Date:

December 31, 2008

Ali Abunimah
Fellow at the Palestine Center in Washington, DC, an expert on Palestine and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, co-founder of Electronic Intifada, and author of the book "One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse".

On Saturday, December 27, Israel launched an all-out-war on the Gaza Strip dropping hundreds of tons of bombs using US-supplied Israeli F-16 warplanes and Apache helicopters.  In just 5 days, Israel has murdered more than 397 Palestinians and injured more than 2,000 including men, women and children (and the number of victims is rising by the hour).  We will talk with Ali Abunimah about this latest Israeli massacre and ongoing war crimes.

Date:

December 24, 2008

Richard Falk
UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territories, who tried to visit occupied Palestine last week, but was detained by Israel, denied entry and then was expelled.  Mr. Falk is a professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University and is currently a visiting professor at Chapman Law School. He is author of more than fifty books on war, human rights and international law.

The worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip as a result of the ongoing Israeli siege, and Israel's detention and expulsion of Mr. Falk, while Israel prepares for what seems to be a major attack on the Gaza Strip.

Date:

December 17, 2008

Laila Al-Qatami
Communications and Cultural Affairs Director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), and a member of the National Board of Directors for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The newly released report by the ADC about "Hate Crimes and Discrimination Against Arab Americans". The report spans four years and examines: hate crimes and discrimination; civil liberties concerns; discrimination and bias in primary and secondary educational institutions; discrimination and political harassment campaigns in higher education; defamation in the media; communication and cooperation between community organizations and government agencies; and recommendations for the future.

Date:

December 10, 2008

Robert Naiman
Senior Policy Analyst and National Coordinator at Just Foreign Policy who edits the Just Foreign Policy daily news summary and writes a blog on Huffington Post. Naiman has studied and worked in the Middle East, and also worked as a policy analyst and researcher at the Center for Economic and Policy Research and Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch.

President-elect Barack Obama's foreign policy team and how the new administration will handle and/or change (if any) the U.S. foreign policy, especially towards the Middle East.

Date:

December 3, 2008

Mohammed "Mo" Amer
Arab American comedian of Palestinian origin with sharp-witted comedy that appealed to a broad international spectrum. Mohammed Amer not only continuously performs at comedy clubs, but also is the newest member of “Allah Made Me Funny”, the official Muslim comedy tour.

Mohammed's unique talent and how he uses this gift to promote understanding between the Muslim community and the non-Muslim peoples of the world.

Date:

November 26, 2008

Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General of the United Nations

Speeches and comments made this week at the United Nations during the special session held in observance of the International Solidarity Day with the Palestinian People (held on November 29 of every year).

Date:

November 19, 2008

Sami Rasouli
Iraqi-American human rights and peace activist, founder and director of Muslim Peacemaker Teams based in Najaf, who currently lives in Najaf in occupied Iraq after leaving the U.S. to be with his people during the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.

Mr. Rasouli will be joining us live via phone from Najaf in occupied Iraq to talk about the current situation in occupied Iraq, the affects of the U.S.-led occupation on the people and life in Iraq, the new U.S.-Iraqi security pact, the work of Muslim Peacemaker Teams, and much more.

Date:

November 12, 2008

Anna Baltzer
Jewish American Columbia graduate, Fulbright scholar, author, and the granddaughter of Holocaust refugees. As a volunteer with the International Women's Peace Service, Baltzer documents human rights abuses in the West Bank and supports Palestinian-led nonviolent resistance to the Israeli Occupation of Palestine.

Anna's eyewitness account of life in occupied Palestine, the Israeli measures against the Palestinian people, and her book Witness in Palestine.
 
Note: Anna Baltzer will be in Houston on Wednesday, November 19 presenting "Life in Occupied Palestine: Eyewitness Stories & Photos". Click here for more information.

Date:

November 5, 2008

Dr. Seema Jilani
Medical Doctor and a reporter for Pacifica radio and KPFT in Houston. She has traveled to Israel, Occupied Palestine, Lebanon & Sudan. Dr. Jilani dedicates her time to promoting peace through healthcare, counseling and human rights issues around the world. She is currently on a trip to Lebanon with a Jewish Doctor from Jewish Voices for Peace.

Dr. Alice Rothchild
A Jewish American physician who has worked in the health care reform and women’s movements for many years, but has focused much of her energy on understanding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.  She is author of Broken Promises, Broken Dreams: Stories of Jewish and Palestinian Trauma and Resilience.

