Date:

December 28, 2011

On November 13, 2011 the Rothko Chapel, one of the world’s most celebrated twentieth century sacred spaces and an institution committed to advancing human rights and interfaith understanding, presented its Oscar Romero Award to Madame Nassera Dutour (an Arab Woman) for her tireless efforts on behalf of the families of approximately 7,000 men and women who disappeared in Algeria (including her own son) in the 1990s. Madame Dutour was recognized in a public ceremony at the Chapel, and also spoke about her work.
 
Larry Cox, former Executive Director of Amnesty International USA was also present and he delivered the keynote address about the global implications of human rights violations and their redress.

Today, we will listen to the remarks made at the Rothko Chapel by both Madame Nassera Dutour and Larry Cox.

Date:

December 21, 2011

First Segment: Raed Jarrar
An Iraqi-American blogger and political analyst based in Washington, D.C. Raed was born in Baghdad and spent most of his life in Iraq. After the 2003 invasion, Raed was the country director of CIVIC Worldwide, the only door-to-door casualty survey in post war Iraq. Raed is frequently featured on numerous media outlets.

We will speak live with Raed Jarrar about the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and what "ending the U.S. occupation" means to Iraqis.
 

Second Segment: Maria Khoury
An internationally acclaimed speaker, human rights champion, and author of Orthodox Christian children's books including Christina Goes to the Holy Land walking the footsteps of Christ. Maria writes frequently and her articles have been published world-wide bringing awareness to the Christian presence in the Holy Land. She is a volunteer at St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Taybeh (the only all Palestinian Christian village in occupied Palestine), and organizer of the annual Taybeh Oktoberfest. Maria lives in Taybeh with her husband Daoud Khoury, Mayor of Taybeh.

As Christians around the world prepare to celebrate Christmas, Palestinian Christians continue to suffer under the Israeli occupation. We will talk live with Maria Khoury about her eyewitness account of life under the Israeli occupation in Taybeh, Palestinian Christians and their suffering under the Israeli occupation, the Israeli settlement expansion near Taybeh, settler attacks, destruction of Palestinian homes, and Maria's personal rebuttal to Newt Gingrich's comment that the Palestinians are an "invented people".

Date:

December 14, 2011

Dr. Abdel Kader Fustok
Founder, past president and advisory board member of the Arab American Educational Foundation; founder, past president and board member of the Arab American Cultural and Community Center; a strong community advocate and a leader in countless organizations. Dr. Fustok was born and raised in Syria, and currently has a private practice specializing in plastic, reconstructive and cosmetic surgery in Houston.

A live discussion with Dr. Fustok about Syria, its history and rich culture, the Arab uprisings in several countries including Syria, the Arab quest for democracy, and much more.

Date:

December 7, 2011

First Segment: Islam's Image and You: Community Platform & Islamic Convention
A live conversation about this unique community platform and convention (to be held in Houston on December 23-25) with Hesham Ebaid, President of MAS (Muslim American Society) Katy Center, that is organizing the convention  in partnership with several other organizations, and Iesa Galloway, Messaging Strategist & Writer and one of the organizers for the convention.
    
Second Segment: Ali Abunimah on ‘Delegitimizing’ Israel
The US government support for Israel has never been stronger. But now a consumer boycott of Israel is gaining steam, and Israeli government officials are being openly confronted and denounced wherever they travel. In this special segment produced by the National Radio Project, author and activist Ali Abunimah says that this is evidence of a global movement against Israeli government policy breaking through. Abunimah explains why he thinks Israel has ‘lost the argument’ over who’s right and wrong…and where he thinks the movement to free Palestine is headed next.

Date:

November 30, 2011

Anthony Shadid
Foreign correspondent for the New York Times, former Baghdad bureau chief of the Washington Post, and author of two books. Shadid has reported from most countries in the Middle East over a 15-year career. In 2002 he was shot by the Israeli occupation forces in Palestine and in 2011 he was kidnapped, beaten and held hostage by the Libyan forces. Shadid is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize - in 2004 for International Reporting for coverage of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the occupation that followed, and 2010 for coverage of Iraq as the U.S. began its withdrawal.

Anthony Shadid spoke at Rice University in Houston on October 28, 2011 on the topic "What My Eyes Can See: Covering the Arab Revolution". Today, we will listen to Shadid's talk at Rice, which was part of The Arab World: History, Politics and Culture Lecture Series for 2011/12 (sponsored by the Arab-American Educational Foundation).

