Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem
By Ray Hanania Joliet Police said they are looking for a suspect who was involved in the shooting death of Mohammed Y. Eid, a 24 year old store clerk who was gunned down Tuesday afternoon in Joliet. Eid was widely praised by customers of the convenient store, Gardener Food Mart, 1000 Gardener Street in Joliet near Nowell…
By Ray Hanania President Barack Obama delivered his 6th State of the Union Address before a joint session of the U.S. Congress and vowed to use his power of veto to block any partisan effort to undermine the economic gains, social changes, healthcare advances and even foreign policy strategies. Obama specifically called on Americans to…
By Ray Hanania U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivered opening remarks to attendees at the Journalists’ Security Conference held this week in Washington D.C. Kerry, who has been far more principled than his Bush administration predecessors, reminded the group that a free press ensures that flow of accurate information, but the price has been high in…
By Ray Hanania The absence of our story as Arab-Americans may explain why so many Americans hate Arabs and Muslims, especially in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo Massacre. Most Americans lump Arabs and Muslims into one category of spite because, to be honest, most Americans are uneducated and ignorant about the facts. I blame…
Read More “I Am Not Charlie Hebdo: I Am Not the Terrorists Either” »
By Ray Hanania Patrick Quinn has been touted often as a “friend” of the Arab American community in Illinois. As a governor, elected in 2009 to succeed his former running mate who was sent to jail, Rod Blagojevich, Quinn romanced the Arab community leading them to believe that in exchange for their support they would…
Read More “Arabs ignored as Illinois Governor leaves office” »
By Ray Hanania When human life is lost, it is difficult to have an unemotional discussion about the issues that might be involved when morality clashes with emotions. That’s what happened when a group of terrorists murdered 12 people in an attack on the offices of a satire newspaper in Paris last week, and then…
Read More “Charlie Hebdo, terrorism and the debate on morality” »
By Ray Hanania At no time has it been clearer that Israel does not want genuine peace with the Arab World. What Israel wants is for Palestine to disappear and eventually, for the Arab World to go away, too. Israel’s government has repeatedly rejected peace based on Two-States — Palestine and Israel. In Israel’s current…
Read More “Time for Arab moderates to step up to the peace plate” »
By Mohammed Asad Orthodox Christians from around the world celebrated Christmas today, Jan. 7, 2015. The Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on the basis of the old Julian Calendar and often comes within a week or two of the traditional Christmas on Dec. 25 of each year. Orthodox Christians are mainly from Middle East and Mediterranean countries…
Read More “Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas in Gaza Strip” »
By Ray Hanania New York Attorney Stanley Cohen said he would continue to stand up and defend the rights of American Arabs and Middle East Arabs who have been falsely accused of terrorism or complicity in terrorism charging that Arabs and Muslims are targeted by American racism. Cohen also provides some inside information on the murder…
Read More “Attorney Stanley Cohen defends his fight for Arab Americans” »
By Ray Hanania View image | gettyimages.com Ziad Asali, the President of the American Task Force on Palestine, the nation’s most influential pro-Palestinian lobbying group in the United States, called it imperative that Israel’s Arab civilians participate and not boycott the next Israeli elections which are scheduled for March 17. Asali said that those who urge a…
Read More “American Arab leader urges Israeli Arabs to vote” »
By Ray Hanania View image | gettyimages.com An Egyptian court on June 23, 2014, handed out jail terms ranging from three to ten years each to 18 people, including four foreign Al Jazeera journalists convicted of ‘fabricating news’, eleven defendants including three foreign correspondents including Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fadel Fahmy (L), were sentenced in absentia to ten…
Read More “War of words escalates between Clooney and Egypt” »
By Ray Hanania The United Arab Emirates designated 83 Muslim organizations around the world as “terrorist organizations” including two American groups with prominent public profiles, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim American Society (MAS). It is one of the most unusual attacks against American Muslims from an Arab World Government. Both CAIR…
Read More “UAE names 83 terrorist groups including two from US” »
By Ray Hanania There are more than 4.5 million Arabs in the United States, and about 7 million Muslims. The majority of Arabs are Christian, by about 65 percent and the remainder are Muslim. Of the 7 million Muslims, only about 22 percent originate from one of 22 Arab countries and the largest majority are…
By Ray Hanania As a Christian, no city in the world means more to me than the “Little Town of Bethlehem.” I write about it often, mainly to remind American Christians — many of whom have forgotten the roots of their faith and therefore the spirit of their Christianity — that Bethlehem is a real…
Read More “A virtual visit to the birthplace of Christianity, Bethlehem” »
By Ray Hanania Every Christmas, I always hear the same conflicting arguments. On the one hand, people tell me, “Stop saying ‘Happy Holidays.’ It’s ‘Merry Christmas’. If you don’t like it, move.” The point being that they presumably are proud of being Christian. And, since Christmas is a Christian holiday, they want people to acknowledge…
By Ray Hanania Great tasting Middle Eastern food is growing in popularity. We have a new Facebook Page where you can find the best Arab restaurants in America As an Arab born in America, I have been on a constant hunt for great tasting Middle Eastern food, besides the great recipes that my mother used to…
Read More “Great Arab & Middle East restaurants in America” »
By Ray Hanania It never fails that when the price of oil fluctuates up or down, everyone wants to blame “the Arabs.” But “the Arabs” are not to blame and in fact, Arab oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia have been the best supporters and allies of the United States. When the price of oil…
By Ray Hanania The Arab American Democratic Club this week announced it will endorse Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and will host a fundraiser “salute” for Garcia to support his candidacy for Mayor of Chicago in the Feb. 24, 2015 election against anti-Arab Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Many other American Arabs, however, are supporting Ald….
Read More “Arab Democratic Club endorses Garcia over Fioretti” »