And, maybe pay off some family debts, turn his small New Jersey falafel shop into a fancy restaurant, raise his two motherless children as good Muslims and Americans, insure his sister married in a proper and arranged Muslim marriage to his first cousin, and possibly, if there is time, even find a wife himself.

But Mustafa’s American Dreams, like the American Dreams of many Arabs living in America after Sept. 11, 2001, don’t come easy, and his story, really the story of the Arab American experience today, makes for a compelling drama and one of the best movies about Arab American life I have seen.

Maybe that’s why “American East,” a film made by two professional Arab American actors and producers, was never released into the American movie theaters. Not one major theater would pick the film up and play it to an American audience so lacking in any knowledge about Arab Americans in the post-Sept. 11th world.

The story of the movie itself, written and produced by Hesham Issawi and Sayed Badreya, who plays the film’s main actor, Mustafa, is a part of this American tragedy, which might have been better titled “Shattered American Dreams.”

Yet despite the bias, the bigotry, the absence of major mainstream media coverage and support, and the rejection of the film by a Hollywood industry that is built on hatred of Arab Americans, Issawi and Badreya have produced one hell of a great film that in a dramatic and award winning way tells the inside story of how Arab Americans have been abused and mistreated in this country through the eyes of one man and the people around him.

Though “American East” will not be released in theaters, it was released in DVD format January 20.

Running through the film is Mustafa’s (Badreya) first dream, to open a fancy restaurant in Los Angeles with his friend Sam (Tony Shalhoub), who is Jewish and Egyptian. They both encounter resistance from skeptical locals and families and friends that expose common misunderstandings about Arabs and Islamic cultures as they explore building a business together.

But it gets far more complicated than that.

Mustafa must soon decide if he will take the easy road and succumb to societal pressures or rise above the prejudices and live the American Dream.

There have been several post-9/11 films like “Babel,” “Kingdom of Heaven,” “Syriana,” but all of them have been about the bigger political context, offering a tepid glimpse into the reality of today’s world. “American East” digs much deeper and there are no sacred cows on any side.

This film, though, is powerful. Poignant. And brings everything together in a way the mainstream American audience could better understand the problems that exist around us and that complicate not help the “war on terrorism.”

Mustafa’s life is one of a string of tragedy and problems all related to Sept. 11 and American public fears. He’s done absolutely nothing wrong, but everything he does now looks suspicious. He’s arrested by the FBI and they question him about his friendships and money he donates to help his family back home.

His business, Habibi’s Café, is about to close and is damaged. His business investments are about to fall through. The Arab-Israeli conflict rages in debate among his friends. His family life is collapsing and he worries about whether his children will be able to survive in this society.

Yet, despite all the tragedy that falls upon Mustafa and his family, he manages to say what every Arab American says at the height of their own tragic experiences in this country, “I still believe in this country.”

The film has been compared to Spike Lee’s popular movie “Do the Right Thing.” Like Lee’s film, “American East” tells the story of discrimination and challenge facing African Americans in this country from an African American viewpoint, but also reflecting the reality of Black-White relations.

“American East” exposes the prejudice that exists on all sides, including in the Arab American community. It has a decent reflection of the diversity of the Arab American community itself, although the main focus is about issues facing Muslims and Christian Arabs, who are the majority in the Arab American community, are really a side show in the film. It’s an oversight we experience everyday in Arab American life and that needs to be changed, someday. But until then, this amalgam of Arab American storylines comes together to give the audience a powerful ending.

“American East” touches on many aspects of Arab American life, from the challenges that even face Arab American actors in Hollywood who can either play terrorists in films or not play anyone at all. It explores the reality of a family that lives in the West and embraces Western culture but that still believes it is okay to marry off young single women to older men they have never met and only meet weeks before a marriage ceremony is held.

The film also explores how young Arab American children face the challenges of being singled out because of their race and religion? “Dad, why am I a Muslim? Why is my name Muhammad? Why don’t we celebrate Christmas?” all questions many Arab Muslim children eventually ask their parents.

It’s the same experience that Jewish American children go through, though, and that is one aspect of the film that is very powerful. It shows that the Arab American experience in America today although unique, is also a reflection of the very same experiences that every ethnic and racial immigrant group has faced in settling in this country.

Except for Arab Americans, though, who have been in America from the beginning, their Twilight Zone has been endlessly drawn out and not resolved because of the neverending Arab-Israeli conflict and the suffering of the Palestinian Arab people.

The film is also somewhat experimental, including a cartoon montage depicting a brief history of Islam that Issawi credits to the style of Michael Moore’s 2002 Documentary tary, “Bowling for Columbine.”

