Friday September 14, 2012
On September 25, Yalla Vote will be part of a nationwide effort to ensure that no eligible voter is left out of this year’s election. AAI will join almost 250 organizations from across the country, including Yalla Vote partner NNAAC, for National Voter Registration Day, with the goal of registering thousands of new Arab American voters. Read More »
Thursday September 13, 2012
The House of Representatives voted yesterday to extend the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act through 2017. Civil liberties advocates have long criticized FISA, which authorizes warrantless monitoring of electronic communications – from phone calls to emails – of foreigners as well as U.S. citizens. Read More »
Thursday September 13, 2012
By Emily Jabareen
Yemeni citizen Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif died this past Saturday in his Guantanamo Bay prison cell. Though the main reason for his death was not disclosed in the official military announcement released Tuesday, the timing of his death sets the tone for a larger discussion of the US government’s legal handling of his case. Read More »
Thursday September 13, 2012
By Jennine Vari
A film by Rola Nashef has earned the Arab American filmmaker the Grolsch Film Works Discovery Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Detroit Unleaded is a “romantic dramedy” about two cousins, Sami and Mike, who take over the family gas station in Detroit. Read More »
Wednesday September 12, 2012
This morning, as the nation mourns the tragic loss of four American diplomats and public servants in the attacks on our embassy in Libya, members of the House and Senate are sharing their thoughts – and their criticisms – of America’s foreign policy as well as any attempts to leverage this tragedy for political purposes. Read More »
Wednesday September 12, 2012
We must honor the legacy of the four Americans and ten Libyans who lost their lives defending the embassy, and strive for a more open and mutually-respectful interaction with the rest of the world. We must bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice, but we must also take great care not to conflate their actions with the Arab or Muslim people as a whole. Read More »
Wednesday September 12, 2012
The attack on U.S. diplomatic missions in Egypt and Libya is an outrageous and horrible tragedy. The film that the demonstrators claim to be protesting might be deplorable, but it is no excuse for the wanton murder of innocent diplomats. This was an act of murder, plain and simple. We wholeheartedly support the strong and clear position expressed this morning by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and as we reflect on this tragedy, we need to remember that it was carried out by a small mob that in no way characterizes the opinions and attitudes of people in the region. Read More »
Tuesday September 11, 2012
Tomorrow congress will vote on the five-year reauthorization (H.R. 5949) of the FISA Amendments Act (FAA), the 2008 law that legalized the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. Read More »
Tuesday September 11, 2012
Marylanders will vote on proposed new Congressional districts in November. But Attorney General David Paulson confirmed today that, even if voters reject the new districts, they’ll stay in place through 2014. Paulson said “When it comes to this issue, we are in uncharted territory.” Read More »
Tuesday September 11, 2012
With the primaries over, the Massachusetts political season moves into full swing. The Senate contest between incumbent Scott Brown and challenger Elizabeth Warren has been making national news for months. In fact, it was national news when Brown, a Republican, won the late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s seat in a surprise 2010 upset. Congressional leaders from both parties viewed it as a referendum on both Obama and his proposed healthcare reforms, and a portent of a broader national shift. Read More »
Tuesday September 11, 2012
In a sign of Iraq’s deepening political crisis, an Iraqi court yesterday sentenced the country’s foremost Sunni leader, Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, to death. Al-Hashemi, who fled Iraq in December 2011 after the Shiite-dominated government of Nuri Kamal al-Maliki issued an arrest warrant for him, has been living in exile in Turkey. Read More »
Monday September 10, 2012
It’s baffling that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other democratic officials doubled down on the DNC’s motion to push through a voice vote on a resolution recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel at the Democratic National Convention. In an interview with the LA Times on Saturday, Mayor Villaraigosa played down the significance of the three-time response to the controversial measure on the floor of the DNC, saying the media blew the whole thing out of proportion and that it was the media, not the delegates, who were concerned about the measure. “Not one person objected. It’s more a media concern than a delegate concern,” the LA Times quoted him as saying... Read More »
Monday September 10, 2012
Earlier today, AAI President Jim Zogby joined a panel of experts at the Wilson Center to discuss the results of a new public opinion survey on the role of the United States in a post-9/11 world. The event was introduced by The Honorable Jane Harman, Director, President and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson Center; and the speakers included Chicago Council on Global Affairs President Marshall Bouton, former CIA Director General Michael Hayden, and New America Foundation Senior Fellow Philip Mudd. Read More »
Monday September 10, 2012
By Jennine Vari
On September 4th, Virginia elections officials ruled that former Congressman Virgil Goode Jr. will be listed as a third-party presidential candidate on the ballot in Virginia, possibly threatening Mitt Romney’s chances of winning the swing state. The GOP is now concerned that Goode’s nomination by the conservative Constitution Party could siphon votes from Romney and tip the scales in favor of Barack Obama.
