its initial release is now available through Beacon Press, Amazon and Mobipocket.
“The Last Pharaoh” dissects the political life in Egypt and Arab countries. The book raised the ire of the Mubarak’s government as it exposes the deep corruption, grave human rights abuses, and the authoritarianism of the Mubarak’s regime and its use of anti-Semiticism and anti-Americanism to gain popularity in the region. It also reveals one of Egypt’s worst kept secrets: the story of the expulsion and mass exodus of more than 100,000 Egyptian Jews since the military coup of 1952, and the influence of Nazism on Egyptian and Arab politics.
Packed with facts and telling the story of both modern and ancient Egypt, how the modern Arab and Islamic Worlds evolved, and interviewing experts, politicians, journalists and Western diplomats, Elaasar reveals the secrets of the personality cults behind Mubarak and other Middle Eastern leaders, and how religion has been exploited to give legitimacy to these oppressive regimes-- resulting into exporting extremism globally and undermining America’s efforts in the War on Terror.
President Obama is likely to find himself facing an unbelievably bad choice in the largest Arab country, says Elaasar-- discussing several scenarios that can take place in Egypt. “Would America intervene militarily to preserve Mubarak’s faltering rule? Would Egypt witness another Khomeini-style revolution? Considering the alarming rising poverty figures in Egypt and the disparities between the classes, could Egypt be overrun by an angry and hungry mob, French Revolu tion style?
For media inquiries, Please Contact: Beacon Press Tel 224 388 1353 Email: omaraladin@aol.com
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Middle East sensation Kazem el-Saher to perform at Horseshoe Casino March 20
The Venue at Horseshoe Casino Presents Kazem El Saher
Superstar Singer Visits Chicagoland
Chicago, IL (February 18, 2009) – The new 500 million-dollar Horseshoe Casino, just 20 minutes from downtown Chicago, announces the upcoming concert performance of Kazem El Saher on March 20, 2009 at The Venue.
Kazem El-Saher is one of the most successful singers in the Arab World, having sold more than 30 million albums since the start of his career. Ranging from big romantic ballads to more political work, from pop to Arab classical, he has covered the spectrum of music with the kind of success not seen since the heyday of Umm Kalthum. Kazem El-Saher has been dubbed by many to be the “Elvis of the Middle East”.
Part of Horseshoe Casino’s $500 million expansion project, The Venue, a 2,500 seat state-of-the-art entertainment center features A-list talent in an intimate setting and Kazem El Saher is yet another worthy addition to the line-up that has previously included acts such as: Seal, Three Doors Down, Sarah Silverman, Bette Midler, Jay Leno, Smashing Pumpkins, Gladys Knight and more.
Doors open at 7:00 p.m. show starts at 8:00 p.m., must be 21 or older to attend. Free shuttles to and from the casino are available at various downtown locations. Ticket prices start at $65 and are on sale now at all Ticketmaster™ locations, and the box office at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino. For more information on free shuttle transportation options, please visit: http://www.horseshoehammond.com/casinos/horseshoe-hammond/casino-misc/transportation-overview-detail.html
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Know When to Stop Before you Start.® Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-9-WITHIT. ©2009, Harrah's License Company, LLC.
Superstar Singer Visits Chicagoland
Chicago, IL (February 18, 2009) – The new 500 million-dollar Horseshoe Casino, just 20 minutes from downtown Chicago, announces the upcoming concert performance of Kazem El Saher on March 20, 2009 at The Venue.
Kazem El-Saher is one of the most successful singers in the Arab World, having sold more than 30 million albums since the start of his career. Ranging from big romantic ballads to more political work, from pop to Arab classical, he has covered the spectrum of music with the kind of success not seen since the heyday of Umm Kalthum. Kazem El-Saher has been dubbed by many to be the “Elvis of the Middle East”.
Part of Horseshoe Casino’s $500 million expansion project, The Venue, a 2,500 seat state-of-the-art entertainment center features A-list talent in an intimate setting and Kazem El Saher is yet another worthy addition to the line-up that has previously included acts such as: Seal, Three Doors Down, Sarah Silverman, Bette Midler, Jay Leno, Smashing Pumpkins, Gladys Knight and more.