And the film also has its critics in the Arab and Muslim community, too, extremists who want all or nothing, and usually end up with nothing every time. A great track record of failure which they proudly hail as success.

The aspect of the film that has upset many Arabs and Muslims is the relationship Issawi crafts between Mustafa and Sam, the Jewish Egyptian businessman who is his longtime friend and now a partner in a business venture that becomes strained by the government questioning, arrests and harassment.

In an interview in the Los Angeles Times, one of the few in the mainstream media, by the way, Issawi touched on the problems he faced.

“Escaping stereotypes and the seething history and politics of the Middle East, especially regarding relations between Jews and Arabs, can get artists into trouble. Issawi’s portrayal of the friendship between Mustafa and Sam, who convinces his Jewish family to partner with Mustafa in a restaurant, angered critics at the Egyptian film festival. Egypt made peace with Israel in 1979, but it is a political pact, not a cultural or artistic one. Films, music and books dealing with “normalization” are often vilified.

“ ‘It was hell,’ Issawi said of the news conference following the screening of ‘American East.’ ‘I was getting attacked by everybody. “How dare you try to make normalization with Israel.” And this was coming from journalists and critics. It was unbelievable. There was hypocrisy to it. I mean, don’t we Egyptians have a peace treaty with Israel?’’ ”

How dare you indeed, Mr. Issawi, make a great movie that tells the truth to everyone, even if everyone doesn’t want to hear the truth at all. That’s the essence of a great film and “American East” is in fact one of the great films that you must see to enjoy, to learn and to understand.

(Ray Hanania is an award winning writer and radio talkshow host in Chicago. He can be reached at www.RadioChicagoland.com or rayhanania@comcast.net.)

While Israel does have a “right” to defend itself, massacring civilians in order to kill Hamas guerillas firing rockets over the border is unjustified and morally wrong. It is outrageous.

Yet, the actions of Hamas has ripped out the principled fight of the Palestinians against Israel’s blokades and Hamas is also guilty of war crimes, intentionally targeting civilians in their feeble and pathetic rocket attacks. The firing of rockets is as worthless as it is to send young brainwashed Palestinians into suicide missions to massacre Israeli civilians.

But, what else is new in this conflict?

You can read my feelings on this outrageous conduct by both sides on the HuffingtonPost.com.

The conduct of Israel’s government and Hamas are pathetic, unprincipled and immoral. And those who take sides joining in the mob like screams for vengeance are as guilty as the people they point to on the other side. Neither side is innocent.

– Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com

In the past, anger has transformed into violent protest and what al-Zaidi did — in the noble fashion of African American hip-hop artist and rap singer Kanye West (who said President Bush doesn’t like Black people during a live NBC broadcast to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in September 2005) — was to reinforce the idea that non-violent protest works.

I have just mailed my shoes to Bush and I hope you will do the same.

Here is the mailing address:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

In fairness, please indicate on the box that this is the “Shoe Protest” Campaign so they know what is involved.

I hope you will join me. Also, take a picture of yourself sending the shoes and then go to Facebook and post your picture there on the “Mail Your Shoes to President Bush” group that I created.

– Ray Hanania
www.radioChicagoland.com

Various sources estimate that there are between 3.5 and 4.5 million Arabs in America, with Christians a slight majority over Muslims. There are 7.5 million Muslims in America, but only about 22 percent are Arab and the largest segment are African American and Asian.

Arab Americans are represented in both parties, but the majorities tend to swing back and forth depending on the candidate and the issues in the Middle East. In 2000, for example, Arab Americans overwhelmingly voted Republican to support George W. Bush.

In the election contest between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, there seems to be a split with a majority of Christian Arabs supporting McCain and a majority of Muslims supporting Obama.

Arab American voters share the same concerns as other Americans, from education to jobs to improving the economy. But they also have a special interest in American foreign policy towards the Middle East, and on that criteria, they share an overwhelming disappointment. They often base their choices in national elections, such as for president, on the which candidate is “the lesser of two evils.”

Yet, when Americans across the country flock to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 4, Arab Americans will be standing with them side-by-side in line to vote.

Here is a look at Arab American political success, their challenges and even a few of the controversies that continue to play significant roles in this year’s presidential election:

In office

After a more than 150-year presence in this country, Arab Americans continue to seek and hold public elective office.

There is little diversity in terms of their national Arab origins. The vast majority of Arab American officeholders are of Lebanese heritage. There are many reasons for this. The Lebanese were among the first to settle in the U.S. in large numbers. They are almost all Christian, allowing them to assimilate more easily into American society. Although there is a theoretical separation of church and state in America, oftentimes the fastest way to elective office is through church-supported political organizations.