Dr. Jilani and Dr. Rothchild will be joining us live via phone from Beirut, Lebanon to discuss their visit to the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, Western media coverage of the region, healthcare issues and the Palestinian refugee crisis, among other topics.

Date:

October 29, 2008

U.S. Presidential Elections, U.S. Attack on Syria and Membership Drive
   

Membership Drive

Date:

October 22, 2008

Robert Fisk
World renowned journalist and Middle East correspondent for the British newspaper The Independent, who has lived and reported from the Middle East for 32 years and covered 11 major wars, as well as countless insurgencies and massacres. He is author of several publications including Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War, The Great War for Civilization: the Conquest of the Middle East, and the newly released book The Age of the Warrior.
  

Membership Drive

Arab Voices was preempted for a special KPFT live coverage of the U.S. presidential debate.

Date:

October 8, 2008

Dr. James Zogby
Founder and president of the Arab American Institute, co-founder and served as the Executive Director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, a lecturer and scholar on Middle East issues, U.S.-Arab relations and the history of the Arab American community, author of several books and articles, and host of "Viewpoint” TV program.

The 2008 U.S. Presidential elections (to be held in less than one month); the importance of participating in the electoral process; issues that worry the Arab American community and other communities such as the U.S. Foreign Policy, the occupation of Iraq and Palestine, the economy, FISA, FBI guidelines and civil liberties amongst others; and AAI's Yalla Vote Campaign.

Date:

October 1, 2008  

Robert Fisk
World renowned journalist and Middle East correspondent for the British newspaper The Independent, who has lived and reported from the Middle East for 32 years and covered 11 major wars, as well as countless insurgencies and massacres. He is author of several publications including Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War, The Great War for Civilization: the Conquest of the Middle East, and the newly released book The Age of the Warrior.

Fisk's experience and eyewitness accounts of events in the Middle East; the British and U.S. Foreign Policies and their affects on the Middle East; and his newly released book The Age of the Warrior, in which Fisk’s eloquent and far-ranging articles on international politics have been brought together in a single volume for the first time, taking us from the London bombings to the streets of Lebanon, from war-torn Iraq to the destruction of the Middle East, offering courageous, eyewitness accounts of our bloodstained past and present.

Date:

September 24, 2008

Nathalie Handal
One of the most highly regarded Palestinian poets, writers and playwrights in the Diaspora, a well-known cultural and literary activist who was named as one of the ten Arab writers of note. Her poetry has been set to music, and featured in numerous galleries and traveling exhibits worldwide.

Nathalie's participation and performance at the "Arab Women in Poetry and Performance" series, sponsored by the Arab American Educational Foundation that was held at Rice University to give tribute to Arab Women and to showcase their contributions and explain their role in Arab societies.

Date:

September 17, 2008

KPFT 90.1 FM lost power when Hurricane Ike hit Houston.  As a result, Arab Voices did not air on Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Date:

September 10, 2008

Marwan Muasher
A prominent Jordanian diplomat, who served as Jordan's first ambassador to Israel, ambassador to the U.S., spokesperson at  peace talks in Madrid and Washington, minister of foreign affairs, deputy prime minister in charge of reforms, and author of the newly released book "The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation".

A discussion about Muasher's new book The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation, internal Arab politics, reform and moderation in the Arab world, peace talks (failures and success), and much more.

Arab Voices was preempted for a special Pacifica National coverage of the Republican National Convention.
 

Arab Voices was preempted for a special Pacifica National coverage of the Democratic National Convention.
 

Date:

August 20, 2008

The 60th Anniversary of Al-Nakba
(the Palestinian Catastrophe)
Pacifica National Documentary
A special one hour documentary that features know experts, Palestinian politicians, elder survivors of the Nakba and their children and grand children, former detainees, reporters, and activists.

Speeches, interviews, songs, spoken words & testimonies by:
Rafeef Ziadah, Mustafa Barghouti, Nasseer Aruri, Jess Ghannam, the Foty Family, Fareed Bitar, Suheir Hamad, Head Roc, Dam, Mohammed Al-Farra and the Sling Shot Hip Hop, the children of the Holy Land Trust, Fairuz, Marcel Khalifeh, Ambassador Afif Safieh (former head of the Palestinian Mission in Washington), Dennis Halliday (former UN Assistant Secretary-General), The Arab Summit, Suha Dabousseh, Rami El-Amin and Left Turn magazine, Julia Nasser, Kristen Ess and Nasser Faris.

