Date:

December 28, 2021

Holy Land Trust with Elias Deis
  
In this episode of Arab Voices, we will listen to a conversation with Elias Deis titled “Holy Land Trust”, where he talks about Palestinian Christians and what they are facing today, population in occupied Palestine and around the world, Christian Zionism, role of Christians in the west and how Christian Zionism affects Palestinian Christians in occupied Palestine, and much more.
 
We will also air the question and answer session that followed his talk (moderated by Said Arikat, member of the Palestine Center Committee, and a long time writer and analyst for the Palestinian newspaper al-Quds).
 
This talk was organized by the Jerusalem Fund, and was held on December 14, 2021.
 
Elias Deis
Born into a Christian family with a long history of nonviolent resistance in Beit Sahour, Elias Deis’ life was shaped during the First Intifada, watching his father and his community find the path towards justice through peaceful resistance. It was through his Christian upbringing, holding onto Jesus’s sacred words of “loving thy neighbor,” that led Elias into a life journey of engaging his community in transformation.
 
Through this challenge, he staked out a path of education that would lead him directly into the middle of peacemaking, seeking a deeper understanding of the nature of the violence, the historical roots, and how generational trauma contributes to cycles of unrest and bloodshed. Watching his father Shafeeq lead by example by organizing within the tax-resistance movement in Beit Sahour, being arrested several times, presented him a real-life example of how a community can combat violence in real ways, preparing him to be a community leader.

Date:

December 21, 2021

Anti-Muslim Hate Group, IPT, Collaborates with Israel, Infiltrates & Spies on Muslim American Organizations
  
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, revealed on December 16, 2021, that it has uncovered and disrupted a hate group’s effort to infiltrate and spy on over a dozen mosques and Muslim American organizations. This anti-Muslim hate group is the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), led by Steven Emerson, a far-right extremist who has been described as an anti-Muslim activist by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

CAIR also revealed that this IPT anti-Muslim hate group has been collaborating with Israeli intelligence to spy on U.S. organizations.

CAIR’s investigation revealed that the executive and legal director of its Ohio Chapter, Romin Iqbal, had been secretly working with IPT hate group, sharing confidential information about CAIR’s civil rights work including surreptitiously recorded conversations, strategic plans, and private emails. CAIR-Ohio fired Romin Iqbal on December 14, 2021.

In this episode of Arab Voices, we will share with you remarks by CAIR’s national officers on how they uncovered IPT’s collaboration with Israel to infiltrate and spy on Muslim American Organizations, and how they discovered the mole in its Ohio chapter who has been collaborating secretly with IPT.
 
We will listen to the remarks of Edward Ahmed Mitchell, Attorney and National Deputy Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Nihad Awad, Executive Director and co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Lena Masri, National Litigation Director, General Counsel and Acting Civil Rights Director at the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Their remarks were delivered at a press conference held by CAIR on December 16, 2021. We will also air the questions and answers that followed their remarks.

Date:

December 14, 2021

In this episode of Arab Voices, we will air some of the remarks delivered at two events organized by the United Nations over the past two weeks on Palestine. We will listen to the remarks of Mohammed El-Kurd, Palestinian activist, journalist and writer, delivered at the special meeting held on November 29, 2021, at the United Nations, in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
 
We will also air the remarks of Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on the situation of Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, delivered on December 7, 2021, at a special briefing organized by the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
 
In addition, we will air the remarks of Wessam Ahmad with Al-Haq organization, Saleh Higazi with Amnesty International, Omar Shakir with Human Rights Watch, and Michael Sfard, Israeli Human Rights Lawyer, delivered on December 7, 2021, at a special event titled “Supporting Human Rights Defenders in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Reality, Challenges, and Obligations”, organized by the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
   

Mohammed El-Kurd
Palestinian activist, journalist and writer who grew up in Sheikh Jarrah in occupied east Jerusalem, Palestine. His work has been featured in The Guardian, This Week In Palestine, Al-Jazeera English, The Nation, and the forthcoming Vacuuming Away Fire anthology, among others. Mohammed graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a B.F.A. in Writing, where he created Radical Blankets, an award-winning multimedia poetry magazine. He is currently pursuing an M.F.A. in Poetry from Brooklyn College. His poetry-oud album, Bellydancing On Wounds, was released in collaboration with Palestinian musical artist Clarissa Bitar.
  

Michelle Bachelet
On September 1, 2018, Michelle Bachelet assumed her functions as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Bachelet was elected President of Chile on two occasions (2006–2010 and 2014–2018). She was the first female president of Chile. She served as Health Minister (2000-2002) as well as Chile’s and Latin America’s first female Defense Minister (2002–2004). In 2011, she was named the first Director of UN Women, an organization dedicated to fighting for the rights of women and girls internationally. Michelle Bachelet has a Medical Degree in Surgery, with a specialization in Pediatrics and Public Health.
  

Wessam Ahmad
Director of the Applied Center for International Law of Al-Haq and Coordinator of Al-Haq’s Business and Human Rights Program. He has been working as a human rights advocate with Al-Haq since 2006. His area of research focuses on the economic incentive structure perpetuating the colonization of Palestine along business lines. Mr. Ahmad holds a BA and Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University and an LLM from the Irish Center for Human Rights in Galway.
 

Saleh Higazi
Head of the Jerusalem Office (Israel/Palestine) at Amnesty International and its MENA Deputy Regional Director. He is also an advisor to the Al-Quds University Human Rights Clinic where he worked as academic coordinator and lecturer. He has also worked as a Public Relations Officer in the Office of the Ministry of Planning in Ramallah. He holds an MA in human rights from the University of Essex and a BA in philosophy and political science from Lawrence University.
 

Omar Shakir
Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch. He investigates human rights abuses in Israel, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza. Prior to his current role, he was a Bertha Fellow at the Centre for Constitutional Rights, where he focused on U.S. counterterrorism policies, including legal representation of Guantanamo detainees. A former Fulbright Scholar in Syria, Mr. Shakir holds a JD from Stanford Law School, where he co-authored a report on the civilian consequences of U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan as a part of the International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic. He also holds an MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Affairs, and a BA in International Relations from Stanford.
  

Michael Sfard
An Israeli lawyer and political activist specializing in international human rights law and the laws of war. He has served as counsel in various cases on these topics in Israel. He has represented a variety of Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations, movements and activists before the Israeli Supreme Court. He has brought many cases to challenge the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory and represented hundreds of Israeli soldiers who have refused to serve in the OPT. Mr. Sfard and his law office provide legal counsel for the Israeli human rights NGO Yesh Din and is a legal counsel for Peace Now. Michael Sfard’s recent legal opinion, commissioned by Yesh Din, concluded that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank is a form of apartheid, constituting a crime according to international law. In 2018, he published "The Wall and the Gate: Israel, Palestine, and the Legal Battle for Human Rights".

Date:

December 7, 2021

ACC's 25^th Annual Unity & Friendship Gala - Rising Stronger
The Arab American Cultural and Community Center (ACC) in Houston held its 25^th Annual Unity and Friendship Gala on December 4, 2021. The Gala Chairs were Hadia Mawlawi and Rola Georges. The Mistress of Ceremonies was Sonia Azad with WFAA Dallas. During the Gala, the ACC celebrated the rich Culture and People of Lebanon. This year’s ACC honorees were Mrs. & Mr. Brigitte and Bashar Kalai (2021 ACC Outstanding Community Service Award), Mr. Burhan Ajouz (2021 ACC Outstanding Business Award), and Dr. Sherif Zaafran (2021 ACC Lifetime Achievement Award). The event also included silent auction and live performance by the National Arab Orchestra.
      
In this episode of Arab Voices, we will listen to most of the remarks delivered at the Gala, including the remarks of Jill Yaziji, ACC President, and ACC honorees Brigitte and Bashar Kalai (introduced by Dr. Waleed Gaber), Burhan Ajouz (introduced by Dr. Aziz Shaibani), and Dr. Sherif Zaafran (introduced be Dr. Abdel K. Fustok).

Date:

November 30, 2021

Conversation with Dr. Salim Tamari about the Shrines in Palestine
     
In this episode of Arab Voices, our guest will be the distinguished Palestinian sociologist and historian, Professor Salim Tamari, who also serves as a Research Associate for the Institute for Palestine Studies, and is the editor of the Jerusalem Quarterly.
 
