Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem
I don’t know if humor can change anyone’s minds about standing up to extremism and bringing peace to the Middle East, or if it can really bring different rival religious, ethnic or national groups together. But I do know that after performing my first standup comedy show this week, the Jewish, Christian and Muslim audience…
Read More “Performing Arab-Jewish standup comedy, first time” »
Jordan nominates “Theeb” for 88th Academy Awards Award–winning Jordanian feature narrative “Theeb”, by director Naji Abu Nowar, is Jordan’s official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 88th Academy Awards, the Royal Film Commission (RFC) announced recently. The selection was made by a committee of Jordanian artists and craftspeople involved in the…
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The Cable TV series from FX Tyrant is driven by anti-Arab racism and stereotypes. Not surprisingly, the series is produced by an Israeli who has no compunction to portray Arabs in as negative a light as possible to further libel Arab culture and their just claims against Israel. The real story of greed, betrayal, immorality and…
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Writer and columnist Eileen Fleming sits down with The Arab Daily News to discuss her new eBook, “Heroes, Muses and the Saga of Mordechai Vananu.” Eileen’s ebook will be released this week on Kindle and speaks to the ongoing saga of the oppression of Vanunu by Israel’s government By Ray Hanania In this exclusive interview…
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Khalil Gibran is one of America’s best known American Arabs. The acclaimed poet’s book, The Prophet, first published in 1923, has sold more than 100 million copies and has been an inspiration to American Arab writers for generations. On Friday, August 7, 2015, the animated film will open at limited engagements throughout the country with…
Read More “Khalil Gibran movie opens with not enough publicity” »
Matt VanDyke, a timid 26-year-old with obsessive-compulsive disorder, left home in Baltimore in 2006 for what he called a “crash course in manhood.” He bought a motorcycle, a video camera and set-off to film himself on a multi-year, 35,000-mile odyssey through North Africa and the Middle East. When revolution broke out in Libya, he joined…
Read More “American man joins Libyan revolution in ‘Point and Shoot’” »
Graphic artists including comics to be showcased at program organized by the Arab National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan on November 7. The program includes eight artists including two of Arab heritage. Graphic Comics are considered a powerful form of communications, especially in reaching young people The Arab American National Museum will showcase the talents and…
Read More “Arab comic artists among those feted by Arab Museum” »
The life and works of Palestinian filmmaker Michel Khleifi will be celebrated in London at the Shabbak Festival featuring his films and the films of others. Khleifi produced the West Bank’s first documentary film in 1980 “Fertile Memory” For many years, Michel Khleifi was the ultimate voice of Palestinian cinema. Emerging from the ashes of PLO…
Read More “Constructing a Nation’s Memory: Cinema of Michel Khleifi” »
Last Tuesday in Toronto, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Israel’s former president Shimon Peres was in the house for a U2 concert. On the anniversary of Operation Protective Edge, Bono said, “We understand, president Peres, that you have tried to be a voice of reason and have dedicated a great part of your life –…
Read More “What U2’s Bono doesn’t know about Peres and Vanunu” »
Omar Sharif was one of the first Arab actors to appear in the biased anti-Arab arena of Hollywood. His talent took him past the bigotry that has denied Arabs roles in major motion pictures, excluded pro-Arab themes and narratives from Hollywood movies, and marginalized Arabs to the sidelines of a biased movie industry. But his legacy…
Read More “Obituary: Omar Sharif, 1932-2015, the back story” »
In 2005, inspired by Jon Stewart, the Daily Show Correspondents, Brenda Starr, Dorothy Day and Mordechai Vanunu, my childhood dream of becoming a Reporter became reality. On Wednesday Israel’s Nuclear Whistleblower wrote: Vanunu Mordechai is ready to leave israel for ever and ever,after 18 years prison+11years in east jerusalem.FreedomNow. Time come to start new Life,in…
Read More “Jon Stewart’s Legacy and Mordechai Vanunu’s Saga” »
Egyptian American Hollywood actor Rami Malek stars in a new hit series “Mr. Robot” on high tech computer warfare and hacking broadcast on the USA Network on Cable Television. Malek joins a small exclusive club of American Arabs who have made it to Hollywood movie and television series fame. By Ray Hanania Every time I…
Read More “Egyptian American stars in new Cable series on Hacking” »
By Eileen Fleming Israel’s former ambassador to Washington, USA born Michael Oren exemplifies the latter and Kameel Nasr from Lebanon and Boston the former. Oren served as Israel’s ambassador in Washington from 2009 to 2013 and is now a Knesset member in Israel’s center-right Kulanu party. Launching his new book “Ally: My Journey Across the…
Read More “Ambassadors for Peace and Divisiveness: Nasr and Oren ” »
Book Release: Former Saudi Ambassador Robert W. Jordan published a new book Desert Diplomat on Saudi Arabia after 9/11. An inside look at US-Saudi diplomacy at a crucial time in American history In the spring of 2001 George W. Bush selected Dallas attorney Robert W. Jordan as the ambassador to Saudi Arabia. After the attacks…
Read More “Desert Diplomat: Inside Saudi Arabia Following 9/11” »
Malik B. Ali and his late brother Waleed B. Ali launched a business Maljack Productions that began by acquiring the rights to old films abandoned by the movie industry, but in recent years has now began producing its own films. Now known as MPI, the company owns the rights to 2,500 films including the classic…
A Jewish American Arab’s horse, American Pharoah, won the Triple Crown on Saturday. Ahmed Zayat is a Jewish Egyptian immigrant to the United States and owner of Zayat Stables LLC. Zayat is the former owner of Al Ahram Beverages in Egypt which was purchased by Heineken in 2002. American Pharaoh is ranked by the Los Angeles…
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Camel racing, representing bedouin Arab culture, is increasingly drawing tourists and crowds in Dubai and the Gulf region. Once popular int he 1980s, the sport of camel racing is seeing a revival. For a truly authentic experience in the UAE, look no further than the camel race. The cacophony of car horns, shouts and thud of…
By Eileen Fleming [Orlando, Fl.] Bob Dylan rolls through my territory this Sunday marking my first event at Walt Disney Theater’s Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and Dylan’s 27th year of his Never Ending Tour. From August 15, 2002 until April 19, 2012, Dylan was introduced at the beginning of every concert with…
Read More “Forever Young with Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra” »