But other Arab nationalities are slowly winning office as more and more seek office. The common denominator seems to be that those succeeding in elections are trading-off ties to their home countries of origin with more local activism and community involvement.

Some of the better known officeholders include U.S. Senator John Sununu (Palestinian origins and Lebanese heritage), and Congressmen Darrell Issa (California) and Ray LaHood (Illinois), all Republican.

There are more than 13 other Arab Americans who held office including four former U.S. Senators (all Lebanese), and nine congressmen including two women, Mary Rose Oakar, now national president of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), in Ohio’s 20th district, and Pat Danner of the 6th District in Missouri.

The Arab American Leadership Council maintains an updated and detailed roster that also includes members of state legislatures, governors, and local office holders from state to suburban office.

Seeking office

One of the highest profile Arab American candidate in the Nov. 4th election is Ralph Nader who is running for president on a third party. His candidacy is on the ballots in 45 of the country’s 50 states.

Sam Rasoul, candidate for congress in Virginia’s 6th district, raised more than $100,000 towards his campaign through online contributions alone. Although Rasoul is running in a longtime Republican district, he and other Democrats hope that Obama’s coattails will give them enough momentum to reverse voting trends.

In Peoria, Illinois where his father is congressman, Darin LaHood, who built his own reputation as a U.S. Federal prosecutor who targeted the mob, is running for county state’s attorney as a Republican.

Bob Abboud, the son of the former Chairman of the First National Bank of Chicago and now mayor of an affluent Northwest Chicago suburb, is the Democratic candidate in the 16th Congressional district.

More than 100 Arab Americans are expected to file their nominating petitions later this year in the February 24 and April 7, 2009 for local elective offices across the country.

In controversy

Not all of the Arab Americans involved in political elections are candidates for office. Several of the most “famous” in this presidential contest between Obama and McCain come from Illinois.

Anton “Tony” Rezko, once one of the most powerful and influential political fundraisers in the country, was convicted of corruption and faces sentencing after the presidential election.

A close friend of Obama’s, Rezko was involved in several of Obama’s controversial real estate deals. He was convicted of bribery in an unrelated scheme raising funds for beleaguered Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Rezko is Syrian American.

Not all did anything wrong and were targeted for their race and their religion.

Another Arab American in the political headlines is professor Rashid Khalidi, a Palestinian author and close friend of Obama. Khalidi, who holds the Edward Said Chair at Columbia University in New York, has been the target of a hatemongering campaign by pro-Israel extremists adopted by McCain supporters who are using the false charges to embarrass Obama.

Just over one week after being named Muslim Outreach liaison for Obama, noted Chicago attorney Mazen Asbahi was forced to resigned when he was targeted in a hate profile published by the right-wing Wall Street Journal, once a respected national newspaper gutted by its extremist conservative owner, Rupert Murdoch.

(Ray Hanania is an award winning syndicated columnist and Chicago radio talk Show host. He can be reached at www.RadioChicagoland.com or by email at rayhanania@comcast.net.)

On June 8, 1967, Israel’s air force was monitoring an American Naval Vessel, a spy ship, that was monitoring the war for the US Navy. The ship was the U.S.S. Liberty. The Israeli air force had monitored the ship for 7 hours. Suddenly, the Israeli planes disappeared. They were replaced minutes later by unmarked fighter jets that launched a massive assault on the ship which only had a few guns and cannons but was not a fighter vessel. The attack killed 10 American sailors.

The Liberty soldiers, who were pro-Israel and supporting Israel at the time, ran to the deck to wave American flags, but the jets kept firing ont he ship killing many of the sailors as they waved the American flags. Scores were wounded.

The ships captain immediately signaled an SOS to the commander of the 6th Fleet, who also immediately issued an order for American forces to respond and defend the U.S.S. Liberty. But within minutes, the order was contermanded and revoked by the 6th Fleet Commander and the rescue and defense American forces were ordered to stand down and return to their ships.

The order to not defend the Liberty came directly from Admiral John McCain, Senator McCain’s father. Admiral McCain ordered that the 6th Fleet immediately withdraw its rescue and defense operation partly because he did not want the American forces to directly engage the Israelis.

When the order not to intervene was issued, the Israeli returned with five torpedo boats that were clearly marked with Israeli flags and the Star of David. The torpedo boats fired five torpedoes at the U.S.S. Liberty. Onew of the torpedoes was a direct hit and struck the U.S.S. Liberty and killed 24 more American soldiers.

