ArabishWay

Arab Movies at SIFF: The Unknown Saint
2021-04-08 - 2021-04-18
The Unknown Saint
Morocco | 2019 | 100 minutes | Alaa Eddine Aljem
Opens April 8, 2021
SIFF Channel
An absurdist, droll, entertaining fable about a criminal who returns to the hill where he stashed his stolen goods, only to find that a well-guarded shrine to a “missing saint” has been built over it.

Arab Movies at SIFF: Captains of Zaatari
2021-04-08 - 2021-04-18
Captains of Zaatari
Egypt | 2021 | 75 minutes | Ali El Arabi
Opens April 8, 2021
SIFF Channel
A rousing, heartfelt tale about two soccer-obsessed Syrian friends living in Jordan’s Zaatari Refugee Camp who, upon learning that a famed Qatari sports academy is visiting the camp, may have finally found their ticket to a bigger, brighter future.

Egyptian Voices from the Past: An Overview
2021-04-07 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Since the Greek historian, Herodotus wrote about the ancient Egyptians, Egypt has fascinated those looking in from the outside. Come with me as we explore the major sites of ancient Egypt from the late Pre-dynastic era (4500 BCE) through the New Kingdom (1090 BCE) including Abydos, the cult city of Osiris; Memphis, the ancient capital; the temple complex of Karnak in Thebes; Valley of the Kings; Deir el-Medina, the village of the workmen who built and decorated the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings; and King Tutankhamun’s birthplace, Amarna, Akhenaten’s new city.

(This class is the first in a series of 8 classes.)

Film Screening and Discussion: “We’re Not White”
2021-04-06 14:00 - 16:00
Join us for viewing and discussion of the film We’re Not White by by Arab American comedian, speaker, writer, academic, and adjunct Professor, Amer Zahr.
What does it mean to be invisible in racial categories but distinct and hyper visible as a ‘feared’ and ‘enemy’ minority? Let’s talk about our experiences, the tensions that exist in this statement of disavowing white supremacy while at times benefiting from proximity to whiteness, how do we see ourselves and what we want to change?
Event is co-sponsored by the Honors College.
Live Transcription via zoom will be available.

RSVP

Puget Sound to Palestine: Indigenous Struggles for Sovereignty & Climate Justice
2021-04-04 10:00 - 11:00
SUPER-UW and ICA-UW invite you to Puget Sound to Palestine: Indigenous Struggles for Sovereignty and Climate Justice, a panel on the Indigenous-led struggles for environmental justice in the U.S. and Palestine.
The panel will be on Zoom from 10-11:30am PST on Sunday, April 4.
Click the event link to register!
Panelists include Zena Agha, a Palestinian-Iraqi writer and poet who focues on climate change, Palestinian environmental resilience, and settler-colonial cartography; Cody O’Rourke, a Human Rights Observer with the Good Shepherd Collective which works to educate and incite action on structural violence in Palestine; and Paul Chiyokten Wagner, an internationally performing artist and the founder of Protectors of the Salish Sea, an Indigenous climate justice group in the Pacific Northwest.
There will be time for each of the panelists to discuss themselves and their work; a moderated discussion focusing on current issues impacting indigenous communities here in the Pacific Northwest and in Palestine, and the broader struggle for climate justice worldwide; and a question and answer session.

Virtual Arab Cooking Class
2021-04-03 16:00 - 18:00
Join us this Saturday for our first cooking class! Follow along as our lovely chef Lida teaches us how to cook Hummus and Tabouleh!
Ingredient list is below:
Hummus ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans
2 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon of tahini
Pinch of salt
Tools:
Food processor
Tabouleh ingredients:
2 parsley bunches
3 medium tomato
1/4 cup chopped green onion or TBSP regular onion
Salt to taste
2 tbsp bulgar wheat
Juices of 2 lemons
Tools:
Sharp chopping knife
Medium bowl