Date:

November 23, 2011

Sharif Abdel Kouddous
Correspondent for the award winning independent Radio & TV program Democracy Now!, who is currently in Cairo, Egypt. Sharif joined the Democracy Now! staff in 2003 as producer and has covered news stories around the world including reporting from Baghdad during the Iraq war and from Egypt during the recent revolution. Sharif grew up in Cairo, Egypt, and he will be joining us LIVE from Egypt.

Hany Massoud
Producer for the award winning independent Radio & TV program Democracy Now! Hany has traveled extensively covering international breaking stories such as the Gaza flotilla and the revolution in Egypt. Hany was Morning Chief Editor at KHOU, which he left to establish Press TV’s Bureau at the UN in New York. Hany grew up in Houston, and he will be joining us LIVE in the studios of KPFT.

Dr. Sherif Zaafran
President of the Egyptian American Society in Houston, board member of the Arab American Cultural & Community Center in Houston, and Vice-President of the Greater Houston Anesthesiology. Dr. Zaafran has just returned to Houston from Cairo, Egypt, and he will be joining us LIVE in the studios of KPFT.

A live discussion with our guests about the latest developments in Egypt, where more than 38 people were killed in Tahrir Square and more than 2000 were injured over the past few days by the Egyptian military as Egyptians were protesting the military rule and as Egypt was preparing for the first election after the historic revolution that toppled Mubarak's regime earlier this year.

Date:

November 9, 2011

Syed N. Izfar
Principal at the Law Office of Syed Izfar, a well-known attorney in the field of immigration and naturalization, business law, civil practice, personal injury, family law, and general civil and commercial litigation.

Mustafaa Carroll
Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston), America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, and former Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Dallas/Ft. Worth CAIR office.

The City of Houston's Third Annual Citizenship Week (Celebrating the Many Faces of Houston) will take place November 13-19, 2011. We will talk today about the Citizenship Week, Know Your Rights as a Citizen, Understand the Value of Your Civic Participation, and Challenges in Immigration & Citizenship.

Date:

November 2, 2011

Salim Tamari
Professor of Sociology at Birzeit University, visiting Professor of History at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University, senior fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies and director of the IPS-affiliated Institute of Jerusalem Studies, editor of Jerusalem Quarterly and Hawliyyat al-Quds, and author of several works on urban culture, political sociology, biography and social history, and the social history of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Date:

October 26, 2011

Ali Ahmida
A leading analyst and historian of Libya; chair of the department of political science at the University of New England; and author of several books including "The Making of Modern Libya" and "Forgotten Voices: Power and Agency in Colonial and Postcolonial Libya."

Date:

October 19, 2011

Prisoner Swap & Membership Drive

We will talk about the prisoner swap between Israel and Palestine, listen to the remarks made this week by Noam Chomsky on the swap (we are offering his new speech made on October 17, 2011 on a DVD as a premium/gift). We will also hear remarks made by Ilan Pappe on Israel/Palestine (we are offering his new book Crisis in Gaza,  co-authored with Noam Chomsky as a premium/gift).
 

Membership Drive  Today's Goal: $1,200  Raised: $1,010

Date:

October 12, 2011

"Different Faiths, One Family...Come Together"

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Texas) held its 10^th Annual Fundraising Banquet on July 30, 2011 in Houston, where some 400 people attended the banquet. During the event, CAIR raised over $150,000 in contributions to support CAIR's civil rights work.

There were several remarks made at the event that focused on the theme "Different Faiths, One Family...Come Together". Today we will listen to the keynote speaker's remarks, Dr. John Esposito, Professor of Religion and International Affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in the Walsh School of Foreign Service, and co-author of "Who Speaks for Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think".

Date:

October 5, 2011

Jacqueline Goodman
Criminal Defense Lawyer based in California who defended the "Irvine 11" case. She is one of the few attorneys admitted to argue cases before the United States Supreme Court; and one of only 108 lawyers nationwide to be permanently named on the Wall of Recognition at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Lisa Holder
Criminal Trial Attorney based in California who also defended the "Irvine 11" case. Lisa is nationally recognized, award winning trial attorney, who has been identified as a "SuperLawyer" by the Los Angeles Magazine; and is a member for the National Lawyers Guild.

Osama Shabaik
A student at the University of California-Irvine, and one of the "Irvine 11" that was found guilty two weeks ago for interrupting Michael Oren's (Israeli ambassador to the US) speech at the University of California-Irvine.

