Detroit City Beat - Lebanese Examiner

Yalla Eat! Culinary Walking Tour Explores Dearborn’s Warren Avenue in September

(DEARBORN, MI) — Who’s ready for some conspicuous cultural consumption? The Arab American National Museum (AANM) says, “Yalla (Arabic for ‘let’s go’) eat!”

AANM’s Yalla Eat! Culinary Walking Tour is an immersive cultural activity that takes the Museum experience into the community. On Tuesdays and Saturdays from Sept. 13-30, Museum docents will offer guided tours of select markets, bakeries and specialty food retailers along Warren Avenue in East Dearborn, amid the largest concentration of Arabs in the United States.

Culinary tourists will learn how Arab Americans began to revitalize this shopping district in the early 1980s, turning vacant storefronts into a thriving cultural retail destination. Participants will also explore the diverse current offerings of Arab and Middle Eastern food businesses along Warren Avenue – all founded by immigrants and family run – meet and talk with the owners, enjoy some free samples and do some old-school shopping.

“Before supermarkets like Kroger and Meijer, you would have to visit multiple family-owned stores to secure all of your groceries,” says Dr. Matthew Jaber Stiffler, AANM researcher and culinary guide.

“We could not begin to replicate that experience inside the Museum walls, so we are taking our audiences into the community itself,” Stiffler continues. “It’s a way of embedding the AANM into its hometown while supporting small businesses that represent vital economic activity in Dearborn.”

Yalla Eat! tickets are $20 per person; $15 AANM Members and are available online at www.arabamericanmuseum.org/yallaeat.

The ticket price includes the guided tour, a Yalla Eat! tote bag, food samples, and one free admission to the Arab American National Museum. Tickets are only available online, no walk ups. Minimum six, maximum 12 people per tour date.

Examiner StaffAugust 26, 2014, 2:29 amAugust 26, 2014 Comments Off 1178

City Beat, Detroit

Lebanese American Heritage Club helps homeless Detroiters

(DEARBORN, MI) — The Lebanese American Heritage Club (LAHC)’s Youth Leadership Committee took to the streets of Detroit on Saturday, August 23 to distribute bags filled with foods and nutritional supplies to homeless Detroiters.

The effort, which has been ongoing at the LAHC, is a part of the “Feeding our Neighbors” program.

In a statement, the LAHC said:

“We appreciate the commitment and dedication of the YLC members who continue to work hard in order to help others in need and bring smiles to the faces of members of the Metro Detroit community.”

For more information on the programs, visit www.lahc.org.

Examiner StaffAugust 26, 2014, 2:18 amAugust 26, 2014 Comments Off 1424

City Beat, Detroit, News

Lebanese Forces Detroit host annual picnic

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(SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MI) — The Lebanese Forces Detroit Chapter hosted their annual summer picnic at Stony Creek Metropark on Sunday, offering catered food by Ike’s Restaurant, children’s activities, and card games.

A mobile video game trailer also gave kids an opportunity to play Wii, PS3, and XBox 360 games in an air conditioned truck.

“This was our last opportunity to say farewell to summer and bring everyone together before things start getting cold,” said Tony Malouf, president of the local Lebanese Forces chapter.

Several Lebanese Forces members engaged in political discussions about the ongoing presidential void in Lebanon. Malouf says parliament members that are supposedly “boycotting” the election are “not doing their job.”

“It’s their duty to elect a president. Here in the United States, we are talking with congresspeople and senators, trying to orchestrate a free election there.”

Malouf also said Lebanese who support the March 8 movement and other offshoots are “(seeing) what’s best for Syria and other countries.”

He expressed condolences to the family of American journalist James Foley, who was reportedly beheaded by ISIS, and said Lebanon needs to “stay out” of the region’s chaos.

“The whole Middle East will be affected by ISIS and our biggest reason why ISIS came to Lebanon is because what Hezbollah did in Syria. Hezbollah interfered and now we pay the price.”

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Examiner StaffAugust 25, 2014, 11:54 amMarch 21, 2015 Comments Off 1365

City Beat, Detroit, News

Rai to visit Cleveland in mid-September

(CLEVELAND, OH) — Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai will visit Cleveland, Ohio on September 14, 15, and 16, multiple sources told LebaneseExaminer.com on Sunday.