Doors open at 7:00 p.m. show starts at 8:00 p.m., must be 21 or older to attend. Free shuttles to and from the casino are available at various downtown locations. Ticket prices start at $65 and are on sale now at all Ticketmaster™ locations, and the box office at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino. For more information on free shuttle transportation options, please visit: http://www.horseshoehammond.com/casinos/horseshoe-hammond/casino-misc/transportation-overview-detail.html
ABOUT HARRAH’S ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. is the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, nearly 70 years ago, Harrah's has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casinos on four continents. The company's properties operate primarily under the Harrah's, Caesars and Horseshoe brand names; Harrah's also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. For more information, please visit: www.harrahs.com.
Know When to Stop Before you Start.® Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-9-WITHIT. ©2009, Harrah's License Company, LLC.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
CELEBRATE THE GOLD AGE OF ARAB MUSIC MARCH 13 AT THE MAC
CELEBRATE THE GOLD AGE OF ARAB MUSIC MARCH 13 AT THE MAC
Producer Simon Shaheen brings some of the great songs of the Arab world to the stage in “Aswat: Celebrating the Golden Age of Arab Music” at 8 p.m. Friday, March 13, at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd. in Glen Ellyn.
“Aswat” highlights the best of Arab music in the 1920s to 1950s, which is considered by many the golden age, as many singers and composers in Egypt, Lebanon and Syria reached the peak of stardom.
While singers bring life to the songs, a projection screen flashes preserved images and film footage from the original performers, including Um Kulthoum, Mohammad Abdel Wahhab, Farid, Asmahan Al-Atrash, Fairuz and Wadi’ Al-Safi. The multi-media experience is further enhanced by a live orchestra, featuring several virtuoso instrumentalists under the direction of Shaheen.
“Aswat,” which is touring throughout North America in February and March, features top Arab singers, including Ibrahim Azzam of Palestine, Sonia M’barek of Tunisia, Khalil Abonula of Palestine and Rima Khcheich of Lebanon.
Azzam has established himself as one of the leading Arab vocalists in Europe and the Middle East and has performed with many well-known Egyptian composers. The product of a musical family, he studied with Hikmat Shaheen, a leading Palestinian composer and has performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Opera House in Cairo.
M’barek first performed in public at age 9 before making her television debut three years later. She has a degree in Arabic music from the national conservatory of music in Tunis and has sung for musical theater productions and on film soundtracks. With Tunisian lute players Ali Sriti and Anouar Brahem, she presented more than 30 concerts of classic Arabian music and participates in conferences, workshops and master classes in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon.
Abonula grew up listening to the masters of Arab classical music and began performing at age 12 with his father, a singer. He formed his first band after graduating high school and has spent the last two decades performing at venues and festivals through the Arab world, Greece, Bulgaria and France.
Khcheich teaches classical Arabic singing at the Lebanese National Superior Conservatory of Music in Beirut. She began singing at age 7 and at age 11 became a soloist with an Arab orchestra and chorale under the direction of Salim Sahhab. Khcheich is a graduate of the Lebanese National Conservatory and the Lebanese American University and has been a faculty member of the Annual Arabic Music Retreat at Mount Holyoke College since 1999.
Tickets to “Aswat” are $50 for adults, $48 for seniors and $40 for College of DuPage students and children age 17 and younger.
For more information, call the MAC Box Office at (630) 942-4000, or visit: www.atthemac.org.
###
About the MAC:
Located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355, the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage is a state-of-the-art facility, housing three performance spaces, an art gallery and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. This unique facility has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and last year welcomed more than 75,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances.
The center offers free parking and group discounts and is home to five resident companies, including Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, the New Philharmonic Orchestra, DuPage Opera Theatre, the Arts Center Jazz Ensemble and the New Classic Singers. The result is a collection of touring and resident and student groups that foster enlightened education and performance opportunities to encourage artistic expression, promote a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community.
