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Blog — Issues
Thursday September 20, 2012
By Jennine Vari
During a discussion following the film, activist Moriel Rothman was asked about the success of the Solidarity movement. He responded that even though the movement has not been able to return Palestinians to their homes, the outcome in Sheikh Jarrah has not been a failure. He calls it an “invisible success” because they have at least been able to temporarily stop the forced evictions. Wingert-Jabi and the whole production team inject a personal element into this aspect of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but there is a still a long way to go. “We just want our country back,” said Mohammad, “We just want to live our lives.” Read More »
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Thursday September 20, 2012
This week, some civil rights activists have organized rallies and protests around the state, while others are manning hotlines to advise people of their rights if they’re questioned. A Department of Justice hotline, established in June 2012, continues to operate in the state. Civil liberties advocates like Leticia Ramirez are suggesting that legal immigrants provide only their name and date of birth — but no documents showing their place of birth — in protest of the law. Read More »
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Thursday September 20, 2012
Yesterday, The Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights held a hearing entitled “Hate Crimes and the Threat of Domestic Extremism.” Attendance at the hearing and the number of organizations submitting written testimony for the record were quite large, displaying a heartening level of solidarity with communities affected by hate crimes. AAI took an active role in the effort to urge for this hearing in the wake of recent attacks on places of worship across the country. Read More »
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Thursday September 20, 2012
But this is not just about Romney being out-of-step with his own country and party on this issue, it's also about him having gotten things backwards. This attitude of unthinkingly going along with Israel’s objections to Palestinian self-determination is not the outcome of this conflict being unsolvable; it is precisely what will keep this conflict from being solved. Read More »
Posted by Omar Baddar at 9:39 am / / Leave a comment
Tuesday September 18, 2012
AAI president James Zogby appeared on Andrea Mitchell Reports today to discuss anti-U.S. protests unfolding in several Arab and Muslim countries throughout the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Now in their second week, the inability and perceived unwillingness to deal with protestors and calm public sentiment in several countries have cast doubt about the future relationships of the U.S. and many of its key allies like Egypt. Read More »
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Tuesday September 18, 2012
The Arab American Institute (AAI) and the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) have adopted a logo for National Voter Registration Day on September 25. The Logo, designed by Nabil Ahmed Khatri, a high school student from Queens, New York with his own graphic design business, will be worn by thousands of Arab American volunteers across a number of states participating in efforts to register voters for the upcoming November elections. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 10:35 am / / Leave a comment
Monday September 17, 2012
As for the anti-American sentiment that does exist in the Middle East, it has just as much to do with “their culture” and “our freedom” as anti-Arab and anti-Muslim views here in the U.S. have to do with “our religion” and “their falafel and hummus.” Just as hate here builds when the bigots exploit tragedies like 9/11 to foment the anti-Arab/Muslim sentiments, hate there builds when fanatics exploit a wide range of terrible American policies to promote anti-Americanism. Read More »
Posted by Omar Baddar at 5:18 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday September 17, 2012
On September 19, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to convene a hearing on hate crimes and domestic extremism. While the hearing has been spurred, in part, by the recent tragedy in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, it will seek to elevate the concerns surrounding hate crimes and domestic extremism that all communities and Americans face in this country. Read More »
Posted by Samer Araabi at 3:56 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday September 14, 2012
The good news: U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest dealt a severe blow to the practice of indefinite detention by deciding to make her injunction permanent. The bad news: the House has voted to reauthorize warrantless wiretapping for another five years. Read More »
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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 »
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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 »
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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 »
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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 »
Posted by Samer Araabi at 12:53 pm / / Leave a comment
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 »
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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 »
Posted by Frank Matt at 3:37 pm / / Leave a comment
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 »
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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 »
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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 »
Posted by Jeffrey Wright at 8:43 am / / Leave a comment
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 »
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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 »
Posted by Omar Baddar at 3:04 pm / / Leave a comment
Looking at Iran by James Zogby
Kahlil Gibran Awards Gala - April 16, 2013