Hosting the conversation with Professor Tamari is Hanan Awad. They will talk about the Makamat, Shrines, or House of High Places in Palestine.

Hanan Awad is a Palestinian American street photographer, whose photos have been exhibited around the world. Hanan’s photos capture the tragedy of the physical and cultural forced displacement of Palestinians and narrate their resilience and resistance against the colonialist occupation of Palestine.
 
Hanan had interviewed Professor Salim Tamari previously about his book “The Storyteller of Jerusalem” where they explored the life, culture, music, and history of Jerusalem in Palestine (1904-1948). That interview is archived on our website, ArabVoices.net.

Date:

November 23, 2021

"Damascus: A History in Words" by Dr. Dana Sajdi
 
The Arab-American Educational Foundation Center for Arab Studies at the University of Houston held the AAEF Paul Kardoush Annual Memorial Lecture on November 11, 2021, at the University of Houston. The lecture was titled "Damascus: A History in Words", and the speaker was Professor Dana Sajdi, a prominent historian teaching at Boston College.
 
In this episode of Arab Voices, we will air that lecture.
 
Professor Dana Sajdi is a prominent historian teaching at Boston College. She is the author of The Barber of Damascus: Nouveau Literacy in the Eighteenth-Century Ottoman Levant (Stanford University Press, 2013) and the editor of Ottoman Tulips, Ottoman Coffee: Leisure and Lifestyle in the Eighteenth Century (IB Tauris, 2014). Her current book project, In Defense of Damascus: Arabic Textual Cityscapes offers a new history of the venerable city between the 12th and 20th centuries, drawing on a long and uninterrupted tradition of prose topographies.

Date:

November 16, 2021

New Lawsuit against Houston & Texas over Anti-BDS Law
     
In this episode of Arab Voices, we will air the remarks delivered at a press conference held on November 1, 2021, by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announcing a new lawsuit filed on October 29, 2021, against the City of Houston and the State of Texas on behalf of a business who was unable to renew its contract with the City of Houston because they refused to sign the state imposed oath not to boycott Israel. CAIR filed the motion for a temporary restraining order on behalf of A&R Engineering and Testing firm that was asked by the City of Houston to sign an anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) clause in its contract. We will hear the remarks delivered at the press conference by the owner of A&R Engineering and Testing firm, Rasmy Hassouna, who is of Palestinian heritage and has done more than two million dollars of business with the City of Houston over the last 20 years, as well as the remarks of CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas and Chairman of CAIR Texas-Houston John Floyd.
 
The recent lawsuit filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations is not the first in Texas or the nation against many state laws nationwide designed to block the growing BDS movement in the United States and worldwide in defense of Palestinian human rights. In 2019, CAIR won a landmark victory in a lawsuit over the first version of the Texas law on behalf of Bahia Amawi, the Texas speech language pathologist who lost her job because she refused to sign a “No Boycott of Israel” clause. During this episode of Arab Voices, we will also air potions of the interview we previously conducted with attorney John Floyd with CAIR-Houston and Bahia Amawi talking about that lawsuit and the landmark victory.

Date:

November 9, 2021

Date:

November 2, 2021

"Concerning the Political in Art" by Rabih Alameddine
 
The Arab-American Educational Foundation Center for Arab Studies at the University of Houston held the Nijad and Zeina Fares Arab-American Educational Foundation Annual Distinguished Lecture in Modern Arab Studies on October 28, 2021 at the University of Houston. The lecture was titled "Concerning the Political in Art". The speaker was Rabih Alameddine, Lebanese-American author of six critically acclaimed novels and Kapnick Distinguished Writer in Residence at the University of Virginia Creative Writing Program.
 
In this episode of Arab Voices, we will air that talk.
 
Rabih Alameddine is the author of six critically acclaimed novels, most recently The Wrong End of the Telescope (Grove Atlantic, 2021), which Publisher’s Weekly called, “profound and wonderful,” The Angel of History (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2016), An Unnecessary Woman (Grove Press, 2014), The Hakawati (Knopf, 2008), I, The Divine (W.W. Norton, 2001), and Koolaids (Picador, 1998). He is also the author of a book of short stories, The Perv (Picador, 1999.) Rabih's work has been awarded the Arab American Book Award in 2015 and 2017, the Lambda Literary Award in 2017, and was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2014.
 
Born in Amman, Jordan, Rabih grew up in Lebanon and Kuwait, lived in England, then moved to the United States. He earned a degree in engineering from UCLA and an MBA in San Francisco before becoming a painter and novelist. In 2002, Rabih received a Guggenheim Fellowship. Rabih is currently the Kapnick Distinguished Writer in Residence at the University of Virginia’s Creative Writing Program.

Date:

October 26, 2021

Apartheid Israel Classifies Six World-Renowned Palestinian NGOs as "Terrorist Organizations"
 
In this episode of Arab Voices, we will talk about the outrageous classification of six world-renowned Palestinian non-governmental civil society organizations (Addameer, Al-Haq, Defense for Children International-Palestine, Union of Agricultural Work Committees, Bisan Center for Research and Development, Union of Palestinian Women Committees) as "terrorist organizations" by Apartheid Israel, the reaction it generated, and the calls on Israel to rescind its decision.
 
Over the years, Arab Voices interviewed staff from some of these organizations. As a matter of act, the first guest that appeared on Arab Voices during the first show in April 2002 was Hanan Elmasu, who was at that time a member of the Board of Trustees of Addameer. The latest interviews occurred in 2021: In September 2021, we interviewed Sahar Francis with Addameer, and in May 2021, we interviewed Aseel AlBajeh, Legal Researcher and Advocacy Officer at Al-Haq. These interviews are archived on our website, ArabVoices.net.
  
During this episode of Arab Voices, we will also listen to some of the remarks delivered at a joint event organized by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and Palestinian civil society. The event was held on October 4, 2021, and was titled “Restricting Civic Space: Addressing the Israeli Escalation of Attacks against Palestinian Human Rights Defenders”. The speakers were Haya Omari, Legal Researcher at Al-Haq providing overview of Israel's attacks on human rights defenders and civil society, as well as Israel's Apartheid measures, Khaled Quzmar, Director of Defense for Children International-Palestine, speaking on the Israeli attacks on his organization, Sahar Francis, Director of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, discussing cases of attacks on organizations and arrests and detentions of human rights defenders, and Michael Lynk, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, speaking on the protection offered by international law in protecting the work done by human rights defenders.

Date:

October 19, 2021

Stop the War! An Event to Mark 20 Years of the War on Terror
 
In this episode of Arab Voices, we will air some of the remarks delivered at a special event organized by Stop The War Coalition held on September 18, 2021 in the UK to mark 20 years of the "War on Terror". The event addressed several topics including Iraq, Islamophobia and Civil Liberties, and The Future. The remarks we will air are for:
 
Haifa Zangana, an Iraqi writer, painter, and political activist, known for her novel Women on a Journey: Between Baghdad and London about political repression, violence and exile.
 
Kate Connelly, writer and historian who led school student strikes in the British anti-war movement in 2003.
 
Sami Ramadani, an Iraqi-born lecturer in sociology and writes on Iraq and Middle East current affairs. He was a political exile from Saddam's regime but campaigned against US-led sanctions and the invasion and occupation of Iraq. He is a member of the steering committee of Stop the War Coalition.
 
John Rees, British political activist, academic, journalist and writer who is a national officer of the Stop the War Coalition, and founding member of Counterfire.
 
Weyman Bennett, co-convenor of Stand Up To Racism and joint secretary of United Against Fascism.
 
Kareem Dennis (better known by his stage name Lowkey), a British-Iraqi rapper and activist from London.
 
Shabbir Lakha, Stop the War officer, a People's Assembly activist and a member of Counterfire.
 
Zarah Sultana, British Labour Party politician and a Member of Parliament for Coventry South.

