Author Archives: Arab America

Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker harshly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the J Street conference in Washington on Monday, echoing White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough’s comments earlier in the day.

Baker acknowledged his disappointment with “the lack of progress regarding a lasting peace,” saying that the chances for a two-state solution diminished since Netanyahu’s reelection last week.

Baker further slammed Netanyahu’s “diplomatic missteps and political gamesmanship,” saying that the prime minister’s “actions have not matched his rhetoric,” according to Politico.

Earlier in the day, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough offered a similar rebuke of Netanyahu – specifically the prime minister’s claims that no Palestinian state would be established on his watch.

“We cannot simply pretend that those comments were never made,” McDonough told the conference.

Baker continued by claiming that hardliners on both sides are the biggest impediment to peace.

Source: www.haaretz.com

The handsome and shy Syrian kid who won Arab Idol last year is coming to North America in a tour. But he is not coming alone. Along with him comes the popular and charismatic Arab Idol runner up from the same season Palestinian Haitham Khalaily.

Source: hotarabicmusic.blogspot.fr

Cruz receives extended applause after criticizing Obama’s relationship with Israel.

Source: www.jpost.com

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Mona Hussein’s diabetes and hypertension, acquired during a pregnancy two years ago, have pushed her to see a dietitian. Her social life has deteriorated due to her obesity, as she now weighs 95 kilograms (209 pounds).

Hussein, 30, told Al-Monitor, “My desire to wear a smaller size has increased my excitement. I want to participate in all social occasions without being ashamed [of my body]. Not to mention the awkward situations I found myself in and the criticism against my figure that worsened due to my excessive weight.”

Though Mona was concerned about the possible repercussions of a diet on her health, she found a doctor who has helped her adopt a diet to help her lose weight in a healthy fashion. She believes she has made the right choice.

Samah Khaled, 26, from Gaza City, believes that her excess weight has stood in the way of her finding a husband, so five months ago she consulted a dietitian and has now lost over 40 kilograms (88 pounds). 

“In an attempt to change my social life and enter a new phase, especially since most of my friends are now married, I decided to resort to a dietitian to lose weight and have a better figure. I was more convinced by the idea of diets after meeting women who lost a large part of their body weight,” she explained.

Samah said that her psychological state has improved since her weight loss, as have her chances at finding a husband.

Obesity has become prevalent in the Gaza Strip, as confirmed by the increasing demand on dietitians. Ata Qaisi, health care consultant and owner of Gaza City’s Diet Center, said obesity can have negative repercussions on a person’s life, making him or her more vulnerable to hypertension, diabetes and joint pain. Obese women are also more susceptible to pregnancy complications and miscarriages, according to Qaisi.

Source: www.al-monitor.com

The United Nations declared that the nonmember state of Palestine will become a full legal member in the ICC on April 1. Palestine will reportedly sue Israel for war crimes in the Gaza Strip, as well as the perpetual war crimes in terms of the illegal settlements in the occupied territories.

The move toward a proactive strategy comes after years of futile negotiations with an Israeli protagonist that talks about peace, but acts with tanks and bulldozers. Now that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s anti-peace and racist ideology has become public, the rest of the world has seen what Palestinians have known for decades: that the Israelis are not serious about peace.

Despite this prophetic knowledge, however, Palestinian options are limited. Short of a violent uprising, which in the past has brought disastrous results, the Palestinians’ main option is to help further isolate Israel internationally and to make its occupation costly.

Source: www.al-monitor.com

Hamas media adviser Taher al-Nunu told Al-Monitor, “The campaign was launched as the deadline to appeal the EU court ruling taking Hamas off its terror list approached [March 18]. The campaign targeted the Western public, with the objective of delivering messages expressing Hamas’ ideas, to the effect that Hamas is not a terrorist group but a national liberation movement, and that the Israeli occupation is the real terrorist.”

He added, “The media campaign has focused on social media [namely Twitter], in a question and answer format, to convey the truth to the largest segment in the Western street, which showed solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

Hamas was keen to include in the campaign various political, military and female leaders, most notably Ismail Haniyeh, the deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau; Rouhi Mushtaha, a former prisoner and member of Hamas’ political bureau; and member of parliament Huda Naim.

Source: www.al-monitor.com

Of all the idiocies uttered in reaction to Benjamin Netanyahu’s stunning election victory, none is more ubiquitous than the idea that peace prospects are now dead because Netanyahu has declared that there will be no Palestinian state while he is Israel’s prime minister.

I have news for the lowing herds: There would be no peace and no Palestinian state if Isaac Herzog were prime minister either. Or Ehud Barak or Ehud Olmert for that matter. The latter two were (non-Likud) prime ministers who offered the Palestinians their own state — with its capital in Jerusalem and every Israeli settlement in the new Palestine uprooted — only to be rudely rejected.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

“Solidarity between women can be a powerful force of change, and can influence future development in ways favorable not only to women but also to men.” –Dr. Nawal El Saadawi The pain, the hunger, and the magnitude of loss and suffering of women all over the world, and especially in Occupied Palestine, Gaza, Iraq and … Continued

The leader of one of Christianity’s oldest communities reluctantly says that waging war against ISIS – killing their fighters – is the only way to stop the radical Islamists from destroying Christianity in Iraq. Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil speaks to Lara Logan for her report on the plight of thousands of Christians forced to flee ancestral homes from ISIS. Her story will be broadcast on 60 Minutes Sunday, March 22 AT 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Source: www.cbsnews.com

The reading of the US pledge of allegiance in Arabic at a school in upstate New York on Wednesday has sparked controversy and backlash across the country.

