YALLA VOTE ‘08 Our Voice. Our Future.

Thursday November 13 The Middle East Institute Presents:
HOME: The Aramco Brats’ Story
with special guest speaker
Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin

Doors Open- 6:00 p.m.
Screening Begins- 7:00 p.m.
E Street Cinema
555 11th St., NW
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 452-7672
Tickets are $5 at the box office
Reservations: Seating not guaranteed without reservations. Reserve your seats online by writing names in the “contact us” section on www.bratstory.com or sending your names to RSVP@ABMedia.org with subject heading RSVP. Parking:  Theatre will validate parking for parking garage on 11^th & E.  One block from Metro Center Station. Tuesday November 18 National Immigration Forum’s Ninth Annual Keepers of the American Dream Event Tuesday, November 18, 2008 * 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Harman Center for the Arts * 610 F St. NW * Washington, DC   Honorees:

• Keepers of the American Dream Award: The National Immigrant Bond Fund
• Golden Door Award: The Ya Es Hora Campaign
• Carvel Immigrant Entrepreneur Award: Majdi Wadi, CEO of Holy Land Bakery, Minneapolis
• Heroes of the American Dream Award: Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition,

To Purchase Tickets: Tickets for the event can be purchased for $250 per ticket. Tickets are tax deductible except for $75. For more information on purchasing tickets, contact Gina Gerson at (202) 383-5980, or ggerson@immigrationforum.org.

Wednesday November 19 Al-Hewar Weekly Forum 8:00 pm “Interests and Concerns of Young Arabs in the USA,” Featuring Dr. Hanna Hanania, Tariq Hariri, and Nadine Wahab (AAI Media Coordinator)
(in Arabic and English)   Al-Hewar Center 124 Park Street, S.E., Level B, Vienna, Virginia Call (703) 281-6277 or http://www.alhewar.com/newevents.html

David Ramadan down in Loudon County, Virginia, getting out the Arab American Republican Vote!

Yalla Vote is spreading the word about the Virtual Phone Bank to student groups on college campuses across Michigan. Last week, we had a voter information table at the picnic of the Muslim Student Association of Wayne State University . This picnic allowed us to speak more about our Virtual Phone Bank and to recruit volunteers. Everyone seemed to be very enthusiastic about our convenient call tool and more people signed up to make phone calls. I also emphasized about how easy it is to do this. I mean this is the EASIEST WAY POSSIBLE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. We have to make a lot of phone calls and we can’t do it alone. Arab Americans need to be heard, sign up now for our VIRTUAL PHONE BANK.

YALLA CALL!!!

-Jana

Below is the article as it appeared on Saturday on Huffington Post. Please click here to visit Dr. Zogby’s column there and read the comments that were left in response; you will be inspired and encouraged by the support our community is receiving. Perhaps, finally, we’ve reached the tipping point, where enough is enough. We hope you are inspired to continue the conversation, here at Yalla Vote.

Washington D.C. - October 11, 2008 -We are disturbed by the degree to which ‘Arab’ has become the metaphorical mud to sling against your opponent. Last week, for example, the Republican Jewish Coalition released a document in which they use the term Pro-Arab as a pejorative accusation. For his part, Rush Limbaugh has joined in by declaring that Obama is in fact an Arab American. Then, last Friday, after a supporter called Senator Barack Obama “an Arab”, Senator John McCain came to the defense of of his political opponent by saying, “No, ma’am. He’s a decent family man and citizen…” From this we are left to infer that an Arab man is less then a “decent family man.”

Dr. James Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute, says, “Enough is enough! From the beginning of this campaign there have been those who have used ‘Muslim’ and ‘Arab’ in an effort to smear Barack Obama. This exploitation of bigotry and the stoking of racist fires to forward an agenda is reprehensible. This is not only offensive to Arab Americans, but to all Americans. As any ethnic group who has ever been used to scare the electorate knows, this is a dangerous game that, tragically, can get innocent people hurt.