The MAC’s extensive community outreach program includes pre-performance lectures, classes with visiting artists and the SchoolStage program, which provides students with an interactive, educational arts experience. Those and other efforts to increase community access to arts earned the MAC the Illinois Arts Council’s Partners in Excellence designation, which recognizes 40 of the most significant cultural institutions in the state.
Producer Simon Shaheen brings some of the great songs of the Arab world to the stage in “Aswat: Celebrating the Golden Age of Arab Music” at 8 p.m. Friday, March 13, at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd. in Glen Ellyn.
“Aswat” highlights the best of Arab music in the 1920s to 1950s, which is considered by many the golden age, as many singers and composers in Egypt, Lebanon and Syria reached the peak of stardom.
While singers bring life to the songs, a projection screen flashes preserved images and film footage from the original performers, including Um Kulthoum, Mohammad Abdel Wahhab, Farid, Asmahan Al-Atrash, Fairuz and Wadi’ Al-Safi. The multi-media experience is further enhanced by a live orchestra, featuring several virtuoso instrumentalists under the direction of Shaheen.
“Aswat,” which is touring throughout North America in February and March, features top Arab singers, including Ibrahim Azzam of Palestine, Sonia M’barek of Tunisia, Khalil Abonula of Palestine and Rima Khcheich of Lebanon.
Azzam has established himself as one of the leading Arab vocalists in Europe and the Middle East and has performed with many well-known Egyptian composers. The product of a musical family, he studied with Hikmat Shaheen, a leading Palestinian composer and has performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Opera House in Cairo.
M’barek first performed in public at age 9 before making her television debut three years later. She has a degree in Arabic music from the national conservatory of music in Tunis and has sung for musical theater productions and on film soundtracks. With Tunisian lute players Ali Sriti and Anouar Brahem, she presented more than 30 concerts of classic Arabian music and participates in conferences, workshops and master classes in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon.
Abonula grew up listening to the masters of Arab classical music and began performing at age 12 with his father, a singer. He formed his first band after graduating high school and has spent the last two decades performing at venues and festivals through the Arab world, Greece, Bulgaria and France.
Khcheich teaches classical Arabic singing at the Lebanese National Superior Conservatory of Music in Beirut. She began singing at age 7 and at age 11 became a soloist with an Arab orchestra and chorale under the direction of Salim Sahhab. Khcheich is a graduate of the Lebanese National Conservatory and the Lebanese American University and has been a faculty member of the Annual Arabic Music Retreat at Mount Holyoke College since 1999.
Tickets to “Aswat” are $50 for adults, $48 for seniors and $40 for College of DuPage students and children age 17 and younger.
For more information, call the MAC Box Office at (630) 942-4000, or visit: www.atthemac.org.
###
About the MAC:
Located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355, the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage is a state-of-the-art facility, housing three performance spaces, an art gallery and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. This unique facility has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and last year welcomed more than 75,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances.
The center offers free parking and group discounts and is home to five resident companies, including Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, the New Philharmonic Orchestra, DuPage Opera Theatre, the Arts Center Jazz Ensemble and the New Classic Singers. The result is a collection of touring and resident and student groups that foster enlightened education and performance opportunities to encourage artistic expression, promote a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community.
The MAC’s extensive community outreach program includes pre-performance lectures, classes with visiting artists and the SchoolStage program, which provides students with an interactive, educational arts experience. Those and other efforts to increase community access to arts earned the MAC the Illinois Arts Council’s Partners in Excellence designation, which recognizes 40 of the most significant cultural institutions in the state.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
General Meeting set for Arab Engineers and Architects at UIUC
UIUC Student Chapter of Arab American Association of Engineers and Architects
(AAAEA-UIUC)
Cordially invites you
to
Spring General Meeting
Sunday February 15th 2009, 2:00 - 3:30 pm
407 Illini Union
AAAEA ... from Chicago to Nationwide
Mr. Bilal AlMasri (Trustee and past president), Mr. Abed Ghouleh (Trustee and past president), and Mr. Hussam Alkhatib (The current Secretary of the AAAEA) will present the history of AAAEA in Chicago and the current efforts to grow it as a national professional/engineering organization.