Aslam Akhtar
A student at the University of California-Irvine, and one of the "Irvine 11" that was found guilty two weeks ago for interrupting Michael Oren's (Israeli ambassador to the US) speech at the University of California-Irvine.

A live discussion with two of the "Irvine 11" case defense attorneys and two of the "Irvine 11" students about their case that gained national and international attention. Two weeks ago, a jury (in an unprecedented lawsuit brought forth by the California Orange County District Attorney), convicted 10 undergraduate students from UC Irvine and UC Riverside of two criminal misdemeanor acts for interrupting the speech of the Israeli Ambassador, Michael Oren, at UC Irvine (a shocking verdict described by many as the latest blow to civil liberties and freedoms in America).

Date:

September 28, 2011

Mahmoud Abbas' Speech at the U.N.

We talked about the Palestinian bid for statehood recognition over the past two weeks with different experts and listened to interesting comments about it, and today we will listen to the speech (on the Palestinian request for statehood recognition) delivered on September 23, 2011 at the United Nations by Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Date:

September 21, 2011

Rami Khouri
Director of the Issam Fares Institute of Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut; editor-at-large of the Beirut-based Daily Star newspaper; and an internationally syndicated political columnist and author. Rami was a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and was the co-recipient of the Pax Christi International Peace Award for his efforts to bring peace and reconciliation to the Middle East.

A live discussion with Rami on the Arab Awakening and the historic changes we are witnessing in several countries including Libya, Syria, Tunisia and Egypt; the Palestinian bid for statehood recognition at the United Nations this week; the U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East; and much more.

Date:

September 14, 2011

Diana Buttu
Lawyer and current Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; Fellow at the Harvard Law School; and Policy Advisor to Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network. She previously served as a spokesperson for the Palestine Liberation Organization, and also served as legal advisor to the PLO in its negotiations with Israel. Diana maintains a law practice in Occupied Palestine, focusing on international human rights law.

A live discussion with Diana about the Palestinian endeavor to gain statehood recognition at the United Nations this month; the threat of the U.S. government to use its veto power for such a move; the reaction to the statehood initiative amongst the world community; the impact of such a declaration on Palestinians and others; and much more.

Date:

September 7, 2011

Wafa Abdin
President of the Arab American Cultural and Community Center; Legal Director at Catholic Charities Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance; a frequent lecturer at Immigration conferences and gives “Know Your Rights” presentations to the public; and local AILA asylum Liaison and a member of the national asylum committee.

Mustafaa Carroll
Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston), America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, who also served as Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Dallas/Ft. Worth CAIR office before moving to Houston.

Annette Lamoreaux
Board member and serves on the legal panel of the  American Civil Liberties Union of Texas; and an attorney in private practice. She has spoken frequently on post-9/11 incursions into the civil liberties of Arabs, Muslims and South Asians and has accompanied a number of individuals to FBI interviews.

The 10th anniversary of the horrific acts on 9/11 and how America changed after that date. We will talk about how 9/11 affected Arabs and Muslims in the U.S. including their civil rights and liberties; the abuse of powers post 9/11; targeting of Muslims and Arabs by various governmental agencies, politicians and media; domestic surveillance; FBI guidelines, criminalizing dissent, Islamophobia; and much more.

Date:

August 31, 2011

Ilan Pappé
Israeli historian; author of the bestselling books "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine", "A History of Modern Palestine", "The Israel/Palestine Question", and author with Noam Chomsky of the new book "Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel’s War Against the Palestinians". Pappé is professor of history at the University of Exeter, where he is also co-director of the Exeter Center for Ethno-Political Studies and director of the Palestine Studies Center.

Professor Pappé spoke at the Rothko Chapel in Houston few months ago on the topic "Gaza in Crisis". We will listen to the remarks he made at the Rothko Chapel during the show today.
 
Click here to listen to the Q & A session that followed Pappe's Remarks.

Date:

August 24, 2011

Naseer Aruri
Chancellor Professor (Emeritus) of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth; Chair of the Board of Directors of the Trans-Arab Research Institute; and author of several books and numerous publications. Aruri served on the Board of Directors of Amnesty International, USA; served on the Board of Directors of Human Rights Watch/Middle East; and also served on the Board of Directors of the International Institute for Criminal Investigations at The Hague.

A live discussion with professor Aruri on the uprisings in the Arab world and the changes we are witnessing in several countries including Libya, Syria, Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, and Bahrain; the U.S. and European foreign policies towards the Middle East and their involvement in the current uprisings; the situation in occupied Palestine; and much more.

