amateur ramblings

A few reflections on calling ourselves Arab versus Arab-American, and the responsibility that is demanded of us as beneficiaries of American imperialism either way Is the name of our identity something we should be comfortable with? For those of us who are the children of immigrants, especially from parts of the world that are currently [...]

My younger brother Waseem Salahi is a Co-Editor-in-Chief of his high school’s newspaper, “The Smoke Signal.” As is standard with almost all high school newspapers, the administration “reviews” the paper before it goes to press every month. This month, the administration called Waseem into the office 1-2 hours before deadline, where he was met by [...]

Hussein Ibish, above, believes he will single-handedly free Palestine with his American passport. In his column of September 14, 2007, Hussein Ibish made one telling statement: “Any successful approach to pro-Palestinian advocacy in the United States should therefore emphasize the benefits to the United States, and indeed to Israel, of freedom for the Palestinian people.” [...]

Update 8/13/07: Shirts in lighter colors and with lower prices are now available at the online store. There are also jerseys, hoodies, sweatshirts, and other apparel. Who is afraid of the Arabic language? Enough people to drive Debbie Almontaser, aspiring principal of a new Arabic-themed public school in New York, out of her job. Almontaser [...]

From a-Rab.net, a project I have been working on with friends: We are currently preparing for our first issue and to that end we are seeking submissions of all kinds–literature, essays, articles, cartoons, poetry, stories, briefs, photographs, etc–from anybody who is interested in our project. We are currently a volunteer-driven project, and as such it [...]

“You can lecture me about B’tselem the day you can show there is a B’tselem on your side prepared to do something about human rights violations in the Arab world,” I was once told after citing reports by the Israeli human rights organization B’tselem to mock a claim that the occupation of Palestine was ‘humanitarian.’ [...]

A look at the case of Abdelkarim Soliman, the disingenuous media attention surrounding it, and the implications this has for human rights activists in the Middle East. Abdelkarim Soliman, also known as the blogger Kareem Amer, is just one of the many hundreds of innocent people who have suffered at the hands of Western ally [...]

Background: On the evening of November 16, 2006, UCLA student Mostafa Tabatabainejad was repeatedly tasered by UCPD officers in the library despite the fact that he posed no threat to the officers or to the surrounding students. Later that week, an estimated 400 UCLA students protested the incident. A similar but less populated demonstration followed [...]

I almost entered this essay contest on civil rights in the Middle East last year sponsored by the Hands Across the Mideast Support Alliance. Looking over the first place essay, I’m glad I didn’t, and I’m almost certain I will not participate this year either. Responding to the question “Why should Americans like you help [...]

The California Patriot claims to be Berkeley’s “conservative student voice.” Looking through their magazine, though, it’s difficult to come away with anything but the conclusion that they spend a lot more time hating liberals, or rather liberal stereotypes, than they do promoting any sort of coherent and consistent ideology–unless, of course, ‘hate’ counts. Share