Date:

October 12, 2021

Holocaust Museum Houston removes Latinx Artists from a panel discussion because of Palestine, and “In The Sun” Art Symposium panel discussion featuring local artists and community organizers
 
In this episode of Arab Voices, we will talk about “In The Sun” art symposium and exhibition held in Houston by CASP (Collective Artists in Solidarity with Palestine), and PYM (Palestinian Youth Movement). The event was organized after the Holocaust Museum Houston cancelled Latinx artists' participation in a panel discussion because the artists wanted to speak about Palestine. We will listen to some of the remarks by Mohammed Nabulsi with the Palestinian Youth Movement and the Palestinian American Cultural Center, Lina Assi with the Palestinian Youth Movement, Angel Lartigue, visual artist, Bria Lauren, visual artist, Mariposa Tejada, poet and land & water defender, and Ryan Crane, performance artist and organizer.
 
The Holocaust Museum Houston (HMH) opened an exhibition in April 2021 called “Withstand: Latinx Art in Times of Conflict”. Few weeks later (in May 2021), HMH posted a message on its social media account condemning the rise of antisemitism across America and the world. The statement was posted after Israel launched a deadly and destructive attack on the besieged Gaza Strip that caused outrage across the world.
 
One of the Latinx artists, Angel Lartigue, who was also scheduled to speak at a panel discussion at HMH, asked HMH to release another statement indicating they are an ally for Palestine and ending apartheid. HMH did not respond to the request, and when the Latinx Artists participating in HMH exhibition said they would speak about Palestine at a panel discussion scheduled at HMH, they were removed from the panel. Six Latinx Artists pulled their work from the exhibition, drafted a statement (Collective artists in solidarity with Palestine) that was signed by dozens of artists from around the globe. In that statement, they demand not just Holocaust institutions but all cultural art centers to stand in solidarity with Palestine and question the role and accountability of such institutions. Their statement said “We advocate for the abolition of the settler colonial state of Israel and pose the following questions: How can The Holocaust Museum Houston stand against apartheid and ally to Palestine? What is the role of US-based Holocaust institutions in relation to Palestinian liberation?”
 
A coalition with Palestinian artists, poets, and activists was then born. CASP (Collective Artists in Solidarity with Palestine) collaborated with PYM (Palestinian Youth Movement), and formed “In The Sun” exhibition (held at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art in Houston) that explores themes of generational struggle, ancestral lineages, and social regeneration through a lens of decolonization and popular resistance.

Date:

October 5, 2021

“The Future of Islam and Muslim-West Relations: Why does it Matter?” by Dr. John Esposito
 
In this episode of Arab Voices, we will listen to a speech by Dr. John Esposito on “The Future of Islam and Muslim-West Relations: Why does it Matter?".
 
Dr. Esposito is Professor of Religion and International Affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. He is Founding Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in the Walsh School of Foreign Service. He previously served as President of the American Academy of Religion and Middle East Studies Association of North America, and also served as consultant to the U.S. Department of State and other agencies, European and Asian governments, corporations, universities, and media worldwide and ambassador for the UN Alliance of Civilizations and was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Council of 100 Leaders and E. C. European Network of Experts on De-Radicalisation. Dr. Esposito authored more than 50 books, including The Future of Islam, Islamophobia and the Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century, Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think (with Dalia Mogahed), Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?, Islam and Politics; Makers of Contemporary Islam and Islam and Democracy (with John O. Voll), What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam, Asian Islam in the 21st Century (John Voll & Osman Bakar), Islam: The Straight Path; Islam and Democracy and Makers of Contemporary Islam (with J. Voll); Modernizing Islam (with F. Burgat) Political Islam: Revolution, Islam and Secularism in the Middle East (with A. Tamimi), Islam, Gender, and Social Change and Muslims on the Americanization Path and Daughters of Abraham (with Y. Haddad), and Women in Muslim Family Law.
 
The speech we will air was delivered at a public event held in 2017 at Assumptions University in Canada.

Date:

September 28, 2021

Dr. Edward Said: "Palestine and the Universality of Human Rights"
This week marks the 19^th anniversary of the passing of Professor Edward Said, and on this occasion, we will air today one of the last major speeches he delivered few months before he died. The talk was titled "Memory, Inequality, and Power: Palestine and the Universality of Human Rights". He delivered that speech at the University of California, Berkeley on February 19, 2003.
  
Professor Said is an internationally renowned writer, author, and scholar, whose writings about the Middle East and its relationship with the West have gone far to open new roads in academia and to influence public opinion. Dr. Edward Said was a giant figure in the Arab-American community, and for Arabs in the Middle East and across the world. During the course of his life, he articulated a vision of Palestine and the Arab world that not only recalled the significant contributions of the region’s people but also offered hope for the future. Edward W. Said was Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He died on September 25, 2003, in New York.

Date:

September 21, 2021

Interview with Sahar Francis (in Ramallah)
     
Sahar Francis is the Director of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association. She is a Human Rights Lawyer, based in Ramallah, in occupied Palestine.
 
We will talk with Sahar about the thousands of Palestinian Political Prisoners (including women and children) held in Israeli jails, their ill treatment, torture, physical and mental abuse, round-the-clock interrogations, lack of food and health services, administrative detention, collective punishment, and more.
 
We will also talk about the great escape by six Palestinian political prisoners from one of the “most secure” Israeli prisons, who have been recaptured since their escape earlier this month.
 
In addition, we will talk about the arrests made by the Palestinian Authority of some Palestinians who were protesting the murder of Palestinian activist Nizar Banat, who was killed hours after he was arrested by the Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank in June 2021.

Date:

September 14, 2021

1st Segment: "Spying on Muslim & Arab Americans" with Abdeen Jabara
     
Since 9/11, the FBI has subjected the Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities to surveillance. Sending infiltrators and confidential informants into mosques and other community spaces absent any evidence of criminal wronging, it’s clear that for the FBI race, religion, and national origin are inherently suspicious in the War on Terror. However, the FBI’s history of targeting Muslim and Arab Americans goes back long before 9/11. As early as 1972, Richard Nixon had ordered mass surveillance of Arab Americans as part of “Operation Boulder.”
 
We will air today a special episode from Still Spying Podcast titled Spying on Muslim & Arab Americans. It is a conversation with Abdeen Jabara, a longtime civil rights attorney, past president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and former board member of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who not only fought against surveillance and discrimination on behalf of others, he himself was spied on by the FBI and the NSA. 
 

2nd Segment: CAIR on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11, and Results of Nationwide Survey of American Muslims
     
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, held a press conference on September 10, 2021, at its national headquarters in Washington, D.C., to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks and to discuss the results of its nationwide survey of American Muslims about their perspectives and experiences over the past twenty years.
 
Today on Arab Voices, we will air the remarks delivered at that press conference by Nihad Awad, Executive Director and co-founder of CAIR. We will also listen to Robert McCaw, CAIR’s Government Affairs Director, revealing the results of the new nationwide survey of American Muslims about their perspectives and experiences over the past twenty years.

Date:

September 7, 2021

1st Segment: Abed Ayoub
     
During the first segment, we will interview Abed Ayoub, National Legal and Policy Director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the largest Arab American grassroots organization in the United States committed to defending the rights of people of Arab descent and promoting their rich cultural heritage.
 
We will speak with Abed about the effect of the 9/11 attacks on Arab and Muslim Americans over the past 20 years. We will talk about the rise in hate crimes, discrimination, surveillance, policies and changes in laws and governmental actions taken after 9/11 that affected Arab and Muslim communities, media influence and how it played a role with its negative coverage of Arabs and Muslims, the US "war on terror", and more.
  

2nd Segment: Lindsay Koshgarian
     
During the second segment, we will speak with Lindsay Koshgarian, Program Director for the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, and co-author of the newly released report “State of Insecurity: The Cost of Militarization Since 9/11”.
 
We will speak with Lindsay about the newly released report “State of Insecurity: The Cost of Militarization Since 9/11”. The report reveals that "Over the 20 years since 9/11, the U.S. has spent $21 trillion dollars on foreign and domestic militarization. Of the $21 trillion the U.S. has spent on foreign and domestic militarization since 9/11, $16 trillion went to the military (including $7.2 trillion for military contractors), $3 trillion to veterans’ programs, $949 billion to Homeland Security, and $732 billion to federal law enforcement). We will also talk about the Different Choices listed in the report of where this money could be spent "the next 20 years present an opportunity to reconsider where we need to reinvest for a better future."

