Three Views: Obama's Visit to Israel
President Barack Obama shakes hands with Palestinian children during a visit to the Church of the Nativity in the occupied West Bank town of Bethlehem, March 22, 2013. (ATEF SAFADI-POOL/GETTY IMAGES)
Grave Threats to the Middle East
Lebanese Kurds wave the Kurdish flag and a flag picturing Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan during Persian New Year, or Noruz, celebrations in Beirut, March 21, 2013. (JOSEPH EID/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
To the Victor, the Spoils
Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lipid (c) with former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who resigned his position after being indicted on charges of fraud and breach of trust, at the Feb. 5 swearing in of the 19th Knesset. (URIEL SINAI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Getting the Words Right: Israel Isn’t Occupying Palestine—It’s Conquered It
Israeli soldiers take pictures of each other in front of Israel’s illegal apartheid wall near the Qalandia checkpoint outside Ramallah, March 30, 2013. Israeli troops earlier had clashed with Palestinian demonstrators commemorating the 37th anniversary of “Land Day.” (ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
The Cyrus Cylinder—Often Referred to as The “First Bill of Human Rights”
Clay, Babylon, Mesopotamia, after 539 BCE D x H: 7.8-10 x 21.9-22.8 cm British Museum, London, ME 90920 Photo: ©The Trustees of the British Museum
Two Views: King Pyrrhus and the War on Iraq
Prosthetic legs for wounded American soldiers at the Center for Intrepid rehabilitation gym at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX, Aug. 7, 2012. (JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES)
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, August 2006, page 56
Arab-American Activism
American-Arab Conference Honors, Inspires Community
Rahim AlHaj, who was forced to leave Iraq in 1991 and is now based in Albuquerque, NM, performs at ADC (Staff photo M. Horton).
THE AMERIAN-ARAB Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) held its 26th annual convention at the Wardman Park Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC from June 15-18. Banquets, panel discussions, films, music, artwork, and exhibition booths laden with embroidery, pottery and books illustrated this year’s theme: “Celebrating Our Heritage: Building Our Future.”
Attendees spent the first day of the conference lobbying members of Congress on Capitol Hill. Prince Turki Al Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S., hosted a reception at the Embassy featuring delicious Middle Eastern food. Following the reception, an Open Mic/DJ party was held back at the hotel.
The following day, June 16, Mike Wallace, senior correspondent for “60 Minutes,” woke up the audience at a panel discussion about the media. He challenged the audience to provide examples of anti-Arab discrimination. Arab-Americans took the bait, telling tales of terrible bias, and a lively discussion ensued.
Friday’s luncheon featured Col. Larry Wilkerson, former Department of State chief of staff and author of Is the U.S. Being Transformed into a Radical Republic? Bachar Sbeiti, a brilliant 6-year-old Lebanese Canadian, received ADC’s Child Achievement award. ADC presented its Lifetime Policy Achievement Award to Clovis Maksoud, who served as Arab League ambassador to the United Nations and to the United States, and who is now a professor of international relations and director of the Center for the Global South at American University in Washington, DC.
—Delinda C. Hanley
