Category: Entertainment

Saudi Arabia Ushers in a Year of Entertainment in 2019

January 28, 2019January 28, 2019 rayhanania No Comments

Saudi Arabia Ushers in a Year of Entertainment in 2019 The head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA), His Excellency Turki Al-Sheikh, unveiled a plan to transform the Kingdom’s entertainment industry on January 22. The announcement marked the latest progress under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 platform to create a more vibrant and fulfilling society…

Arab World, Entertainment, Gulf States, News, Saudi Arabia

Palestinian standup comic Nasr Abu Ali Owaynat discusses his career

December 17, 2018June 12, 2019 rayhanania No Comments

Palestinian standup comedian Nasr Abu Ali Owaynat discusses his career By Ray Hanania Chicagoland Palestinian American comedian Nasr Abu Ali Owaynat will be performing comedy at the renown Chicagoland comedy club Riddles on Jan. 10, 2019. Abu Ali was born to a Palestinian American immigrant and an American mother from Kentucky. He started doing comedy…

American Arabs, Entertainment, Features, Humor, News, Palestine & Jordan, racism, Satire, Spotlight

Arab themes dominate 32nd Annual Israeli Film Festival in Los Angeles

October 31, 2018October 31, 2018 rayhanania No Comments

Arab themes dominate 32nd Annual Israeli Film Festival in Los Angeles Films include “Foreign Land,” “In Her Footsteps,” “The Oslo Diaries,” “Avanti Popolo,” “Tzeva Adom: Color Red” The 32nd Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles, California, the largest showcase of Israeli films in the United States and taking place November 6th – 20th, will premiere…

American Arabs, Arab World, Christian & Muslim, Entertainment, Features, Israel, Movies, News, Palestine & Jordan, Press Releases

High school senior says writing book will improve student grades

October 17, 2018October 17, 2018 rayhanania No Comments

High school senior says writing book will improve student grades Aaron Hanania will sign copies of his new book at an event on Thursday, October 25, 2018, at the Oak Lawn Library from 6 pm until 8 pm, and discuss how young students can become better students through disciplined writing and storytelling. A writing project…

Authors, Entertainment, Features, mainstream, Press Releases, Writers Promote

The Arab Street Radio: Ghassan Khatib on future of Israel-Palestine peace

October 12, 2018October 12, 2018 rayhanania No Comments

The Arab Street Radio: Ghassan Khatib on future of Israel-Palestine peace Former Palestinian official and now Birzeit University professor Ghassan Khatib guests on The Arab Street Arab radio show with host Ray Hanania. The Arab Street Radio show is broadcast live in Detroit on WNZK AM 690 Radio on the 2nd Friday of each month…

Arab World, Arab World Politics, Entertainment, Israel, Middle East, News, Palestine & Jordan, Politics, Radio Podcast, Ray Hanania, The Arab Street

Smithsonian Channel features new season of archeology including in Middle East

September 12, 2018September 12, 2018 rayhanania No Comments

Smithsonian Channel features new season of archeology including in Middle East Season Five premieres Monday, Sept. 24 at 8 pm with details on a 2,700-year old temple tied to the Biblical tale of Jonah and the Whale discovered in Iraq that was destroyed by ISIS. Archaeologists investigating a site in Iraq destroyed by ISIS have…

Arab World, Chaldean, Christian & Muslim, Entertainment, Features, Iraq, Middle East, Syria, Television

Taybeh Oktoberfest is Happening Right Now!

September 9, 2018September 9, 2018 Maria Khoury No Comments

Taybeh Oktoberfest is Happening Right Now! Religious leaders offer blessings at the opening of the annual Taybeh OktoberFest which celebrates the Fall harvest and the local economy of the Palestinians living in one of Palestine’s few Christian hubs. The festival is popular among Christian Palestinians, and also many Muslims, to show support. By Maria C. Khoury, Ed. D. …

Arab World, Bloggers, Christian & Muslim, Commentary, Editors Picks, Entertainment, Food, Israel, Maria Khoury, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine & Jordan

Taybeh OktoberFest to rock the West Bank this weekend

September 5, 2018September 9, 2018 Maria Khoury No Comments

Taybeh Oktoberfest to rock the West Bank this weekend Nadim Khoury and David Khoury, co-founders of Taybeh Brewing Company, announce the 14th annual Taybeh Oktoberfest will take place at the Taybeh Brewery, on Saturday and Sunday, September 8 & 9, from 1 pm until 11 pm on both days. The festival has been a unique and…

Arab World, Entertainment, Features, Israel, Middle East, News, Palestine & Jordan, Spotlight

Overview of the Israeli Palestinian Comedy Tour

July 30, 2018April 13, 2019 rayhanania 1 Comment

Overview of the Israeli Palestinian Comedy Tour The Israeli Palestinian Comedy Tour was co-founded by Palestinian Ray Hanania and Israeli Charley Warady. It included Jewish American comedian Aaron Freeman and Israeli comedian Yisrael Campbell. The group performed comedy shows before live audiences throughout Israel in 2007 including in West Jerusalem, East Jerusalem, Jaffa, Hebron, Tel…

