Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem
Relationship between Arab Americans and African Americans needs more balance, Black State Rep says By Ray Hanania Illinois State Rep. Cyril Nichols has raised an issue that many Arab Americans prefer not to discuss. Are Arab Americans doing enough to balance the support they get from African Americans? In an interview on The Ray Hanania…
Arab American organizations do a poor job of communications By Ray Hanania I attend many conferences hosted by Arab American and Muslim American organizations every year, and there is one thing I always see that consistently undermines their effectiveness. They don’t put enough effort into self-promotion or creating press releases on their events. By not…
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Organic Arab American ethnic community journalism vanishing By Ray Hanania In October 1999 when the fledgling National Arab American Journalist Association (NAAJA) hosted its first national Writer’s Conference in Chicago, nearly 300 journalists, writers and students attended in the hopes of creating a broader network that pushed the Arab community’s interests in writing into breaking…
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Politics fuels campaign accusing CUNY graduate of “anti-Semitism” A CUNY graduate student delivered a speech on May 12, 2023 urging activism for human rights including criticizing Israel that pro-Israel fanatics and the biased American news media have denounced falsely as being “anti-Semitic.” Criticizing Israel is NOT anti-Semitic By Ray Hanania A mob of American politicians,…
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The term Arab will be meaningless if we don’t stand behind it and choose “MENA” instead By Ray Hanania Last month, members of the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation, House Bill 3768, which would include the term MENA (Middle East and North Africa) in the “Uniform Racial Classification Act” which requires state agencies to…
Low Arab early voting turnout in important Orland Park elections By Ray Hanania The election on Tuesday April 4 is very important to the Arab American & Muslim community. There are many candidates who support our community who need our support, and several who do not. If we don’t take the time to vote, we…
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Call me Arab, don’t call me MENA writer argues Columnist Ray Hanania argues that the term MENA to describe Arab Americans only dilutes the ability for Arabs to defend themselves against racism and that the term Arab should be used not only with the U.S. Census but in seeking equality in government contract awards. MENA…
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Illinois Review skewers Mayor Lightfoot ally Ramzi Hassan By Ray Hanania Illinois Review, one of the conservative movement’s most respected online news sources, took Edward’s Realty President Ramzi Hassan to task for his support of Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau But in the process, Illinois Review also revealed that Hassan, who is Palestinian American, donated…
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Israeli-push behind effort to ban Tiktok in the United States Social media has an enormous influence on Americans but only the social media that offends Israel is targeted for censorship and restrictions, reflecting their restrictive and repressive society. While Facebook and other Social media have come around to support Israel’s demands to crackdown on criticism…
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Why allow religious extremists to re-define Islam in the West? By Ray Hanania Rashid-Al-Din Hamadani was a writer and a physician who rose to influence in the Mongolian Dynasties that ruled over Persia, serving as a Grand Visier to many of the Mongolian Khans. Born in Persia in 1247 of Jewish parents, Rashid-al-Din converted to…
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When Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot targeted Arab businesses in 2021 and 2022 Looking back at why Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s racism against Arab American business owners disqualifies her from running for re-election and why Arab American voters should support other candidates running for mayor like Dr. Willie Wilson, Paul Vallas, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Roderick Sawyer,…
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Nichols discusses need to improve Arab-Black relations in Chicagoland State Rep. Cyril Nichols interviewed on live Arab American radio in Detroit with host Ray Hanania Friday Dec. 9, 2022 discussed his legislation to grant MBE status to Arab Americans and called on Arab Americans to build coalitions with the region’s African American community. Nichols was…
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Why Palestinians are willing to embrace Netanyahu rather than fight for their rights When it comes to politics and fighting for their rights, Palestinians seem to loose their enthusiasm quickly and resort to the tragic normalcy of being victims and demanding 100 percent, rather than pursuing a strategic and continuing effort to fight for their…
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Arab and Muslim voters should rally for State Rep. Cyril Nichols Nov. 8 State Rep. Cyril Nichols has hit the ground running to represent every community in the newly drawn 32nd Illinois House District, including supporting Arab and Muslim Americans. Nichols is a champion of civil and human rights and has made a commitment to…
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No one deserves Arab and Muslim American voter support more than Maria Pappas No one has done more for the Arab and Muslim American community, and all ethnic, religious and racial groups in Cook County than County Treasurer Maria Pappas. Unlike other candidates, she is in the community every year and all year round, and…
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My life long love affair with stuffed grape leaves For Arabs, making food is part of family life, the bond that brings everyone together. It isn’t just about eating, but about memories of growing up in a beautiful family. One of my favorite and most popular Arab meals is stuffed grape leaves, which is diced…
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Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib panders to emotions but fails to achieve results Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib says she is a champion of human rights for Palestinians, but is she really effective or is she just pounding her chest and fueling the emotions of a community in America that is discriminated by racism, media bias and stereotyping? Tlaib…
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Weaponizing Anti-Semitism as a tool to protect Israel’s war crimes Pro-Israel activists who have been insulating Israel from criticism of its human rights violations and military war crimes continue to come up with new laws to discourage criticism of Israel’s government. In 2015, they launched the anti-BDS laws state by state adopting them in 28…
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