305K
Downloads
301
Episodes
Ray Hanania informed commentary, humor, & insight on politics & issues in Chicago, Middle East & Arab/Muslim America
Episodes
Monday Nov 03, 2014
Monday Nov 03, 2014
Roxane Assaf discusses the battle to save Chicago's Arab Heritage on Talk of the Town Radio with host Ray Hanania. Talk of the Town is broadcast every Friday at 4 pm on WCEV 1450 AM Radio and simulcast on www.YahalaVoice.com and rebroadcast online on Monday's at 11 am.
Roxane Assaf discusses the challenges mounted by anti-Arab activists in the American Jewish community to undermine Arab Heritage events in Chicago and in Illinois. Members of several powerful American Jewish Organizations successfully fought to block the popular Arabesque Festival that was held at Daley Plaza in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was elected mayor in 2011 and his first act was to dissolve the Advisory Commission on Arab Affairs and to undermine the Arabesque Festival, pandering to demands of his anti-Arab political allies. Assaf discusses the battles and also the popularity that Arabesque brought to Chicagoland. An award winning journalist recognized with a Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists and the National American Arab Journalists Association.
Roxane Assaf teaches journalism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and North Park University and also directs and edits short videos. Her reports and opinion have appeared in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs magazine, the Chicago Tribune, the Durham Herald-Sun, Arms Control Today and in television reports from Capitol Hill for the CBS affiliate in Monroe, Louisiana. She is co-author of the 5th edition of the Lonely Planet travel guidebook Israel and the Palestinian Territories. She is Outreach Director for Chicago Area Peace Action, local chapter of the nation’s largest grassroots peace network Peace Action. National 1st Place winner of Society of Professional Journalists "Mark of Excellence Award" for 2003 in Television General News Reporting. She volunteers for lively arts organizations including theatre and opera companies as well as for peace and social justice initiatives.
For more information on Talk of the Town Radio visit www.TheArabDailyNews.com. Talk of the Town Radio is available in podcast format at The Arab Daily News website and iTunes.
Read the story about this interview at The Arab Daily News by clicking here. Nov. 3, 2014
Monday Oct 27, 2014
Monday Oct 27, 2014
Samir Khalil, the director of the Arab American Democratic Club of Illinois discusses the roll American Arabs play in local politics and in elections. Khalil discusses the recent luncheon which hosted dozens of elected officials including Gov. Pat Quinn, Samantha Haddad Webb the candidate for 10th Ward Alderman in Chicago, and many other candidates for Cook County, Chicago and statewide office.
Monday Oct 20, 2014
Monday Oct 20, 2014
Talk of the Town Radio hosted by Ray Hanania WCEV 1450 AM Radio and simulcast on YahalaVoice.com
Sunday Oct 19, 2014
Sunday Oct 19, 2014
Texas businessman Farouk Shami addressed the 16th annual convention of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEG) in Washington D.C. on Saturday October 18, 2014 urging them to invest in Palestine to build the economy, create jobs and encourage peace. He warned that he believes that the rising extremism threatens Israel and that if Israel refuses to make peace with the Palestinians will find themselves facing a great insurmountable threat. Read the complete story on the speech at the Arab Daily News online website reported by writer Ray Hanania by clicking here.
Sunday Oct 19, 2014
Sunday Oct 19, 2014
Hanan Ashrawi speaks to the 16th Annual Convention of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) detailing Israel’s ethnic cleansing, genocide and war crimes against Christians, and non-Jews, in Palestine and the Holy Land. A detailed article on her speech is on the news website of The Arab Daily News at www.TheArabDailyNews.com by editor Ray Hanania. Click here to view the complete article and photographs of the conference. This podcast is one of several that will be posted and written about at The Arab Daily News. Podcast.
Monday Oct 13, 2014
Monday Oct 13, 2014
Seth Morrison of Jewish Voice for Peace discusses the peace process, BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement) and its limitations and achievements, and also why many American Jews support peace and compromise with Palestinians in contradiction of Israel's government.
Seth Morrison has held leadership posts in various local, regional and national Jewish organizations starting in college as a youth leader in Young Judea. He is currently active in Jewish Voice for Peace serving on the Congressional Outreach Committee.
In 2011 Mr. Morrison resigned from the Washington DC Board of the Jewish National Fund in protest over repeated evictions of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem. He chaired the Washington DC Metro Chapter of J Street in 2013 before becoming active in the BDS Movement. His op-eds supporting Palestinian and Bedouin rights have been published in The Forward, The Jerusalem Post and +972 Magazine.
Mr. Morrison is also active in LGBTQ organizations and local politics in Northern Virginia. Professionally he is a consultant specializing in marketing and strategic planning for both for and non-profit organizations. Previously he was the SVP & General Manager of CTAM, a trade association serving the cable television industry. As a marketer, he has been responsible for major local and national marketing, PR and social media campaigns for the cable television industry and non-profit organizations.