Virtual Delegation to Tent of Nations
2021-04-03 09:00 - 10:30
For this Virtual Delegation, we will visit the Nassar family at their farm. The farm has been in the family since 1916 and is located 6 kilometers from Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank. The one-hundred acre farm is surrounded on three sides by Israeli Settlements, and below by the Palestinian village of Nahalin. The family has also been in the Israeli courts since 1991 seeking to maintain their claim to this land. Join members of the Nassar family to learn about their story and understand more about the work of their farm.
Saturday, April 3rd: 12 – 1:30pm EDT
Thursday, April 8th: 2 – 3:30pm EDT
Sunday, April 11th: 2 – 3:30pm EDT
Friday, April 16th: 12-1:30pm EDT

Online Taste of Morroco with Sur La Table
2021-03-31 16:00 - 17:00
Menu
Click here for prep packet and shopping list

Braised Chicken with Dried Fruit and Couscous
Carrot Salad with Harissa, Feta and Mint

Instructor: VanessaC

Arabic Calligraphy
2021-03-31 15:00 - 17:00
Arabic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy based on the Arabic alphabet.
Hajj Wafaa of Kufa, Iraq, is a freelance professional Islamic calligraphist. He has been teaching Islamic calligraphy classes in Boston since 2004. Haff Wafaa will join us on Wednesday, March 31 to teach our Arabic calligraphy workshop.
25 students will receive a free Arabic calligraphy set. You must be able to attend the Wednesday, March 31 calligraphy workshop. If you cannot attend the workshop, please do not register.
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Arabic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy based on the Arabic alphabet.

Sa’ed Atshan on “The Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique”
2021-03-31 14:00 - 15:00
UIC Institute for the Humanities’ Race and US Empire Working Group co-sponsored with the Arab American Cultural Center
Prof. Atshan will speak on his book Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique (Stanford University Press, 2020) which traces the rise of the LGBTQ movement in Palestine even as they are subjected to an ’empire of ciritque’ locally and globally.
RSVP here: Zoom Link
For questions, email: huminst@uic.edu

RSVP

Contact
Arab American Cultural Center
(312) 413-3253
arabamcc@uic.edu

From the U.S. to Palestine: End Medical Apartheid
2021-03-31 09:00 - 11:00
JOIN US to know how you can take action to ensure safety for all people — no exceptions.

From the U.S. to Palestine, COVID-19 is revealing longstanding systems of racism and discrimination.

Like all people, Palestinians have the right to live in health and safety. But while the Israeli government rolls out the COVID-19 vaccine to millions of Israeli citizens, Israel is denying the lifesaving vaccine to Palestinians living under its military occupation.

REGISTER using the link in our bio or by going to bit.ly/UStoPalestine

Returning Home - A tribute to Mourid Barghouti on Land Day
2021-03-30 17:00 - 18:00
In wake of the recent passing of Mourid Barghouti, the PYM is hosting a literary panel inspired by his seminal text “I Saw Ramallah” and other works.
Please join us on the 45th Commemoration of Land Day and upcoming anniversary of the Great March of Return for this special virtual event “Returning Home”, co-sponsored by Palestine Writes and the Radius of Arab American Writers.
The panel will feature Dr. Amanda Batarseh, Dr. Salam Mir and Zaina AlSous, facilitated by Dr. Suja Sawafta, a seated judge for the GK Scholarship and a scholar with focus on the themes of exile, commitment and dissent through the work of Abdul Rahman Munif

Online: us02web.zoom.us

Land Day 45 Years On: A Day to Resist and Remember
2021-03-30 11:00 - 12:00
Online with Facebook Live

Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 11 AM PDT – 12:30 PM PDT

Price: Free · Duration: 1 hr 30 min

Public · Anyone on or off Facebook

5.2 Dialogues on the Art of Arab Fashion: Story of A Dress
2021-03-30 09:00 - 17:00
Event Description: Dr. Reem El Mutwalli in conversation with Nisreen and Nermeen Abudail from Naqsh Collective on “Story of a Dress”
Date: 30th March 2021
Time: 12 pm NYC, 5 pm London, 8 pm Dubai
Tickets: Donation
Students: If you are a student, or member of academia please register here to receive your complimentary registration links.
Registering will not only give you access to the live session, but also a recorded version to catch up on in your own time.

