AAI Bulletin

If you’re looking to make a donation, please consider:

United Palestinian Appeal, Inc.
United Palestinian Appeal (UPA) is teaming up with the largest local Palestinian NGO, the Welfare Association, to provide immediate assistance to the Palestinian people through an emergency food drive. UPA is purchasing food from Palestinian farmers and is distributing it to their local communities.

The Hope Fund
The Hope Fund provides four-year scholarships to children of Palestinian refugees for study at American colleges and universities. Colleges and universities provide tuition scholarships, but the Hope Fund relies on individual donors to cover additional expenses such as travel, books, and health insurance. The organization spends $2,500 per year on each student, and currently has in place eight students at different colleges.

If you need to do some last minute shopping, take a look at:

Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund
Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund aims to improve the living standards of children in the refugee camps inside Palestine. It has also contracted with women’s groups in Palestine to sell the embroidery work of Palestinian women. Proceeds benefit the women’s groups and the women of Palestine.

Zatoun
Zatoun sells fair trade products from Palestine, including the one-of-a-kind Palestinian extra virgin olive oil and hand-embroidered gift bags with olive oil soap.

And finally, if you are looking to celebrate and make a difference at the same time, there are also several holiday and New Year’s events in the Washington, D.C. area that enable you to do so:

Friends of Birzeit University New Year’s Eve Celebration
Celebrate New Year’s Eve with an elegant dinner and American, Arabic and Latin music at Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant in McLean, Va. Tickets are $95, with proceeds benefiting Birzeit University in Palestine. Tickets must be purchased by December 20.

Open Bethlehem Procession
The Ad Hoc Committee For Bethlehem is organizing a candle-lit procession in Washington, D.C. to re-enact the journey of Mary and Joseph over 2000 years ago. The procession is intended to draw attention to the dire situation of residents of Bethlehem today. It will take place on Dec. 23 at 4 p.m., beginning in Lafayette Park and continue around the Ellipse and the White House Christmas tree.

For more information on this event, call (703) 913-5913 or contact Rev. Susan P. Wilder at suswilder@aol.com or Nora Burgan at noraburgan@aol.com.

Kathem al Saher
Iraqi musician Kathem al Saher will perform on Dec. 29 at the Washington, D.C. Omni Shoreham Hotel. Tickets include dinner and cost $175, $200 or $250. The concert has been arranged by MBN TV, a national Arab American television network.

To order tickets, call MBN TV Washington representatives Talal at (202) 386-8939, Jamal at (301) 367-2433 or Fadi at (202) 375-1950. You can also contact MBN TV PR/Marketing Director Nada Charara at (248) 569-2020 or ncharara@mbnAmerica.net.

Re-Discovering the Arab World
The second part of this Mosaic Foundation Lecture Series will be held on Jan. 11 at the World Bank H Building in Washington, D.C. Dr. Roger Michael Ashley Allen, Professor of Arabic Language and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania, will speak on “The Life and Work of Naguib Mahfouz.” Naguib is one of the most highly regarded literary figures in the Arab world and the 1987 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Dr. Allen knew Mahfouz for over 30 years, published books on the author and nominated him for the Nobel Prize in 1987.

“Re-Discovering the Arab World” is a new series designed to foster a deeper understanding of the rich diversity of Arab culture, traditions, arts and history, amidst the background of current public interest. This lecture is free and open to the public. Seating is limited. Register by Jan. 8, 2007 by emailing info@mosaicfound.org or calling 202-388-0000.