The source said Rai will arrive in Cleveland after 6pm on September 14 and will be hosted by an “informal reception” at the Parish Pastoral Center.

On Monday, the Patriarch will visit Westwood Country Club for an afternoon luncheon. They say tickets begin at $250 for a silver sponsorship, or $500 for a gold sponsorship.

A divine liturgy will supposedly follow at 5pm.

At 7pm, a grand banquet will be held at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Cleveland. Tickets begin at $65 per person, according to the source.

The Patriarch will leave Cleveland at 1pm, following a brunch in downtown Cleveland.

For more information, contact Saint Maron Church at (216) 781-6161.

Examiner StaffAugust 25, 2014, 1:10 amAugust 25, 2014 Comments Off 1416

City Beat, Detroit, News

Lebanese man from Dearborn to be deported

(DEARBORN, MI) — A Lebanese man from Dearborn suspected in the deaths of two United Nations peacekeepers in 1980 has admitted that he entered the United States without proper documentation and agreed to return to his native Lebanon.

The Irish government suspects 71-year old Mahmoud Bazzi in the deaths of two of its soldiers assigned to United Nations peacekeeping duties in Lebanon. Bazzi is not charged with killing Derek Smallhorne and Thomas Barrett and insists he had no involvement.

Bazzi’s attorney Karim Aljuni told the immigration court in Detroit on Monday that his client wants to return to Lebanon through a route that does not pass through Europe.

The government’s lawyer in the immigration case, Frank Ledda, said Bazzi’s deportation has nothing to do with the Irish allegations. He says the agreement was “simply designed to remove him from the United States.”

Bazzi and his attorney want to travel directly to Lebanon, but Ledda said “there is no direct route that we can travel by.”

Khaalid Walls, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told the Associated Press that “the government hasn’t agreed to avoid any specific territory.”

It was not clear when Bazzi would leave the United States, but deportations usually take about 30 days, according to Aljuni. Homeland Security officials were holding him at the St. Clair County Jail. He was arrested in Dearborn in July.

Bazzi entered the country in 1994 and later gave false information in immigration proceedings that led officials to grant him permanent residence status in the United States, according to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.

The U.S. government said Bazzi was not honest about how he entered the country when he received asylum, Ajluni said. The Detroit Free Press said he apparently entered the country on someone else’s passport.

Immigration Judge David Paruch warned Bazzi that he would not be allowed to return for at least 10 years without permission from the U.S. government.

Bazzi’s wife and three daughters will remain in the United States.

Examiner StaffAugust 13, 2014, 2:48 pmFebruary 1, 2015 Comments Off 1738

City Beat, Detroit

United Cedars Foundation host Lebanese-Hawaiian Picnic

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(SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MI) — 300 people attended the United Cedars Foundation (UCF) Annual Summer Picnic at Stony Creek Metropark in Shelby Township on Sunday.

The group hosted what they called the “Lebanese Hawaiian Picnic for Charity.”

“We took the opportunity to do something a little different in the Lebanese community,” said Walid Korkmaz, president of the United Cedars Foundation.

Tom Sokol and his family wore Hawaiian attire to the picnic, something he said his kids “(looked) forward to.”

“They make it fun. They make it different. How many times do you see Lebanese in Hawaiian outfits?”

Sokol says he feels welcomed at UCF fundraisers and events because “political sects,” which often divide Lebanese communities, are “left out of the group.”

“I belong to many organizations in Metro Detroit and I feel that this is the first organization to represent all Lebanese — from Zahle to Tebnine, Zgharta to Achrafieh. I really feel this club encompasses everybody and focuses on what’s important — charity,” said Sokol.

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Examiner StaffAugust 11, 2014, 11:54 amJune 16, 2015 Comments Off 1426

City Beat, Detroit, News

Local Palestinians mourn Gazan death toll at St. Sharbel

(WARREN, MI) — Nearly 50 Palestinian-American Christians from the Taybeh American Youth Association (TAYA) attended St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church on Sunday, to pray for the victims of the Palestinian-Israeli clashes over the last few weeks, which have claimed the lives of hundreds of Gazans.

