AAI Bulletin

Arab Americans add "Personal Pespective"

Posted on Tuesday September 26, 2006

Senator Sununu: Arab Americans add “Personal Perspective”

The only U.S. senator of Arab descent has credited Arab Americans with bringing a “personal perspective” to congressional debate. Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) said his heritage “certainly made a difference in my work on the Foreign Relations Committee. I grew up paying attention to events overseas.”

Sununu spoke at an AAI luncheon in Washington, DC honoring Arab Americans in federal government. On the subject of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, Sununu declared his support for the $230 million in humanitarian aid to Lebanon that President Bush has pledged, but added, “more could have been done.” Read more

Arab American Democratic Club hosts event for Illinois Governor

Over 550 people attended a fundraiser hosted by the Arab American Democratic Club (AADC) for Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. The event resulted in a generous contribution toward the governor’s re-election campaign. Under his current administration, Governor Blagojevich has been one of the leaders in hiring Arab Americans for government jobs.

While rewarding the governor for his commitment to Arab American inclusion, the group raised their concerns with the governor and his staff on two issues: civil rights violations under the Patriot Act, and creating options for Arab Americans to qualify for state jobs and contracts. AADC’s Miriam Zayed is optimistic: “At least the Governor and his people are listening and willing to consider working on our issues.”

Political Workshop Stresses Importance of Participation

AAI and the Washington, DC Chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) co-sponsored a political workshop in McLean, Virginia. The workshop was organized by AAI member and ADC DC Chapter Board member Mona Hamoui. Topics included understanding the electoral process, how to effectively lobby Congress, and the importance of political participation on local and national levels. Speakers included Marwan Burgan, AAI National Policy Council Member, Maram Abdelhamid, AAI Community Relations Associate, Tom Albert, ADC Government Affairs Director and Christine Gleichert, ADC’s Legislative Director. The workshop was attended by close to 50 people, boasted a lively Q&A session, and earned positive and enthusiastic feedback from the attendees.

Congratulations to Rima Nashashibi

On September 30, the Democratic Party of Orange County, California will honor AAI member Rima Nashashibi at its 12th annual Harry Truman Award Dinner. Rima, who serves as the party’s vice-chair, is a tireless champion for the Arab American community in Southern California. AAI congratulates her on this well-deserved honor.

Sid Saab Wins his Primary in Maryland

In his first campaign for elected office, Sid Saab of Crownsville, Maryland, has won the Republican primary for an open seat on Anne Arundel County’s Council. Sid garnered close to 52% of the vote, and will face Democrat Jamie Benoit in the November general election. “I look forward to representing Arab Americans in U.S. politics,” says Sid.

Ancestry Meeting

The AAI Foundation hosted a national meeting in Washington D.C. on September 9th to promote the inclusion of a question on ancestry in the 2010 Census. The strategy discussion was attended by over 35 members of the Ancestry Working Group (AWG), a coalition of advocates and researchers who care about collection of ethnic data on all Americans in the U.S. Census. In addition to several Arab American partners from around the country—representatives of Italian, Polish, Armenian, Iranian, Asian and Hispanic organizations—were present to set a strategy to support adding a question on ancestry to the existing race and Hispanic origin questions on the decennial census.

Teresa Angueira, Assistant Director for American Community Survey and the Decennial Census, briefed the working group on the bureau’s timeline to finalize the content for the 2010 census by early 2007. An action alert on ancestry inclusion will be issued shortly and if you would like more details, please contact Rudy Gharib at rgharib@aaiusa.org or (202) 429-9210, ext. 30. The Ancestry Working Group is a program of AAIF’s Census Information Center which released in September a national profile on Arab ancestry using data from the 2004 American Community Survey.