YALLA VOTE ‘08 Our Voice. Our Future.

From grass roots to grass top, from local elections to the presidential campaigns, Arab Americans are making their voices heard. The Arab American Institute’s Yalla Vote campaign hosted an incredibly successful Kabob-BQ in Virginia on the last Saturday in July, with an amazing turnout from Arab Americans and local and national campaigns.

The event gave Arab Americans in Virginia an opportunity to directly interact with local—and national— campaigns. Keith Fimian, Republican candidate for Virginia’s 11^th District, asked attendees how he can better serve his Arab American constituents, and paid close attention to the issues that are important to us. We gave Fimian a copy of our Declaration, and impressed upon him the importance of speaking to our issues.

We were even more thrilled when the GOP and the McCain campaign sent the Chair of the Virginia Republican Party on their behalf. Accompanying him was Arab American David-Iman Ramadan. We are all delighted to see the Republican Party give our community much deserved attention.

Let us keep reminding the candidates that our community is an important component in any strategy to win. Both parties must listen — our voices must be heard.

This has been a busy and exciting weeek here in Michigan – Tuesday was our big Yalla Vote Rally at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn with AAI President, Jim Zogby. After two weeks of careful planning and some last minute preparations (including an order of 10 pounds of tabouli!), the event was successful. Around 50 people were in attendance, including local leaders of various Arab American organizations—many of which are Yalla Vote endorsers—elected officials and candidates, along with community friends and AAI supporters. The crowd gathered in the beautifully decorated main hall of the museum, mingled, discussed their get-out-the-vote plans for the upcoming Michigan state primary elections, and enjoyed delicious Lebanese mezze.

Dr. Zogby, who flew in from D.C. that morning, spoke about the importance of getting out the vote in the state primary on Tuesday August 5^th. Looking back twenty-five years when AAI was founded, said Zogby, the Arab American community has come a long way. Indeed, at least in southeast Michigan, and particularly in Dearborn, Arab Americans are an integral part of the community, and the gathering of leaders and community members on Tuesday was evidence of that fact.

The evening also featured State Rep. Barb Farrah and Councilwoman Suzane Sareini who spoke about the impact of Arab Americans in the state legislature. Many influential Arab American leaders got their start by running for precinct delegates.

As Michigan’s general voter turn-out is expected to be dismally low on August 5^th, Yalla Vote volunteers are busy taking to the streets with flyers and calling up their neighbors to replace apathy with action and to make our voices heard come August 5^th—and beyond.

AAI President Dr. James Zogby spoke on July 18, 2008 at the City Club of Cleveland– “U.S. Middle East Policy & the 2008 Elections: A Critical Moment” (click here to hear Dr. Zogby’s speech). Later that day, he met with members of the local Arab American community, including members of C.A.M.E.O., AACCESS-Ohio, and AAI Ohio members. Dr. Zogby encouraged the community to become involved in this year’s election and answered questions about his talk that he did not get to answer earlier at the City Club.

St. George Festival in Toledo

St. George’s Church in Toledo, Ohio held its annual festival that same weekend. Although it rained on and off, hundreds came to experience Middle Eastern culture and socialize. And Yalla Vote was there with a table and volunteers collected signatures for the National Declaration and registered voters.

C.A.M.E.O. Annual Picnic

On July 20 in Cleveland, the Cleveland American Middle Eastern Organization had its annual picnic at German Central Farm, inviting members of the Arab American community and local elected officials and candidates. I, along with a few volunteers, was also present collecting signatures and telling people about the Yalla Vote campaign.

Until next time…Yalla Vote!

-Nadia

Mr. Landham, the Libertarian Party of Kentucky’s candidate for U.S. Senate, finds himself in hot water recently. IN comments made to the Courier-Journal on July 21, Landham proves himself to be a bigot of the first degree, at least when it comes to Arab Americans. Here’s how columnist Joseph Gerth, in his Time Warp, reported Sonny Landham’s comments:

He wants to release oil from the strategic oil reserve, drill in areas of the U.S. currently off-limits to the oil companies and then try to persuade OPEC to cut the price of oil. What if it doesn’t?

“We should go and bomb those camel-dung shovelers back into the sand,” Landham said. “I said ‘camel-dung shovelers.’ Make sure you put that in the newspaper.”

Wow. And that was only one of the epithets he used.

As if that weren’t enough, Landham went on air with The Weekly Filibuster, an Internet-based, political talk radio show, and clarified his stance on Arabs and Arab Americans. I’ll pull some excerpts from the transcript after the cut, for you (thanks to the Independent Political Report for publishing the entire transcript here):

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Listen to Queen Rania’s appeal to Generation YouTube to replace Anti-Arab Stereotypes with Positive images of Arabs, then go to YouTube and join the Conversation.

YALLA!!!!