In the meantime, the commander of the 6th Fleet was fighting with Admiral McCain demanding that support be sent to DEFEND AMERICAN LIVES. It was no longer about Israel and the Arab coutnries but about AMERICAN LIVES. Admiral McCain could have issued orders to intervene, even though President Lyndon Baines Johnson was now involved in the discussions about the war and the incident involving the U.S.S. Liberty. LBJ was quoted as saying that despite the tragedy of the attack on the Liberty, he did not want to do anything that would expose Israel to defeat at the hands of the Arab nations — remember, no one knew for sure, especially among the Americans, how easily the Israelis would defeat the Arab armies.

Admiral McCain’s actions COST THE LIVES OF 24 AMERICANS who were killed AFTER the first attack and when it was clear the ship could have been defended.

The Israelis returned a third time assaulting the ship this time with helicopter gunships filled with heavily armed Israeli soldiers who were preparing to storm the ship. Their goal was to kill every last American on the U.S.S. Liberty as it became apparent to the Israelis that their plan to destroy and sink the Liberty had failed, that there were witnesses and that they feared the massacre of Americans would result in destroying their relationship with the United States. But before the troops could be ordered to assault, the Israelis realized that the battle among the American military leaders was now a major issue and it was clear that the Israelis had been identified not only by the survivors on the U.S.S. Liberty as being Israeli, but also by the commander of the 6th Fleet.

The assault helicopters were called back.

After the incident, Admiral McCain sent a commander to meet with the ship’s survivors and he ordered them to keep their mouths shut or to face court marshal. If anyone EVER discussed what happened, they would be punished.

For years, no one spoke out about theinjustice. Then, survivors began to fight back publishing several books about what they saw with their own eyes, and challenging the Israeli propaganda that the ship was attacked “by accident,” which was now the “official version” that was endorsed by the Israelis and the John administration and by Admiral McCain.

In response, Israel’s powerful lobby produced its own material and a bookw as wwritten by a pro-Israel apologist which claimed the attack was an accident and that the allegations by the eyewitnesses on the boat, and the documents, were false. It further claimed that 10 official investigations were conducted and all concluded that the attack was an accident. The truth was, there was only one official Military Probe and it refused to blame Israel. testimony from the survivors at the investigation were censored and charges that the Israelis intentionally attacked the ship were rmeoved from the official record.

How does Sen. John McCain come into the picture. His father was the commander during the Gulf of Tonkin incident in which the United States and John administration faked up an attack on an American ship to allow American forceds to invade and bomb North Vietnam. The attack never took place, but Johnson got what he wanted, an excuse to enter the Vietnam War in full force with the backing of the American people who thought the Vietnamese had in fact attacked and killed Americans.

Senator John McCain acted to defend his father’s honor and he endorsed the propaganda, pro-Israel book version of the attack on the U.S.S. Liberty introducing it to the U.S. Senate and declaring that this book by an outsider an dproagandist for Israel was in fact the official version of what happened. He then introduced the book to the Library of Congress to further cement the lie and to cover-up for his father’s betrayal of the American soldiers and the American people and truth.

Senator John McCain owes the American people an apology. And, he can make this right by standing up and demanding a full and uncensored public investigation into how America turned its back on its fighting men on June 8, 1967 in order to protect an ally it viewed crucial to the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Senator McCain can show he is a leader by exposing the truth about his father’s misdeed and to stand up for the families of the 34 brave men who were murdered by israel on June 8, 1967, and for the survivors and their families who have endured ridicule, shame and insult over the years for simply trying to tell the truth.

You can hear the story of the shameful coverup by Admiral John McCain and Sen. John McCain and the details of the massacre on my radio show (in both audio and video podcast) at www.RadioChicagoland.com.

Regardless of whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, the way our American soldiers were mistreated is shameful and remains a black spot on the honor of this country. It MUST be corrected and clarified and truth MUST be allowed to come out. The survivors of the Israeli massacre of 34 Americans must be given the chance to tell the truth, and the cowards who have shamefully tried to cover up and protect Israel’s actions deserve to experience the same ridicule and persecution that the survivors, American soldiers and their families, have been forced to endure for more than 40 years.

– Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com.

(DATELINE Peoria, Il, Sept. 30, 2008) — The judge in the controversial trial of Jeff Mazon, a former Halliburton procurement officer accused of intentionally inflating a contract payment in exchange for a bribe, acknowledged his rulings have caused “some tensions.”