Date:

August 31, 2021

Interview with Matthew Hoh
     
In this episode of Arab Voices, we will interview Matthew Hoh about the war on Afghanistan, the US withdrawal, the wars on Yemen, Iraq and other countries, American interventionist policy, war profiteers, the Military-Industrial Complex, U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East, and more.
   
Matthew Hoh is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and a member of the Eisenhower Media Initiative. He is a former marine and State Department official who in 2009 resigned his position with the State Department in Afghanistan in protest of the Afghan War. In 2010, he received the Ridenhour Prize for Truth Telling. He is also is a member of the Board of Directors for the Council for a Livable World and is an Advisory Board Member for Expose Facts. Hoh writes on issues of war, peace and post-traumatic stress disorder recovery.

Date:

August 24, 2021

Sliman Mansour on Palestinian Art and Resistance
     
In this episode of Arab Voices, guest host Hanan Awad interviews Sliman Mansour on Palestinian Art and Resistance.
 
Sliman Mansour is one of the most prominent and influential Palestinian artists of his time. As part of the Palestinian struggle, his art reflects the brutal reality of Palestine and her people, highlighting the Palestinian identity under military occupation. Sliman’s art has become a worldwide phenomenon, having been exhibited throughout the world. During the first Intifada of 1987 Sliman became known as the “artist of the Intifada” since he helped start the ‘New Vision’ art movement.

Date:

August 17, 2021

Symposium on Age of Coexistence (part 2 of 2)
     
Last week on Arab Voices, we aired some of the remarks delivered at the symposium held in April 2021 on Professor Ussama Makdisi's book "Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World”. We aired the remarks of Professor Judith Tucker with Georgetown University, Professor Cemil Aydin with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Dean Amal Ghazal with the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
  
Today on Arab Voices, we will air the remarks of Professor Ilan Pappé with the University of Exeter, and the remarks of the book author, Professor Ussama Makdisi. We will also air some of the questions and answers that followed their talk.
 
The symposium was hosted by the Arab-American Educational Foundation Center for Arab Studies at the University of Houston, and was moderated by Professor Abdel Razzaq Takriti, Director of the Arab-American Educational Foundation (AAEF) Center for Arab Studies, and AAEF Chair in Modern Arab History at the University of Houston.

Date:

August 10, 2021

Symposium on Age of Coexistence (part 1 of 2)
     
In April 2021, the Arab-American Educational Foundation Center for Arab Studies at the University of Houston hosted a symposium on Professor Ussama Makdisi's book "Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World". It featured contributions from the author, Professor Ussama Makdisi, as well as distinguished scholars Professor Ilan Pappé (University of Exeter), Dean Amal Ghazal (Doha Institute for Graduate Studies), Professor Judith Tucker (Georgetown University), and Professor Cemil Aydin (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). The event was moderated by Professor Abdel Razzaq Takriti, Director of the Arab-American Educational Foundation (AAEF) Center for Arab Studies, and AAEF Chair in Modern Arab History at the University of Houston.
 
Today on Arab Voices, we will air part 1 from that symposium, and we will air part 2 next week.

Date:

August 3, 2021

9/11 at 20: So, Why Did We Attack Iraq?
     
Today on Arab Voices, we will air a segment from Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen, a podcast titled “9/11 at 20: So, Why Did We Attack Iraq?” In this podcast, Burt Cohen interviews historian Larry Hartenian whose new book is titled George W Bush Administration Propaganda for an Invasion of Iraq: The Absence of Evidence. He explains that Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others rejected any evidentiary standards. Intelligence was tailored, politicized, and shaped to fit a narrative predetermined by the White House. They knew there was no evidence of connection to 9/11. So a precedent was set for Trumps reality. Have any lessons been learned?

Date:

July 27, 2021

The Blockade of Yemen Continues: Updates on the crisis and what Congress can do about it
     
Today on Arab Voices, we will air a portion of an event held on July 22, 2021, hosted by Demand Progress Education Fund. The event was titled “The Blockade of Yemen Continues: Updates on the crisis and what Congress can do about it”.
  
Despite growing pressure from lawmakers and civil society against the Saudi blockade of Yemen, during the entire month of May no fuel tankers were permitted to enter Hodeidah port. While the Biden Administration has promised to end US support for the Saudi-led coalition’s war, and has publicly acknowledged opposition to the blockade, there has been no confirmation that the US has meaningfully pressured Saudi Arabia to lift the blockade nor has the US fully ended support for the Saudi-led coalition. Meanwhile, the world’s worst humanitarian crisis continues in Yemen.
  
The Panelists were Hassan El-Tayyab with Friends Committee on National Legislation, Elias Yousif with the Center for International Policy, Shireen Al-Adeimi, with Michigan State University, and Marcus Stanley with the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. The panelists offered updates on the blockade, ongoing humanitarian crisis, and the US’s role. They also highlighted stories from the ground in Yemen; discussed recent developments towards a peace deal; and offered perspectives on what role Congress can play.    

Date:

July 20, 2021

The Palestinian Nakba: From Ethnic Cleansing in 1948 to Apartheid in 2021
     
The Palestine Center in Washington, D.C. held a talk on the topic "The Palestinian Nakba: From Ethnic Cleansing in 1948 to Apartheid in 2021" on May 19, 2021, with Dr. Shafeeq Ghabra. On this episode of Arab Voices, we will air a portion of that discussion.
 
Dr. Shafeeq Ghabra discussed the history of the Nakba and what it means to Palestinians. During his presentation he answered some major questions on the establishment of Israel, the forced ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population, stories about the land, and refugees. He concluded with an analysis of the present situation in Palestine as a case of ongoing and deepening ethnic cleansing and apartheid. This event was moderated by Said Arikat.
 
Dr. Shafeeq Ghabra has been a Professor of Political Science at Kuwait University since 1987, and was a founding president of the American University of Kuwait from 2003 to 2006. He also directed the Kuwait Information Office in Washington, DC from 1998 to 2002, as well as the Center of Strategic Studies at Kuwait University from 2002 to 2003. Dr. Ghabra earned his BA from Georgetown University in 1975, his MA from Purdue University in 1983, and his PhD in Political Science from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987. He is the author of eight books and numerous studies, including Palestinians in Kuwait: The Family and the Politics of Survival and The Nakba and the Emergence of the Palestinian Diaspora in Kuwait. Dr. Ghabra has also been a regular columnist and guest of various international and Arab media outlets since 1988.

Said Arikat is a Member of the Palestine Center Committee, and the Washington bureau chief for the Palestinian newspaper al-Quds, a daily for which he is a writer, columnist, and analyst. He previously served as spokesman and director of public information for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, and currently teaches as an adjunct professor at American University in Washington, DC.

Date:

July 13, 2021

Debate: Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism
     
Today on Arab Voices, we will air an episode from Alternative Radio, an award-winning weekly public affairs program. It is a debate on the motion “Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism“ held at the Emmanuel Centre in London. The debate features two speakers for the motion: Melanie Phillips, journalist, broadcaster and author, and Einat Wilf, Israeli politician, and former Knesset member, and it also features two speakers against the motion: Mehdi Hasan, journalist and broadcaster, and Ilan Pappe, Israeli historian, and university professor.

Date:

July 6, 2021

1st Segment: Emergency Rally For Palestine
     
We will listen to a few remarks from some of the participants in the emergency rally held in Houston, Texas on Monday, July 5, 2021, in support of the Palestinian people of Silwan in occupied Jerusalem, and against Israeli demolitions of Palestinian businesses and homes.
             

2nd Segment: Obit: Ramsey Clark’s Appeal for Peace – STOP the War on Iraq – Let Iraq LIVE!
     
From TUC Radio: Rebroadcast in memory of Ramsey Clark
Former U.S. attorney general and longtime human rights lawyer Ramsey Clark died on April 10, 2021 at the age of 93. He served as attorney general from 1967 to 1969. After leaving office, Clark became a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy. “The world is the most dangerous place it’s ever been because of what our country has done, and is doing” he said.
  
Maria Gilardin recorded him in San Francisco on October 12, 2002 – He said that when George Bush declared his war on terrorism he made the most lawless step in the history of the United States. Ramsey Clark warned of another war on Iraq – both for the poor and tortured people of that country and for us, for our own safety and for our souls. In spite of huge peace demonstrations across the world – war began on March 19, 2003.
  
