Opinions
Opinions
We do exist: Why the Palestinian voice should take center stage
November 24th, 20210 At a recent New York event, the president of the Foreign Press Association, Ian Williams, declared, before an approving audience, that it is time “to reclaim the narrative on Palestine.” This phrase — “reclaiming the narrative” — is relatively new to the Palestinian discourse. Years ago, the concept, let alone its...
What’s really on trial in Kenosha and Glynn County?
November 19th, 20211 — This article by Abdul El-Sayed originally appeared in the newsletter The Incision. It has been edited for style. Subscribe to The Incision here: incision.substack.com Last week, Kyle Rittenhouse pulled a Brett Kavanaugh and ugly cried on the witness stand in a desperate plea for sympathy. His made-for-Twitter hysterics were...
A long journey to a “historic” election
November 5th, 20210 This week, headlines regarding Tuesday’s election across local, national and international media included some version of the word "historic." Not surprising when one takes into consideration that three Arab American candidates in some of the state’s densest cities enjoyed landslide victories for mayoral races: Amer Ghalib in...
Just how does Biden differ from Trump on Palestine?
October 31st, 20210 When Joe Biden was declared the winner in the U.S. elections last November, expectations in Ramallah were high. A Biden administration, compared to the brazenly pro-Israel Trump administration, would surely be much fairer to Palestinians, was the conventional wisdom at the time. Hence, unsurprisingly, Palestinian Authority President...
Let us make history on November 2
October 30th, 20211 Elections are always important. That is why, in every election since its inception, The Arab American News has encouraged the Arab American community to be involved in the decision-making process and to show up to vote and run for public offices. This local election is no different in terms of importance, but it is also unique in the...
Why we chose not to endorse either candidate for Hamtramck mayor
October 30th, 20210 Endorsing candidates for important offices is a major responsibility for local organizations and newspapers. For an ethnic newspaper, the voice of the community we advocate for has to be taken into consideration, as should the issues that affect it the most. But decisions on endorsements cannot simply come about with a superficial...
Dearborn, beware of rumors, haters and dividers in this election season
October 23rd, 20210 As much as we all hope and work for better outcomes, it seems as though Dearborn cannot have an election season without anonymous and false attacks and rumors. For the last few days, some individuals have been circulating on social media and through chats what they claim is a statement (in Arabic and English) issued by “Arab...
What Michigan’s Yemeni community can teach Democrats
October 22nd, 20210 — This article by Abdul El-Sayed originally appeared in the newsletter The Incision. It has been edited for style. Subscribe to The Incision here: incision.substack.com About a month after my 2018 Michigan gubernatorial campaign ended, I sat among Yemeni American community leaders in the enclave of South Dearborn. With large,...
Colin Powell, not a hero
October 22nd, 20210 — Iqbal Jassat is an acclaimed writer, analyst and commentator and one of the founding members of Media Review Network. This article, edited for style, also appears in the Palestine Chronicle Will Colin Powell be remembered as America’s hero or as a war criminal? Since his death a few days ago, there appears to be a rush to...
Concerns regarding surveillance in Dearborn Schools
October 21st, 20210 The recent Dearborn City Council approval for the police department’s access of live video feed inside public schools may have the unintended consequence of exposing students to varying levels of harm. Hence, we have serious concerns that the current policy of allowing Dearborn Police real-time monitoring of students should be...
The cultural genocide in Palestine: On Sally Rooney’s decision to Boycott Israel
October 20th, 20210 The pro-Israel crowd on social media was quick to pounce on award-winning Irish novelist Sally Rooney as soon as she declared that she had “chosen not to sell… translation rights of her best-selling novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You to an Israeli-based publishing house.” Expectedly, the accusations centered on the standard...
Dearborn Arab American community in danger of losing representation in Lansing
October 16th, 20210 — Amer Zahr is a comedian, writer, speaker and adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law I have been closely following the Michigan redistricting process as it pertains to Dearborn and the State House. I presented once in front of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) on Sept. 7...
