Ray Hanania's The Arab street Podcast

02-25-15 Rush Darwish, Ray Hanania and Bob discuss Chicago's Mayoral election

Radio hosts Rush Darwish and Bentley Bob discuss the Chicago mayoral election with former Chicago City Hall reporter Ray Hanania during a segment of Darwish's popular live Chicago radio show "Riseup Radio" on 1450 AM (every Wednesday from 4:30 until 6 pm CST). The 20 minute segment assesses the assets and shortcomings of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his primary challenger County Commissioner Jesus Garcia who beat out three other challengers to force Emanuel into a run-off election on April 7. Darwish, Bob and Hanania examine the issues behind Emanuel's failure to win 50 percent of the vote, Garcia's strong showing and the role of American Arabs. They also discuss the candidacy of American Arab candidate Samantha Haddad Webb who ran unsuccessfully for alderman of the 10th Ward and the failure of American Arab and Muslim voters to support her enthusiastically.

Broadcast Wednesday Feb. 25, 2015 on 1450 AM Radio and simulcast live online at YahalaVoice.com radio.

02-13-15 Alexandra Halaby, Ali Younes on Chapel Hill, Palestine water rights

Alexandra Halaby, spokesperson for the International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC at www.IMEMC.org) which publishes a daily list of the most essential news stories from Occupied Palestine and the Middle East, discusses Palestine water rights stolen by Israel's occupation army. And she joins in to discuss reaction to the horrific murder of three Arab students at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Also joining the show is Ali Younes, co-editor of The Arab Daily News (www.TheArabDailyNews.com) discussing the Chapel Hill shootings and upheaval in the Middle East.

If you wanted to understand the Apartheid Nature of Israel, all you have to do is read the stories at IMEMC that the biased mainstream American news media ignores and doesn’t report. Every week, Palestinian civilians are murdered. Every week, an Israeli allegedly convicted of a violent crime or act of terrorism is set free by Israel’s apartheid government and war criminal Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Every week, Palestinians are brutalized, detained and sent to the Israeli Gulag, and their property is destroyed.

We also discuss the murder of American peace activist Kayla Mueller who was kidnapped by Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) and allegedly killed during a Jordanian military assault on Daesh targets. Many believe, though, that Mueller was murdered prior to the strike and the Daesh religious fanatics were lying for propaganda purposes as they have lied about other hostages. Tragically, many Israelis are celebrating the murder of American ISIL prisoner Kayla Mueller because Mueller had worked to support Palestinian civilians terrorized by Israel's military and the Israeli terror network of illegal settlements that have been pushing Israel to extremism. Many vicious hateful Israelis and American Jewish activists have celebrated and praised Mueller's murder as they have the murder of another American killed by Israeli forces, Rachel Corrie.

Halaby, who is now also a blogger at The Arab Daily News online news site, reads the last letter that was written by Mueller before her murder. The letter is published on the IMEMC web site. Click here to read Halaby's story.

But the big story this week is American racism and hate against Arab Americans and Muslims … in Chapel Hill where three students were murdered, shot in the head repeatedly by a White American Man who described himself as an Atheist.

Talk of the Town Radio Show is hosted by Ray Hanania and is broadcast every Friday at 4 pm on 1450 AM Radio and simulcast live on YahalaVoice.com radio. The show is rebroadcast every Monday on YahalaVoice at 11 am. This show was broadcast on Friday February 13, 2015.

02-13-15 Rush Darwish, Chapel Hill Shooting, American Muslim Arab relations

The Arab Daily News Radio show  2nd Friday of every month in Greater Detroit (690 AM) and Greater Washington DC (700 AM) radio with host Ray Hanania. Friday February 13, 2015. 7 am CST (8 AM EST Eastern).

Our Guest is Rush Darwish, radio talk show host and Palestinian American activist. Darwish helps raise funds for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) and organizes marathons in which supporters of Palestine show their colors and their pride. Rush hosts RiseUp Radio on 1450 AM Radio in Chicago every Wednesday at 4:30 pm and live on www.YahalaVoice.com. His website is www.riseupshow.com Rush also produces video broadcast programming and like many of us, we all recognize that we need to engage the news media and communicate better in this country in order to change American perceptions of Arabs.