Date:

August 17, 2011

KPFT Membership Drive: An interview with Molly Bingham & Steve Connors, co-directors of the documentary film Meeting Resistance, which features interviews with insurgents in occupied Iraq (we are offering this documentary on a DVD as a premium/gift). We will also hear remarks recorded by Arab Voices for Ilan Pappe when he was in Houston talking about the ethnic cleansing of Palestine (we are offering his book The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine as a premium/gift). We will also talk about the newly released DVD Julian Assange: A Modern Day Hero? Inside the World of WikiLeaks (also offered as a  premium/gift).
        

Membership Drive

Today's Goal:  $1,200
Raised:  $1,295  That's 108% of the goal!
Thank you very much.

Date:

August 10, 2011

Robinson Block
Community activist in Houston since 2003. He helped co-found Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Houston, which organized around immigrant rights, anti-war and Palestine solidarity causes. Rob just came back from a visit to occupied Palestine and Israel as part of the Health and Human Rights Tour, organized by American Jews for a Just Peace of Boston.

A live discussion with Rob about his trip to occupied Palestine and Israel; its goals; what he visited and what he witnessed there; the interviews he conducted with both Palestinians and Israelis; his personal feedback on that trip; and much more.

Date:

August 3, 2011

First Segment: Would the West interfere in Syria?
Special program from Al Jazeera English featuring guests George Jabbour, president of the Syrian UN Association and former advisor to Syrian President Hafez al-Assad; Marwa Daoudy, a lecturer at the department of Politics and International Relations in the Middle East Centre at Oxford University; and Radwan Ziadeh, director of the Damascus Centre for Human Rights.
  
Second Segment: Behind the killing of Abdel Fattah Younes in Libya
Special program from Al Jazeera English featuring guests Ashur Shamis, a Libyan journalist and writer; Alexandre Vautravers, a professor of international relations at Webster University in Geneva and the editor of the Swiss Military Review; and Rami Khouri, the director of the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut.

Date:

July 27, 2011

Ibrahim Hooper
National Communications Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). As CAIR’s spokesman he appears frequently on national and international television programs to offer an Islamic perspective on current events or debate controversial issues.

Ali Gharib
National security reporter for ThinkProgress covering U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Before joining the Center for American Progress, he wrote and blogged for Inter Press Service as well as the Columbia Journalism Review’s website, ForeignPolicy.com, and AlterNet, among other outlets.

As Muslims in the U.S. and around the globe prepare for the holy month of Ramadan, the anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S., Europe and other places continues to escalate with fierce attacks and accusations against Muslims. We have witnessed over the past few days politicians, religious leaders and media outlets rush to falsely blame Muslims for the recent terrorist attack in Norway (committed by a fanatic that is full of hatred towards Muslims). We will discuss with our guests why this is the case, Islamophobia, fear-mongering, the anti-Muslim thought in U.S. and its effect on fanatic groups, and how all of that affects Muslims living in the U.S.

Date:

July 20, 2011

Joshua Stacher
Assistant professor of political science at Kent State University, where he teaches and researches Middle East politics. He specializes in authoritarian adaptation of Arab republican regimes as well as social movements. He has published on governance in Egypt and Syria as well as authoritarian elections, human rights and the Egyptian Society of Muslim Brothers. He spent over a decade in Cairo and also lived in Damascus. He is currently working on a book which compares autocratic adaptation and regime power in Egypt and Syria (to be published by Stanford University Press in Spring 2012).

The revolutions/uprisings/protests in the Arab World that are changing the political landscape in several countries including Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain and Libya; the U.S. role and/or reaction to these changes and its Mideast Foreign Policy; and much more.

Date:

July 13, 2011

Rashid Khalidi
Dr. Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University and author of many books, spoke at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar on “The Arab Revolutions of 2011”, as part of its Distinguished Lecture Series sponsored by the institute's Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS).

Date:

July 6, 2011

Adam Shapiro  (LIVE from Greece)
An organizer with and co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement; Jewish-American activist; human rights activist and Palestinian rights activist; co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM); and documentary filmmaker.
 

Huwaida Arraf  (LIVE from Greece)
Chair of the Free Gaza Movement; member of the Freedom Flotilla Steering Committee; a Palestinian with American and Israeli citizenship; co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement; and co-author of “Peace Under Fire: Israel, Palestine, and the International Solidarity Movement”.
   

