Where Do We Come From? Maud Newton, author of Ancestor Trouble, in conversation with Laila Lalami
2022-10-18 17:00 - 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
WHERE DO WE COME FROM?
Maud Newton, author of Ancestor Trouble, in conversation with Laila Lalami
5pm PT / 8pm ET, Tuesday, October 18, 2022, online event
Ever since her mother explained that she’d married her father so they would have smart children, Maud Newton has felt vexed by her kin. As an adult, she spent years researching her genealogy, uncovering, among other things, ten of her grandfather’s marriages, an accused witch, and her ancestors’ roles in slavery and genocide. Her journey took her into the realms of genetics, epigenetics, and the debates over intergenerational trauma. She mulled over modernity’s dismissal of ancestors along with psychoanalytic and spiritual traditions that center them. Searching, moving, and inspiring, Ancestor Trouble is one writer’s attempt to use genealogy—a once-niche hobby that has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry—to expose the secrets and contradictions of her own ancestors, and to argue for the transformational possibilities that reckoning with our ancestors offers all of us. Read more about Ancestor Trouble.

Lebanese in tech (Lebnet) in Seattle and beyond
2022-10-20 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | WA
This is a unique opportunity to connect with the American Lebanese Tech community in Washington, Portland, and Idaho. Join the LebNet network of more than 1200 executives, entrepreneurs, students and young professionals working in the Hi-Tech space.

Arabic Chat Hour
2022-10-20 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-10-27 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-11-03 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
Whether you’re a native speaker or learner, this is a great chance to practice listening and speaking in Arabic!
Zoom room number provided upon registeration.

Reviving The Jericho ‘Thobe Ubb’
2022-10-22 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
Date/Time: October 22, 2-3:30pm EST
Format: Virtual Event
Fee: Sliding Scale $10 or $20
The SWANA Style Saturday Series is a lecture series focused on exploring the traditional dress of cultural communities living in SWANA (Southwest Asia & North Africa). The aim of this series is to bring awareness to styles that have generally been left out of the historical record, however have great historical origination stories. Our cultural memory must preserve this knowledge for the next generation.
Jericho is the oldest continuously inhabited area in the world. Today, it is the last Palestinian city before crossing the Allenby Bridge to Jordan. Geological and geographic factors have contributed to its long history of survival and an ideal place for settlement, making it a source of envy and coveted possession for invaders who have seen Jericho as the key to controlling Palestine. In the oldest continuously inhabited place on earth, what is the oldest traditional dress worn by the residents? And, is it still being worn today?
Learn the answers to these questions, and more, at the next installment of SWANA Style Series, titled “Reviving The Jericho ‘Thobe Ubb’. Learn about Wafa’s most recent discovery of the Thobe Ubb at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, a treasure that has yet to be identified in the museum’s catalogue.
Please note that you are welcome to register for the lecture and watch the recording at a later time, because it will be recorded and sent to all registrants within 24 hours of the live event. However, the recording will be available for a limited time.

Amanda Ekery & Friends in Concert
2022-10-22 16:00 - 17:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | WA
Purchase Tickets for Livestream ($5)
Join artist-in-residence Amanda Ekery and participants from her songwriting workshop for a performance of their collaborative work, produced during her residency.

MENA Business Mixer
2022-10-26 16:00 - 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | SURF Incubator, 999 3rd Avenue #700, Seattle, WA, 98104, United States
We are welcoming all Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African identifying business owners and entrepreneurs to come mingle and network at our incubator. We also have a guest from Egypt coming to discuss his experience in the business sector in Egypt. Free event and refreshments provided. Please RSVP and email faith@surfincubator.com to receive check in instructions.

Movie: Fangs (virtual)
2022-10-27 - 2022-10-31 | Virtual
Films available 12 a.m. ET Thursday, Oct. 27 to 11:59 p.m. ET Monday, Oct. 31
Arab Film Series Online: Fangs (Anyab)
Free Online Stream | Suggested $5 Donation – Register
A girl and her fiancé are on their way to a party on New Year’s Eve when their car has an accident, and they find nowhere to go except a strange castle. They are met there by many vampires, led by count Dracula, who instantly falls in love with the girl and wants her for himself. The two lovers discover that Dracula is in Egypt in many forms (doctor, taxi driver, plumber, etc.) not to suck people’s blood but to suck their money, as a typical modern profiteer. Combining the genres of horror, fantasy and musical, this film will definitely leave a lasting impression! Directed by Mohammed Shebl.
“A lost gem of Egyptian queer cinema, Anyab is an unfaithful remake of the musical cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Although the story is apparently the same, Shebl’s film is almost too homoerotic to handle. Weaved into its camp aesthetics, horror genre tropes and 80s disco numbers, Anyab provides a running commentary on the social situation in Egypt, from youth unemployment to class struggle, while intersecting sexual politics into the mix.” (Gasworks)
100 Minutes / 1981 / Egypt / Horror, Drama, Camp / PG-13 / Arabic with English subtitles
For questions, e-mail Dave Serio at dserio@accesscommunity.org.