In the second day of hearings, U.S. District Court Judge Joe Billy McDade acknowledged his rulings tightened reigns on Mazon’s defense team which is led by J. Scott Arthur a suburban Chicago attorney from Orland Park.

Arthur protested, after the judge directed the jury to leave the court room during a procedural squabble, that the judge’s ruling compromised Mazon’s ability to get a fair trial.

“Your honor. I can’t represent my client because you have given the government (prosecutors) so much leeway,” Arthur protested as Judge McDade ruled against Arthur’s attempts to strengthen his clients argument that the War in Iraq had strained the war contract delivery system.

McDade, who is soft spoken and rarely raises his voice, referred to the first trial in which the jury last April deadlocked on the complex charges.

“I gave the defense attorney in the last trial more leeway on issues outside of the scope of cross examination to allow him (Arthur) to address matters to put on his own case for the defense,” Arthur said.

But he said he “won’t allow” Arthur to do it again in this second trial which began Monday in McDade’s court room in the Peoria Federal Building.

McDade offered a chilling warning to Arthur, saying, “Whether or not there will be a 3rd trial in this case by you is questionable.” Arthur said he thought he understood what the softspoken judge said but “wasn’t sure.”

After verbally reprimanding Arthur, McDade cautioned the attorney about his conduct.

The argument erupted when Arthur tried to get a government witness who worked for the U.S. Army that approved contracts to support the War in Iraq to acknowledge that everyone was in a rush to get the contracts serviced.

McDade has already ruled that Arthur cannot argue Mazon is being made a scapegoat by Halliburton KBR, his former employer, that he was “framed,” that Halliburton, worked with the government to frame Mazon, or that Halliburton KBR mishandled dozens and maybe more government contracts..

What remains of Mazon’s defense, which may have swayed the deadlocked jury in the first trial held in Rock Island, is that Mazon, like many other contractors serving the Iraq war, were overworked causing many errors.

During the trial, a government witness and Mazon’s supervisor, Col. Robert Gatlin, said that he and Mazon and others worked as many as 20 hours a day, seven days a week.

Prosecutor Jeffrey B. Lang argued that Mazon inflated the contract to provide fuel to soldiers at garrisoned at a military base that was hurriedly built in Kuwait prior to the Iraq war.

Arthur argued in the last trial and will argue again that Mazon and several other Halliburton contractors had merely tripped up over the conversion of U.S. dollars to the Kuwait Dinars. One Kuwaiti Dinar is equal to 3.3 U.S. dollars. The inflated contract price was increased precisely by 3.3 in an Excel spreadsheet in which the formulas were automatically embedded. By clicking the “cells,” contractors automatically changed the price.

The bid document presented to the court showed the contract was $1.67 million US Dollars but listed as $1.67 Kuwait Dinars. It was then converted to $5.52 million U.S. Dollars through the monetary conversion error.

Lang also challenged claims that the government and Bush administration were intentionally seeking to downplay the trial.

“This is not a political trial. No one from Washington (DC) called and told me to do anything. I got into this because I wanted to. I read a story about this in the Wall Street Journal and I called and asked to be assigned to this case,” Lang said during a break in the trial.

Lang said as many as 60 people have been charged and convicted with contract related corruption, but he insisted that the politically connected Halliburton should not be the focus of the trial.

Critics, though, insist the Bush Administration intentionally pushed the trial to Rock Island for several reasons. Mazon is Ecuadorian American but his skin tone could lead many to mistake him for an Arab American. Since the terrorism of Sept. 11, 2001, thousands of Arab Americans have become victims of American public anger from subtle acts of discrimination and bias in court rooms, businesses and government to acts of vandalism and violence.

Rock Island’s mainly rural Bible Belt constituency might have produced an unsympathetic jury for someone who looks “foreign” and who is alleged to have engaged in corruption with contractors in the Arab World.
Lang brushed the charges aside.

The Peoria jury reflects a slightly better cosmopolitan diversity including five men and nine women, all save with one apparent Hispanic juror and another Asian.

The trial is expected to continue through the middle of October.

(Ray Hanania is providing special reports and commentary from and during the trial which is taking place in Peoria, Illinois. He can be reached at rayhanania@comcast.net.)

Click here for the release.

Here is the web site for the play:

www.haramiran.com

– Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com

In a motion made to U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade earlier this month, the Bush administration asked that Mazon be denied the right to argue the most fundamental issues driving alleged corruption in the handling of war-related contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mazon is a victim of the corruption and Halliburton’s drive for greed. But Halliburton is attached at the hip to President Bush. Vice President Dick Cheney, the architect of the illegal invasion of Iraq in March 2003, is the former CEO of Halliburton.