Both Adam & Huwaida are helping organize the overall effort for the U.S. boat to Gaza, the Audacity of Hope, as part of Freedom Flotilla II, that is trying to sail to Gaza to break the siege. The Flotilla is currently in Greece being prevented from sailing to Gaza by the Greek government.  Both Adam & Huwaida were on board the hijacked Free Gaza Boat "Spirit of Humanity" when Israel boarded the boat outside the waters of Gaza last year, kidnapped the passengers and threw them into jail.

Date:

June 29, 2011

Helen Thomas
Award winning veteran journalist who covered the White House for more than five decades. She covered every single U.S. President since President John F. Kennedy. She served as President of the Women's National Press Club. She was the first woman officer of the National Press Club, and became the first woman officer of the White House Correspondents Association, and served as its first woman president. Helen is the author of a number of outstanding books, including Front Row at the White House, Watchdogs of Democracy?, and Listen Up, Mr. President. Helen was born in Kentucky, and is of Lebanese descent.

A live discussion with Helen about her work covering the White House, the U.S. Foreign Policy; her views on the ongoing Arab uprisings in various countries, the Israeli occupation of Palestine, Freedom Flotilla that is about to sail to Gaza, and much more.

Date:

June 22, 2011

Miko Peled
An Israeli peace activist and writer. He was born in Jerusalem to a well-known Zionist family. His father was an Israeli Officer in the 1948 war and an Israeli Major General in the 1967 war; his grandfather was a Zionist leader and signer on the Israeli Declaration of Independence; and his niece was killed in a suicide attack in Jerusalem. Peled is co-founder of the Elbanna-Peled Foundation.

 
A live discussion with Peled about his experience growing up in a Zionist family; his eyewitness account of what he experienced with the Zionist ideology; the Israeli occupation, racism and discrimination against Palestinians; his family's direct connection to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 and during the 1967 war; Peled's forthcoming book "The General’s Son"; and much more.

Date:

June 15, 2011

First Segment: Mustafaa Carroll
Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston), America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization.  We will talk with Mr. Carroll about the new Billboard Campaign launched in Houston few days ago to challenge growing anti-Muslim sentiment in American society.

Second Segment: Filling Yemen's Power Vacuum
Special program from Al Jazeera English featuring guests Hassn al-Haifi, a political commentator and columnist; Adulrahman Bafadel, the head of the Joint Coalition of Opposition Parties in the Yemeni parliament; and Hussein Shobokshi, a columnist for Asharq Alawsat newspaper.

Date:

June 8, 2011

Commentary by Arab Voices on the 44th anniversary of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in Palestine, as well as the Golan Heights in Syria.

Dr. Mohamed Nejib Karoui
President of Attaaouen NGO in Tunisia
 
A discussion with Dr. Karoui (who lives in Tunisia) about the current situation inside Tunisia (6 months after the revolution started), and also talk about his eyewitness account of the dire situation with the Libyan refugees that are fleeing Libya to Tunisia and those who are stranded at the Libyan-Tunisian border.

Nebeil Al-Oboudi, an Iraqi-American who was living in Houston and had appeared several times on Arab Voices passed away Monday, June 6, 2011. We will listen to some of the remarks he made about the situation in occupied Iraq when he talked to Arab Voices live from Baghdad in March 2011.
 
Arab Voices extends its sincere condolences to Nebeil's family. May God bless his soul and give comfort and patience to his family and friends.

Date:

June 1, 2011

"The Irvine 11 Case" and "Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions - The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights by Omar Barghouti"
Special program produced by Law and Disorder that covers two separate topics:

1 - The Irvine 11 Case: In what appears to be a growing government trend of prosecuting outspoken supporters of Palestine, 11 Muslim students were arrested for disrupting a speech--in this case that of the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren.
 
2 - Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions - The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights by Omar Barghouti: The boycott, divest, sanction movement was launched in 2005. It calls upon conscientious citizens of the world to shoulder the load of responsibility of holding Israel accountable to international law and principles of human rights.

Date:

May 25, 2011

Dr. Mustafa Barghouti
Co-founder and Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, a physician and a social, political and human rights activist, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council who served as "Minister of Information", a former candidate for the presidency of the Palestinian National Authority, advocate for peace in the Middle East, and a 2010 Peace Prize nominee.

Today's Goal:  $1,200
Raised:  $1,245  That's 104% of the goal!
Thank you very much.

Date:

May 18, 2011

Remarks made by several Houstonians who participated in the demonstration held on May 15, 2011 in Houston (organized by several organizations) to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba; and we will also look at what leading Israelis have said about the Nakba.
        