Seattle Restaurant Week: Arab Restaurants!
2022-10-27 - 2022-11-05 | WA
A unique chance to celebrate and support our culinary community, highlighting its craft, diversity, resilience, and great food as well as these Arab-owned restaurants:
Mamnoon, Hanoon, Mamnoon Street, Anar and Manna
In a change from years past, this year’s Seattle Restaurant Week is no longer just about finding a great deal—it’s a “chance to celebrate and support our culinary community” through menus curated especially for the occasion. With a variety of unique prix fixe and combo meals at price points ranging from $20 to $65 per person, it’s a great time to branch out and try something new.

One Book One Village: Author Presentation: Laila Lalami
2022-10-27 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Virtual
Join us as Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Laila Lalami discusses her life and work, including the One Book One Community featured title, The Other Americans. Lalami will be in conversation with author and educator Sahar Mustafa. Attendees will have an opportunity for Q&A with the author.
Laila Lalami was born in Rabat and educated in Morocco, Great Britain, and the United States. She is the author of five books, including The Moor’s Account, which won the American Book Award, the Arab-American Book Award, and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. It was on the longlist for the Booker Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. The Other Americans, was a national bestseller and a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and the National Book Award in Fiction. She has been awarded fellowships from the British Council, the Fulbright Program, and the Guggenheim Foundation and is currently a distinguished professor of creative writing at the University of California at Riverside. Lalami will be in conversation with author and educator Sahar Mustafa.
Sahar Mustafah is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, an inheritance she explores in her fiction. Her first novel The Beauty of Your Face was named a 2020 Notable Book and Editor’s Choice by New York Times Book Review, a Los Angeles Times United We Read selection, and one of Marie Claire Magazine’s 2020 Best Fiction by Women.
This virtual program will be presented both in-person inside the library and virtually via Zoom.

Register HERE for the in-person viewing party inside the library.

Participants must register and provide a working email address to receive the login information, if attending through Zoom.

All Arts: Foreign Drama Film Festival
2022-10-28 - 2022-11-01 | WA
ALL ARTS is hosting a Foreign Drama Film Festival from Oct. 4 to Nov. 1. Here are the details about the films and how to watch.
Includes:
A Son by Tunesian Director, Mehdi Barsaoui
11-year-old Aziz needs a liver transplant after being seriously injured during a terrorist ambush while on holiday in 2011. At the hospital a family secret will be revealed.

Foreign Body
After a young Tunisian woman informs on her radical Islamist brother, she arrives illegally in France, finding danger as well as hope.

Nubian Architect Menna Agha [afikra Conversations]
2022-10-28 07:00 - 08:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
Dr. Menna Agha is an architect and researcher who has recently been coordinating the spatial justice agenda at the Flanders Architecture Institute in Belgium. She joins the Azrieli School to promote pedagogy and research in the newly established area of Design and Spatial Justice. Menna holds a PhD in Architecture from the University of Antwerp, and a Master of Arts in Gender and Design from Köln International School of Design. In 2019/2020, she was the Spatial Justice Fellow and a visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Oregon. She is a third-generation displaced Fadicha Nubian, a legacy that infuses her research interests in race, gender, space, and territory. Among her publications are: Nubia still exists: The Utility of the Nostalgic Space; The Non-work of the Unimportant: The shadow economy of Nubian women in displacement villages; and Liminal Publics, Marginal Resistance.

Annual Festival of Forbidden Life: Benefit for Palestine Museum US
2022-10-29 05:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | WA
Jabal al-Risan Artists’ Collaborative is hosting the second Annual Festival of Forbidden Life October 28-29, 2022, at the Heart al-Risan Art Museum (h.A.R.A.M.).
REGISTER HERE
The Palestine Museum US is proud to once again host the virtual component of this event and it will take place on October 29th from 8 AM to 2 PM New York Time/2 PM to 8 PM Palestine time.
Festival of Forbidden Life will feature performances and artworks from an international group of artists. Work will be presented on the mountain, virtually and at sister sites hosting their own live audience. It is a radical display of truth in the face of delusion.
Saturday October 29
8:00 AM – 2:00 PM US EDT
2:00 PM- 8:00 PM Palestine time

Virtual Film: FalaFala directed by Mohammed Almughanni
2022-10-29 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | WA
All times are based on US EDT – 12 Noon; 7:00 PM in Palestine. English subtitles | Thirty Minutes.
Please click here to register for this event.
Please click here to view the film’s trailer.
The film screening will be followed by discussions with the film director Mohammed Almughanni.