A collaboration between Voices With Vision on WPFW and the dcradiocoop in DC and Palestine, Radio Intifada and the SWANA collective of KPFK-LA; Flashpoints of KPFA, Berkeley and Palestine; Open Journal & Arab Voices of KPFT Houston, Texas, KCUT Radio Montreal, Nasser Faris-LA , Hazem Jamjoum (Badil), Pennie Quinton and Ghassan Bannoura (imemc.org) the International Middle East Media Collective, Toronto & CKUT radio Montreal in Canada, and WBIX/WBAI in New York…Nasser Faris, Layla Al Haddad of Free Speech Radio News, and major help from Gretchen King, the BALOZIProductions.com, George Rashmawy, Nora Barrows-Friedman, Sherna Berger Gluck, Naji Mujahed, Fred Nguyen, Desmond Leary, Drew Poe, Tony Guinivan, Asmah Hamarneh, and Nathan Moore!… and many more!
 
Coordinating Producer, Ryme Katkhouda of WPFW

Date:

August 13, 2008

Dr. Rafiq Husseini
Chief of Staff of the office of the President of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA); and author of several books, scientific journals, reports and articles.

Dr. Fady Joudah
Palestinian American Physician; field member of Doctors Without Borders; a Poet who won an award from the United Kingdom for translating a collection of Mahmoud Darwish's poems into a compilation called The Butterfly's Burden; and winner of Yale Series of Younger Poets competition.

On Saturday, August 9, Mahmoud Darwish, world renowned and award winning Palestinian poet, died in Houston, Texas.  We will talk about Darwish's life and his work.  We will have a brief interview with Dr. Rafiq Husseini who came to Houston from occupied Palestine to arrange for and speed up the return of Mahmoud Darwish's body to Palestine, and will also talk live with Dr. Fady Joudah, who translated and published a collection of Mahmoud Darwish's poems into a compilation called The Butterfly's Burden.
 

Membership Drive

Date:

August 6, 2008

Scott Ritter
Former Chief UN Weapons Inspector in Iraq for the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), and author of several books including "Target Iran: The Truth About the White House’s Plans for Regime Change" and "Iraq Confidential: The Untold Story of the Intelligence Conspiracy to Undermine the UN and Overthrow Saddam Hussein".

U.S. and Israeli threats and plans to attack Iran's alleged nuclear weapons, and the impact such an attack would have on Iran, its neighbor occupied Iraq, the Middle East region and the world.

Date:

July 30, 2008

Molly Bingham & Steve Connors
Co-directors of the documentary film Meeting Resistance, which features interviews with insurgents in occupied Iraq.

A discussion about violence in occupied Iraq and the documentary film Meeting Resistance, which raises the veil of anonymity surrounding the Iraqi insurgency by meeting face to face with individuals who are passionately engaged in the struggle, and documenting for the very first time, the sentiments experienced and actions taken by a nation's citizens when their homeland is occupied.

Date:

July 23, 2008

Dr. Lisa Hajjar
Associate Professor and Chair of the Law and Society Program at the University of California-Santa Barbara; author of the book "Courting Conflict" and co-editor of "Human Rights: Critical Concepts in Political Science"; and expert on human rights, international law, race, gender, sexuality, nationalism and ethnicity, peace and conflict, and contemporary Middle East including US policy in the region.

Topics:

Torture and abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody at Guantanamo; the U.S. surveillance of Arabs and Muslims in the U.S. and abroad; human rights violations in the Middle East; and much more.

Date:

July 16, 2008

Scott C. Davis
Founder of Cune Press and the online journal Cune Magazine; and author of the book "The Road from Damascus: A Journey Through Syria", and other award winning books; who has visited Syria repeatedly over the past few years, as well as Lebanon.

Topics:

Syria; the talks between Syria and Israel about a possible peace in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights; the new agreement between Syria & Lebanon about establishing diplomatic relations; and today's prisoner-exchange deal between Hezbollah and Israel.