Membership Drive

Today's Goal:  $1,200
Raised:  $1,265  That's 105% of the goal!
Thank you very much.

Date:

May 11, 2011

We will reflect back on the Arab Revolutions that stunned several Arab countries over the past few months; talk about the upcoming award-winning Houston Palestine Film Festival with Fady Joudah; and much more.
        

Membership Drive

Today's Goal:  $1,200
Raised:  $1,310  That's 109% of the goal!
Thank you very much.

Date:

May 4, 2011

Dr. Salman Abu Sitta
Palestinian researcher and writes about Palestinian refugees and Palestinian right to return to Palestine. He is author of hundreds of articles, papers and books including "The Atlas of Palestine 1917-1966", 2010. He is a member of the Palestine National Council, founder and President of the Palestine Land Society and General Coordinator of the Right of Return Congress.

May 2011 marks the 63rd anniversary of Al-Nakba (Arabic word for The Catastrophe), that's when Israel declared its independence on 78% of historic Palestine after it wiped out more than 530 Palestinian villages and towns, killed thousands of Palestinians and forced nearly 850,000 Palestinians out of their homes. We will talk with Dr. Salman Abu Sitta about Al-Nakba, the current situation in occupied Palestine,  the prospects for peace, and much more.
 
NOTE: Dr. Salaman Abu Sitta will be speaking at the Arab American Cultural & Community Center in Houston right after his LIVE appearance on Arab Voices. Click here for more details.

Date:

April 27, 2011

Bassam Haddad
Director of the Middle East Studies Program and professor at George Mason University; visiting professor at Georgetown University; founding editor of the Arab Studies Journal; co-founder/editor of Jadaliyya; visiting scholar at Stanford's Program for Good Governance and Political Reform in the Arab World; and author of Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience.

The latest developments in Syria where the ruling regime has been using deadly force to quell the uprising; the effect of the changes announced by the Syrian President such as lifting the state of emergency and other reforms; the similarities of what is happening in Syria to what has happened in other Arab countries recently; and much more.

Date:

April 20, 2011

First Segment: Syria's State of Emergency
A special program from Al Jazeera English featuring guests Walid Saffour, the president of the Syrian Human Rights Committee; Ivan Eland, a senior fellow and director of the Centre on Peace and Liberty, at the Independent Institute.
 
Second Segment: Bahrain's Iron Fist
A special program from Al Jazeera English featuring guests Saeed al-Shihabi from the Bahrain Freedom Movement; Ali al-Ahamd, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs; and Mansoor al-Arayyed, the chairman of the Gulf Council for Foreign Relations.

Date:

April 13, 2011

George Gittoes
World renowned artist, painter, photographer and filmmaker, who often risks his own life in the pro­cess of making his art. He has set up mobile studios in countries torn by wars and conflicts such as Cambodia, Rwanda, Nicaragua, Northern Ireland, Philippines, Bosnia, East Timor, Palestine, Egypt, Congo, South Africa, Lebanon, Russia, Western Sahara, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.

George Gittoes is currently in Houston where his art exhibition Witness to War will be on display at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art beginning Saturday, April 16 through July 17. We will talk with George about his work, his upcoming exhibition in Houston, the countries he has visited, and much more.

Date:

April 6, 2011

First Segment: Is a Civil War Looming in Yemen?
A special program from Al Jazeera English featuring guests Mohamed Qubaty, a former adviser to the Yemeni prime minister; Joseph Kechichian, a columnist for Gulf News newspaper; and Bernard Haykel, a professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University.
 
Second Segment: Syria: The Price of Revolution
A special program from Al Jazeera English featuring guests Malik al-Abdeh, a Syrian journalist; Andrew Tabler, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; and Blake Hounshell, the managing editor of Foreign Policy magazine.

Date:

March 30, 2011

Dr. Ussama Makdisi
Professor of History and the first holder of the Arab-American Educational Foundation Chair of Arab Studies at Rice University. He is an award-winning historian and author of several publications. His previous book, Artillery of Heaven, won the 2009 John Hope Franklin Prize. His new book is titled Faith Misplaced: the Broken Promise of U.S.-Arab Relations, 1820-2001.