Few people knew Iraq as well as Ramsey Clark. While the bombs fell on Iraq in 1991 he traveled 2000 miles by car. He returned to Iraq every year to see the effect of the sanctions and weekly US/UK bombings. He visited hospitals and devastated neighborhoods.

Date:

June 29, 2021

Yemen: Famine and Future
     
Today on Arab Voices, we will air an episode from CODEPINK Radio titled “Yemen: Famine and Future”. CODEPINK Radio airs on our sister stations WBAI in New York and WPFW in Washington, D.C.
 
In this episode of CODEPINK Radio (recorded in May 2021) they talk about Yemen with Hassan El-Tayyab from FCNL (Friends Committee On National Legislation) and Iman Saleh from Yemeni Liberation Movement. Iman was in DC on a hunger strike, and in this episode of CODEPINK Radio you will hear from Iman about that experience, and you will also hear about action for Yemen happening in Congress from Hassan El-Tayyab. We will also listen to CODEPINK cofounder Medea Benjamin who attended General Dynamics annual general meeting in Reston, Virginia and confronted the CEO and the board with questions about the company's weapon sales to Saudi Arabia and other repressive regimes.

Date:

June 22, 2021

Conversation with Dr. Salim Tamari by guest host Hanan Awad
     
In this episode of Arab Voices, guest host Hanan Awad in conversation with Palestinian sociologist and historian professor Salim Tamari. Our conversation with Professor Tamari will revolve primarily around his book “The Storyteller of Jerusalem” as we explore the life, culture, music, and history of Jerusalem in Palestine (1904-1948).
 
Salim Tamari is a Professor of Sociology (Emeritus) at Birzeit University in Palestine. He also serves as a Research Associate for the Institute for Palestine Studies, and is editor of the Jerusalem Quarterly.
 
Hanan Awad is a Palestinian American street photographer, whose photos have been exhibited around the world. Her photos capture the tragedy of the physical and cultural forced displacement of Palestinians and narrate their resilience and resistance against the colonialist occupation of Palestine.

Date:

June 15, 2021

1st Segment: TX-22 Stands with Palestine & Protest of Rep. Troy Nehl
     
We will listen to the key remarks delivered at the protest held on June 12, 2021 outside the office of Congressman Troy Nehl, who represents the 22nd Congressional District of Texas. The participants protested his support for Israel's human rights abuses, Israel’s Killing of Palestinian Civilians, Ethnic Cleansing and Apartheid. We will listen to the remarks of Kamal Khalil (Palestinian American Council), Amina Ishaq (An-Nisa), Ambreen Hernandez (Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR-Houston), Abdullah Najjar (MAS Katy Center), and Ayman Kabire (Islamic Society of Greater Houston). We will also listen to a brief statement from Judge O'Neill Williams with the Texas 268th District Court, who attended the protest.
     

2nd Segment: Debunking Israel’s ‘Human Shield’ Defense in Gaza Massacre
     
We will listen to a segment from the Empire Files titled "Debunking Israel’s ‘Human Shield’ Defense in Gaza Massacre", in which Abby Martin gives 5 points that evaporate Israel's assertion that the civilians it kills in Gaza were "human shields."
   
Abby Martin is Director and Creator of The Empire Files, journalist, filmmaker, and former teleSUR presenter.
  
On May 24, 2021, Abby Martin won a federal free speech lawsuit against Georgia's unconstitutional "anti-BDS" law filed in 2020. The judge ruled that the University System of Georgia violated Abby Martin's constitutional rights when it cancelled her speaking engagement on a college campus because she refused to sign a state-mandated oath pledging not to engage in boycotts of Israel. The lawsuit was filed on her behalf by the Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia), CAIR Legal Defense Fund and the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund.

Date:

June 8, 2021

1st Segment: "Houston: Naksa Day Protest" at Boeing & Lockheed Martin
     
On June 5, 2021, several organizations lead by the Palestinian Youth Movement, organized a protest in front of Boeing Company in Clear Lake/Houston to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the 1967 war and ongoing expulsion of Palestinians from their land by racist Apartheid Israel, and also protest Boeing’s new plan to sell $735 million worth of precision guided missiles to Israel, especially as Israel uses the weapons to commit genocide and war crimes against the Palestinians in occupied Palestine. Hundreds of people attended the protest. The protesters also marched 1.3 miles walking from Boeing to Lockheed Martin to protest its weapons sales to Israel, and then walked back 1.3 miles to Boeing. We will air today some of the remarks delivered at the protest by Mohammed Nabulsi with the Palestinian Youth Movement and Palestinian American Cultural Center and one of organizers for the event, and also listen to the remarks of Patrick Higgins, a PhD Candidate at the University of Houston who is currently finishing his dissertation on Palestinian perceptions on US imperialism in the Arab World from the 1950s to the early 1970s, and how those perceptions shaped theory and strategy of the Palestinian cause.
  

2nd Segment: Muna El-Kurd's Remarks at Human Rights Council
     
Muna El-Kurd spoke on May 27, 2021 at a special session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the grave human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including occupied East Jerusalem, and today we will listen to her remarks.
 
Muna El-Kurd is a Palestinian Journalist, activist, and resident of Sheikh Jarrah in occupied Jerusalem, who has been actively protesting and refusing to leave her own house in occupied Jerusalem despite Israel’s repeated attempts at forcing her out of her own house. On Sunday, June 6, 2021, the Israeli occupation forces stormed her house in Sheikh Jarrah and arrested her and her brother, Mohammed El-Kurd, who is also very active against the Israeli atrocities and ethnic cleansing, and took them both to Israeli interrogation, then released them.
  

3rd Segment: Issam Younis' Remarks at Human Rights Council
     
Issam Younis also spoke on May 27, 2021 at the special session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the grave human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including occupied East Jerusalem, and today we will listen to his remarks.

Issam Younis is the Director for Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza, and the Head of the Independent Commission for Human Rights of Palestine. During the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza, Israel killed Issam’s father, step mother, and his 4-year-old niece.
   

4th Segment: Dr. Rashid Khalidi's Briefing at UN Security Council
     
The United Nations Security Council, asked Professor Rashid Khalidi to brief the Council on May 27, 2021, on the steps necessary to implement United Nations resolutions, and provide peace and security for all in Palestine, and today we will listen to his remarks.
 
Professor Rashid Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University in New York, editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies, and author of many books including The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017.

Date:

June 1, 2021

National March for Palestine
     
Today on Arab Voices, we will listen to the remarks of some of the participants at the “National March for Palestine” held on May 29, 2021, in Washington, D.C., and attended by more than 35,000. It was led by American Muslims for Palestine and US Council of Muslim Organizations, along with partners and allies of more than 130 organizations from across the United States. They called on President Biden and the U.S. Congress to hold Israel accountable for its war crimes in Gaza.
  
We will listen to the remarks of Phyllis Bennis (Institute of Policy Studies, and Jewish Voice for Peace), Dr. Hatem Bazian (American Muslims for Palestine), Zeina Ashrawi Hutchison (Virginia Coalition for Human Rights), Amer Zahr (New Generation for Palestine, NGP Action), Anthony Lorenzo Green (Black Lives Matter DC), Nihad Awad (Council on American-Islamic Relations), Lisbeth Melendez Rivera (Jewish Voice for Peace), Maher Massis (Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace), and Lamis Deek (Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition).
  
We will also air the remarks of the Reverend Father Fouad Saba of St. George Orthodox Church, delivered at the Palestine rally held in Illinois on May 21, 2021.

Date:

May 26, 2021

1st Segment: Refaat Alareer (in Gaza)
     
Interview with Refaat Alareer (in Gaza, occupied Palestine) about the dire situation in the besieged Gaza Strip as a result of the latest Israeli bombardment and war crimes, in which Israel killed 253 Palestinians, including 66 children, 39 women and 17 elderly, and injured nearly 2,000. More than 40,000 Palestinians were forced to take shelter in United Nations-run schools in Gaza to escape the Israeli bombardment. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said nearly 17,000 residential and commercial units (including 24 health facilities) in the Gaza Strip were damaged or destroyed during the 11-day Israeli bombardment. It is estimated that more than 80,000 Palestinians have lost their homes or had their homes seriously or partially damaged. In the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, 18 Palestinians were killed by Israeli occupation forces, and nearly 8,500 were wounded over the past few weeks.
 