AAAEA-UIUC Spring Program
Come and know about AAAEA-UIUC Spring 2009 program and how to join and participate. Spring 2009 program is planned to include an exhibit in Engineering Open House and an outdoor grill and social event.
AAAEA-UIUC Exhibit in EOH
History of Arabs Inventions and Engineering.
We are participating in the EOH this semester which will be held on March 13 and 14. In this exhibit, we are planning to present Arabs contributions to science and engineering throughout the history using illustrative models and posters. EOH is a perfect opportunity for such an exhibit because of its diverse audience that includes high school students, college students, and faculty members. We are in a great need for your participation and support.
Come network with AAAEA members and have FREE AAAEA mugs
(AAAEA-UIUC)
Cordially invites you
to
Spring General Meeting
Sunday February 15th 2009, 2:00 - 3:30 pm
407 Illini Union
AAAEA ... from Chicago to Nationwide
Mr. Bilal AlMasri (Trustee and past president), Mr. Abed Ghouleh (Trustee and past president), and Mr. Hussam Alkhatib (The current Secretary of the AAAEA) will present the history of AAAEA in Chicago and the current efforts to grow it as a national professional/engineering organization.
AAAEA-UIUC Spring Program
Come and know about AAAEA-UIUC Spring 2009 program and how to join and participate. Spring 2009 program is planned to include an exhibit in Engineering Open House and an outdoor grill and social event.
AAAEA-UIUC Exhibit in EOH
History of Arabs Inventions and Engineering.
We are participating in the EOH this semester which will be held on March 13 and 14. In this exhibit, we are planning to present Arabs contributions to science and engineering throughout the history using illustrative models and posters. EOH is a perfect opportunity for such an exhibit because of its diverse audience that includes high school students, college students, and faculty members. We are in a great need for your participation and support.
Come network with AAAEA members and have FREE AAAEA mugs
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Coalition urges Obama review of cluster bomba nd land mines policies
ADC Press Release Contact: Laila Al-Qatami laila@adc.org 202-244-2990
Broad National Coalition Urges Obama to Review US Position on Landmines and Cluster Bombs
Washington, DC February 11, 2009 www.adc.org Today, leaders from 67 national organizations, representing a wide cross-section of American values and constituencies, issued a strong call for President Obama to reconsider U.S. opposition to global treaties prohibiting the use, transfer, and production of antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions. According to the letter, "Reconsidering these two treaties-and eliminating the threat that U.S. forces might use weapons that most of the world has condemned-would greatly aid efforts to reassert our nation's moral leadership." Read the text of the letter at: http://www.fcnl.org/weapons/pdfs/Obama_sign-on_letter_FINAL.pdf
While Obama was supportive of efforts to restrict landmines and cluster munitions in the Senate, the new president and his administration have yet to take a position on either treaty. In December, when nearly 100 nations were gathered in Olso, Norway to sign a treaty banning cluster munitions, a spokeswoman for the Obama Transition Team said that the new administration would "carefully review the new treaty and work closely [with] our friends and allies to ensure that the United States is doing everything feasible to promote protection of civilians."
The national organizations are now calling on President Obama to launch a balanced review within the next six months of the past administration's decision to stand outside of the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The signers ask the president to undertake a review that equally weighs the humanitarian and diplomatic interests of the United States, as well as U.S. military interests, recognizing that Pentagon opposition has kept the U.S. outside of both treaties. The groups point out that the U.S. military has not deployed antipersonnel landmines since 1992, and it has not used cluster munitions since 2003.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions, which was completed and signed by 95 countries in December 2008, follows in the model of the decade-old Mine Ban Treaty, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in March. The United States is one of only 39 nations in the world that is not party to the latter treaty. Both treaties were negotiated by government leaders, with the support of civil society groups and the International Committee on the Red Cross, aiming to end the use of weapons that disproportionately kill and maim civilians, to promote assistance to victims and victimized communities, and to aid in mine and cluster submunition clearance efforts. The letter notes that, "The closest allies of United States negotiated the Convention on Cluster Munitions based on their conclusion that these indiscriminate and unreliable weapons pose an unacceptable threat to civilian populations during and long after combat operations have ceased-in much the same way as do landmines."