As Palestinians today commemorate the 35th anniversary of Land Day, Israel continues to kill Palestinians including women and children, steal their land, expand colonies, build Jewish-only homes on Palestinian land, evict Palestinians from their homes, demolish Palestinian homes, expand the apartheid wall, detain 11,000+ political prisoners, erect military checkpoints, attack Palestinian villages and towns, kidnap Palestinians from their homes, create new discriminating laws, and much worse! Today, we will talk about Palestine, Israel, Zionism, Judaism, the new revolutions in the Arab world, and much more.

Date:

March 23, 2011

Marjorie Cohn
Immediate past president of the National Lawyers Guild and a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. She lectures throughout the world on international human rights and U.S. foreign policy. She has produced numerous publications including the newly released book "The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration, and Abuse".

The UN Security Council resolution "to take all necessary measures... to protect civilians" in Libya; the impact of the military assault on Libya by the U.S. and other nations; the legality of the military attack on Libya and international law; the double standard the U.S. practices when it comes to "protecting civilians" in other countries (for example, the U.S. completely ignores ongoing war crimes committed by Israel on regular basis... just over the past 72 hours, dozens of Palestinians were killed and injured including women and children in Gaza by several Israeli attacks; and dozens were killed in Bahrain, Yemen and other countries by the ruling dictators; and no one has asked for protection of civilians there).

Date:

March 16, 2011

First Segment: A discussion with Reem Khalifa, Senior editor for diplomatic affairs at Al Wasat newspaper in Bahrain, one of the few independent media outlets in Bahrain. We will talk with her about the current situation in Bahrain, and the entry of Saudi and other GCC troops into Bahrain. Reem will speak to us from Bahrain.

Second Segment: A live discussion about the latest developments in Libya with Dr. Ali Ahmida, Chair of the department of political science at the University of New England, a leading analyst and historian of Libya, and author of several articles and books including "The Making of Modern Libya" and "Forgotten Voices: Power and Agency in Colonial and Postcolonial Libya."

Date:

March 9, 2011

First Segment: A discussion with Akram Ramadan, Libyan activist and broadcaster who just returned to London from Libya via Egypt to collect food and supplies to take back to Libya. We will listen to his eyewitness account and discuss the situation in Libya. Akram tells Arab Voices that the situation inside Libya is horrific with as many as 6,000 people killed. He will speak to us from London.

Second Segment: Losing the information war
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last week "America is facing an information war ... and we are losing that war." She said Al Jazeera is gaining more prominence in the U.S. because it offers "real news", and that Al Jazeera was "changing peoples' minds and attitudes. And like it or hate it, it is really effective." We will listen to a special program produced by Al Jazeera titled "Losing the information war".

Date:

March 2, 2011

Libya's Lucrative Ties
As world leaders condemn violence against protesters, what is at stake for Western nations with close ties to Gaddafi? This is a special "Riz Khan" program from Al Jazeera English. To view the entire episode, click here.

Nebeil Al-Oboudi
An Iraqi-American who resides in Houston, but is currently on a visit to Iraq. Nebeil will speak to us LIVE from Baghdad, Iraq.
 
As the world's attention is focused on Libya, there are mass demonstrations taking place in several cities in occupied Iraq (not reported by the media) against corruption and foreign intervention in Iraq where dozens of protesters have been killed. We will talk about this, and also how foreign intervention in countries (such as what happened in Iraq) may not necessarily mean freedom for the people (as some suggest should happen to Libya).

Date:

February 23, 2011

Naeem Gheriany
Libyan-American activist; scientist; nuclear engineer; contributor to the Enough Gaddafi Twitter feed. He was blacklisted and couldn’t go back to Libya, and a lot of his friends were arrested in Libya. He is in constant contact with people inside Libya.

The Libyan revolution; the current dire situation inside Libya, the stance of other countries in the world, including Arab, European and U.S. reaction to the massacres that are committed by the Libyan leader against his own people; and much more.

Date:

February 16, 2011

Dr. Rabab El-Mahdi
Assistant Professor of Political Science at the American University in Cairo. She is co-editor of a collection of scholarly essays, including "Egypt: The Moment of Change" and “Enough! Egypt’s Quest for Democracy” Comparative Political Studies. She has conducted field research in Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, and other countries. Dr. Rabab will speak to us from Cairo, Egypt.

The latest developments on the historic Egyptian revolution, what happens next, Egypt's foreign relations with the U.S., the role of the Egyptian woman during this revolution, and much more.
        

Membership Drive

Today's Goal:  $1,000
Raised:  $1,200  That's 120% of the goal!
Thank you very much.

