Juliette Kayyem and Yvonne Abraham are two of the new rising voices in the American Arab community who has risen to prominence in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001. Christian Lebanese Arabs, Kayyem and Abraham both write for the progressive newspaper, the Boston Globe.
By Ray Hanania
covering Chicago
City Hall
(1976-1992)
More and more we are seeing American Arabs surfacing in the media’s national debates. Two of particular note coincidentally work for the same newspaper, which is a strong reflection on the commitment of fairness, objectivity and diversity of that newspaper, the Boston Globe.
They are Harvard graduate Juliette Kayyem who is also a frequent commentator on major news stations such as CNN, and her journalism colleague Yvonne Abraham.
Both are Lebanese American, with Kayyem beginning her career in politics and government and Yvonne in journalism. Kayyem is an attorney who worked for the U.S. Department of Justice and later as a legal adviser to former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.
Lately, she has been more and more visible in discussions on CNN and her column is being picked up and cited across the country and in the Middle East.
Kayyem is one of the new voices adding resonance to the sometimes shrill debates that dominate today’s news. She offers a reasoned approach to issues and helps bring audiences back to reality.
Abraham also writes for the Boston Globe in the newspaper’s Metro section, every Thursday and Sunday. Abraham previously covered state and national politics, and immigration at the Globe and was hired by the Globe in 1998 from the Boston Phoenix.
Abraham was born in Sydney, Australia and came to the U.S. in 1993 on a Rotary Foundation Fellowship earning a Masters Degree in Journalism from Boston University. After a year as a staff writer at Boston magazine, a bio relates, Abraham was hired by the Boston Phoenix, and then the Boston Globe in January 1999. Originally covering immigration, Abraham has covered assignments that have taken her from the State House, on presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2004, and to Pakistan after Sept. 11, 2001.
Kayyem is more of a political analyst and consultant and Abraham is more of a journalist with many years experience as a reporter. But both are major contributors to the American understanding of many issues including on terrorism and on everyday life issues.
Click here to get more information on Yvonne Abraham. Click here to follow Yvonne Abraham on Twitter.
Click here to get more information on Juliette Kayyem.
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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