Ray Hanania on Politics, Media & Life Ray Hanania

12-01-23 Israeli carnage in Gaza wipes out family of American NGO professional

By Ray Hanania

Chicago -- All 14-year-old Siwar Almadhoun wanted to do was play basketball while her nine-year-old brother, Omar, dreamed of one day playing soccer.

But the dreams of the two young children were violently shattered in the early morning on Friday, November 24 while they slept when Israeli forces dropped massive bombs on their home in Beit Lahia in the Gaza Strip.

Also killed in the indiscriminate Israeli carnage were their parents, Majed, 41, and Safa, 38, and two other children Reman, 18, who had just started college, and Ali, 7, said Hani Almadhoun, Majed's brother and an American who supervises charitable fundraising for needy families for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA-USA) in Washington D.C. Only two of Majed's daughters, Roa and Salam, survived the onslaught because they were married living with their families in Rafah.

"Siwar, the basketball player. A 14-year-old girl. She loved basketball. The salt of this earth. A very sweet girl. She was killed. She did nothing. She was asleep just like her family. And half of her mom, only one half was recovered. Reman was recovered. Ali was recovered. ... their own cat was buried and killed next to them. They adopted a cat named Lucky, a very misfortunate name. They liked to call her Cici. She was killed between the two kids because they loved to play with her too much," Almadhoun, 42, told Arab News as he struggled through his grief.

"The only body that was found immediately was Omar. He flew through the window to the street 20 meters away. They went to bury him. They went to find Majed and my mom knew her son was there. She was grieving and then on top of that no ambulances, no bulldozers were able to come to remove this rubble."

Click this link to read the whole story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2417526/middle-east

11-10-23 S5E4 Ray Hanania Interviews Amer Zahr on Israel propaganda and the war on Gaza won Radio Baladi in Detroit



Radio Baladi Friday Nov. 10, 2023 with Ray Hanania
WNZK AM 690

Good morning everyone ... it is Friday Nov. 10, 2023 and I am Ray Hanania here at Radio Baladi on WNZK AM 690 Radio

I host the program on the 2nd Friday of every month ...

Today we're going to take your calls at 248-557-3300 and talk with our guest Palestinian American standup comedian and lecturer Amer Zahr about the Israel carnage of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the rising anti-Arab hate promoted in Congress, the news media and across the American political spectrum ... but mainstream Americans are increasingly questioning's Israel's violence which many have called "war crimes" ...

Amer has a powerful narrative about the Israeli assault against Palestinian civilians in Gaza and we need to get the word out so Americans can hear the truth. His presentations are effective especially with American audiences ... his website is at www.AmerZahr.com that's AmerZahr.com

We are broadcasting live on WNZK AM 690 radio and streaming live on the US Arab Radio Network at facebook.com/USArabRadio... check it out and share your comments there

Make sure to check out my columns and news stories at ArabNews.com and at Hanania.com ... And follow me on Tiktok -- @RayHanania -- to keep up with my political reports and my standup comedy bits

When it comes to helping Arabs, call me Arab, not MENA, 3-18-23, S5E3

March 18, 2023 S5 E3

Ray Hanania gives an impassioned argument on why the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) category will undermine the effort to provide equal rights to Arab Americans.

State Rep. Cyril Nichols introduced a law in 2022 that would recognize Arabs as an MBE (Minority Business Enterprise category) when it comes to received preferential treatment in the award of 25-30 percent of the state's $100 billion in annual contract awards. MBE status has been given to African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians and Women, to ensure that they can compete for the contract set-aside, with the majority of contracts, more than 70 percent, going to mainstream businesses.

Instead, a group of self-serving Arabs have introduced their own bill in response to the Nichols legislationt o grant MBE status to the MENA category, which is mostly non-Arabs from th Middle East and from North Africa including African Americans who already qualify for MBE status now. That bill was given to newly elected State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, a very good person and legislator who was convinced to sponsor it. MENA is a mistake that will harm Arab Americans.

For ARABS to be helped to overcome the discrimination, bigotry and bias that holds them down the effort must be directed towards helping ARABS. Arabs get NO major contracts from governments today because they are small and have been marginalized by anti-Arab elected officials like former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and anti-Muslim Governor J.B. Pritzker. The MENA catogory will further enslave Arabs to the existing anti-Arab system and even undermine support Arabs have received from African American leaders, who are are closest and most generous natural allies.

You can read more about the issue after the podcast by clicking this link an reading my column on the topic, or by visiting TheArabDailyNews.com or Hanania.com.

Also, sign up for Ray Hanania's FREE eNewsletter on Arab American issues by clicking this link.