Date:

February 9, 2011

Jamal Elshayyal
Journalist and News Producer for Al Jazeera English. In 2010 he was onboard the Mavi Marmara covering the Gaza Freedom Flotilla when it was attacked by Israel. Jamal is currently in Egypt and was attacked by the Egyptian security forces. Jamal will speak to us from Alexandria, Egypt.

 
Khaled Fahmy
Chair of the History Department at the American University in Cairo, and author of several publications. Khaled will speak to us from the Liberation Square in Cairo, Egypt.

The latest developments about the revolution in Egypt.
        

Membership Drive

Today's Goal:  $1,200
Raised:  $1,120  That's 93% of the goal!
Thank you very much.

Date:

February 2, 2011

Dr. Samer Shehata
Assistant Professor of Arab Politics at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University, where he teaches courses on Arab and Middle East politics, comparative politics, U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East, Egyptian politics, and culture and politics in the Arab world. He is author of numerous publications, including the book: "Shop Floor Culture and Politics in Egypt". Dr. Shehata was in Egypt and has just returned to the U.S.

 
Dr. Khaled Elsayes
An Egyptian living in Houston and still has family in Egypt. He is an Associate Professor of Diagnostic Radiology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston; and author of numerous publications and recipient of many awards. He is an editorial board member of World Journal of Radiology and is a health care and clinical research consultant for Reuters.

Egypt

Date:

January 26, 2011

Aida Araissi
A local Houstonian, who was born and raised in Tunisia, and still has family members there. She is Founder, President and Managing Director of the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce. Aida works closely with multilateral organizations, NGO's, and economic development councils in the U.S. and abroad. She is an active member of the Arab American Community in Houston.

Hatem Goucha
A local Houstonian, who was born and raised in Tunisia and still has family members there. He was educated in Tunisia, and obtained his BS and PhD in the U.S. Hatem is active in the community, and is a board member and executive committee member with the Arab American Cultural & Community Center (ACC) in Houston.

Zoubier Labidi
A local Houstonian, who was born and raised in Tunisia. He works in Houston and does business in Tunisia.

A discussion with three local Houstonians (originally from Tunisia) about the historic popular revolution in Tunisia that has changed the political landscape of the country. We will hear from them about their country; their personal experiences there; what they are hearing from their relatives in Tunisia; what is the situation now there; what is next for Tunisia; the U.S. reaction/relations; and also talk about the Tunisian community in the greater Houston area; and how Houstonians can help at this time.

Date:

January 19, 2011

Christopher Alexander
Director of the Dean Rusk International Studies Program; Associate Professor of Political Science; and Associate Dean for International Programs at Davidson College in North Carolina. He is a specialist on Tunisia, and author of the new book "Tunisia: Stability and Reform in the Modern Maghreb", who recently published the article "Tunisia's protest wave: where it comes from and what it means".

A discussion about the Arab country Tunisia and the latest developments there; the outcome of the popular revolution that toppled the country's President, and the effect of what has happened on other countries in the Middle East and beyond.

Date:

January 12, 2011

 
 

Zoubir Bouchikhi

Imam Zoubir Bouchikhi's Case
At the end of December 2010, ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) sent Imam Bouchikhi a letter asking him to leave the United States by January 24, 2011. On January 11, 2011, ICE arrested Imam Bouchikhi in Houston, despite the fact that his lawyers had filed few weeks ago an appeal with the 5th circuit court of appeal!

We will talk with our guests (Ali Khalili, with the Coalition to Free Imam Zoubir Bouchikhi, Mounira Belhacel, Imam Bouchikhi's wife, Ilyas & Omar Bouchikhi, Imam Bouchikhi's sons, and Mauri’ Saalakhan, Director of Operations at The Peace Thru Justice Foundation) about the case of Imam Bouchikhi, who is a well-respected Imam, scholar and teacher in Houston with two masters degrees; and a father of four children (3 of them are U.S. citizens).

Date:

January 5, 2011

Crossroads Sudan
What is at stake for Sudan as the South votes (January 9, 2011) on whether to become independent?
 
Special program from Al Jazeera English that looks at the racial issues behind the split, the impact of Sudan's rich resources and the challenge of development ahead.

After Sudan's Referendum
Can the upcoming referendum in Sudan end decades of violence between the North and the South - or will it push Africa's largest country into yet another conflict?
 
Special program from Al Jazeera English (Riz Khan's program) with guests Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, a permanent representative of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations, and Ezekiel Lol Gatkouth, a former rebel soldier who now heads the government of southern Sudan's mission to the US.