TAYA is a nonprofit cultural organization that was created to reconnect Palestinian-Americans from Taybeh, Palestine to their cultural roots. Taybeh is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, 15 kilometers northeast of Jerusalem.

The memorial mass recognized one of Taybeh’s residents, Jalila Khourieh, who was killed by Israeli aggression, according to the group.

“(Khourieh) is the first Christian woman that was martyred in Gaza. Her son lost both legs and her husband is in a coma at this time,” said TAYA president August Awwad.

Awwad, who was born in Jersualem, says he visited Gaza in recent years and called it “one of the poorest cities on earth.” He also called the ongoing clashes “very sad.”

“We wanted to have special services for all the innocent children that were slaughtered by the Israeli army and their savage way of indiscriminate killing,” he told Lebanese Examiner following the mass.

Juliette Boutros brought her family to pray for Gazan victims. They, like many other Palestinian-American parishioners, wore the trademark Palestinian keffiyeh around their necks.

“I want to get the word out that there are innocent human beings being killed and people are only seeing one side of the story,” Boutros said. “These are innocent people caught in this war and they’ve lost everything — no food, no water, no clothes on their backs, dead children, dead women.”

Boutros called on other ethnic communities to join in united prayer.

“We have to come together as a community — Lebanese, Palestinian, Chaldean — and pray, not only for the Gazans, for the Lebanese, and for the Iraqi Christians,” she said.

Awwad remains hopeful that unity between cultures and religions will help Gazans move forward. In one particular case, Awwad said the Archbishop in Gaza told the Muslim Imam that if their mosque is bombed, they could use the church as a place of worship.

“This shows you that in Palestine, as well as in Lebanon, there is no difference between Muslims and Christians,” he said. “This is something that people are trying to use in order to make people believe that this is a religious war rather than an occupation. This is an occupation that has been going on for 60 years.”

Examiner StaffAugust 10, 2014, 11:36 pmAugust 10, 2014 Comments Off 1793

City Beat, Detroit, Lifestyle

Report: Dearborn second on terrorist watch list

(DEARBORN, MI) — The Detroit suburb of Dearborn, with a population of 96,000 people, has more residents on the federal government’s terrorist watch list than any city in the United States other than New York, according to a report released Tuesday.

The Intercept, an online news site that investigates national security issues, reported Dearborn’s standing based on leaked intelligence documents. The Associated Press reported on the same documents last week, but did not include the Dearborn information.

The Intercept reports Dearborn’s large Muslim population likely accounts for the city’s high number of residents on the terrorist watch list. The Top 5 cities on the list, according to the leaked documents, include:

1. New York City
2. Dearborn
3. Houston
4. San Diego
5. Chicago

“Given that there has not been a Dearborn resident who has ever committed an act of terrorism in the homeland, nor any significant pattern of residents being involved in international terrorism, we have serious concerns that federal law enforcement views Dearborn as a suspect community primarily based on its Arab and Muslim demographics,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid.

“Such a disparity suggests that the Arab-American community has been disproportionality and unfairly targeted for inclusion on terrorist watch lists,” the Arab Civil Rights League said in a statement.

Local Arab American leaders are now calling for a Congressional investigation into the reports.

Read “The Intercept” article here.

Examiner StaffAugust 9, 2014, 12:31 pmFebruary 3, 2015 Comments Off 1208

City Beat, Detroit, News

Things to Do this Weekend: A Lebanese-American Guide

Michigan

Bashar Salame Book Signing at Arab Museum

Arab American community member and children’s book author Bashar Salame will visit the Arab American National Museum (AANM) in Dearborn, from noon to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, to meet children and sign copies of his new book, “Let’s Change That! If Animals Can, We Can, Too,” which was published June 24.

Click here for more information.

UCF Lebanese Hawaiian Picnic for Charity

United Cedars Foundation (UCF) will be hosting its 2nd Annual Summer Celebration on August 10, 2014. Members and friends are welcome.

Click here for more information.