Download this and other radio podcasts by Ray Hanania by visiting The Arab Daily News at www.TheArabDailyNews.com … or by visiting iTunes …

Darwish and Hanania take phone calls from listeners in Greater Detroit and Greater Washington DC on the recent slaughter of three Arabs who were Muslim in Chapel Hill. Was it a hate crime? Was it an act of terrorism? Or, was it the act of an individual as many American insist. But Americans describe every act of violence by an Arab or a Muslim as an act of terrorism and a hate crime. Is there hypocrisy here?

Has the biased mainstream American news media covered this slaughter the way they cover and exaggerate violence by Arabs and Muslims?

We also talk with callers about Christian-Muslim relations and defining the victims as Muslims or as Arabs.

02-06-15 Asra Nomani on radicalism in Middle East

Muslim female activist and author Asra Nomani discusses extremism and radicalism in the Arab and Muslim community. Nomani talks about her friend, Daniel Pearl, one of the first Western journalists beheaded by Islamic extremists in 2002, and about how hatred drives extremism in the Middle East. An accomplished author, Nomani confronts extremist threats and attacks constantly because she represents the future of women's rights in the Muslim World.

Asra Nomani is a Muslim woman on a mission to help raise the voice of moderate Islam and drown out the extremists in the Arab and Muslim community. She’s taken a lot of grief about standing up to the fanatics, partly because the fanatics hate free intelligent women as much as they hate moderate Arabs, moderate Muslims … the extremists are exploiting the frustration of mainstream Muslims and mainstream Arabs who are abused not just in the West but in the middle East too … we need to do something and see the conflict not as Arab versus Jew or Muslim versus Christian, but rather as Moderate versus extremist … and we need to be as tough as the extremists in getting our message out.

We also discuss her several books on Islam which have caused a stir in the Arab and Muslim community … a woman leading the debate on politics and the battle between moderation and extremism is unacceptable to many …

Nomani is admired by moderates in the Arab and Muslim community because of her courage to stand up and advocate her views in the face of so much hatred and anger.

Asra Nomani guests on Talk of the Town Radio with host Ray Hanania, 1450 AM Radio every Friday at 4 pm CST Chicago time, and also broadcast live online at www.YahalaVoice.com radio.

02-06-15 Saudi Arabia womens rights ISIL oil

US Arab Radio Host Atef Jawab discusses Saudi Arabia and challenges it faces from ISIL to civil rights and women's rights. Broadcast in Detroit and Washington DC on Friday morning Feb. 6, 2015 at 8 am EST on WNZK AM 690 radio live. The participants talk about women rights in Saudi Arabia including driving cars, voting, and also the rights of women int he West and the challenges they continue to face.

Guests include:

Ray Hanania is an award winning Palestinian American writer. He covered Chicago City Hall from 1976 until 1992 for the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He launched his own political consulting firm Urban Strategies Group in 1992. Hanania provides analysis of Chicagoland, Illinois and national issues for the Southwest News-Herald Newspaper and analysis of Middle East issues for the Saudi Gazette. Hanania has managed the election campaigns of more than 60 candidates for public office from Chicago aldermen and cook county commissioner to statewide and congressional offices.

Walid Jawad is a conflict analysis and resolution expert. He was a Senior Policy Analyst at the U.S. Department of State (2006-2010) and a Washington, DC correspondent (1997-2006), covering the White House, the State Department and the U.S. Congress. Walid holds an undergraduate degree in Decision Science and Management Information Systems, and a Masters in Conflict Analysis and Resolution.

Amal Namangani, a solutions leader with General Electric Healthcare Saudi Arabia, is an award winning activist for her community outreach and and commitment to diversity and has been recognized by the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh for her work with students with disabilities. She has a B.A. in English Literature from King Abdulaziz University Jeddah & a Master in Health Information  Management from the University of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.

At the 35 minute mark of the audio file, Hanania is attacked by a listener in Detroit who says he should "move to Arabia" because he "doesn't love America." Fascinating discussion about American Arab rights.

01-30-15 Grant Smith on the evil Israel Lobby AIPAC

Grant Smith of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (www.IRMEP.org) discusses the power and corruption of the Israeli lobby and how Americans can stand up to the evil influence of AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) which controls the Congress and forced the appearance of war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu to speak at a joint session of the US Congress without involvement of the president of the United States, Barack Obama. Israel's lobby can make or break any American who dares to challenge the foreign policy of Israel, a foreign country.

Smith discusses the conference that IRMEP is planning on the Israel Lobby April 10 at the National Press Club.

