Reception for our friend Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Congressman Dennis Kucinich has been one of few members of Congress to take a stand on important issues to our community. In support of his 2012 re-election campaign and in thanks for standing with our community, some distinguished members of the Arab American community will host a fundraiser for Congressman Kucinich. Your hosts for this bipartisan event are Saba and Amira Shami, Jamil and Kamelah Shami, Hanna and Reem Hanania, Khaled Saff uri, Samer Korkor, Sam Shihadeh, and Bassam Khawam

7:00 to 9:00 pm, Wednesday, February 15
The Ramallah Club
2631 Chain Bridge Road
Vienna, VA

Please register for this event and contribute by clicking here

In the wake of 9/11, Congressman Kucinich opposed the war in Iraq and mobilized 126 members of Congress to vote against the use of force authorization. He was the only Congressman who visited South Lebanon during the Israeli war on Lebanon in July 2006 to view the destruction first-hand and denounce the killing of civilians.
Recently, he stood against the following:
• H. Res. 1765 (condemned Palestine’s unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state);
• H. Res. 5327 (unbalanced statements on missile defense systems being sent to Israel); and
• H. Con. Res. 385 (unfairly apportioned blame for a breakdown in negotiations as it neglected to mention the continued building of settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank).

For more information, please contact Hanna Hanania at hannahanania@yahoo.com, 202.256.6061 or Saba Shami at sabashami@comcast.net, 703.628.3475

Iran and Syria: A Tale of Two Crises

10:00 to 11:30 am, Thursday, February 2

Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington

Brookings’ Saban Center for Middle East Policy will host a discussion on the ongoing crises with Syria and Iran, the potential for escalation, and America’s role in the situation. Panelists include Saban Center Senior Fellows Suzanne Maloney and Michael Doran, as well as Andrew Tabler, the Next Generation Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Brookings Senior Fellow and Sabin Center Director Kenneth Pollack will make introductory remarks and moderate the discussion.

After the program, the panelists will take audience questions.

Email: events@brookings.edu
Phone: 202.797.6105
Register

Little Syria, USA

This news from the ADC --

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) urges its members to support the campaign to protect the last remnants of what was once a small but vibrant Arab American neighborhood in New York City's Lower Manhattan from impending demolition.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, "Little Syria" had been a hub for immigrants establishing their lives in America - Lebanese, Syrians, and other Arabs among them. A central place where peoples of all ethnic backgrounds came to engage in business, it was the first major Arab American neighborhood and is part of our collective story as Americans.

Today, only three buildings remain along Washington Street as relics of this cherished past: a tenement, a community center, and the former St. George’s Syrian Catholic Church. Todd Fine and Carl Antoun have dedicated themselves to the mission of ensuring that the piece of Arab American history told through the presence of these buildings is not erased. With St. George’s having been designated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission as a protected landmark in 2009, Fine and Antoun are spearheading an urgent and inspiring campaign to establish the same status for the other two buildings. To succeed, they need the help of the community.

Arab Americans have always been a part of the American story. This unique trio of buildings along Washington Street stands as an affirmation of this fact. ADC fully supports this vital campaign, and calls on the Arab American community to take action and help preserve our collective heritage.

Learn more about the Save Washington Street Campaign!

AAI Summer Interns

The Arab American Institute offers internships in Washington for Arab American college students and recent graduates interested in public affairs, advocacy and ethnic politics. The program is part of the Arab American Institute Foundation's commitment to youth leadership, along with scholarships and awards for public and community service.

Internships during the spring, summer and fall semesters at AAI offer hands-on experience in the workings of a busy non-profit with programs that include research and information, event management, community outreach, and media relations, among others. Applications are reviewed by senior staff to determine departmental assignments based on each student's area of study, extracurricular activities, and interests.

In addition to assignments at AAI, they also place summer interns in other organizations in Washington, including advocacy groups, the national political parties, government agencies, and organizations that focus on Middle Eastern affairs. 2011 Interns were offered positions at the ACLU, Al Jazeera, the Office of Congresswoman Karen Bass, the New America Foundation, USAID, and others.

Preference for summer internships will be given to those who are available for full-time placement and eligible for college credit. Those not eligible for college credit are allocated a stipend of up to $1,000 per month, based on hours. Applicants must either be U.S. citizens or permitted to work in the U.S. Interns receive either college credit or a stipend.

Please apply online by April 6.

National Council on US-Arab Relations Washington Summer Internship Program

National Council on US-Arab Relations Washington Summer Internship Program

May 28 through August 3, 2012

The National Council on US-Arab Relations' Washington Summer Internship Program offers undergraduate and graduate students a ten-week professional, academic, and career opportunity internship in the nation's capital. The program features a demanding mix of professional involvement, intellectual challenge, career exploration, and cultural encounters designed to provide interns with a rich and varied experience during their time in Washington.
• Professional workplace experience: Interns are placed with one of over a dozen Near East and Arab world-related organizations in Washington, D.C., where they are expected to work 35-40 hours/week under the direct supervision of their host organizations.
• Academic seminars: Interns take part in twice weekly seminar sessions designed to provide them with greater depth of knowledge about the Arab world, to underscore the cultural, economic, and political diversity of Arab states, and to explore the intricacies of Arab-U.S. relations.
• Site visits: Interns receive a behind-the-scenes look at many of the central institutions of federal government, national security policymaking, international diplomacy, and international business.
Sponsorship: The program is administered by National Council professionals and staff, together with more than two dozen of America's foremost scholars and leading foreign affairs practitioners. The programs, activities, and functions represented by the organizations and corporations that provide the professional work experience component of the program are varied. Included among placements in recent years have been educational development and exchange organizations, bimonthly and quarterly publications, humanitarian relief groups, broadcasting networks, area studies centers, international transportation companies, foreign trade associations, peace and justice advocacy groups, and a variety of non-governmental organizations.

Here's the details.

The 5th Annual Washington - Bethlehem Prayer Service

You are invited to join worshipers for a Christmas joint simulcast service with the people of Bethlehem and the people of Washington. Prayers, readings, and hymns alternate between Washington and Palestine via the Internet, bringing together people of different lands, languages, and ethnic backgrounds in celebration of Christmas.

10:00 am, Saturday, December 17

Washington National Cathedral
Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues, NW
Washington

If you are elsewhere, we encourage to you gather with others in your community to watch the service live at www.nationalcathedral.org.

Public Opinion on Iraq and the Arab Spring

In September and October, Zogby Research polled in eight the Middle East and North Africa countries and in the US. The survey looked at public opinion on the Arab Spring, the US withdrawal from Iraq, and other recent developments in the region. Experts will present the survey's major findings and discuss their implications.

1:30 to 4:15, Monday, December 19

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington


1:30 to 2:45
Panel 1 – Iraq: Views on US Intervention and Departure

Chair: Marwan Muasher, vice president for studies, Carnegie Middle East Program
Speakers:
James Zogby, founder and president, Arab American Institute
Edward Gnehm Jr., Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs, George Washington University
Marina Ottaway, senior associate, Carnegie Middle East Program

2:45 to 3:00
Coffee Break

3:00 to 4:15
Panel 2 – Political Change and Governance

Chair: Marina Ottaway, senior associate, Carnegie Middle East Program
Speakers:
James Zogby, founder and president, Arab American Institute
Mustafa Hamarneh, chairman of the board, al-Sijill Magazine
Marwan Muasher, vice president for studies, Carnegie Middle East Program

For more information, please contact Jessica Boulet at jboulet@ceip.org, 202.939.2212. Register here for this free event.