But many believe that once out of office in January, Cheney will return to head the company which is currently based in Houston but is moving its corporate headquarters to the United Arab Emirates, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

It is ironic that Cheney’s company is willing to move to Dubai in the UAE, but Bush and Cheney were unwilling to allow Dubai to handle the security of American ports. It’s a great example of the hypocrisy that embraces the Bush administration’s misguided war and confirms suspicions the administration’s foreign policy are based mainly on greed.

And that’s why Mazon’s trial is so important.

The Bush administration has asked in a “Motion in Limine” made Sept. 2, 2008, that Mazon be denied the right to argue the following in this second trial:

- the defendant is being made a scapegoat by KBR, his former employer, and Halliburton Co., KBR’s former parent company, in connection with the charges against him;

- Halliburton, KBR and its executives and managers have framed the defendant or otherwise caused the government to improperly charge him;

- the government has acted in concert with Halliburton and KBR in order to improperly charge Mazon; and d) improper conduct by Halliburton and KBR in their handling of government contracts should exculpate the defendant.

The Bush administration filed this motion because Mazon sought to subpoena Halliburton’s CEO David Lesar. This motion is normally used to prohibit the submission of evidence that might hurt the defense, not the prosecution.

The government argued the issues would “confuse” the jury. But the truth is, the jury was confused by the charge. Mazon’s attorneys argued successfully that the alleged inflation of the contract Mazon controlled was in fact a simple miscalculation involving the conversion of U.S. Dollars into Kuwait Dinars.

This conversion problem has plagued many of the war related contracts. There are about 3.3 Kuwait Dinars for every dollar. When converted, the $1.6 million contract was about 5.5 Kuwait Dinars, except it was listed as $5.5 million “U.S. Dollars.”

Mazon beat the first attempt to convict him when a majority of jurors rejected the government’s argument in a trial that took place in April of this year. The jury was deadlocked.

The Bush administration will try a second time, moving the trial from Rock Island to Peoria. Apparently, the government believed Mazon’s foreign heritage – he is Ecuadorian – and his association with Arab contractors in the Middle East, would make him unsympathetic to the region’s Bible-belt constituency jury pool.

Trying Mazon in Rock Island was also an apparent attempt to take the case out of the scrutiny of the national media. It could have been tried in Washington D.C. insuring high profile media coverage.

But high profile media coverage would have refocused the issues from the weak case against Mazon to the bigger issues of Cheney, the culture of corruption that plagues Halliburton and the corruption that is the foundation of the Iraq War itself.

The Peoria trial, which begins this week, places the trial on a higher public plain. But the government had no choice after losing the first trial. The federal judge in the case, U.S. Justice Joe Billy McDade, is from Peoria and had to drive to and from Rock Island during the first trial. This second trial is convenient to McDade.

The Bush administration knows that if the second trial becomes a referendum on their failed policies in Iraq, the next jury might not deadlock. They might vote to acquit Mazon. A fair jury can conclude Mazon is being persecuted, not prosecuted, to protect Halliburton and Cheney.

Since the charges were first filed against Mazon five years ago, public attitudes about the failed war in Iraq have changed dramatically from blind support to open challenge. The public knows that Bush and Cheney, Halliburton’s former CEO, lied and misled Americans into supporting the Iraq invasion.

Why wouldn’t they also lie to protect Halliburton?

How are they protecting Halliburton? Well, if any other corporation with no national political clout had a similar track record of corruption and mismanagement and suspicions of price gouging, their contract would have been revoked within the first few convictions.

Despite 36 war related corruption convictions, Halliburton continues to enjoy a near exclusive headlock on hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan war spending.

(Ray Hanania is a Chicago-based columnist and radio talk show host. He can be reached at rayhanania@comcast.net.)

It is being waged by a Palestinian woman named Nadia Hilou who has bucked the systems in Israel and in the Palestinian community to do what some thought not possible.

A long time advocate of children and family rights, Hilou is a citizen of Israel and ran for the Israeli Knesset so she could advocate for the rights of all people in Israel, Arab and Jewish.

Instead of running on one of the Arab Israeli party lists only to see her message drown in the “us against them” fight for Palestinian rights, Hilou ran on a mainstream list with the Israeli Labor Party. This way she would make sure her message reached everyone and change would follow.

The only Palestinian Christian Woman in the Knesset – one of 17 women and one of only two Christians – Hilou will not stop fighting for family services and the rights of children even when everyone else has.

Last week, for example, she called a special meeting of the Knesset committee she chairs, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, to examine the facts behind the recent murder of two young children. Only two members of the Knesset showed up but Hilou’s hearing gave the local media facts that might not have been heard.