Live from Damascus - A Conversation with Palestinian Artist Khair Alah Salim
2021-03-28 09:00 - 10:00
Sunday, March 28, 2021

12:00 PM 1:00 PM

All times are based on the US ET Time Zone
Click here to register for this event.
Bi-lingual Arabic/English event with simultaneous translation
Please join us for a conversation with Damascus, Syria-based Palestinian artist Khair Alah Salim, followed by a virtual exhibition of his artwork.

Zikra: Remembering ‘Abd al-Halim Hafiz
2021-03-27 11:00 - 12:30
By the end of his career, ‘Abd al-Halim Hafiz was the most popular singer in Egypt. Radio stations received unprecedented numbers of requests of his songs, and he earned more money for his concerts than any other performer of the day. His cassette sales were similarly unmatched. Nor was Halim’s impact limited to the music sphere. As a pop celebrity, he shaped the everyday lives of Egyptians, from the way they dressed and styled their hair to where they spent their wedding night. The event will feature a presentation by Dr. Nicholas Mangialardi on the singer’s musical legacy followed by a live performance of ‘Abd al-Halim hits by Egyptian jazz vocalist Ahmed Harfoush and his band.

The event will feature a presentation by Dr. Nicholas Mangialardi on the singer’s musical legacy followed by a live performance of ‘Abd al-Halim hits by Egyptian jazz vocalist Ahmed Harfoush and his band.
About Presenters:
Nicholas Mangialardi:
Mangialardi received his PhD from Georgetown University in Arabic and Islamic Studies in 2020. His dissertation explores the music, life, and afterlife of Egyptian singer ‘Abd al-Halim Hafiz. He has also conducted research in cities throughout Egypt on the development of hip hop culture in the country. As an ARCE Fellow in 2017-2018, Mangialardi co-organized the conference Egyptian Soundscapes: Music, Sound, and Built Environment, held in Cairo.
Ahmed Harfoush:
Harfoush spent his childhood between Washington DC and Cairo, Harfoush was exposed to both worlds at an early age. Once an Egyptologist then an administrator at Chicago House living in Luxor in the late 90s and later as a United Nations staff member in Cairo.
Harfoush was clasically trained as a tenor performing with a few choirs in Cairo, then switched his interest in jazz. He established the Riff (jazz) Band in 2002 and co-founded the Cairo Jazz Festival in 2009 as well as producing jazz shows at esteemed Cairo music venues. After moving to London in 2014, he joined the local jazz scene and, with a taste for experimentation, brought to life a genre everyone loved unconditionally and a concept welcomed by everyone; The Egyptian Jazz Projekt. This music venture is a merge between songs from 1950s Egypt and America in a new fresh jazz arrangements.
Registration will close 24 hours before the lecture starts. Registration does not include any future lectures in this series.

Free Virtual Screening of the Film "Occupied Palestine" Directed by David Koff
2021-03-27 09:00 - 10:00
To register for this event please click here.
About the Film
This 87-minute documentary film by the late American director David Koff (1939-2014), released in 1981, catalogues the effect of Israeli settlements on Palestinian towns and villages. Talking about “Occupied Palestine” Koff said in advance of its opening at the Palestinian Film Festival in London “it was an effort to give a voice to those people who rarely, if ever, are presented on film.”

Saturday, March 27, 2021
12:00 PM 2:00 PM EST

Movie: MAYOR, followed by a discussion with David Osit and Cherien Dabis
2021-03-26 15:30 - 18:00
The Museum of the Palestinian People is excited to screen MAYOR, a captivating portrayal of Musa Hadid, the Mayor of Ramallah. The screening will be followed by a discussion with David Osit and Cherien Dabis.
MAYOR follows Musa Hadid, the Christian mayor of Ramallah, during his second term in office. His immediate goals: repave the sidewalks, attract more tourism, and plan the city’s Christmas celebrations. His ultimate mission: to end the occupation of Palestine.
Rich with detailed observation and humor, MAYOR offers a portrait of dignity amidst the madness and absurdity of endless occupation while posing a question: how do you run a city when you don’t have a country?
Suggested donation: The Museum of the Palestinian People is committed to keeping our virtual programming free, but events like these are impossible without supporters like you. Please consider making a donation to the Museum of the Palestinian People when registering for this event.