About the Film
Denmark, 1972: Abdul Alnajjar is flown in secret to Denmark to be the first child to recieve a heart valve operation. But when the only link between Abdul and his family in Jordan is severed, his life takes a different direction.

Filmmaker, Mohammed Almughanni

Mohammed Almughanni
Director, screenwriter and cinematographer. He was born in 1994 in Gaza, Palestine. He pursued his Bachelor and Masters degrees in Film Directing at Łódź Film School in Poland.
In the past few years he did film in different areas in the world such as Cuba, Palestine, Denmark, China, Jordan, Lebanon, Poland and Germany.
He is an author of documentary and narrative films, including “Blacklisted” (2021), “Son Of The Streets” (2020) “Falafala” (2019), “Operation” (2018), “Where’s the Donkey” (2018), “Shujayya” (2015) and “Halawan”

Benefit for the Palestine Writing Workshop with Maya Abu Al-Hayyat
2022-10-29 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
REGISTER NOW, www.mecaforpeace.org/lastleaf to hear the director of the Palestine Writing Workshop, Maya Abu Al-Hayyat— on Saturday, October 29, 11am PT / 2pm ET — with her new book, “You Can Be the Last Leaf: Selected Poems”. She and Deema K. Shehabi will share poetry and conversation in this virtual event.
Booklist wrote about Maya’s new book, “Al-Hayyat’s latest devastating and courageous collection captures the precarious everyday lives of Palestinians with enormous empathy and glistening clarity.”

Maya Abu Al-Hayyat is a Palestinian writer, storyteller, and mother based in occupied East Jerusalem. Each day she passes through Israeli checkpoints, like the infamous Qalandia checkpoint, to direct the Palestine Writing Workshop, one of MECA’s partner organizations. Maya and her team at the Palestine Writing Workshop have published award-winning Arabic children’s books and led hundreds of interactive workshops from Nablus to Silwan to Gaza for children, youth, librarians and parents on reading aloud, creative writing, and storytelling. Her work is grounded in the belief that art and literature can change lives and aims to improve Palestinian children’s literacy and also encourage their imaginations. She is a gifted storyteller who captures the attention of children of all ages (and adults too!).Maya also runs writing courses for former prisoners, helping them transform trauma into art.
She has published four collections of poems, four novels, and numerous children’s stories, including The Blue Pool of Questions. She contributed to and wrote a foreword for A Bird Is Not a Stone: An Anthology of Contemporary Palestinian Poetry, and she is an editor of The Book of Ramallah. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Cordite Poetry Review, The Guardian, and Literary Hub.

Please join us to learn more about Maya’s work and life in Palestine!

"Madafeh": Hanan Awad, photographer, essayist (virtual)
2022-10-30 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | WA
Event Occurs Every Sunday-Register Once; Attend All.

The program begins at 12 Noon US EDT; 7:00 PM Palestine Time.
Please join us for a virtual session of open discussion about Palestinian topics.
Please click here to register for this event.
In 1948, the year of al-Nakba or “the catastrophe”, over 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homeland through militarized displacement resulting in the depopulation and destruction of over 400 Palestinian villages. Each village has a unique story regarding the specifics of how it was attacked and how its inhabitants were forcibly expelled. For the most part, the villages were totally destroyed – leaving only a few that stand to this day. Ayn Hawd and Ayn Karem are these unique cases of villages escaping the brutal destruction that sought to erase the physical signs of the Palestinan presence throughout the region. While the houses and buildings of these two villages were left standing, the actual Palestinian inhabitants were displaced and are forbidden to return. The stories of Ayn Karem and Ayn Hud are critical for understanding the situation in Palestine as one of settler-colonialism.

Book Event: Nine Quarters of Jerusalem by Matthew Teller (hybrid)
2022-10-30 11:30 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | WA
Please click here to register for this event.

This is a Hybrid Event, meaning you can attend virtually via Zoom or, in person, at the Palestine Museum US, in Woodbridge, CT, USA. You can register on Zoom and decide later how you want to attend.
Doors open at 2:30; the program begins at 3:00 PM US EDT; 10:00 PM Palestine Time.
Author Matthew Teller will be on site at the Paelstine Museum US to talk about the book and sign copies for buyers.