In redistricting, minority communities have a chance to demand fair representation and resources
October 16th, 20210 – Dr. Hayg Oshagan is a professor at Wayne State University, co-chair of the Detroit City Council Immigration Task Force and the director of New Michigan Media We are entering the final phase of the redistricting process in Michigan. As you know, Michigan voters passed a law in 2018 that redistricting in our state would be done by...
Climate choices: Scenes from 2050
October 9th, 20210 A yellow-gray haze stains Midwestern skies. Fueled by years of drought and record-setting heat, smoke from the annual devastation of Western wildfires mixes with that from fires spreading across Wisconsin and Minnesota’s Northwoods. Tired of running on an indoor treadmill since May, a young man from Detroit joins his friends for a...
Facebook is a public health hazard
October 8th, 20210 — This article by Abdul El-Sayed originally appeared in the newsletter The Incision. It has been edited for style. Subscribe to The Incision here: incision.substack.com On Tuesday, former Facebook data scientist Frances Haugen testified before a Senate subcommittee, putting words to what we all knew but couldn’t quite......
Racial justice vs. the Israel lobby: When being pro-Palestine becomes the new normal
October 7th, 20210 There is an unmistakable shift in American politics regarding Palestine and Israel, a change that is inspired by the way in which many Americans, especially the youth, view the Palestinian struggle and the Israeli occupation. While this shift is yet to translate into tangibly diminishing Israel’s stronghold over the U.S. Congress, it...
Building momentum across Hamtramck Public Schools
October 6th, 20210 As superintendent, it is my honor to personally greet our children as they return to school each fall. This year is just as exciting to me—if not more so—as we are once more welcoming students back in person. Teachers, administrators and students alike have been eager to start school together again, and it’s a joy to experience...
The untold story of why Palestinians are divided
October 3rd, 20210 The political division in Palestinian society is deep-rooted and must not be reduced to convenient claims about the “Hamas-Fatah split”, elections, the Oslo accords and subsequent disagreements. The division is linked to events that preceded all of these, and not even the death or incapacitation of the octogenarian Mahmoud Abbas will...
From the “iron wall” to the “villa in the jungle”: Palestinians demolish Israel’s security myths
September 19th, 20210 Twenty-five years before Israel was established on the ruins of historic Palestine, a Russian Jewish Zionist leader, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, argued that a Jewish state in Palestine could only survive if it exists “behind an iron wall” of defense. Jabotinsky was speaking figuratively. However, future Zionist leaders, who embraced......
Hashtag “untie_our_hands”: How many more Palestinians must die for Israel’s “security”?
September 12th, 20210 A large Israeli army campaign is taking social media by storm. The unstated aim of what is known as the “#Untie_Our_Hands” initiative is the desire to kill, with no accountability, more Palestinian protesters at the Gaza fence. The campaign was motivated by the killing of an Israeli sniper, Barel Hadaria Shmueli, who was reportedly...
Muslim Americans 20 years later
September 10th, 20210 — This article by Abdul El-Sayed originally appeared in the newsletter The Incision. It has been edited for style. Subscribe to The Incision here: incision.substack.com Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives on that fateful day. We......
On propaganda and failed narratives: New understanding of Afghanistan is a must
September 6th, 20210 For 20 years, two dominant narratives have shaped our view of the illegal U.S. invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, and neither one of these narratives would readily accept the use of such terms as “illegal”, “invasion” and “occupation.” The framing of the U.S. “military intervention” in Afghanistan, starting on...
Ending U.S. support for Israeli racism
September 4th, 20210 Israel and its Zionist supporters do not hesitate to peddle propaganda claiming that it is “the Middle East’s sole democracy.” According to them, Israel is a unique sanctuary of democracy, freedom and pluralism that protects its citizens’ rights. But this is an outright lie. Democracy in Israel only applies to Jewish Israelis,......