Date:

July 9, 2008

Archbishop Atallah Hanna
A prominent Palestinian Christian figure, Archbishop of Sabastia from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, who refused to meet with President George W. Bush at the Church of Nativity during his visit to Bethlehem earlier this year.  Archbishop Atallah Hanna was arrested by Israel in 2002 on charges of "incitement", the first time a Christian religious leader was arrested for his activism against the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Topics:

Archbishop Atallah Hanna was in Houston this past weekend speaking at the Ninth National Convention of Birzeit Society. Tune in and listen to him talking (in Arabic, followed by translation of the main points in English) about the suffering of the Palestinians under the Israeli occupation, Palestinian Christians in Palestine, roles Arabs and Palestinians should play in the U.S., Christian Zionism, one state vs. two states solution, the U.S. media, and much more.

Date:

July 2, 2008

Dr. Lara Deeb
Assistant professor of women's studies in the Department of Women's Studies at the University of California, Irvine, a cultural anthropologist who has spent extensive time researching community activism in the southern suburbs of Beirut, and author of several books and articles including An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi‘i Lebanon, and Hizballah: A Primer.

Topic:

"Understanding Hizbullah":  A lecture given by Dr. Lara Deeb at Rice University in April 2008, discussing Hizbullah in the third lecture of the Arab World Lecture Series.  In this lecture, Dr. Deeb presents an overview of the origins of Hizbullah and the group's development into a multi-faceted political party. She also discusses the social and cultural institutions and networks associated with the party and with its constituents in the southern suburb of Beirut and the party's appeal for many of Lebanon's Shi'i Muslims.

Date:

June 25, 2008

Ali Abunimah
Fellow at the Palestine Center in Washington, DC, an expert on Palestine and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, co-founder of Electronic Intifada, and author of "One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse".

Topics:

The latest on the truce between Hamas and Israel and its impact on Palestinians living in Gaza; Israel's ongoing plan to expand colonies on Palestinian land and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent warning about the negative effect of Israel's settlement building; the U.S. presidential candidates and their stands on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; and much more.

Date:

June 18, 2008

Raed Jarrar
Iraq Consultant for the American Friends Service Committee, who was born and raised in Iraq. He was recently profiled in Mother Jones: "Where Is Raed Now? Meet the Iraqi exile (and former Salam Pax blogger) who could foil Bush's plans for permanent bases near Baghdad."

Topic:

The U.S. plan  to establish 58 permanent military basis in Iraq, and the recent Iraqi parliamentarians' visit (accompanied by Raed Jarrar) to Washington and New York to testify before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee about the U.S. military bases in Iraq.

Date:

June 11, 2008

Ambassador Edward Peck
Former U.S. Chief of Mission in Iraq and former U.S. Ambassador to Mauritania, who also served as Deputy Director of the White House Task Force on Terrorism and as a Foreign Service Officer in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt.

Topic:

The Presidential Candidates' (Senators John McCain and Barack Obama) views on the U.S. Foreign Policy towards the Middle East, including the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and the candidates' recent comments at the Pro-Israel Lobby AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), and the influence lobbies have on the U.S. foreign policy.

Date:

June 4, 2008

Dahr Jamail
Award-winning independent journalist, reporter and photographer who visited Iraq several times as well as other Arab countries and has written extensively about the Middle East and especially Iraq, and author of the book Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq.

Topics:

The true and real current situation in occupied Iraq; the recently held regional Winter Soldier hearings; former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan's memoir in which he revealed that President Bush relied on an aggressive "political propaganda campaign" instead of the truth to sell the Iraq war; and the Presidential Candidates' stand on occupied Iraq.

Date:

May 28, 2008

Professor Edward Said's Speech
Audio clip of a speech made by the late professor Edward Said, Palestine's foremost political commentator, an internationally renowned writer and scholar, one of the best-known and respected Arab Americans who was a giant figure in the Arab-American community, and for Arabs in the Middle East and across the world.
 

Membership Drive

Date:

May 21, 2008

Dr. Salman Abu Sitta - PART 2
Founder and President of the Palestine Land Society of London; Director of International Development Projects in Palestine; former member of the Palestine National Council; and author of numerous papers who has also edited and compiled the Atlas of Palestine 1948, a monumental work which contains a wealth of information on Palestine under the British Mandate until and including the 1948 War/Al-Nakba (catastrophe).

Topic:

Personal account of how Professor Abu Sitta became a refugee in Palestine in 1948. Using data from his research, Abu-Sitta shows how over 600 Palestinian villages were systematically depopulated by the advancing Israeli forces, leaving many others dismembered by an arbitrary cease-fire line. With maps and demographic statistics, Abu-Sitta shows that, in effect, Zionist policies were an ethnic cleansing campaign that resulted in a massive transfer of native Palestinians to the countries bordering Israel, where thousands remain within 100 miles from their original communities. This is a special interview produced by Alternate Focus.
 

