Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem
Veteran American Arab congressman retires from his West Virginia congressional district after serving 38 years representing Americans and American Arabs. Rahall is the longest serving American Arab in politics and most admired in public life. His voice for principle and justice will be missed By Ray Hanania When I first got involved in politics in the early…
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner can do the right thing and support Middle East peace by rejecting a bill sponsored by pro-Israel activist Il Rep. Sara Feigenholtz and urge the Illinois General Assembly to support peace based on Two-States, non-violence and the respect of human rights. Rauner can also take a strong stand to defend the…
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Supporters of the foreign government of Israel are using their influence in local governments to bully and intimidate and label critics of Israel as “anti-Semitic,” introducing laws that undermine the American Constitutional right of free speech of Americans who challenge Israel’s extremist policies that oppress Christian and Muslims in Israel and in the Occupied West Bank…
Read More “Criticism of the foreign country Israel is NOT anti-Semitism” »
Last week, former President Jimmy Carter traveled to Israel and Palestine but was rebuffed by Israeli leaders. Carter, who ushered in the peace process in the 1970s that Israel has since turned into a circus of rejection, doesn’t want to be reminded that peace requires it to end its war crimes and to compromise by returning Palestinian…
Read More “Israel’s snub of Carter is a rejection of peace” »
Increasingly, Dubai is demonstrating how profit and greed can overcome principle and justice, opening its doors without a whimper or a protest to allow Caterpillar, a company with a 60 year history of supporting Israel’s destruction of Palestinian homes, lands and lives to establish a base there. Caterpillar announced this week that it is building a…
Read More “Dubai welcomes company that drives Palestinian destruction in Israel” »
Veteran Lebanese American Arab writer Maureen Abood has just released her debut book and of course, it is about the richness of Lebanese and Arab foods. “Rose Water & Orange Blossoms” is not just a book of recipes but the story of Arabian life which revolves around great tasting foods By Ray Hanania Michigan writer…
Read More “Maureen Abood details her love affair with Lebanese food” »
Al-Jazeera America has faced one major political hurdle after another as it tries to break through the politically motivated bias that dominates the often biased and racist mainstream American news media which prioritizes pro-Israel news above facts. Now, the allegations of one obscure employee is being used to challenge the professionalism of the news organization which provides the…
Read More “Double standards and pro-Israel hypocrisy slam al-Jazeera America” »
Jordan River Valley and Great Lakes Region Linked through Sister Waters Agreement coordinated through the Sister Cities Program and Midwest and Middle East municipal mayors Mayors and city officials from across the Great Lakes and the Jordan River Valley signed a pioneering agreement this month linking their communities through a “Sister Waters” partnership. In October…
Read More “Sister Cities links Palestinians, Israelis & Jordanians over water” »
This week, another major grocery retailer entered the battle for the growing Middle Eastern food market in Chicagoland offering a wide range of Arab food products. The past half century has seen Arab food migrate from the shelves of small ethnic neighborhood food stores to the premium shelves of the largest national chains. Chicagoland has been no exception, just…
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American Arabs have been urging the U.S. Census for years to include a category that will help empower America’s growing Arab community. But racism among public officials has stood in the way. But Census officials said this week that they will “test” using a new category to include American Arabs “Middle East and North Africa” this…
Read More “US Census will “test” using Middle East in count” »
Pro-Israel activists and elected officials who put a foreign country’s interests before the interests of Americans are behind a widespread campaign to extend an Israeli law that could jail any Israeli who criticizes Israel or advocates a boycott of Israel to now include Americans. The Israeli law, approved in 2011, and the American laws are based…
Read More “Using American Tax Dollars to Undermine Civil Rights” »
While the World is pausing to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the massacre of more than one million Armenians by the former Ottoman Empire, many major Muslim American organizations and Arab World leaders have been either silent or have argued that the Armenian genocide is little more than a part of World War I. Armenians, who are Christian,…
Read More “Leading Muslims turn backs on Armenian genocide” »
A new poll by the Dubai-based Public Relations firm Asda’a-Burson Marsteller shows that Youth in the Arab World are wary of the rise of ISIS and the failure of the “Arab Spring,” but see a future driven by the Gulf State including Saudi Arabia and recognize the continued injustices of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. By Ray…
Read More “Israeli occupation remains a top concern of Arab Youth” »
American Arabs and Muslims are among the most generous people in America when it comes to raising funds to help the needy. That might explain why their charity donation collections are being targeted at local stores in the Dearborn, Michigan region By Ray Hanania I recently saw a video posted on a popular Facebook Page, Dearborn Area Community…
Read More “Rash of thefts hit charitable donation boxes at Dearborn stores” »
Israelis insist that Israel is the only Democracy in the Middle East. But what kind of Democracy is a country that discriminates against people based on race and religion and continually reinforces that discrimination? More importantly, what kind of people live in an apartheid-like country and pretends that they do not discriminate? By Ray Hanania For years, I always avoided…
As the American presidential campaign gets into swing, there will be a big focus on the battle among the larger field of conservative and extremists Republicans like Cruz, Rand, Rubio and maybe a half dozen more, and they won’t be talking Middle East peace. But neither will Hillary Clinton or any Democrats who challenge her….
Read More “Don’t Expect Middle East Peace to Be a Presidential Campaign Issue” »
Time to Control Israel’s Nuclear Hypocrisies Israel is doing everything it can to undermine any deal on nuclear energy with Iran, not to make the world safer but to preserve its hegemony in the world. Conflict is the engine that sustains and drives today’s Israel, which is governed by extremists and fanatics who thrive in…
Over the past few weeks, I have interviewed several Israeli journalists as well as Palestinian journalists to examine the challenges facing Palestine-Israel peace. Two Israeli journalists I interviewed are Seth Frantzman, the Op-Ed editor of the Jerusalem Post, and Ricky Ben David, the News Editor of the Times of Israel. By Ray Hanania One of the…
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