On Talk of the Town radio with host Ray Hanania on 1450 AM Radio Friday's 4 pm live) CST Chicago time, and live on www.YahalaVoice.com.

Hanania is the editor of the Illinois News Network (www.IllinoisNewsNetwork.com) and editor of The Arab Daily News (www.TheArabDailyNews.com).

01-16-15 Ali Younes on Charlie Hebdo terrorism

Co-Editor of The Arab Daily News online (www.TheArabDailyNews.com) discusses the Charlie Hebdo terrorism and how anti-Muslim activists and pro-Israel activists are using the terrorism murders of the magazine's staff to deify and make ok racist and bigoted caricatures. Charlie Hebdo is a racist publication that has attacked Arabs and Muslims and other religions including Judaism and Christianity. Yet, the focus of elevating Charlie Abdo to a position of respect in the context of "free speech" stretches the bounds of principle and morality. Both the terrorist attacks and the murders should be condemned. Condemn the terrorism and murder, and also condemn Charlie Hebdo for promoting racist hatred int he guise of "satire." Racism is not funny. This is a pre-taped segment for Talk of the Town Radio hosted by Ray Hanania and broadcast live on 1450 AM Radio and www.YahalaVoice.com online radio on Friday's at 4:05 pm. Visit www.TheArabDailyNews.com for more information.

01-16-15 Alexandra Halaby on Palestine News Reporting

Alexandra Halaby, the North American Spokesperson & Media Liaison for the International Middle East Media Center (www.IMEMC.org) discusses the IMEMC's program to deliver accurate news and features and stories about Palestine to Western audiences in English. She also discusses the Hasbara campaign by pro-Israel activists who are using deception to undermine Palestinian rights and promote divisions in the Palestinian and Arab community. This is a pre-taped segment for Talk of the Town Radio hosted by Ray Hanania and broadcast live on 1450 AM Radio and www.YahalaVoice.com online radio on Friday's at 4:05 pm. Visit www.TheArabDailyNews.com for more information.

01-02-15 Ziad Asali on peace; Stanley Cohen on Arab terror suspects

This week on Talk of the Town Radio with Ray Hanania with feature two interviews. In the first segment, we interview Ziad Asali the President of the American Task Force on Palestine, the largest grassroots Palestinian American advocacy organization in the United States. Asali discusses the consequences of the failed UN Security Council resolution to recognize Palestinian Statehood and sovereignty, and the need for Arab citizens of Israel to participate and not boycott the March 17, 2015 special Israeli elections. About 20 percent of the Israeli voting population is Palestinian, but many Palestinians have boycotted the elections rather than exercise their right to vote and influence the demise of the rightwing fanatics who control Israel's government. Palestinian Israeli voters can help undermine the power of extremist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the religious fanatics and re-direct Israel back to the negotiating table to recognize Palestinian rights to statehood.

In the second half of the one hour show, we interview Stanley Cohen, the prominent New York civil rights attorney who has represented many Arabs, American and non-American, who have been falsely accused of engaging in terrorism. Cohen has been harassed and vilified by the U.S. Justice Department and falsely accused and wrongly convicted of tax evasion. A few days before he begins his 18 month prison sentence on Tuesday Jan. 6, 2015, Cohen discusses why he will remain dedicated to the principle of the International Rule of Law and the American Constitutional principle that people are innocent until proven guilty and not guilty simply because they are Arab or Muslim. Jewish American himself, Cohen said that the government has used profiling, stereotypes and racism to target Arabs who criticize Israel and Muslims falsely accused of supporting terrorism.

Talk of the Town Radio is broadcast every Friday at 4:05 PM CST Chicago Time on 1450 AM Radio and simulcast live online at www.YahalaVoice.com.

12-26-14 Ramzy Sweis on Comedy, Ali Younes on Jordan

Comedian Ramzy Sweis joins us for a hilarious discussion on Talk of the Town radio on Friday Dec. 26, 2014 on YahalaVoice.com with Ray Hanania.

During the second half of the hourlong show, Ali Younes talks to us about the problems Jordan is having with ISIS and freeing kidnapped citizens.

12-19-14 Chicago's Mayoral Race, Garcia or Fioretti

How do we defeat the most anti-Arab racist Chicago Mayor ever, Rahm Emanuel? Who do we vote for. In a continuing series to explore the options for voters in the February 24, 2015 Chicago Mayoral election, we speak with Samir Khalil executive director of the Arab American Democratic Club which has endorsed Cook County Commissioner Jesus Garcia. Although many Arabs support Ald. Bob Fioretti, Khalil argues that Garcia has a long history of supporting Palestine. But the issue is, can Garcia win?

