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Thursday February 28, 2013
Yesterday, Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) circulated a letter to her colleagues announcing her intention to introduce the “Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Terrorism Act of 2013,” a bill that will require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop training programs on counterterrorism and violent extremism in the US that are “consistent with our constitutional rights.” Read More »
Posted by Yasmine Taeb at 5:10 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday February 28, 2013
AAI President Jim Zogby will deliver a presentation at the Woodrow Wilson Center next Tuesday on the results of a 20-nation poll of Arab and Muslim attitudes toward Iran. The Wilson Center has organized an impressive panel of experts to comment on the findings. The poll, which will become available Tuesday at 12:30pm, was conducted by Zogby Research Services (ZRS)and shows significant shifts in attitudes across the region that have occurred in just the past six years, all of which have serious policy implications: Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 4:14 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday February 28, 2013
By Jennine Vari
Leeor Kaufman is a Brooklyn-based photographer from Israel, who began documenting the daily lives of Palestinian villagers and took a particular interest in a small village in the West Bank called Wadi Fuqin. Read More »
Posted by Guest at 3:12 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday February 27, 2013
Now that the Hagel confirmation fight is over, we can look back at what a strange and sad spectacle it’s been: Senators quoting the fever dreams of conservative activists on the Senate floor, McCarthyite insinuations of guilt by association, men who received Vietnam-era draft deferments questioning the patriotism of a man with two Purple Hearts, and attempts to smear Hagel merely because of his association with organizations representing Arab Americans, including AAI. Read More »
Posted by Jeffrey Wright at 2:45 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday February 27, 2013
Today, the Supreme Court hears arguments on one of the most important legislative initiatives from the Civil Rights era: the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The VRA ensures that all eligible American citizens are able to vote, unimpeded by processes or regulations— from literacy tests and English-only ballots, to moving polling places and redistricting— that could effectively disenfranchise ethnic minorities. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 1:36 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday February 26, 2013
The Senate finally approved Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense today, culminating a month-long ordeal of attacks, character assassinations, and questions about the Republican former Senator's loyalty to the United States. Read More »
Posted by Samer Araabi at 4:55 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday February 26, 2013
The administration’s drone policy has been the center of attention in part because of the nomination of John Brennan for director of the CIA. Read More »
Posted by Yasmine Taeb at 12:31 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday February 25, 2013
The outcry of Palestinian prisoners held on administrative detention sheds light on Israel’s ongoing human and civil rights abuses of the Palestinian people. Read More »
Posted by Johara Hall at 11:57 am / / Leave a comment
Friday February 22, 2013
By Jade Zoghbi
Emad Burnat, his wife Soraya, and their son Gibreel were on their way to Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony when the family was stopped and threatened to be sent back home from the Los Angeles International Airport. Read More »
Posted by Guest at 12:35 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday February 19, 2013
Today, Senators Dick Durbin and Dianne Feinstein released the names of 26 Senators, all Democrats, who signed a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller to revise the FBI Hate Crime Incident Report Form (1-699) to allow for the collection and tracking of hate crimes committed against Sikhs, Hindus, and Arab Americans. There have been other congressional initiatives to track crimes against Sikhs, but the Durbin/Feinstein letter is the first time Arab Americans have been included. On the House side, Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) is seeking signatures for his own letter which includes all three communities. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 5:20 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday February 19, 2013
By Jennine Vari
Mideastwire.com is now accepting applications for its annual exchange program in Tunis, Tunisia. Read More »
Posted by Guest at 11:36 am / / Leave a comment
Friday February 15, 2013
Connecting Cultures, a unique educational initiative that takes place in the deserts of Oman, is designed to promote intercultural dialogue as well as raise cultural awareness Read More »
Posted by Johara Hall at 2:32 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday February 15, 2013
By Jade Zoghbi
The video depicts Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, a UC Santa Cruz lecturer, who made outrageous accusations and comments towards the MSA and Palestinian groups Read More »
Posted by Guest at 1:53 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday February 13, 2013
Today AAI hosted a virtual brownbag discussion on Syria, featuring two Arab American activists with very different perspectives on the conflict. Both speakers participated in a lively debate with each other and dozens of online viewers, who submitted questions via Twitter and Livestream. Read More »
Posted by Samer Araabi at 4:30 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday February 13, 2013
She was strip-searched and jailed for more than four hours based on complaints that she, along with the two other men sitting on her row, were “conducting suspicious activity” during a flight. Read More »
Posted by Johara Hall at 2:39 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday February 13, 2013
Join the conversation Wednesday at noon on Twitter and tune in to our livestream channel as we host a conversation on Syria with two engaged Arab Americans with different perspectives. Watch during your lunch hour and tweet your questions and comments to us @AAIUSA using the hashtag #Syria. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 7:44 am / / Leave a comment
Tuesday February 12, 2013
President Obama will deliver his fifth State of the Union address tonight, amidst a flurry of political activity on the Hill. The speech will be his first substantive foray into the political agenda of his second administration, and many are hoping to get a sense of Obama’s priorities for the coming years. Read More »
Posted by Samer Araabi at 4:26 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday February 12, 2013
There is a problem with the way federal law enforcement tracks hate crimes aimed at the Arab American community: they don’t. In the past ten years, there have been more than 800 incidents involving “violence, threats, vandalism, and arson against persons perceived to be Muslim or to be of Arab, Middle Eastern, or South Asian origin.” Federal charges have been brought in only a handful of cases, with only 45 convictions as of March 29, 2011. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 2:55 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday February 11, 2013
By Jade Zoghbi
The scholarship will support young adolescents and college students of Arab descent (of any of the Arab League countries) at the undergraduate level. Read More »
Posted by Guest at 10:11 am / / Leave a comment
Friday February 08, 2013
By Jennine Vari
The injunction against the NYPD is seeking to end the investigations of Muslims communities without evidence of unlawful activity. Read More »
Posted by Guest at 12:27 pm / / Leave a comment
Looking at Iran by James Zogby
Kahlil Gibran Awards Gala - April 16, 2013