Read More »
Monday September 10, 2012
By Vieshnavi Rattehalli
Much awaited by its small but avid cult-like following, Community represents the best of American television for many reasons. Aside from being a witty and sophisticated show that successfully employs meta-humor and frequent pop-culture references, Community displays progress in American television depiction of Arabs in America. Read More »
Thursday September 06, 2012
There is plenty of blame to go around for the fiasco on the floor of the Democratic National Convention yesterday, where an amendment to the Party platform was forced through the convention floor despite significant vocal opposition. Read More »
Thursday September 06, 2012
There were many potential headline grabbers in Wednesday’s speaker lineup, from employees of Bain –acquired companies who lost their jobs to women’s rights activist Sandra Fluke. Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren had a distinct need to grab headlines to garner an advantage in her close Senate race against Scott Brown. Unfortunately for Warren, all other speeches Wednesday night were dwarfed by that of former President Bill Clinton. Read More »
Wednesday September 05, 2012
In a voice vote today at the Democratic National Committee, an amendment to the party platform was pushed through – despite heavy opposition – to include language stating that "Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths." Read More »
Wednesday September 05, 2012
Unfortunately, criticism from the “deluded and devout” was loud enough today for the platform committee to push through an amendment putting the Jerusalem language back into the platform at the last minute. Read More »
Wednesday September 05, 2012
A District Judge struck down a proposed early voting schedule that would have given three more voting days to members of the military and individuals living abroad. Read More »
#NC lawmaker equates Islamic prayer w/ terror http://t.co/G9sp1NeLC1 @mostrolenk @aaiusa h/t @ozzyformayor
about 7 hours, 51 minutes ago.
Latest poll to be released Friday finds Americans are divided on continuing aid to #Egypt: http://t.co/1spZM1m9d2
about 10 hours, 31 minutes ago.
RT @MaiE_89: In the 1990’s, #Egypt had a 60% favorable rating among Americans, while today only 36% of US views the country positively via @AAIUSA
about 10 hours, 35 minutes ago.
Looking at Iran by James Zogby
Kahlil Gibran Awards Gala - April 16, 2013President Obama got it just about perfect in his Jerusalem speech when he urged Israelis to see the world through the eyes of Palestinians. That portion of his remarks was so compelling it deserves to be quoted in full: Read More »
Air Date: 5/31/2012
Fellows from Syracuse University’s “Leaders for Democracy Fellowship Program (LDF); Bill Press, Host of the “Bill Press Show” and author of the new book, The Obama Hate Machine: The Lies, Distortions, and Personal Attacks on the President---and Who Is Behind Them. Read More »
The story of Arab Americans coming of age as an organized community is a classic American tale of immigrants seeking opportunity, benefiting from America’s freedoms, but also experiencing, at times, the dark side of exclusion and discrimination that has so often been a part of our nation’s history. Read More »
Apr 16 2013
Apr 27 2013
Jul 19 2013