Refaat Alareer is co-editor of the book Gaza Unsilenced and was the editor of (and a contributor to) Gaza Writes Back, a collection of short stories. Refaat received his M.A. degree in Comparative Literature from the University College of London, and his Ph.D. in English Literature from the Universiti Putra Malaysia. He has been teaching world literature, comparative literature, and both fiction and non-fiction creative writing at the Islamic University of Gaza since 2007. Refaat Alareer is a native of Gaza City’s Shijaieh neighborhood.
         

2nd Segment: "Houston Stands with Palestine" Rally Remarks
    
We listen to the voices of several participants in the “Houston Stands with Palestine” rally held in Houston on May 22, 2021. The rally was organized by the Islamic Circle of North America, ICNA, and was co-sponsored by other organizations including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Islamic Society of Greater Houston, Palestinian American Cultural Center, Palestinian American Council, Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Houston, Palestinian Youth Movement, Muslim American Society, and American Muslims for Palestine. The rally was held in the Galleria area and was attended by more than 4,000 people. It was the third protest and rally in one week in Houston.

Date:

May 19, 2021

Date:

May 12, 2021

1st Segment: Suhaila (in Sheikh Jarrah)
     
We will speak with Suhaila (in Sheikh Jarrah, occupied East Jerusalem), a Palestinian woman and a member of one of the families that Israel decided to expel and force her out of her house in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Occupied Jerusalem, and give her house and other Palestinian houses to Zionist Israeli Colonizers. We will talk about Sheikh Jarrah, the decision by Israel to force her and her family out of her own house, Israeli ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine, and more.
         

Date:

May 5, 2021

1st Segment: Aseel AlBajeh (in Palestine)
     
A discussion with Aseel AlBajeh, Legal Researcher and Advocacy Officer at Al-Haq organization in Palestine.
 
We will speak with Aseel about the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine by the Israeli Zionist settler-colonial project, the plans to force Palestinian families out of their homes from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, home demolitions, the steadfastness of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah, and more.
        

2nd Segment: Rev. Dr. Alex Awad
    
We will speak with Reverend Alex Awad about the Israeli measures in occupied Jerusalem, and the plans to force Palestinian families out of their homes from Sheikh Jarrah, the attacks on Christian and Muslim worshippers in Jerusalem, Christian Zionism, Evangelical support for Israel in the US, what people can do, and more.
 
Reverend Dr. Alex Awad is a retired United Methodist Missionary, who served as pastor of East Jerusalem Baptist Church, dean of students at Bethlehem Bible College, and director of the Shepherd Society. He is also a member of the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace, and author of two books, Through the Eyes of the Victims and Palestinian Memories. Both books reveal the realities of life under Israeli military occupation.

Date:

April 28, 2021

Israeli Apartheid
   
The newly released historic report by Human Rights Watch: "A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution", and the recommendations it includes. Earlier this year, the Israeli Human Rights group B’tselem documented Israeli Apartheid against Palestinians in its report "A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is Apartheid"
 
Congresswoman Betty McCollum's new legislation “Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act“ (H.R.2590). McCollum’s legislation prohibits Israel from using U.S. taxpayer dollars in the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem for: the military detention, abuse, or ill-treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention; to support the seizure and destruction of Palestinian property and homes in violation of international humanitarian law; or, to extend any assistance or support for Israel’s unilateral annexation of Palestinian territory in violation of international humanitarian law.
 
Susan Abulhawa's remarks on why Israel is an apartheid state, delivered this month at the “END US SUPPORT FOR ISRAELI APARTHEID?" conference. Abulhawa is a Palestinian American poet, writer, activist, and author.
 
Former Congressman Brian Baird's remarks on how Israel and its U.S. lobby assert authority over Congress, his visits to Gaza, especially his shock at seeing the American International School in Gaza flattened by Israel using American-made bombs, his efforts to investigate the murder of his constituent Rachel Corrie, and more.

Date:

April 21, 2021

The Early History of the Arab-American Community
     
The month of April is National Arab-American Heritage Month, a celebration and recognition of Arab Americans, their rich culture, heritage, and contributions. Arab Americans have always been, and for hundreds of years, a vital part of the American society. Today and in recognition of that, we will air a lecture titled "The Early History of the Arab-American Community" by Professor Akram Khater. He delivered that lecture in 2019 at the Nijad and Zeina Fares Arab-American Educational Foundation Annual Distinguished Lecture in Modern Arab Studies at the University of Houston.
  
Akram Khater Ph.D. (UC Berkeley) is University Faculty Scholar, Professor of History, Khayrallah Chair in Diaspora Studies, and Director of the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies at North Carolina State University. His books include Inventing Home: Emigration, Gender and the Making of a Lebanese Middle Class, 1861-1921; A History of the Middle East: A Sourcebook for the History of the Middle East and North Africa; and Embracing the Divine: Passion and Politics in the Christian Middle East. He is the editor of the International Journal of Middle East Studies, has completed a 2012 PBS documentary on the history of the Lebanese community in North Carolina, was the senior curator for a museum exhibit on the same topic that opened on February 21, 2014, and was also the curator of the traveling exhibit, The Lebanese in America, which has toured six US cities, and will continue to tour through 2019.

Date:

April 14, 2021

1st Segment: Ramadan & National Arab American Heritage Month
     
We will talk about the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, its importance, what it means to Muslims and why they fast, President Joe Biden's message on Ramadan, and more.
 
We will also talk about and highlight the National Arab American Heritage Month (April).  We will talk about Arab Americans, their contributions, culture, heritage, resources for enhancing the understanding of Arab American history, arts, culture and contributions, local & national organizations with planned events during April, U.S. State Department's declaration on National Arab American Heritage Month, and more.
      

2nd Segment: The Arab Uprisings Revisited (Part 2 of 2)
    
We will air the remarks delivered during part 2 of “The Arab Uprisings Revisited” event held in January 2021 at the Baker Institute for Public Policy. It was a two-part series event sponsored by the Baker Institute Center for the Middle East. Experts examined the legacy of the Arab uprisings that started 10 years ago and their impact across the region today. The first panel discussion (aired last week on Arab Voices) focused on youth, protests and governance, and part 2 explored the geopolitics and the region's shifting alliances.
 
Part 2 discussion was moderated by Dr. A.Kadir Yildirim, fellow for the Middle East at the Baker Institute, whose main research interests include politics and religion, political Islam, the politics of the Middle East and Turkish politics.
 
The speakers were Dr. Steven Cook, Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for the Middle East and Africa Studies and Director of International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars at the Council on Foreign Relations, Dr. Michele Dunne, Director and Senior Fellow at the Middle East Program at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Dr. Peter Mandaville, Senior Research Fellow at Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University, and Professor of Government and Politics at Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.

Date:

April 7, 2021

The Arab Uprisings Revisited (Part 1 of 2)
    
Today on Arab Voices, we will air the remarks delivered at “The Arab Uprisings Revisited” event held in January 2021 at the Baker Institute for Public Policy. It was a two-part series event sponsored by the Baker Institute Center for the Middle East. Experts examined the legacy of the Arab uprisings that started 10 years ago and their impact across the region today. The first panel discussion focused on youth, protests and governance, and that is what we are going to air today.
 
The event was moderated by Dr. Kelsey Norman, fellow for the Middle East, and Director of the Women's Rights, Human Rights & Refugees Program at the Baker Institute for Public Policy.
 
The speakers were Sunil John, Founder of ASDA'A BCW and President of Middle East for BCW, Dr. Amaney Jamal, Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Politics at Princeton University and Director of Mamdouha S. Bobst Center for Peace and Justice, and Dr. Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.

Date:

March 31, 2021

Yemen: Six Years of War
    
Today on Arab Voices, we will air the remarks delivered at the Yemen: Six Years of War event held on March 26, 2021.
 
The speakers were Dr. Aisha Jumaan with Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation, Mohamed Alwazir with Arabian Rights Watch Association, Dr. Shireen Aladeimi, Yemeni-American Activist and Professor, Medea Benjamin with CODEPINK, and Hassan El-Tayyab with Friends Committee On National Legislation.
 