Entertainment, Features, Humor

PBS to air documentary on struggle of Iraqi family August 27, 2018

July 24, 2018July 24, 2018 rayhanania No Comments

PBS to air documentary on struggle of Iraqi family August 27, 2018 Caught in the Crossfire, an Iraqi Family Remains Determined to Rebuild in ‘Nowhere to Hide,’ Airing August 27, 2018 on PBS. The documentary is described as an Unforgettable Look at a Battle-Torn Iraq and War’s Human Consequences Fifteen years after the U.S. invasion…

Arab World, Entertainment, Iraq, Kurdish, Kurds, Middle East, News, Television

Unholy Land: An Unconventional Guide to Israel

July 10, 2018July 10, 2018 rayhanania No Comments

Unholy Land: An Unconventional Guide to Israel Cosmopolitan writing on travel, food, culture, sex, and politics, from some of Israel’s greatest young writers Part hipster travelogue, part from-the-ground-up look at Israeli politics, Unholy Land offers a kaleidoscope through which the reader will view the country and the region in new light and color. Actor Rana…

Book Review, Entertainment, Features, Israel, Middle East, Palestine & Jordan

First US Palestinian awarded Fellowship by National Endowment for the Arts

June 20, 2018June 20, 2018 rayhanania No Comments

First US Palestinian awarded Fellowship by National Endowment for the Arts The first Palestinian-American woman has been awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim was just named one of the 2018 National Heritage Fellows, a highly esteemed award celebrating artistic excellence and traditional arts heritage. Abbasi-Ghnaim is…

American Arabs, Arab World, Entertainment, Features, mainstream

Shakira cancels Israel performance in face of worldwide outcry

May 29, 2018May 29, 2018 rayhanania No Comments

Shakira cancels Israel performance in face of worldwide outcry Nearly 15,000 members of the peace activist organization Jewish Voice for Peace joined in a worldwide protest to convince mega-entertainer Shakira to cancel a planned performance in Tel Aviv, Israel. The protest is intended to send a message to the Israeli people that turning their backs…

American Arabs, Entertainment, Israel, Middle East, News, Palestine & Jordan

Arab America salutes National Arab American Heritage Month with Washington DC event

April 18, 2018September 25, 2018 rayhanania No Comments

Arab America salutes National Arab American Heritage Month with Washington DC event (Reprinted with permission from ArabAmerica.com.) By Emiliya Strahilova Arab America Contributing Writer Last Thursday (April 12, 2018) an exciting venue in Washington DC, right next to the White House, was the site where Arab America acknowledged for a third consecutive year National Arab American Heritage Month(NAHM)….

American Arabs, Entertainment, Events, Features, Guest Columnist, mainstream, News, US Arab Politics

Tipping and Bargaining in Egypt: Bakhshesh or Sadaqa

April 18, 2018April 18, 2018 Abdennour Toumi No Comments

Tipping and Bargaining in Egypt: Bakhshesh or Sadaqa The role of tipping in the Arab World in tourism and the economy is important. To most Western tourists particularly Americans, the question of tipping is normal, like adding sales tax to the bill, but in the Middle East, however, the question of tipping, and add to it…

Abdennour Toumi, Arab World, Bloggers, Business, Commentary, Entertainment, Middle East, North Africa, Opinion, Travel

Berlin Arab Fim Festival April 11- 18

March 13, 2018March 13, 2018 rayhanania No Comments

Berlin Arab Fim Festival April 11- 18 ALFILM – 9th Arab Film Festival Berlin 11. – 18. April 2018 Cinemas Arsenal, fsk, City Kino Wedding, Kino Wolf • First Films of the OFFICIAL SELECTION • SPOTLIGHT: Reflections on Arab Masculinities Berlin, March 12, 2018 – In its 9th edition ALFILM offers insights into the cinema of the…

Arab World, Editors Picks, Entertainment, Events, Middle East, Movies

Podcast: Arab radio on the Oscars, Census and more

March 10, 2018March 10, 2018 rayhanania No Comments

Podcast: Arab radio on the Oscars, Census and more Radio host Ray Hanania talks with listeners in Detroit, Dearborn, Chicago and around the country on “Fight back” on the monthly radio show “Yalla! Fight Back” broadcast on the 2nd Friday over every month. Listeners discuss the bias of the Academy Awards and the the hypocrisy…

Activism, Bloggers, Commentary, Election, Entertainment, mainstream, Middle East, Movies, Opinion, Palestine & Jordan, Politics, Radio Podcast, Ray Hanania

Oscars? When will we have “The Abdullahs?”

March 7, 2018March 7, 2018 rayhanania No Comments

Oscars? When will we have “The Abdullahs?” Hollywood has been at war with the Arab World since it produced its very first movie. And it is has only gotten worse. Hollywood is one of the biggest contributory factors fueling anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racism and hatred, despite their occasional words of “diversity.” Not since Vanessa Redgrave…