Membership Drive

Date:

May 14, 2008

Dr. Salman Abu Sitta - PART 1
Founder and President of the Palestine Land Society of London; Director of International Development Projects in Palestine; former member of the Palestine National Council; and author of numerous papers who has also edited and compiled the Atlas of Palestine 1948, a monumental work which contains a wealth of information on Palestine under the British Mandate until and including the 1948 War/Al-Nakba (catastrophe).

Topic:

Personal account of how Professor Abu Sitta became a refugee in Palestine in 1948. Using data from his research, Abu-Sitta shows how over 600 Palestinian villages were systematically depopulated by the advancing Israeli forces, leaving many others dismembered by an arbitrary cease-fire line. With maps and demographic statistics, Abu-Sitta shows that, in effect, Zionist policies were an ethnic cleansing campaign that resulted in a massive transfer of native Palestinians to the countries bordering Israel, where thousands remain within 100 miles from their original communities. This is a special interview produced by Alternate Focus.
 

Membership Drive

Date:

May 7, 2008

Dr. Jess Ghannam
Palestinian-American Doctor; Professor at both UCSF and SFSU; human rights activist; member of the international executive committee of Al-Awda, the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition; board member of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program; and former president of the San Francisco chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

Topic:

The 60^th anniversary of Al-Nakba (the 1948 catastrophe), when Israel forced nearly one million Palestinians out of their homes, massacred hundreds of Palestinians, destroyed hundreds of their  villages and towns, and declared the creation of the State of Israel. Dr. Ghannam is the son of Palestinians who were forced to flee their homes when Israel was established 60 years ago.  We will talk with him about Al-Nakba, and the Right of Return.

Date:

April 30, 2008

Joshua Landis
Director of the Center for Peace Studies at the University of Oklahoma and Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern Studies in the School of International and Area Studies; author of numerous articles and the forthcoming book "Democracy in Syria", who also writes the weblog “SyriaComment.com”.

Topics:

The allegations by the U.S. government and Israel that Syria was building a nuclear reactor (the site Israel bombed in September), and the recent talk about a possible Israeli withdrawal from the Syrian Golan Heights (occupied by Israel since 1967).

Date:

April 23, 2008

Sydney Levy
Longtime Human Rights Professional and Activist, and Director of Campaigns and Chapters for Jewish Voice for Peace, one of the largest grassroots Jewish peace organizations in the U.S. He is a key strategist on the Caterpillar campaign, and Program Director at Media Alliance. He lived in Jerusalem and has a Masters degree in Jewish History from the Hebrew University.

Topics:

President Jimmy Carter's recent visit to the Middle East and his meetings with Hamas Leaders and the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.  We will also talk about the dire situation in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli measures; and Sydney's participation in the General Conference of the United Methodist Church (currently being held in Fort Worth, Texas to make policy decisions for the 11.5 million-member denomination) in order to consider a number of resolutions dealing with divestment from Israel.

Date:

April 16, 2008

Laila Al-Arian
The daughter of Dr. Sami Al-Arian; a freelance journalist based in New York; author, with Chris Hedges, of the forthcoming Collateral Damage: America's War Against Iraqi Civilians (Nation Books), based on their 2007 Nation article "The Other War."  Laila has worked for USA Today and has written for various media outlets.

 
Laila's father, Dr. Sami Al-Arian, is a Palestinian-American Professor, an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights and a persistent defender of civil and constitutional rights in the USA, who was arrested by the U.S. Government in 2003 on charges of "terrorism" in which he was acquitted, but remains in jail since then.

A discussion with Laila Al-Arian about her father's (Dr. Sami Al-Arian) case and his current situation as he enters his seventh week of hunger strike while being held in punitive conditions, denied medical monitoring and forced to endure the harsh environment of the segregation unit of the detention center.

"USA vs Al-Arian" Film in Houston
The film “USA vs Al-Arian” is an intimate portrait that documents the American-Muslim family of Sami Al-Arian in their desperate attempt to fight terrorism charges leveled by the U.S. government.
 
The film will be shown at Rice Cinema at Rice University on April 26 at 7 p.m.  Click here for more information.