Talk of the Town Radio Friday Dec. 19, 2014, with host Ray Hanania on 1450 AM Radio and simulcast live on www.YahalaVoice.com. Check out the articles on the mayoral race and why it is so important to defeat Emanuel, who has done everything he can do undermine the presence and involvement of American Arabs in Chicago politics. Click here to read the article on how Emanuel has undermined Chicagoland's American Arab community at The Arab Daily News.

12-12-14 Bob Fioretti on Race for Chicago Mayor

Chicago Alderman Bob Fioretti (2nd Ward discusses his candidacy for mayor of Chicago, challenging the most anti-Arab mayor Chicago has ever had, Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Fioretti discusses how he believes he can defeat Emanuel citing the mayor's deteriorating support in key communities. He reiterates his commitment to diversity, an issue that Emanuel has abandoned. And, Fioretti talks about the key issues facing Chicago voters in the upcoming Feb. 24, 2015 mayoral election open primary candidacy.

The field of candidates is crowded with seven candidates running. In the Feb. 24 election, a candidate must win 50 percent plus 1 vote to win the election. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, then the top two candidates with the highest votes will run-off in the April election.

Fioretti was interviewed on 1450 AM Radio's Talk of the Town radio show which is simulcast live on www.YahalaVoice.com. It is hosted by award winning former Chicago City Hall reporter Ray Hanania.

For an overview of how Chicago's Arab American community is approaching the mayoral contest, click here for the article in The Arab Daily News.

12-05-14 Larry Derfner 972mag.com on Israeli elections

12-05-14 Larry Derfner 972mag.com on Israeli elections

972mag.com political writer Larry Derfner discusses the upcoming Israeli elections which will be held on March 17 following the collapse of the  ruling coalition of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Derfner argues that Netanyahu's Likud colleague Moshe Kahlon who is a slightly conservative centrist, could help redirect Israel from Netanyahu's hardline rejectionist anti-peace policies. Derfner discusses how Kahlon still may not be the person who can revive the peace process, but he could be more amiable to viewing two-states and a Palestinian State. 

Netanyahu has been one of the most rightwing extremists in Israel and he has carefully redirected Israel away from the peace process and used his office to provoke violence and confrontation.

Derfner appeared on Talk of the Town Radio with host Ray Hanania, managing editor of The Arab Daily News online newspaper www.TheArabDailyNews.com and broadcast live on 1450 AM Radio in Chicagoland and simulcast live online at www.YahalaVoice.com.

11-14-14 Arab Newspaper publisher Mansour Tadros

11-14-14 Arab Newspaper publisher Mansour Tadros

Mansour Tadros, publisher of The Future News (Al Mustaqbal) in Chicago discusses the ethnic news media and the American Arab community, and challenges small publishers face in addressing and covering the American Arab community in Chicago and the United States. Tadros, Jordanian American, has been publishing his newspaper since 2002 continuously twice each month. The Future News is recognized as the most authoritative print newspaper in Chicagoland and in the Midwest of America.

Tadros is the guest on Talk of the Town Radio on 1450 AM Radio which is simulcast live on www.YahalaVoice.com radio. Tadros is interviewed by radio talkshow host and award winning journalist and columnist Ray Hanania.

For more information visit www.TheArabDailyNews.com

11-07-14 Samantha Haddad Webb candidate 10th Ward Chicago

Samantha Haddad Webb, candidate for alderman of the 10th Ward in Chicago, Illinois, talks about her candidacy and issues she believes need to be addressed in the Chicago Southeast Side ward. Webb, of Lebanese American heritage, is one of 8 First Responders (7 police and 1 firefighter) running for aldermanic offices in the city's 50 wards in the February 24, 2015 elections. Webb is a Chicago Police Officer and she comes from a family of police officers, too.

Talk of the Town Radio broadcast every Friday at 4 pm CST Central Standard Time in Chicago on 1450 AM Radio, and simulcast live on www.YahalaVoice.com on the Internet. The show is rebroadcast on Monday's at 11 am and is available for download in podcast format from iTunes or from the Arab Daily News website www.TheArabDailyNews.com.

Hosted by Ray Hanania.

To contact Samantha Haddad Webb, visit her web page at www.Webbfor10.com.