The plan was for the pledge of allegiance to be read in a different language each day to celebrate National Foreign Language Week, but when a student at Pine Bush High School read it in Arabic, she was harassed and called a terrorist.

Senior class president Andrew Zink, 18, approved the reading and stands by his decision, despite the school issuing a formal apology to angry parents and community members.

Zink told AFP he had received threats on Twitter. Veterans who live in the area told US media they opposed the pledge being read in any language other than English.

Local newspaper the Times Herald-Record said school superintendent Joan Carbone received complaints from residents who had lost relatives in Afghanistan – a non-Arab country whose main languages are Pashto and Dari – and from Jewish parents.

Pine Bush Central School District apologised and said that from now on, the pledge of allegiance will be recited only in English.

A statement on its website said the intention had been to celebrate Foreign Language Week and “the many races, cultures and religions that make up this great country and our school district”.

“We sincerely apologise to any students, staff or community members who found this activity disrespectful,” it said.

Anger over apology

But the apology has angered Zink and others who say language has nothing to do with what it means to be American.

“Many people were angered about [the] reading, but an equal amount are angered by the apology, so now everyone’s mad,” Zink said.

“America or even American isn’t defined in what language you speak in, but the ideas you believe in.”

Zink, who described Pine Bush as predominantly white, said the incident showed the small town is “not willing to accept other groups of people”.

Zink has also received a generous amount of support on Twitter following the backlash, with Twitter users praising his move as a bold push for acceptance and diversity.

Source: www.middleeasteye.net

Think of “Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet” as a gift: a work of essential spiritual enlightenment, elegantly interpreted by nine of the world’s leading independent animators, all tied up and wrapped in a family-friendly bow by “The Lion King” director Roger Allers. A longtime passion project for producer Salma Hayek-Pinault, Lebanese philosopher-poet Gibran’s cherished guide to life, death, love, art and so forth doesn’t naturally lend itself to bigscreen interpretation, and at first, the pic’s framing device seems too silly for such soulful subject matter. But the freshly scripted wraparound doesn’t shy away from grown-up concerns, while potentially broadening the book’s reach to younger audiences as well. Although Hayek had hoped to land a higher-profile distrib, she will probably have better luck with the toon champs at GKids, whose white-glove release efforts have netted six Oscar nominations so far.

Source: variety.com

Two major film productions have just wrapped their shoots in Jordan: British Science-Fiction “The Martian” and Palestinian drama “Arab Idol”, the Royal Film Commission (RFC) said Monday. 

The latest movie by British director Ridley Scott, “The Martian”, filmed for eight days in Wadi Rum, ending ahead of schedule last Tuesday. 

The film stars American actors Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain and Michael Pena, among others. It is based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, according to the RFC.

“The filming took place in Wadi Rum, South of Jordan, known as the Valley of the Moon; an iconic landscape used in films as far back as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’,” the commission said in a statement.

Scott said Wadi Rum deserves to be the eighth wonder of the world — an opinion shared by the film’s producer, Mark Huffam. 

“For Ridley, we had to find the most amazing, out of the world scenery location. We looked at other places, but we already knew how spectacular Wadi Rum is,” the statement quoted Huffman as saying. 

Other well-known movies have used the same landscapes to stand-in for Mars, such as “Red Planet” by Anthony Hoffman, “The Last Days on Mars” by Ruairi Robinson and “Mission to Mars” by Brian de Palma. 

Scott, an Academy Award-nominee who was knighted in 2003 for his contribution to the British film industry — described the Jordanian crew working with him as “fast thinkers and fast workers”.  

The director said he felt totally at ease in Jordan. 

“I think it is perfect here and I’m very happy”.  

As for Huffam, he said he believes there are currently very few safer places in the world and added that the security advisers of 20th Century Fox Studios “very rightly reassured everybody”. 

The producer also praised the full-fledged cooperation of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, the Royal Jordanian Air Force and the RFC, as well as the support of His Majesty King Abdullah himself and the chairman and founder of the RFC, HRH Prince Ali.

“The Martian” marks Scott’s fourth sci-fi film — after “Alien”, “Blade Runner” and “Prometheus” — and the 26th film he has directed so far.  

Scott’s films have won 22 international awards and have been nominated for some 45 awards.

Almost simultaneously, Palestinian Director Hany Abu Asad — whose previous successes include “Rana’s Wedding” as well as two Oscar-nominated internationally acclaimed movies “Paradise Now” and “Omar” — wrapped a five-day shoot in Amman and the Dead Sea. 

“Arab Idol” is a drama inspired by the true story of Gazan singer Mohammad Assaf, who won the reality TV contest in 2013. 

The film is set in Beirut and Cairo. But for political, economic and artistic reasons, as Abu Asad explained, Jordan was chosen to replace the two cities.

The director, who was filming for the first time in an Arab country other than Palestine, said he felt comfortable and happy working in Jordan, voicing his pride in what he and the Jordanian crew achieved, according to the RFC statement.

Nadine Labaki, the renowned Lebanese director and actress (“Caramel”, “Where Do We Go Now?”), stars in the movie and was very pleased with her filming experience in Jordan, mainly, she said, because of the “passionate and highly professional crew”. 

On a more personal note, Labaki said she was touched by her interaction with the people in Jordan, where she has gained popularity among film fans.

Source: www.albawaba.com