The day after the letter is released ( February 11), Senators Patrick Leahy and Diane Feinstein and Representative James McGovern will reintroduce the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act, legislation that would prohibit the use by U.S. troops of highly unreliable cluster munitions that leave behind large numbers of landmine-like cluster submunitions on the ground, as well as any use of cluster munitions in civilian-populated areas. Leahy and McGovern have also been leaders in Congressional efforts over the past 15 years to restrict U.S. use and export of antipersonnel landmines.
The letter was organized by the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL), a coalition of religious, veterans, medical, peace, humanitarian, and human rights organizations and thousands of individual members who support U.S. participation in the Mine Ban Treaty. The campaign also encourages the government to increase U.S. funding for mine clearance and landmine victim assistance programs. The USCBL, a member of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Ban Landmines, is coordinated by and based at the Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington, DC.
###
Broad National Coalition Urges Obama to Review US Position on Landmines and Cluster Bombs
Washington, DC February 11, 2009 www.adc.org Today, leaders from 67 national organizations, representing a wide cross-section of American values and constituencies, issued a strong call for President Obama to reconsider U.S. opposition to global treaties prohibiting the use, transfer, and production of antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions. According to the letter, "Reconsidering these two treaties-and eliminating the threat that U.S. forces might use weapons that most of the world has condemned-would greatly aid efforts to reassert our nation's moral leadership." Read the text of the letter at: http://www.fcnl.org/weapons/pdfs/Obama_sign-on_letter_FINAL.pdf
While Obama was supportive of efforts to restrict landmines and cluster munitions in the Senate, the new president and his administration have yet to take a position on either treaty. In December, when nearly 100 nations were gathered in Olso, Norway to sign a treaty banning cluster munitions, a spokeswoman for the Obama Transition Team said that the new administration would "carefully review the new treaty and work closely [with] our friends and allies to ensure that the United States is doing everything feasible to promote protection of civilians."
The national organizations are now calling on President Obama to launch a balanced review within the next six months of the past administration's decision to stand outside of the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The signers ask the president to undertake a review that equally weighs the humanitarian and diplomatic interests of the United States, as well as U.S. military interests, recognizing that Pentagon opposition has kept the U.S. outside of both treaties. The groups point out that the U.S. military has not deployed antipersonnel landmines since 1992, and it has not used cluster munitions since 2003.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions, which was completed and signed by 95 countries in December 2008, follows in the model of the decade-old Mine Ban Treaty, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in March. The United States is one of only 39 nations in the world that is not party to the latter treaty. Both treaties were negotiated by government leaders, with the support of civil society groups and the International Committee on the Red Cross, aiming to end the use of weapons that disproportionately kill and maim civilians, to promote assistance to victims and victimized communities, and to aid in mine and cluster submunition clearance efforts. The letter notes that, "The closest allies of United States negotiated the Convention on Cluster Munitions based on their conclusion that these indiscriminate and unreliable weapons pose an unacceptable threat to civilian populations during and long after combat operations have ceased-in much the same way as do landmines."
The day after the letter is released ( February 11), Senators Patrick Leahy and Diane Feinstein and Representative James McGovern will reintroduce the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act, legislation that would prohibit the use by U.S. troops of highly unreliable cluster munitions that leave behind large numbers of landmine-like cluster submunitions on the ground, as well as any use of cluster munitions in civilian-populated areas. Leahy and McGovern have also been leaders in Congressional efforts over the past 15 years to restrict U.S. use and export of antipersonnel landmines.
The letter was organized by the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL), a coalition of religious, veterans, medical, peace, humanitarian, and human rights organizations and thousands of individual members who support U.S. participation in the Mine Ban Treaty. The campaign also encourages the government to increase U.S. funding for mine clearance and landmine victim assistance programs. The USCBL, a member of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Ban Landmines, is coordinated by and based at the Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington, DC.
###
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