In a city where DOJ, DOD, and SABER are never spelled out and we all know what we’re talking about, the Yalla Vote crew have added a new acronym: ITBPPP. Although ITBPPP (’Inside The Beltway Party Plank Plaform’) is a tongue twister any way you say it, it promises to be a ‘let you hair down’ event where you can talk politics over Shisha and mezza.

In DC it really doesn’t matter which definition of Party you use. We either party with our party or party bi-partisanly. AAI invites you to join our bi-partisan ITBPPP Party.

When: Friday, July 25th at 6:30 p.m.

Where: Logan Circle

To RSVP to this event and get the address and directions, please contact Hilary at project1@aaiusa.org or call (202) 494-9859.

If you can’t come to this Friday’s Platform Party, then host one of your own! It’s easy, and AAI is here to help make your party a success with guidelines, suggestions, and free buttons, posters, and more. Just visit http://www.aaiusa.org/yallavote08 for additional info.

Florida in July is hot, and Yalla Vote is heating it up even more this summer! With so many ways to get involved this July, you may need to sit in front of the fan just to read this!

Platform Plank Events

Remember when we said that this was OUR VOICE, and OUR FUTURE? Well, Obama and the GOP are putting that to the test by letting the people get involved in the platform writing process. Want to host an event in Florida? Contact Community Relations and me! There are directions on the AAI website that make it very easy to get involved! Want to take part in an existing event in your city? E-mail me at aai-florida@yallavote.org for the latest Florida information.

Sign the Declaration

Chances are, if you’re reading this you’ve already signed the Declaration, but if not, click here to sign it now! And of course, forward it along!

Register to Vote

Here in Florida, the last day to register to vote in the primary election on August 26^th is July 28^th. You can find all the information about elections at the Florida Division of Elections’ website.

Attend a local party meeting

So you’re already registered to vote, holding or attending a plank event, and you’ve gotten the Declaration around to everyone you know? Do some research on your local Democrat or Republican club and go to a meeting. Be sure to let AAI know, and take pictures!

Some links to local political parties follow below. For the most part they meet once a month, and have other events throughout the month.

Volunteer

If we want to make our voices heard, we can’t do it alone! Volunteers are so important to getting the Yalla Vote message out to the community! Whether you have an hour a week or twenty, there is something you can help with! E-mail me at aai-florida@yallvote.org for more information about volunteering - or if you’re not in Florida, e-mail your local organizer!

However you choose to make your voice heard this election, remember, YALLA VOTE!

-Mia

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AAI is hosting a bi-partisan platform plank event next week… the details are coming together even as I type. What AAI wants to know is…

ARE YOU?

Let us know. Drop us a comment here on this post, or send an e-mail to cr@aaiusa.org and let us know the whens and wheres. AAI will be happy to send you Arab American Democrat or Arab American Republican buttons and signs, and Yalla Vote materials, to help you host your event.

We’ve made it so easy for you, with checklists, sign-in sheets, agendas, all branded for your Democrat or Republican event. Visit the Yalla Vote section of the AAI website for the complete low-down on this incredible opportunity to really make a difference.

How do you define Platform? Plank?? PARTY???

Whether you’re a lone thinker or a social butterfly, there’s a way for you to make your hopes for the next administration heard.

AAI knows how to do it. Do you?

What are you doing next week? The Obama Campaign and the Republican Party have offered all Americans the opportunity to contribute to the Party Platforms this year. Arab Americans must make their voices heard in every way possible, and this is an extraordinary opportunity to do just that.

The Arab American Institute has made it easy for you to organize your own Platform Plank events, with forms and guidelines, and all the tools you’ll need to be a success. Don’t forget to use the language of the National Declaration to form your planks, and click here for instructions on how to get this done.

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING!! If you form a platform plank event, please call AAI at (202) 420-0210, Community Relations, and we’ll send you Arab American Democrat/Republican buttons, signs, and other paraphernalia to make your party a success.

The Yalla Vote campaign is truly grateful to all of the sponsoring organizations that endorse it, and lend support. Recently, a Yalla Vote volunteer named Thomas Zraick paid a visit to one of our endorsers, the American Mideast Leadership Network at their Astoria office. The occasion was a pair of workshops for Arab Americans looking for help getting their resumes together, and making some networking connections. A number of the attendees were recent immigrants, and Yalla Vote was there stressing the importance of civic engagement and voting in the upcoming election. The event was very successful, and allowed for some great collaboration between the AMLN and Yalla Vote in building a strong and prosperous Arab American community. It’s always gratifying to see a Yalla Vote representative getting hands on with the community, but it’s even better when it’s one of our volunteers…and it’s EVEN BETTER when it’s a volunteer representing Yalla Vote in conjunction with one of our amazing sponsoring organizations. Bravo all around.