This week, more than 40 Arab-Americans are participating as delegates and members of standing committees to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Here is a look back at past conventions that helps trace their progress in US politics.
1984, San Francisco
It was the first time that Arab-Americans, as an organised community, participated in a national political campaign. Prior to 1984, there had been Syrian and Lebanese committees, but never before had there been an Arab-American committee.
The Rev Jesse Jackson, recognising the potential voting strength of Arab-Americans, reached out to the community and Arab-Americans responded, raising money, working as volunteers and voting. But the process was still new to many, and so by convention time, only four Arab-Americans were there as delegates.
At the convention, Mr Jackson asked me to deliver one of the speeches placing his name in nomination for the office of president. Having grown up in a political home, and having watched every convention on television since 1956, I was overwhelmed by the experience of mounting the podium and addressing the delegates. Since I was to be the first Arab-American to speak at a convention, I began my remarks, "I am an Arab-American ?"
1988, Atlanta
After four years of mobilisation, Arab-Americans went to Atlanta with more than 50 delegates and convention committee members. During the primaries, Arab-Americans made their mark as a voting bloc, helping Mr Jackson win a surprise victory in the Michigan primary.
At the same time, working together with progressive Jewish-Americans and other Jackson delegates, Arab-Americans succeeded in passing resolutions in 10 states calling for Palestinian rights, and had, through the efforts of the Jackson campaign, won the right to introduce a "minority plank" at the convention calling for "mutual recognition, territorial compromise and self determination for both Israelis and Palestinians".
Once again, I had the opportunity to address the convention, while the 1,200 Jackson delegates demonstrated on the floor, carrying signs that read "Palestinian Statehood Now" and "Israeli Security, Palestinian Justice".
One delegate was Mary Lahaj, of Massachusetts, who was the first Arab-American Muslim woman delegate to any convention.
1992, New York
Arab-Americans were represented by more than 40 delegates and committee members. We initially had some frustration getting into the Clinton campaign. At the convention, I ran into an American Israel Public Affairs Committee official, who said to me: "I know you're trying to get in. We won't let you in, and why should we?"
I was furious, but remembered Mr Jackson's words of wisdom: "The biggest threat you pose is not to get angry and leave, but to stick around and fight." And so we did. With the help of Ron Brown, the then-chairman of the party, and Joseph Lieberman, a senator, the doors of the campaign were opened.
That year, a resolution passed by one of the convention's standing committees, called for inclusion and representation of Arab-Americans at all levels in the party.
1996, Chicago
Arab-Americans were represented, once again by more than 40 delegates.
The Arab-American Democratic Leadership Council was formally recognised by the Democratic Party, and Arab-Americans had become founding members of the Democrats' Ethnic Council.
2000, Los Angeles
By now, Arab-Americans had become a fixture in the party. Once again 40-plus delegates had been elected from across the country. The Arab-American Tribute Reception was attended by more than 1,000 delegates and guests. The partisan debate within the community was intense, but it was fascinating, because this was the first time that both Republican and Democratic candidates actively courted the community's support.
2004, Boston
With almost 50 Arab-American delegates and committee members, it was the largest delegation since 1988.
The response from party officials and elected officials at the Convention Gala was significant, with more than 50 senators and representatives confirming their attendance at both that event and the issues forum, Civil Liberties and Global Responsibility.
2008, Denver
Once again there are more than 40 Arab-American participants at every level. I am convening the Party's Ethnic Council and chairing its two caucus meetings, and Mary Rose Oakar is the chairman of the convention rules committee.
Marking new firsts for Arab-Americans, the Barack Obama campaign has hired an Arab-American outreach staff person in all-important Michigan, and the campaign has launched the first Arab-Americans page on its official website. A formal launch of Arab-Americans for Mr Obama, chaired by Nick Rahall, a congressman from West Virginia, is to take place next month.
What was remarkable in 1984, has now become commonplace in 2008.
@Email:jzogby@thenational.ae
Youth YouTuber Programme
The programme will be presented over two weeks and will cover the following topics:
- Learning, scripting, storytelling and basic shots
- Master on-camera presence and advanced script writing
- Beating the algorithm and reaching your core audience
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The First Monday in May
Director: Andrew Rossi
Starring: Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, John Paul Gaultier, Rihanna
Three stars
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
THREE
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2)
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Asia Cup Qualifier
Venue: Kuala Lumpur
Result: Winners play at Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in September
Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29: Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30: UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6: Final
Asia Cup
Venue: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Schedule: Sep 15-28
Teams: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus the winner of the Qualifier
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