Topics discussed: Why the war on Yemen continues, the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen: Impact on Population's Health, the latest peace initiatives, the blockade as it relates to the prospects for peace in Yemen, the US role on the war on Yemen, what you can do to be part of the anti-war movement to make real change, and more.
 
The event was hosted by Yemeni Alliance Committee, Massachusetts Peace Action, CODEPINK: Women For Peace, SF Bay Anti-War, DSA International Committee, Students for Yemen, and Democratic Socialists of America: San Francisco.

Date:

March 24, 2021

Stop Asian Hate
    
Today on Arab Voices, and in solidarity with the Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, we will share various remarks and statements from various organizations regarding the increase in discrimination and hate crimes against the Asian-American Pacific Islander community in the United States. According to Stop AAPI Hate, at least 3,800 hate incidents were reported against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders nationwide over the past year.
    
We will share statements and remarks from The Arab American Cultural and Community Center (ACC), The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), and The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). 
   
We will also air some of the remarks delivered at the "Stop Asian Hate" vigil and rally held in Houston on March 20, 2021, hosted by OCA-Greater Houston, an organization that works to advance the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans. We will listen to Audrey Pan with OCA-Greater Houston, Ayda Pinardag with Asians Against Domestic Abuse, Eti Gulati with March For Our Lives Houston, Liz Peterson with Houston Coalition Against Hate, Angela Johnson with Texas Organizing Project, Joseph Say with Our Revolution Brazoria, Brandon Mack with Black Lives Matter Houston, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Congressman Al Green, Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, and Texas Representative Gene Wu.

Date:

March 17, 2021

Kathy Kelly
    
She is a long-time peace activist and author. She is former Co-Coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, founder of Voices in the Wilderness, and previously served as coordinator of Iraq Peace Team. At times, her activism has led her to war zones and prisons. Kathy had visited Iraq many times, as well as Afghanistan and the occupied Palestinian territories. In 2011, she was a passenger on the “Audacity to Hope” as part of the US Boat to Gaza project. She also attempted to reach Gaza by flying from Athens to Tel Aviv, as part of the Welcome to Palestine effort, but the Israeli government deported her back to Greece. Kathy Kelly, along with other Voices activists formed 70 delegations that openly defied economic sanctions by bringing medicines to children and families in Iraq. She and her companions lived in Baghdad throughout the 2003 “Shock and Awe” bombing. Kelly has also joined with activists in various regions of the country to protest U.S. drone warfare by holding demonstrations outside of U.S. military bases. In 1988, she was sentenced to one year in federal prison for planting corn on nuclear missile silo sites, and spent three months in prison in 2004 for crossing the line at Fort Benning’s military training school. Kelly is also author of the book "Other Lands Have Dreams: from Baghdad to Pekin Prison", and has been repeatedly nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
 
We will speak with Kathy Kelly about the wars on Iraq that started over 30 years ago (this week marks the start of the 2003 war on Iraq), the ongoing suffering of the Iraqi people as a result of these wars, holding those accountable for the crimes committed against the Iraqi people, and finding ways to atone for war crimes, including reparations.
 

"Rachel Corrie Slated for Demolition" by Amber Poole & State Dept. response to ICC Investigation
    
This week also marks the 18th anniversary of the murder of Rachel Corrie, a U.S. peace activist who was crushed to death by the Israeli occupation in the occupied Gaza Strip in Palestine on March 16, 2003. On that day, Rachel Corrie was protesting the demolition of a Palestinian home when an Israeli bulldozer crushed her to death. In her memory, we will air a special prose by Amber Poole titled "Rachel Corrie Slated for Demolition".
   
We will also air the response of the US State Department to the International Criminal Court (ICC) about its decision to launch an investigation into Israeli war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories, and how the spokesperson handled a question from a journalist about where should the Palestinians go if not to the ICC.

Date:

March 10, 2021

"Colonial Christianity: Doctrine of Discovery and Christian Zionism"
  
This is a talk by Erica Littlewolf and Jonathan Brenneman delivered at a convention organized by the Mennonite Church USA. It explores the parallels between European colonialism of North America and the Israeli occupation, as well as the underlying Christian theology that supports both. It will connect the histories and current events of these parallels yet unique situations.
 
Jonathan Brenneman is a Palestinian-American Christian activist, who used to be coordinator of Israel/Palestine Partners in Peacemaking for Mennonite Church USA, and is currently FOSNA's communications manager.
 
Erica Littlewolf (born on the Northern Cheyenne reservation to a Native American father and European/Jewish mother) is Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Central States Indigenous Vision Circle coordinator.

Date:

March 3, 2021

1st Segment: Part 2 of 2: Q&A session that followed Marc Lamont Hill's Houston Talk
    
Last week on Arab Voices, we aired the remarks of Dr. Marc Lamont Hill delivered at the University of Houston on Black-Palestinian solidarity and some of the questions and answers that followed his talk. Since then, Arab Voices received several requests from listeners asking us to air the remaining questions and answers, so today, we will do so. The remaining questions asked of Marc Lamont Hill were on Black internationalism, capitalism, US-Israeli relations, Israel's influence on American politics, US decisions to move its embassy to Jerusalem and cut UNRWA funding, settlement expansion and changing facts on the ground, the role of the media in social movements, nations rights and people’s rights to exist, effect of Donald Trump on destabilizing the Middle East, the two-state solution, how to challenge imperialism and white supremacy on college campuses, reviving the anti-war movement, how to tie college campus and community organizing, BDS movement, the struggle for liberation, solidarity politics, and more.
 
The Q&A session also includes a few remarks from Dr. Abdel Razzaq Takriti, Historian, Associate Professor, the inaugural holder of the Arab-American Educational Foundation Chair in Modern Arab History, and the Founding Director of the Center for Arab Studies at the University of Houston, and his question on the history of the Palestinian revolution and other liberation struggle.
 

2nd Segment: Abby Martin on "Truth Behind SNL’s Controversial Israel Joke"
    
We will air Abby Martin's response to the outcry against Michael Che's joke that aired during the February 20, 2021 episode of Saturday Night Live about medical apartheid in Israel, where he said "Israel is reporting that they've vaccinated half of their population. I'm gonna guess it's the Jewish half.".
 
Abby Martin is Director and Creator of The Empire Files, journalist, filmmaker, and former teleSUR presenter. In 2020, she filed a federal free speech lawsuit against Georgia's unconstitutional "anti-BDS" law.

Date:

February 24, 2021

Part 1 of 2: Marc Lamont Hill's Houston Talk
    
Today on Arab Voices, we will air the remarks of Dr. Marc Lamont Hill delivered at the University of Houston on Black-Palestinian solidarity in April 2019 at an event organized by Defend Our Voice, a coalition of multiple student organizations at the University of Houston. These remarks were never aired before, so you get to hear them for the first time. We will also air a few of the questions and answers that followed his talk. At that event, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill talked about activism, his speech at the United Nations, his firing from CNN, his visit to occupied Palestine and what he witnessed there, differential treatment of Palestinians in Israel, life under Israeli occupation, criticism of human rights violations, criticism of Israel, anti-Semitism, the Afro-Palestinian community, and more.
 
Dr. Marc Lamont Hill is an academic, author, activist, and television personality. He is a Professor of Media Studies and Urban Education at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the host of the syndicated television show Our World with Black Enterprise, and hosts the online Internet-based HuffPost Live. He is also a BET News correspondent, and a former political commentator for CNN and Fox News.
 
In November 2018, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill was fired from his position as a commentator for CNN, one day after he spoke at the United Nations at a special meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, in which he called for equal rights for all in historic Palestine.
 
Dr. Marc Lamont Hill has a new book co-authored with Mitchell Plitnick titled "Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics".
 
 
KPFT continues its Winter Membership Drive and Arab Voices needs your support. Please consider a contribution to support KPFT by calling 713-526-5738 or do it online at www.kpft.org.

Date:

February 17, 2021

KPFT experienced power outage due to the severe winter storm in Houston. As a result, Arab Voices did not air on February 17. Our next show will be on Wednesday, February 24.
 
It is Winter Membership Drive for KPFT and Arab Voices needs your support. Please consider a contribution to support KPFT by calling 713-526-5738 or do it online at www.kpft.org.

Date:

February 10, 2021

It is Winter Membership Drive for KPFT and Arab Voices needs your support. Please consider a contribution to support KPFT by calling 713-526-5738 or do it online at www.kpft.org.
 