“And while we are pleased to see that the senator is trying to dispel rumors about Senator Obama, we feel the need to point out that Arab Americans are also decent men and women with full rights of citizenship as enumerated under the Constitution. Arab Americans are part of the great melting pot that is this country’s strength. We work towards peace in the Middle East along side our Jewish partners. We raise our sons and daughters to be model citizens of this nation. We serve this country with honor. The suggestion that any ethnic group is treacherous and Anti-American is unacceptable, dangerous, and unbecoming of such a great nation.”

Because some things you just can’t live without.

As we all gear up for our last push before the election, we’re asking you to help us find volunteers to make calls this month, using an exciting, new on-line tool that makes it easy for us to get out the Arab American vote.

Yes, we’re all really busy, but the Yalla Vote Virtual Phone Bank makes it simple to reach out to registered Arab American voters across America.

Here’s how the Yalla Vote Virtual Phone Bank works:

1. Fill out the fast, simple form at www.aaiusa.org/volunteer.
2. You will receive an e-mail with details of how to log onto the Yalla Vote Virtual Phone Bank and get started.
3. Set aside an hour or two between 10AM and 9:00PM on days of your choosing to call registered Arab American voters and remind them to vote on November 4th.

We’re asking for just an hour or two of your time to give this easy, convenient system a try. Call registered Arab American voters and remind them to vote on November 4th. If you like the system, you can make as many calls as you like.

It can’t be simpler-and it couldn’t be more important. The stakes have never been higher. It’s our voice. It’s our future. Click here now and make a difference.

Thank you for your help.

s as we move towards the elections, the feeling of excitement and hope flows within the Arab American community here in Orange County. People gathering for get-togethers, Friday prayer, or a casual coffee, are all talking about politics. It seems that folks are unclear on the different stands each candidate takes and what they stand for. This is why everyone needs to do their homework, get to know their candidates, and decide based on where they stand, not how they sound or what the latest political commercial tries to sell you.

Here in Orange County, we’ve been stressing the importance of making an educated vote this November, All through Ramadan. I was at the mosque getting Arab Americans registered to vote. Doing, this enabled me to hit three birds with one stone. Breaking my fast, engaging myself with the community and getting them more politically aware of the elections.

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Majid Al-Bahadli, Obama delegate from Washington State, danced on the floor of the Democratic National Convention, cheered on by members of his state’s delegation, this past August. How he came to be there, the only Iraqi delegate on the floor, is an inspiration to us all.

Born and raised in Iraq, the budding political activist knew the risks of opposing Saddam’s regime: in 1980, his uncle and cousins, and many other family members, were executed for it. When Saddam invaded Kuwait in 1991, Majid heeded the United States’ call to rise up against him. But when the U.S. withdrew and power was restored to the dictator, Majid’s life was at risk. He slipped through the border checkpoints and surrendered to an American soldier. For nearly five years, he lived in a prisoner of war camp in the Saudi desert. Finally, a United Nations delegation entered the camp and conducted the interviews that would lead to Majid’s release as a political refugee in 1995, and later to his naturalization as an American citizen. There were some difficult years between his arrival in the U.S. and the day he became a citizen in 2000-although politics is his passion, he lay low for fear that his actions might jeopardize his impending naturalization. Today, he works fearlessly to get out the vote in his adopted Seattle, Washington. He is a warm and gracious person whose enthusiasm for American politics is inspirational and infectious. He won his position as delegate in a landslide vote, with 87% in support of his bid to travel to Colorado.

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Rashida Tlaib might be running for State Representative for the first time, but she’s no newcomer to the area or to the issues. Residents know her by name, she’s visited their homes on her door-to-door campaign, and she’s part of a growing group of those who work in “service politics”. A self-described “daughter of the community” and “product of the culturally vibrant community of Southwest Detroit”, Rashida Tlaib is looking to represent Michigan’s 12th District, the district she grew up in.

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