The Museum of the Palestinian People is screening MAYOR, followed by a discussion with David Osit and Cherien Dabis

NBF Presents: Borders of Belonging
2021-03-25 15:00 - 16:30
THURSDAY, MARCH 25 @ 6:00PM EST
National Book Foundation Presents

NBF YouTube Channel

NBF Presents: Borders of Belonging
To question the “other” in American identity, join National Book Award–honored authors Laila Lalami (The Other Americans, 2019 Fiction Finalist), Nafissa Thompson-Spires (Heads of the Colored People, 2018 Fiction Longlist), and Karla Cornejo Villavicencio (The Undocumented Americans, 2020 Nonfiction Finalist) for a conversation on borders, immigration, and outsiders, and what it means to write one’s self into existence. Moderated by Concepción de León, a New York Times reporter.

6 Days | 6 Nights - Revolutionary Arab Women in the Arts
2021-03-25 - 2021-03-30
Join us for our first Showcase of the year, as AFMI’s annual Arab Women’s Showcase goes virtual! 6 Days | 6 Nights – Revolutionary Arab Women in the Arts shines a light on generations of Arab women who challenge the status quo – past, present, future. From March 25th through the 30th discover their inspiring stories through film features, poetry reading, photography, theatrical performance, and discussions.
Here’s how to make the best of this special series of virtual events:

Check out the program
Read all about our opening film
Browse all the events
Buy your pass

Discussion: Palestine is a Feminist Struggle
2021-03-24 09:00 - 11:00
Palestinian women have always been at the forefront of our resistance to Israeli settler colonialism. We are excited to be hosting two remarkable Palestinian feminist organizers, Soheir Asaad of Tal’aat and Sarah Ihmoud of the Palestinian Feminist Collective for a conversation about emerging Palestinian feminist movements. Join us on Wednesday, March 24 at 12 noon EDT (9 am PST & 6 pm Palestine) to learn what we mean when we say: There is no free homeland without free women! Palestine is a feminist issue.
Co-sponsored by the Palestinian Feminist Collective and Middle East Children’s Alliance
Register today: bit.ly/PalFeminists

If you haven’t had a chance to support the Palestinian Feminist Collective’s pledge affirming that Palestine is a Feminist Issue, sign on today and spread the word near and far!

Palestinian Fatayer with Nadia Tommalieh
2021-03-22 17:00 - 19:30
The universal practicality of packing deliciousness into a portable dough package ranges from Cornish pasties to empanadas to fatayer, a type of savory pie eaten throughout the Middle East. In this class, NADIA TOMMALIEH will guide you through the Palestinian take on this most perfect of mezze. You’ll layer a citrusy spinach filling into dough triangles to make fatayer sabanekh, fold cheese and herbs into boat-shaped fatayer jebneh, and make open-faced spiced beef sfeeha.
This is a live, hands-on cooking class held in your kitchen via Zoom. Class is meant to be as interactive as it would be at our table, with the instructor teaching you how to prepare each recipe. Each class ticket is for one kitchen, and we welcome group cooking on the same screen. To learn more about how class will go visit our FAQ PAGE.

There are two options for gathering ingredients for this class! You can shop for your own ingredients or we are happy to pre-measure ingredients and assemble them into a 4-serving kit. And if you like to sip wine while you cook, consider adding a lovingly paired bottle with your kit!
You can preview the ingredients and equipment needed by FOLLOWING THIS LINK. One week before class we will send out a detailed shopping list, and a few days before class we will email you a detailed recipe packet and Zoom link. All classes are listed in Pacific Time.