Friday Oct 03, 2014
Friday Oct 03, 2014
Bob Fioretti vows to re-establish Arab Advisory council & important role of Ethnics in Chicago (Segment 1)
Monday Sep 29, 2014
Monday Sep 29, 2014
Monday Sep 22, 2014
Monday Sep 22, 2014
Holy Land Ecumenical Foundation President Sir Rateb Rabie discusses the challenges facing Christians in the Middle East. He talks about the anti-Christian views of Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz at a recent conference at the so-called "In Defense of Christians" conference held in Washington D.C. earlier in the month. Rabie also noted that his protest and the protest of other Arab Christians was not just against the extremism of the right or the extremist pro-Israel movement, but also a firm statement in defense of Muslims against rightwing Christian fanaticism.
Monday Sep 15, 2014
Monday Sep 15, 2014
4 pm CST: Ray Hanania, host of Talk of the Town Radio show on www.YalahaVoice.com and WCEV 1450 AM Radio, interviews Virginia 11th District Delegate (State legislator) Sam Rasoul on his political career and his successful election in November 2013 and his election coming up in November 2015. Rasoul talks about the issues and the importance of American Arabs engaging in politics. He also discusses how anti-Arab racism and hate were used int he final days of his campaign by his opponent who libelously accused him of being associated with al-Qaeda and Islamic extremists. Despite the attack, Rasoul was easily elected.
Monday Sep 08, 2014
Monday Sep 08, 2014
Author and writer Naomi Shihab Nye joins Ray Hanania on Talk of the Town radio on WCEV 1450 AM and YahalaVoice.com radio Friday Sept. 5, 2014.
Monday Sep 01, 2014
Monday Sep 01, 2014
Eron Henry of the Baptist World Alliance discusses fundraising efforts to help Christians who are being targeted by religious extremists in Iraq and in Syria. Henry, during an interview with Talk of the Town radio Friday August 29, 2014, said that the group has raised $20,000 so far and is continuing to raise money. Henry said that the BWA not only helps Christians but also Muslims who are in need in the Middle East. He said that the BWA is also raising funds for 300 Christian Families and 1,000 Muslim Families in the Gaza Strip who have been targeted by Israel's brutal military oppression.
Monday Aug 25, 2014
Monday Aug 25, 2014
Andy Shallal talks about Politics on Talk of the Town with Ray Hanania
Friday Aug 15, 2014
Friday Aug 15, 2014
The Mayor of Lincolnwood Illinois, Gerald Turry, defended the decision of the Human Relations Commission to rebuff complaints from a handful of activists demanding that the Palestine Flag be removed from a display of ethnic national flags placed on Lincoln Avenue in the north suburban Chicago community. Lincolnwood has displayed ethnic flags representing the various nationalities in Lincolnwood for the past 10 years since 2004 and this year had more than 60 flags on public display during August which is designated as Ethnic Pride Month. Turry, who is Russian Jewish American said that the issue of politics and the battle between Israel and Hamas in Gaza was not an issue and had no relevance over the display of the flag. During an interview on Talk of the Town Radio show with host Ray Hanania on WCEV 1450 AM Radio and live on www.YahalaVoice.com, Turry said that he received some negative and vulgar complaints following the meeting last week but that the overwhelming majority of residents of Lincolnwood, Jews and Arabs, supported the decision to keep the Palestinian Flag on display. Turry said that the commission also had debates between Greeks and Turks, Indians and Pakistanis, and other rival ethnic groups but said only the debate over the Palestinian flag received media coverage. More than 200 people attended the Human Relations Commission meeting on Monday August 11, 2014. Talk of the Town Radio show is presented by Yahala Voice radio and The Arab Daily news at www.TheArabDailyNews.com.
Monday Aug 11, 2014
Monday Aug 11, 2014
Political consultant Dennis Denno, who is chief of staff to State Senator Virgil Smith, discusses the elections on Tuesday August 5 in which Smith defeated a challenge from State Rep. Rashida Tlaib. Tlaib was forced to retire from her legislative district seat because of Michigan Term limits and chose to challenge a fellow Democrat, Smith, to survive. Tlaib lost to Smith by a landslide. Tlaib received only 41 percent of the vote or only 8,615 total votes. Smith won an impressive 52 percent of the vote or more than 10,882 total votes. A third candidate, Howard Worthy, won only 8 percent of the vote or1,616 total votes, most of which many observers believed would have gone to Smith. In an ironic twist, the Associated Press called the election for Tlaib counting only ballots cast at the polling booth, but not including absentee ballots that were cast. Smith will go on Nov. 5 to face the Republican challenger, although the district is 71 percent Democratic.