Date:

April 9, 2008

Dr. Catherine Lutz
Professor of anthropology at Brown University and the Watson Institute for International Studies.  She is editor of the forthcoming book "The Bases of Empire: The Global Struggle against U.S. Military Posts", and author of the book "Local Democracy Under Siege: Activism, Public Interests, and Private Politics".

Topic:

U.S. military basis in Iraq and the planned long-term agreement between the U.S. and Iraq for a continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq.

Date:

April 2, 2008

Topic:

Blood, Freedom and Oil: 5 Years in Iraq

A special report produced by Making Contact (a weekly international radio program).  Whether one considers it a war, an occupation, an act of pre-emptive self defense, or an act of imperialist aggression, the undeniable fact is that along with September 11^th, the conflict in Iraq has become the defining event of our time.

Featuring:

Huda Jabbar Mohammed Ali and Omar, Iraqi civilians; Antonia Juhasz, author of The Bush Agenda, and The Tyranny of Oil: The Worlds Most Powerful Industry and What We Must Do To Stop It; Berkeley High School students Lauren Barkin and Matt Rothstark; Beverly Harris, former US Navy Corpsman; Wendy Kenin, Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission; Daniel Nordstrom, former Marine; Protesters outside Berkeley City Hall: Elaine Green, Julie Dickenson, Bill Raskin, Kristen Robrock; Betsy Rose, Code Pink member; Charles Smith, US Army veteran.

Speeches made at the 6^th Biennial Ben Qurrah Award Gala held by the Houston Chapter of the Arab American Medical Association in February 2008 to honor Arab-American physicians who have made remarkable contributions in the field of medicine and who have succeeded in the worldwide advancement of science.

Dr. Elias Zerhouni
Arab-American medical doctor (born in Algeria), Director of the National Institutes of Health, world-renowned physician, and National Honoree of the prestigious 2008 Ben Qurrah Award.

Dr. Issam Raad
Arab-American medical doctor (born in Lebanon), Professor and Chair, Department of Infectious Diseases, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, world-renowned physician, and Houston Honoree of the prestigious 2008 Ben Qurrah Award.

In addition, a Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dr. Saleh Shenaq’s family in memoriam. Mr. Monzer Hourani, a prominent Arab-American engineer and a leading medical real estate developer, was also recognized as the Honorary Chair.
 
We will also listen to remarks made by Dr. Nicola Hanania, President of the Arab American Medical Association Houston Chapter, Dr. Aziz Shaibani,  Awards Chair, Dr. Huda Zoghbi, Dr. George Nassar and Mistress of Ceremonies Melissa Wilson with Fox 26 Television.

Aaron Glantz
Founding producer of Pacifica Radio’s national newscast, Free Speech Radio News; author of How America Lost Iraq; who visited Iraq three times during the U.S. occupation.

Domingo Rosas
Combat veteran and Sergeant with the U.S. Army deployed with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Al-Anbar Province in Iraq.

Mike Prysner
Veteran soldier with the U.S. Army who served in Iraq with the 10th Mountain Division and later with the 173rd Airborne Brigade deployed in northern Iraq.

Live discussion with Aaron Glantz about the fifth anniversary of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, and testimonies of Mike Prysner and Domingo Rosas at the historic Winter Soldier 2008 Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupation held in Washington, DC few days ago about torture, abuse, mishandling and mutilation of the dead, and other derogatory treatment of Iraqi civilians.

Sergeant Samuel Provance
Abu Ghraib Whistleblower and former U.S. Army Sergeant specializing in intelligence analysis, who was stationed for five months at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq during the abuses reported there.

Sergeant Provance's account of what he witnessed while serving in Iraq with the U.S. Army, especially at Abu Ghraib, and a discussion about President George W. Bush's veto on Saturday of the Intelligence Authorization Bill introduced by Congress which would have banned torture of prisoners and detainees.

Amjad Shawa
Palestinian Advocate and Coordinator for the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organization Network in Gaza City (an umbrella organization comprising 100 member organizations).

Mr. Shawa will be talking to us from Gaza City about the deadly Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip that left over 500 Palestinians killed and injured (including many children, infants and women) and major destruction in just one week.
 

Membership Drive

Sam Husseini
Communications Director for the Institute for Public Accuracy, whose articles on politics, foreign affairs, public policy, media, and pop culture have been published in numerous outlets. Prior to joining IPA, Husseini was media director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

The Presidential Elections in the U.S. as we approach the Texas Presidential Primary set for March 4 (voting, issues, foreign policy, media coverage, Ralph Nader's announcement, and much more).
 