Water, Health and Human Rights: Marking World Water Day, from the U.S. to Palestine
2021-03-22 16:00 - 17:30
World Water Day March 22, 2021
The UN designated March 22 as World Water Day in 1993.
In the years since, various UN agencies have declared water to be a human right that “should be treated as a social & cultural good, and not primarily as an economic good.” The UN General Assembly formally recognized water as a human right in 2010.
These declarations have not stopped large corporations from turning water into a commodity to be bought and sold for a profit. In Indigenous lands in the U.S. and around the globe water resources have been plundered and polluted, with devastating consequences for traditional ways of living and the environment. The ongoing seizure and diversion of water to drive Indigenous peoples from their land have been tools of colonial domination from the Americas to Palestine and beyond.
In the U.S. communities of color have disproportionately faced the poisoning of their water and environment. In some American cities water shutoffs for nonpayment of bills have forced people to leave their homes, paving the way for gentrification.
Wars are already being fought over water and this is only going to continue as we confront the devastating effects of climate change. Texas recently experienced a ‘Gaza Strip’ moment, when the impact of a freezing storm and deregulated grid left people without power and drinkable water.
The era of the Covid-19 pandemic has brought many problems into urgent focus, and access to clean water is one of them.
Find out how you can get involved in campaigns for water justice at our March 22nd webinar, Water, Health and Human Rights: Marking World Water Day, from the U.S. to Palestine. It will focus on water struggles in Detroit, Flint, Indigenous lands, prisons and Palestine and help build public support for legislation to stop water shut-offs in the U.S. during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Register here.

Tatreez & Me: Motherhood, Palestinian Identity, and Embroidery
2021-03-21 11:00 - 12:00
Palestinian embroidery, or tatreez, is centuries-old folk art, traditionally passed from mother to daughter over a cup of tea. The traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, also known as the thobe, has traceable origins from the beginning of the sixteenth century and the tatreez, or embroidery, has an iconographical and symbolic significance that ultimately dates back to Chinese symbols found around 5,000 BC.
Award-winning Palestinian embroiderer Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim began passing the endangered art form to her daughter Wafa Ghnaim at two years old.
This Mother’s Day, we will celebrate the Palestinian art of embroidery and Palestinian stories through a conversation with Feryal and Wafa about motherhood, Palestinian identity, and embroidery. Bring your mom and your girlfriends for what is sure to be a thoughtful, engaging, and heartwarming conversation.

Opera Singer Zeina Barhoum in Virtual Concert at Palestine Museum US
2021-03-21 09:00 - 10:30
Please click here to register for this event.
Please click here to hear Zeina’s trailer.
Renowned opera singer Zeina Barhoum will perform in a virtual concert at Palestine Museum US. She will sing in Arabic and other languages, including the songs “Sanarjeo Yawman سنرجع يوما”, “Jerusalem زهرة المدائن”، “Oh mio babbino caro” and several others.

Silence is a Sense: Layla AlAmma
2021-03-20 14:00 - 16:00
Joining us today from the UK (hence the weekend starting time) where she is pursuing doctoral work on ‘the intersection of Arab women’s fiction and literary trauma theory’ is Kuwait-born novelist Layla AlAmmar. She has written two novels, both to much acclaim, the second of which has become her first to be published in the U.S., Silence is a Sense (Algonquin). A woman has fled her homeland of Syria because of the civil war there, coming to the UK – and trying there to reckon what it has all meant, even if words aren’t there for saying it.

“Silence Is a Sense is a fierce novel. The prose is ferocious, the pace is ferocious and the beguiling central character, known as The Voiceless, conceals behind her inability—or reluctance — to speak, a striking, visceral intensity. She obsessively watches the people around her to silence her own trauma, but every now and then it can’t help but break through. Layla AlAmmar has skillfully woven a narrative of memory and grief with an illuminating social critique of the position of asylum seekers within contemporary British society. It is daring and devastating.” —Fiona Mozley.
“Kuwaiti-American author Layla AlAmmar masterfully depicts that silence is a refuge, too, for people affected by the unspeakable . . . AlAmmar succeeds in challenging the refugee or asylum-seeker stereotype, including the one of a young Arab woman.”—The Markaz Review.