About the Book
This unique, absorbing biography of Jerusalem brings to light its overlooked histories and diverse contemporary voices.
In Jerusalem, what you see and what is true are two different things. The Old City has never had “four quarters” as its maps proclaim. And beyond the crush and frenzy of its major religious sites, many of its quarters are little known to visitors, its people ignored and their stories untold. Nine Quarters of Jerusalem lets the communities of the Old City speak for themselves. Ranging from ancient past to political present, it evokes the city’s depth and cultural diversity.
Matthew Teller’s highly original “biography” features the Old City’s Palestinian and Jewish communities, but also spotlights its Indian and African populations, its Greek and Armenian and Syriac cultures, its downtrodden Dom Gypsy families, and its Sufi mystics. It discusses the sources of Jerusalem’s holiness and the ideas—often startlingly secular—that have shaped lives within its walls. It is an evocation of place through story, led by the voices of Jerusalemites.

Matthew Teller
Photo Credit Andrew Shaylor

About Author
Matthew Teller writes for the BBC, The Guardian, Times of London, Financial Times, and other global media. He has produced and presented documentaries for BBC Radio and has reported for the BBC’s From Our Own Correspondent program from around the Middle East and beyond. He is the author of several travel guides, including the Rough Guide to Jordan. His most recent book is Quite Alone: Journalism from the Middle East 2008–2019.

Whisk Cooking Class: Around the World Small Plates, Big Taste
2022-10-30 17:00 - 19:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Whisk, 10385 Main St, Bellevue, WA, 98004, United States
Join us for a delightful trip Around the World with four different Small Plates guaranteed to wow with their Big Tastes! You will accompany Chef Jennifer Berry in this hands-on class as your taste buds travel the world with stops in Spain, Cuba, Egypt and Greece. No passport needed! Just come hungry as you will cook, eat, cook, eat, etc.:

Spain – Spanish Espelette Clams with Grilled Tomato Bread, Clams steamed in Spanish sherry broth with dulce (sweet) paprika and Espelette pepper
Cuba – Beef Picadillo-Filled Pastries, Flaky puff pastry filled with sweet and briny beef filling, baked to golden brown and brushed with honey glaze
Egypt – Kataifi Prawns, Dukkah and Pistachio Yogurt, prawns seasoned with traditional Egyptian spice mixture wrapped with shredded Kataifi
Greece – Fried Calamari, Assorted Vegetables,and Crispy Chickpeas served with Tzatziki and Fried Herbs.

Geography and Ethnicity of Arab Food with Sami Zubaida [Matbakh]
2022-11-02 07:00 - 08:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
Join us as we interview Professor of Emeritus Politics and Sociology, Sami Zubaida, who also authored books such as The Idea of Arab Food: Geography and Ethnicity, on our Matbakh series.

Community Write-In with Zain Shamoon (via Zoom)
2022-11-03 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
Join writers from around the world every Thursday evening for a healthy dose of inspiration. With discussions and writing prompts facilitated by our best teachers, and the opportunity to connect with other writers.

The Olive Oil Harvest with Nadia Tommalieh at the Pantry
2022-11-03 18:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | the Pantry, 1417 NW 70th Street, Seattle, WA, 98117
Join NADIA TOMMALIEH as she shares the beauty, importance, and tradition of the olive harvest and olive oil pressing across the Arab world. Olive oil is a staple in most culinary cultures, and in this class you’ll learn about the different flavor profiles of olive oil, the best temperatures for cooking, and how to repurpose flavor-infused oils. You’’ll cook an array of dishes traditional to celebrate the olive harvest season, before sitting down to feast on shorabet freekeh bil hamid w zeit al-zaytoon (citrusy freekeh and olive oil soup); musakhan (roasted Cornish hens with olive oil, caramelized onions, and sumac); salatet bandora bil a’ashab (tomatoes and herbs tossed in olive oil and sumac), as well as salset laban w na’ana (garlicky yogurt, mint, olive oil sauce). Yansoonnieh, an aromatic anise and olive oil sticky cake drenched in orange blossom syrup, will close out our meal, and our love letter to the majestic olive.

Comedian Sammy Obeid in Seattle!
2022-11-03 20:00 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Laughs Comedy Club, 5220 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, United States
Lebanese-Palestinian American, born in Oakland California, Sammy Obeid double majored in Business and Mathematics at UC Berkeley and then turned down a job at Google to be a comedian. Now the host of 100 Humans on Netflix, he’s also appeared on NBC’s Last Comic Standing and America’s Got Talent, as well as TBS’s Conan, and is best known for his world record of performing comedy 1,001 nights in a row, a story featured in both Time Magazine and The New York Times.