Former Orland Park Asst Village Manager analyzes misguided referendum to eliminate Managerial form of government
Video of former Orland Park assistant village manager discusses the referendum to eliminate the village managerial form of government proposed by controversial Mayor Keith Pekau. In a political move, Pekau introduced an ordinance to replace the managerial form of government at a meeting on Monday Feb. 20, 43 days before the citizens could vote on the referendum. The ordinance outlines his plans to take control by appointing a village manager he controls directly
By Ray Hanania

Karie Friling the former Director of Development Services and former Asst. Village Manager for Orland Park, Illinois, discusses with host Ray Hanania, the proposed referendum introduced and pushed by Mayor keith Pekau to eliminate the professional Village Manager and Managerial Form of Government.

If passed, the referendum on April 4, 2023 would open the way for Pekau to become a full time mayor with a larger salary.

Friling discusses some of the concerns residents have about changing the system which has been in place since 1983 and helped guide Orland Park through its greatest expansion led by previous mayors.

For more information on the Village Managerial Form of Government Referendum visit www.VoteYesOrland.com

Former government officials have lined up against eliminating the Managerial Form of Government in a referendum that is constructed to mislead voters on April 4, 2023. The referendum question is ““Shall the Village of Orland Park retain the managerial form of government?”

A No Vote eliminates the Village Manager position defined by the State of Illinois and replaces it with a village manager who answers directly to Mayor Pekau who has consolidated accountability to expand his power and control over every facet of village policies and decision making.

A Yes Vote, which is encouraged by professionals who have dedicated their lives to protect Orland Park, would reject the referendum.

The wording by Pekau was intended to confuse voters.

You can watch the video of the interview I did with Karie Friling on Youtube by clicking this link or by using the the widget below to watch it on this award winning website.

Pekau has repeatedly refused to be interview by this columnist and has slandered and attacked me by calling me names, rather than to be accountable and address the issues.

For more information visit the group’s website at www.VoteYesOrland.com.

(Ray Hanania is an award winning former Chicago City Hall reporter. A political analyst and CEO of Urban Strategies Group, Hanania’s opinion columns on mainstream issues are published in the Southwest News Newspaper Group in the Des Plaines Valley News, Southwest News-Herald, The Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers. His Middle East columns are published in the Arab News. For more information on Ray Hanania visit www.Hanania.com or email him at rghanania@gmail.com.)

Arab Radio Ray Hanania on humanitarian obstacles for earthquake victims in Syria & Turkey

Guests Dr. Zaher Sahloul the founder and president of Med Global at MedGlobal.org which provides relief to victims of tragedy throughout the World and the middle East former Syrian National Council member Dr. Mouayad Chozlan who is in Syria and is calling us from the disaster zone discusses the real obstaces i getting humanitarian aid to victims of the erathquake in Syria and Turkey. It's not the US embargo or the Turks. It is Damascus and Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad

We are broadcasting live on WNZK AM 690 radio and streaming live on the US Arab Radio Network at facebook.com/USArabRadio... check it out and share your comments there

By the way, the Arab American Democratic Club has its Candidate Forum and Brunch at Nikos Banquets on Sunday Feb 12 at 10 am ... the Arab community needs to be there ... go to ArabDemocraticClub.com to get more info and tickets

Make sure to check out my columns and news stories at ArabNews.com and at Hanania.com ... And follow me on Tiktok -- @RayHanania -- to keep up with my political reports and my standup comedy bits ...

Dr. Zaher @Sahloul of @MedGlobalorg & Syrian National Council member #MouayadChozlan on who is really blocking humanitarian relief from getting to the victims of the #Syria #Turkey #earthquake on #ArabRadio WNZK AM 690 this morning. Watch video at https://fb.watch/iC245FHRRq/

Dr. Zaher @Sahloul of @MedGlobalorg & Syrian National Council member #MouayadChozlan on who is really blocking humanitarian relief from getting to the victims of the #Syria #Turkey #earthquake on #ArabRadio WNZK AM 690 this morning. Watch video at https://fb.watch/iC245FHRRq/

Radio Baladi Friday December 9, 2022 with Guest Host Ray Hanania WNZK AM 690

State Rep. Cyril Nichols, Democrat from the 32nd District, will join me on Arab American Radio Friday Morning in Detroit at 8 AM Detroit time (7 am Chicago) to discuss the need for Arab Americans and African Americans to work more closely together. He'll also talk about his legislation to grant Arab Americans in Illinois Minority Business Enterprises status to give them access to 30 percent of the state's $40 billion in contracts. The legislation is modeled after legislation adopted in Michigan for Arab Americans.

Rep. Nichols has done more for Arab Americans in Illinois in his first year in office than most other legislators.

If you are not in Detroit you can watch the program stream live on Facebook at Facebook.com/USArabRadio

(7 am Chicago, 8 AM Detroit)

We are broadcasting live on WNZK AM 690 radio and streaming live on the US Arab Radio Network at facebook.com/USArabRadio... check it out and share your comments there

Make sure to check out my columns and news stories at ArabNews.com and at Hanania.com

Call in at 248-557-3300

https://fb.watch/hi-9o9hOnh/