Cherry Street Village presents Nadia Tommalieh making Ka’ak Fallahi
2021-03-20 12:00 - 13:00
Join Cherry Street Village in welcoming cooking instructor and Instagram foodie influencer Nadia Tommalieh (@nadiatommalieh). This is a live cooking demonstration held in the comforts of your living room via Zoom. To join you must register at: http://bit.ly/CSVNadiaZoom
Those who register will be sent the recipe to enjoy after the demonstration.
Nadia Tommalieh will be showing us how to make Ka’ak Fallahi, a traditional Palestiian sweet cookie made to celebrate the upcoming Easter, Eid or Arabic Mother’s Day holidays. There will also be time for questions and answers.
Nadia shared this about our afternoon demostration: “Our celebrations are never complete without these melt in your mouth traditional Palestinian date stuffed cookies. Also known as “ Ka’ak Fallahi” which translates to farmer’s cookies or “Asawer” which means bracelets. The dough is made from a mix of flour and semolina, kneaded with ghee and olive oil and loaded with aromatic spices. The perfect treat for any occasion!”
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The Ethnic Cleansing of Sheikh Jarrah - Screening of Short Films & Discussion with Mohammed El-Kurd
2021-03-20 09:00 - 10:30
Please click here to register for this event.
A virtual screening of two short films about Sheikh Jarrah followed by a discussion with Mohammed El-Kurd.
Mohammed El-Kurd is an award-winning writer and internationally-touring poet from Jerusalem, Palestine. His work has appeared in The Nation, The Guardian, and Al-Jazeera among others. He is from Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood battling ethnic cleansing since 1972. Today, his family, among 12 others, is ruled to be displaced from their homes by August 2021.

Movie: There is a Field via Mideast Focus Ministry
2021-03-19 19:00 - 20:30
THERE IS A FIELD
This film by local filmmaker Jen Marlow, tells the story of a 17-year-old Palestinian peace activist, killed by the IDF. It is told through the lens of Black Lives Matter activists in the U.S.
In October 2000, a police officer shot and killed unarmed 17-year-old Asel Asleh. His story is tragically familiar for Americans, but Asel was not killed in Ferguson, New York City, Atlanta, or Minneapolis. Asel was a Palestinian teenager who was murdered by Israeli police as he participated in a demonstration, calling for an end to the Israeli occupation and settler-colonization.
Learn more here.
with guest speaker: TBA
Contact info@saintmarks.org to be added to the Mideast Focus Ministry mailing list, or use this form. (Check the box marked “Mideast Focus.”)

Arab Film Series Online: 7 x 7 // 7 Artists, 7 Years
2021-03-19 16:00 - 18:00
7 p.m. EDT Friday, March 19
Online Stream – Register for Free
AANM, Arab Film and Media Institute, ArteEast, the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College, the Department of Art History at Pomona College and Youth of the World Together, in total partnership, are pleased to present the public premiere of two experimental short films by Yemeni-Bosnian multi-media artist Alia Ali: Conflict is More Profitable Than Peace and مهجر // Mahjar. Immediately following the premiere will be a dialogue with Alia Ali hosted by AANM Film Curator Dave Serio.
Marking the seventh year of the war in Yemen, this event will launch 7 x 7 // 7 Artists, 7 Years: a film presentation of short films by seven Yemeni filmmakers, that collectively push back against binary portrayals of Yemenis as victims and/or villians, and instead provide an expansive view on how Yemenis present themselves, on their terms. Following the live premiere, all films will be available to stream for 48 hours.
Featuring the following films/filmmakers:
Carrom dir. Nashwan Sadek / 9 minutes / Documentary
Ozazah dir. Ala’a Hafed / 6 minutes / Documentary
Made of Gold dir. Saber Wasel / 6 minutes / Documentary
The Last Resort dir. Noordeen Morgan / 10 minutes / Documentary
Scene 2 dir. Abdulrahman Alward / 21 minutes / Fiction
The Helmet dir. Osama Khaled / 9 minutes / Sci-Fi
Please note that some of these films may address difficult and sensitive topics, such as war, trauma and sexual harassment and may be triggering for some.