Experts testified that five or six children are murdered by relatives every year in Israel. But others, like Dr. Hanita Zimrin, who heads Eli, the Israel Association for Child Protection, said she thought this was the tip of the iceberg. Many cases that are listed as suicides or accidents may have been murders, she said.

While many of the other members of the Knesset, especially in the Arab parties, are in the news addressing the bigger political issues of peace, conflict and Middle East geopolitical tensions, Nadia Hilou is persistent in seeking to elevate other important issues that have been overshadowed by the conflict.

Dealing with the over-shadowed and often ignored issues like honor killings, the murder of children, social services for families and helping to improve education, including for the fast disappearing Christian Arab citizens of Israel. Has caused her some grief.

Some activists insist she should be fighting for Palestinian rights the old fashioned Arab way, with the usual anti-Israel diatribes that embrace loud emotional words and empty bombast with blind rejection of all compromise. It is a style that typifies how Arab leaders have dealt with almost all conflicts over the years.

But Hilou represents a new generation of Palestinians who are working from within the system to do good things. She not only helps Christians, she also fights hard to defend the rights of Muslims and also Jews. That’s why she received overwhelming support in her election on the mainstream Israeli Labor Party list when she ran.

The Palestinian political establishment also discourages women from seeking any high public role, especially in politics and despite the successes of a few, like Hanan Ashrawi, the Palestinian leadership is across party lines are overwhelmingly male. Women are pushed aside, and that fact is one motivation for her critics who believe women should not hold public office not only in Israel but in the Palestinian territories.

But that’s the courage of Nadia Hilou. She won’t allow political correctness or partisan politics to discourage her from standing up and being the champion of needy children, families, women or others in Israeli and Palestinian society.

Behind the scenes, Hilou has been working hard to help get Christian schooling accredited in Israel. She was instrumental in getting Israel to approve the Christian education program at the Mar Elias school in Ibillin in the Galilee. The school is operating as a branch campus of the University of Indianapolis in Indiana in the United States, and re-opens for classes again this Fall, thanks to Nadia Hilou. This open the doors also to Muslims seeking educational programs, too.

It is because of her help working through the Ministry of Education and the Council on Higher Education that Mar Elias achieved full accreditation as a stand-alone University next year. It is now an official branch of the University of Indianapolis, one of the few schools offering Christian education not just in Israel but in the entire Middle East.

This is the first Arab Israeli Christian University in Israel. And that’s important. Very important.

But there is some vocal opposition in Israel and among Palestinians. What angers them, I am sure, is that Nadia Hilou is so much more different and better than our failed political leaders who would rather do everything the old failed way than the new, right way.

She won’t be silenced when children are murdered. She won’t be silenced when a Christian minority needs educational support. She won’t be silenced when a family is in need – Christian, Muslim or Jewish. And, she won’t be silenced by extremists who criticize her because she is a Palestinian working from inside the Israeli system with a mainstream Israeli party doing more than pandering to political emotions.
Nadia Hilou threatens the status quo in the Palestinian community and especially with the leadership

That’s exactly why she needs our support and why I am happy to support her by organizing a fundraiser on her behalf and on the behalf of the Mar Elias school in Israel in Oak Park Illinois on Oct. 8.

Doing the right is always more important and more correct than the usual political correctness, whether it is with Palestine or Israel.

(Ray Hanania is an award winning columnist, author and radio talkshow host based in Chicago. He can be reached at www.themediaoasis.com or by email at rayhanania@comcast.net. Information on Hilou’s presentation in Oak Park Illinois Oct. 8 is available online at www.InfidelsofComedy.com.)

It comes down to this question: Who do you want to be disappointed by, someone you know is going to disappoint you, or someone you hope deeply won’t disappoint you?

This election, it is Barack Obama and John McCain, and their running mates, pro-Israel activists Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.

Arab American voters (who are Muslim and Christian) are not asking Americans to be pro-Arab. They are just asking that Americans stop being stupid, use their brains, pretend they really believe that stuff about being the leader of the free world, and be fair. For many pro-Israel activists, that’s too much to permit. Better to keep the Americans dazed and confused — although there are many supporters of Israel who do support peace and fairness. Just just are not talking these days.

It’s not even close when it comes to who will be fair on Middle East issues. The presidential candidates are all sucking up to the pro-Israel lobby because the pro-Israel lobby is the ONLY game in town. The Arab lobby doesn’t exist. In fact, the Arab American activists are being overshadowed by the new movement taking over our issues, the Islamicists. The Muslim American movement is made up mostly of non-Arab Muslims. To those non-Arab Muslims, Palestine is just a stepping-stone to a larger agenda. It’s not the priority — even though that’s what they allege.