Screening of the documentary film "Healing Hearts," directed by Katya Chelli
2022-11-05 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | WA
Saturday November 5, 2022 – 12:00 Noon US EDT; 6:00 PM Palestine Time.
Screening of the documentary film “Healing Hearts,” directed by Katya Chelli
71 Minutes; English subtitles; Director available for post-screening Q&A and discussion with audience.
Please click here to register for this event

SWANA Style Series: Revival of the Jericho Thobe Ubb
2022-11-05 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | WA
The SWANA Style Saturday Series is a lecture series focused on exploring the traditional dress of cultural communities living in SWANA (Southwest Asia & North Africa). The aim of this series is to bring awareness to styles that have generally been left out of the historical record, however have great historical origination stories. Our cultural memory must preserve this knowledge for the next generation.
Jericho is the oldest continuously inhabited area in the world. Today, it is the last Palestinian city before crossing the Allenby Bridge to Jordan. Geological and geographic factors have contributed to its long history of survival and an ideal place for settlement, making it a source of envy and coveted possession for invaders who have seen Jericho as the key to controlling Palestine. In the oldest continuously inhabited place on earth, what is the oldest traditional dress worn by the residents? And, is it still being worn today?
Learn the answers to these questions, and more, at the next installment of SWANA Style Series, titled “Reviving The Jericho ‘Thobe Ubb’. Learn about Wafa’s most recent discovery of the Thobe Ubb at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, a treasure that has yet to be identified in the museum’s catalogue.
Please note that you are welcome to register for the lecture and watch the recording at a later time, because it will be recorded and sent to all registrants within 24 hours of the live event. However, the recording will be available for a limited time.

Paris Chansons in Seattle! TWO shows!
2022-11-05 17:30 - 19:00, 2022-11-05 19:30 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Triple Door, 216 Union Street, Seattle, WA, 98101, United States
Paris Chansons returns to the beautiful The Triple Door in Seattle with a NEW, exciting concert!
Saturday, November 5th!
TWO shows: 5:30PM and 7:30PM
Featuring original renditions from Aznavour, Dassin, Piaf, Macias, Adamo, Dalida, Christophe, Kaas, Zaz & Stromae! PLUS some of the most beloved Italian, Hebrew, Arabic and Eastern European gypsy classics!
Get your tickets here: https://tickets.thetripledoor.net/eventperformances.asp…

Screening of documentary film "Shalal (Looted): A Reel War"
2022-11-06 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | WA
Madafeh: Screening of documentary film “Shalal (Looted): A Reel War,” directed by Israeli filmmaker Karnit Mandel.
Please click here to register for this event.

About the Film
History is archived by the victors. While searching in an Israeli archive, filmmaker Karnit Mandel stumbles across film reels from a long-lost Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) film archive. This never-before-seen footage was seized by Israel during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, and Mandel begins to wonder what is so dangerous in it that requires hiding. As the truth of these historical records unravel, she comes into conflict with the bureaucracy of Israel’s military apparatus, which denies the possession of additional footage. Will she be able to wrestle back any of this untold history, or will the reels forever remain buried

Screening and Discussion of Naila and the Uprising
2022-11-06 12:00 - 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | WA
Screening (watch beforehand on your time) and discussion of Naila and the Uprising
November 6 at 3:00 pm ET | Virtual
Join the DC chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and the Democratic Socialists of America’s Internationalism Working Group for a virtual screening of Naila and the Uprising. The screening link will be open from November 2-6, followed by a discussion with Katherine Hughes-Fraitekh on November 6.

Cooking Class: Palestinian Comfort Food
2022-11-07 18:30 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Book Larder, 4252 Fremont Ave N, Seattler, WA, 98103, United States
Nothing beats the cold winter season than gathering around the table for comfort food served family-style. Join Nadia Tommalieh in this hands-on class as she teaches you how to create an array of traditional Palestinian winter favorites. You will learn how to make: Rummaniya (lentil, eggplant and pomegranate molasses stew); Salata bi T’heeniyeh (vegetable and tahini salad); homemade khobez (the perfect soft and puffy pocket pita bread); Mkhalal Left (Pickled Turnips); and Namoura (semolina and coconut cake with orange blossom water syrup).
Class is limited to 11 people and is hands-on. Includes dinner.
Students will be required to wear masks during the non-eating portions of class. Please note that event registration is non-refundable.