Today on Arab Voices, we will air some recordings and interviews conducted previously covering various topics with distinguished guests about Bahrain and United Arab Emirates normalization with Israel, Yemen, Iraq, and Palestine:
 
Reverend Erica Williams, Social Justice Activist with Black Christians for Palestine, message delivered at a meeting at the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
 
A portion of an interview conducted previously with Dr. Khalil Jahshan, Palestinian-American political analyst and media commentator, who serves as the Executive Director of the Arab Center Washington D.C., about why Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates normalized relations with Israel.
 
A portion of an interview conducted previously with Dr. Shireen Al-Adeimi, an assistant professor of education at Michigan State University, about the war on Yemen.
 
A portion of Dr. Sinan Antoon's talk on "Iraq Afterwards: Epistemic Violence and Poetic (In)Justice" delivered at the University of Houston at an event sponsored by The Center for Arab Studies and the Arab-American Educational Foundation Chair in Modern Arab History at the University of Houston.

Date:

February 3, 2021

1^st Segment: Black History Month: “Amanda Gorman Looks for Change” & “The Hill We Climb”
February is Black History Month, and today we will air Dr. Synnika Lofton’s latest Topical Poem of the Week episode “Amanda Gorman Looks For Change”, where he lifts up the youngest inaugural poet African-American Amanda Gorman, who performed her poem, "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of President Joe Biden. We will also air Amanda Gorman’s "The Hill We Climb" poem.
 
2nd Segment: Spoken Words on Yemen by Artist Esa Mighty
We will air spoken words on Yemen from Yemeni-American Artist Esa Mighty. He delivered the spoken words at “The World Says No to War on Yemen Global Online Rally” held on January 25, 2021, and attended by thousands of people from around the globe.
 
3rd Segment: Spying on Muslim & Arab Americans
We will air a special episode from Still Spying Podcast titled Spying on Muslim & Arab Americans. It is a conversation with Abdeen Jabara, a longtime civil rights attorney, past president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and former board member of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who not only fought against surveillance and discrimination on behalf of others, he himself was spied on by the FBI and the NSA.
 
Since 9/11, the FBI has subjected the Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities to surveillance. Sending infiltrators and confidential informants into mosques and other community spaces absent any evidence of criminal wronging, it’s clear that for the FBI race, religion, and national origin are inherently suspicious in the War on Terror. However, the FBI’s history of targeting Muslim and Arab Americans goes back long before 9/11. As early as 1972, Richard Nixon had ordered mass surveillance of Arab Americans as part of “Operation Boulder.”     

Date:

January 27, 2021

The World Says No to War on Yemen - Global Online Rally
    
Today on Arab Voices, we will air most of the remarks delivered at "The World Says No to War on Yemen - Global Online Rally" held on Monday, January 25, 2021, and attended by thousands of people from around the globe.
 
Over 300 organizations from 28 countries have also signed the call to action against the war on Yemen, making it the biggest international anti-war co-ordination since the campaign against the Iraq war.
 
The remarks we will air are from prominent voices that participated from different countries to speak out against the catastrophic war in Yemen. We will listen to Apsana Begum, Member of the British Parliament, Lindsey German with Stop the War Coalition, Yanis Varoufakis, with DiEM25 in Europe, Ahmed Al-Babati, British-Yemeni Soldier, Dr. Cornel West, an American philosopher, political activist, social critic, author, and public intellectual, Kate Hudson, General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Congressman Ro Khanna, John Finucane, Sinn Féin Member of the Parliament, Daniele Obono, Member of the French National Assembly, Dr. Shireen Aladeimi, Yemeni-American Activist and Professor, and Jeremy Corbyn, a lifelong campaigner for peace and justice, holding roles in the Anti-Apartheid Movement, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and Stop the War Coalition. Jeremy served as Leader of the British Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2015 to 2020.

Date:

January 20, 2021

1^st Segment: Chip Gibbons
    
An expert on US Constitutional law, journalist, researcher, and a longtime activist. He is the Policy Director of Defending Rights & Dissent. Chip has led a successful campaign to defeat a proposed unconstitutional anti-boycott bill in Maryland. He has advised both state and federal lawmakers on the First Amendment implications of pending legislation. His work has appeared in Jacobin, In These Times, and The Nation. Chip authored the report "Still Spying on Dissent: The Enduring Legacy of FBI First Amendment Abuse".
 
We will speak with Chip about the new proposed “domestic terrorism” legislation, what it means, why it would make things worse, the FBI's "terrorism investigations" into nonviolent groups while failing to thwart attacks by others, state surveillance powers, and more.
 
Gibbon's organization, Defending Rights & Dissent, is one of 137 civil and human rights organizations that are opposing the new domestic terrorism legislation.
     

2^nd Segment: Jehan Hakim
    
Yemeni American based in California, and Chair of the Yemeni Alliance Committee, which advocates for ending the US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen by raising awareness and pushing legislation. Previously, she served as the Community Advocate with Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus to support communities through educational programs, community organizing initiatives and empowerment and advocacy, and also served with the American Association of Yemeni Students and Professionals.
      
We will speak with Jehan about the crisis in Yemen, the ongoing war and genocide in Yemen, the upcoming World Says No to War on Yemen Global Day of Action scheduled for January 25, 2021, the Biden administration’s stance towards the war on Yemen, how to stop it, and more.

Date:

January 13, 2021

1^st Segment: Remarks & Commentary on last week's attack on the U.S. Capitol
    
We will talk about last week's disastrous event at the U.S. Capitol during the certification proceedings of President-elect Joe Biden, and will share statements and comments from a few organizations and individuals, including a statement and community advisory by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), statement from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR National), and a community safety alert issued by the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR Houston), statement from the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), commentary from James Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute (AAI), and latest commentary from Sahar Aziz, Professor of Law and Chancellor's Social Justice Scholar & Director of the Center for Security, Race, and Rights at Rutgers University Law School on "The FBI's Racialized Priorities Endangered Our Democracy". In that commentary, Aziz analyzes past week's siege on the Capitol, and asks where was the FBI in the months leading up to the violent siege on the Capitol?
       

2^nd Segment: Insurrection: A New Day of Infamy, Rooted in Centuries Old White Supremacy!
    
We will air an episode from Building Bridges radio program that airs on our sister station WBAI in New York on white supremacy and white nationalism. The episode is titled "Insurrection: A New Day of Infamy, Rooted in Centuries Old White Supremacy!". The guest is Eric Ward, Executive Director and Senior Fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center and Race Forward, and Executive Director of Western States Center. Eric Ward is a nationally-recognized expert on the relationship between authoritarian movements, hate violence, and building toward an inclusive democracy.
    

Date:

January 6, 2021

Issa Amro (in Hebron, occupied Palestine)
    
We will air an interview we conducted with Issa Amro (in Hebron, occupied Palestine) a few hours before he appeared in an Israeli occupation military court today.
  
The State of Israel had brought 18 charges against Issa for his civil disobedience and nonviolent protests against the Israeli occupation, and today, January 6, 2021, was his day in the Israeli occupation military court. Issa was convicted on 6 military charges. The Judge, who is an Israeli colonizer living on stolen Palestinian land, told Issa he is not allowed to protest against the Israeli occupation peacefully without a permit from the Israeli occupation forces!!! The sentencing hearing for the 6 charges is set for February 8, 2021.
 
Issa Amro is a Palestinian activist and human rights defender based in Hebron, occupied Palestine. He is the former coordinator and co-founder of the grassroots group Youth Against Settlements. Issa won the 2009 One World Media award for coordinating the B’Tselem camera distribution project, and in 2010, he was declared "human rights defender of the year in Palestine" by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In 2013, the United Nations Human Rights Council expressed concern for his well-being and safety due to numerous accounts of harassment from Israeli soldiers and settlers and a series of arbitrary arrests. Issa was arrested numerous times by the Israeli occupation army. In 2017, Bernie Sanders along with 3 U.S. Senators and 32 Congressmen wrote to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, at that time, to urge Israeli authorities to reconsider the charges against him. In late September 2017, after being released on bail from Israeli occupation jail, Issa Amro met Bernie Sanders and members of Congress in Washington, D.C.   
 
Stand With Issa