So here we are again. Screwed in an election. No real choices at all, when it comes to someone who just might do the right thing when it comes to the Middle East. So, what do we do? Well, it’s called the lessor or two (or more) evils.

Biden has set a new record, a Christian declaring himself as “Zionist.” Usually, American politicians pandering to prejudice and hatred don’t have to go so far to attract votes and money from the powerful pro-Israel lobby, Biden doesn’t have to do this, but maybe being anti-Arab is something he aspires too.

All he has to do is do what McCain and Obama have already done. Appear before AIPAC. Tell the pro-Israel crowd what it wants to hear, and hope that’s enough to pull the wool over Jewish voters, too.

Oh yes. It’s not just Arabs who are getting screwed. It’s Jewish American voters, too. Every presidential candidate claims they will move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Israeli occupied Jerusalem. But they don’t because Jerusalem is a disputed city, half occupied in 1947 and the remaining half occupied in 1967. Jerusalem is a city for Christians, Muslims and Jews and should not be the sole possession of one group. It should be shared. Pro-Israel supporters don’t like that notion — the notion of sharing, just and doing what is right because it undermines their power.

Arab Americans were hopeful with Obama because Obama comes from an oppressed South Side Chicago African American community, although he is an elitist who has always been above the suffering of African Americans. Nevertheless, Obama was close to Arab activists — most extremists — who he needed when he was running before to help raise funds and generate votes.

Now, those “friendships” have become liabilities. In today’s mainstream American media, hate and bias are often disguised as objective journalism. Just read the Chicago Tribune once-in-awhile where pro-Israel journalists constantly slam Arab rights and cleverly fuel hatemongering. The Chicago Sun-Times has a recent solid history of anti-Arab bashing and despite some changes in their editorial board, the haters still hold important positions where they routinely bash Arabs and Palestinian rights.

With a news media that promotes anti-Arab hate, why would one think the politiciansw would try to be fair on the Middle East issues?

But there is one hope for Arab Americans. It is a theory based on the contrarian view that the best way to help a cause is not to constantly seek the best candidate and always be disappointed. It is the view that the best way to bring change is to keep the environment hostile. That is, don’t support Obama — just because he has a middle name that is Muslim (Hussein is not an Arab name, it is a Muslim name. I don’t know one Aran Christian named Hussein, unlike Abdullah, which is an Arab named shared by Christians and Muslims). The theory goes that instead of supporting Obama, who can’t do the right thing because his hands are tied by the reality of American politics, support John McCain who everyone presumes is more pro-Israel than Obama. The truth is, McCain, with his support of Israel, could do more to force Israel’s government to be more objective and do the right thing.

McCain, by virtue of the fact that he is viewed as being more supportive of Israel, could have the strength to do the right thing.

Palin also is popular but naive. She doesn’t understand the fundamentals of the Middle East conflict and will continue to pander to pro-Israel views as she has been doing.

But at least Palin and McCain don’t have to declare themselves “Zionists” to win pro-Israel votes, the way Biden has. Biden will be under constant pressure to prove that he is pro-Israel and he will most likely spearhead the move to advance the extremist agendas in Israel’s government, rather than try to contain those Israeli extremists.

We all know that what the Middle East needs is someone courageous enough to make the Palestinians and the Israelis do what needs to be done. But that courageous person is not out there. In the face of that continuing reality, the best option is not to support someone who “looks” like they can be fair and is more likely to be a bigger disappointment. The real option is support the person who is unfair and won’t disappoint, but who could just change.

Obama won’t change. If Palestine and the Middle East were really important, he would have given signals to that affect already. But he won’t. McCain and Palin could actually bring more change.

And, for those who see things in Republican and Democratic colors, the other reality is this. Even if McCain wins, both houses of the congress will be controlled by Democrats. So, what’s the difference if Obama wins or loses.

I always think disappointment is better when it is not so disappointing and the person who lets you down is not someone you expect to help you, like McCain. The worst scenario is to support someone who you think mightr understand you, but despite that understanding still easily changes his views in order to pander for votes and money, like Obama.

Obama will let the Arab American community down not because he wants to but because that is the inherent nature of an American political system where the Arab activism is at an extremist and dysfunctional minimal. If Obama lets us down, as he is certain to do, that would be far more traumatic for Arab Americans. Because the worst kind of disappointment come from friends, not enemies.

– Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com