Membership Drive

Membership Drive

Dr. Donny George Youkhanna
Former Director of the National Museum in Baghdad, former Director General of Iraqi Museums and Chairman of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, book author, and visiting professor of Anthropology at Stony Brook University.

The state of museums and archaeological sites in Iraq after they were looted of some of the most ancient artifacts in human history following the US occupation of Iraq, and the efforts led by Dr. Youkhanna (described as “the man who saved the Iraq National Museum) to recover almost half of the 15,000 Mesopotamian artworks and artifacts that date back to as much as 6,000 years.
 
Note:  Dr. Donny George Youkhanna will be in Houston on Thursday, February 14 speaking at the University of Houston. Click here for more information.

Raed Jarrar
Iraq Project Director for Global Exchange, an Iraqi analyst and contributing writer for Foreign Policy in Focus, member of the steering committee of the NY-based coalition United For Peace and Justice, Iraq consultant for the American Friends Service Committee, and an Iraqi blogger and architect who lived in Iraq through the U.S.-led invasion.

The current situation in occupied Iraq, and President Bush's declaration last week that he has the power to bypass four laws, including a prohibition against using federal funds to establish permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq, that Congress passed as part of a new defense bill.

Dr. Mounzer Sleiman
National security affairs expert based in Washington, D.C.; an independent senior political-military analyst; Washington bureau chief for Almustaqbal Alarabi magazine; and founding member and vice chair of The National Council of Arab Americans.

Mohammad Omar
Reporter for the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs; freelance photographer and journalist; recipient of the best Ethnic Media Award issued by New America Media in Washington, D.C., who lives in Gaza.

A discussion with Mohammad Omar who is in Gaza about the latest humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip after Israel stopped delivering fuel, medicine and food.
 
Interviews with several protesters who attended the emergency demonstration held in Houston over the weekend calling for an end to the siege on Gaza.
 
Interview with Dr. Mounzer Sleiman about the U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East and its recent efforts to block the U.N. Security Council from issuing any statements regarding the siege on Gaza. We will also talk about President Bush's State of the Union Speech with regards to the Middle East.

Dr. Mustafa Barghouti
Member of the Palestinian Parliament, co-founder and Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, activist, former candidate for the presidency of the Palestinian National Authority, founder and president of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees, who lives in Ramallah.

Uri Avnery
Israeli Peace activist, journalist, writer;  former member of the Israeli Knesset (three terms); founding member of Gush Shalom (Israeli peace bloc); former publisher and editor-in-chief of Haolam Hazeh news magazine; founding member of the Israeli Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, who lives in Tel Aviv.

Dr. Mona El-Farra
Palestinian physician, women's rights activist, educator, mother, internationally-recognized human rights leader, vice president of the Palestine Red Crescent Society; and Director of Gaza projects for the California-based Middle East Children's Alliance, who lives in Gaza.

The dire humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip because of the latest Israeli war crimes of killing Palestinians, the use of  F-16 war planes to bomb the Gaza Strip, cutting off electricity, food and medicine from the one-and-a-half million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.

Khalil Jahshan
Executive Director of Pepperdine University Seaver College’s Internship Program; Lecturer in International Studies and Languages; Middle East consultant, and a frequent lecturer before foreign policy panels, academic groups, think tanks, and community gatherings on the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Palestine problem, Israeli politics, and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

The boiling crisis in the Middle East with the escalation of Israeli daily attacks on the Palestinians and Tuesday's massacre in Gaza, the escalation of warnings towards Iran by the U.S., and the ongoing occupation of Iraq... while President Bush tours the Middle East and talks about peace!

Dr. Stephen Zunes
Professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco; an advisory committee member and Middle East editor for the Foreign Policy in Focus Project; author of numerous articles on Middle Eastern politics, U.S. foreign policy, international terrorism, social movements, and human rights; who has made frequent visits to the Middle East and other conflict regions.

Norman Solomon
Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, longtime media critic, nationally syndicated columnist on media and politics, senior advisor to the National Radio Project, and author of many books, including "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death", "Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn't Tell You", and the most recent book "Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America's Warfare State".

A discussion about the main events of 2007 that affected the Middle East such as the ongoing occupation of Iraq and Palestine, and the U.S. Foreign Policy towards the Middle East, Pakistan, Iran, and much more