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Blog Posts Related to the Arab American Community

Learn more about President Obama's work and the Arab-American community.

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West Wing Week: 08/14/15 or, "That's Why We Do What We Do"

We sat down with senior administration officials to take a look back at some of the history-making moments of recent months that illuminated the fabric of America.
August 14, 2015 at 2:02 PM ET by Thomas Kelley

Five Things to Know About How President Obama’s Executive Action Impacts Undocumented Immigrants

Cecelia Munoz, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, outlines the five things that you need to know about how the the President’s initiatives will impact undocumented immigrants in the United States.
November 26, 2014 at 1:32 PM ET by Cecilia Muñoz

President Obama Hosts Iftar Dinner at the White House

President Obama hosts his sixth Iftar dinner celebrating Ramadan at the White House, an annual tradition started by First Lady Hillary Clinton when she hosted a Ramadan Eid celebration dinner in 1996.
July 15, 2014 at 6:12 PM ET by Rumana Ahmed

Muslim Women Emerging Leaders: Rising Beyond the Ceiling

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Office of Public Engagement organized and hosted a Muslim women emerging leaders event at the White House to convene leading Muslim American women and aspiring young Muslim women to celebrate their aspirations and honor their contributions to our nation to bring progress in our time; hear directly from Administration officials about policies and programs affecting women; and discuss ways to rise beyond the ceiling and become leaders specifically in government, media, business, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics).
April 18, 2014 at 4:06 PM ET by Rumana Ahmed

SBA Takes Part in Muslim Business Leadership Roundtable

I had the pleasure to recently participate in the White House Business Council’s Roundtable with Muslim American Business Leaders that brought together the business and faith-based community for a dialogue on how to support small businesses that start, grow and create job that sustain our nation’s economy.
April 11, 2014 at 10:47 AM ET by Sarah Bard

Working on the Frontlines of Humanity

Nahla Kayali serves as the Founder and Executive Director for Access California Services (AccessCal) in Anaheim, California. AccessCal is a health and human services non-profit culturally and linguistically competent family resource center dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for under-served Arab-American and Muslim-American communities. Under Ms. Kayali’s leadership, the organization provides programs in 15 languages delivered by 30 staff including 10 AmeriCorps members.
April 4, 2014 at 10:31 AM ET by Nahla Kayali

Nowruz: Welcoming a New Day and the Coming of Spring

Last week, the White House Office of Public Engagement was pleased to host its first Nowruz celebration at the White House.
March 31, 2014 at 10:21 AM ET by Rumana Ahmed

Engaging Community Leaders On the Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations Process

Arab-, Israeli-, Palestinian-, Jewish-, Christian- and Muslim American youth leaders from across the country gathered at the White House for the first time earlier this month to share the work of their organizations and student groups, and to discuss ways to promote and organize efforts in support of the current negotiations process and a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel as difficult conversations currently take place in the region.
February 26, 2014 at 8:46 AM ET by Rumana Ahmed

Crossing the Line in the Sand: Why Early Exposure to Emerging Technologies Will Lead Our Students to Greatness

Jeffries Epps is being honored as a Champion of Change for his work to expand opportunities for young learners from communities historically underserved or underrepresented in tech fields.
August 12, 2013 at 3:08 PM ET by Jeffries Epps

Engaging Afghan-American Community Leaders

On Friday, August 2nd, the Office of Public Engagement hosted a group of Afghan-American community leaders for a roundtable discussion.
August 7, 2013 at 6:15 PM ET by Paul Monteiro

Middle East Peace Negotiators Come To Washington

At the invitation of Secretary of State John Kerry, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators traveled to Washington this week to formally resume direct final status negotiations. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Yitzhak Molcho represented the Israelis, and Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat and Mohammad Shtayyeh represented the Palestinians.
August 1, 2013 at 8:49 AM ET by Matt Nosanchuk

Watch President Obama Discuss the NSA and Syria Tonight on Charlie Rose

President Obama sits down with Charlie Rose in the White House Library for a 45-minute interview on topics ranging from Syria to the National Security Agency
June 17, 2013 at 2:02 PM ET by Matt Compton

President Obama Announces Additional Humanitarian Aid for the Syrian People

President Obama announced today that he has approved a new round of humanitarian assistance, an additional $155 million to provide for the urgent and pressing needs of civilians in Syria and refugees forced to flee the violence of the Assad regime. This brings America’s contribution to date to $365 million, making the United States the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people.
January 29, 2013 at 9:09 AM ET by Gayle Smith

President Obama Hosts Fourth Annual Iftar Dinner at the White House

President Obama hosts his fourth Iftar dinner as President in the State Dining Room of the White House.
August 11, 2012 at 2:19 PM ET by Katelyn Sabochik

Roundtable with MPAC’s 2012 Young Leaders Summit

27 college and graduate students attending the Muslim Public Affairs Council’s Young Leaders Summit visit the White House for a roundtable discussion.
July 13, 2012 at 6:26 PM ET by Paul Monteiro

Engaging Arab and Muslim Small Business Owners

A White House roundtable on the economy brings together a wide range of business leaders from the Muslim-American and Arab-American communities.
June 7, 2012 at 2:48 PM ET by Paul Monteiro

Exploring Communities of Muslim Women throughout History

The National Endowment for the Humanities and the Office of Public Engagement host a discussion on places and moments in time when communities of Muslim women began to expand their legal rights.
May 30, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET by Jim Leach

Spotlight on Commerce: Dee Alexander, Senior Adviser on Native American Affairs

As the Department’s Tribal Consultation Official, Senior Adviser on Native American Affairs Dee Alexander’s principal responsibility is implementing the Department’s Tribal Coordination and Consultation Policy, per President’s Obama’s Executive Order 13175 (PDF), which ensures meaningful and timely input by tribal officials in the development of policies that have tribal implications.
March 26, 2012 at 1:49 PM ET by Department of Commerce

Creating A Better Life for All

Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Associate Director of Latino Affairs and Immigration for the Office of Public Engagement, discusses her experience at the Department of Labor movie screening of 'A Better Life'.
February 28, 2012 at 8:03 PM ET by Julie Chavez Rodriguez

Connecting the Dots

Linda Sarsour, Director of the Arab American Association of New York, discusses her work as a community organizer and how organizers are able to work with a network of organizations to better serve, empower, represent and engage their constituencies in addressing challenges and issues they are facing in their local communities.
December 19, 2011 at 3:45 PM ET by Linda Sarsour

ACCESS: A Champion Non-Profit

ACCESS is recognized as a Champion Non-Profit for its dedicated work, over 40 years, to help new Americans transition to life in the United States.
December 9, 2011 at 11:05 AM ET by Paul Monteiro

President Obama Meets with World Leaders on Day Two at the U.N General Assembly

The President met with his partners from Israel, Japan, the United Kingdom and France
September 21, 2011 at 5:02 PM ET by

President Obama to the U.N. General Assembly: "Peace Is Hard, but We Know that It Is Possible"

This has been a difficult decade, but we stand at a crossroads of history with the chance to move decisively in the direction of peace.
September 21, 2011 at 12:45 PM ET by

First Ambassador of Free Libya Presents Credentials to President Obama

The meeting was a powerful symbol of the transition underway in Libya
September 9, 2011 at 5:13 PM ET by Ben Fishman

President Obama on Libya: The future is in the Hands of its People

President Obama addresses the fluid situation in Libya and looks forward to an inclusive transition that leads to a democratic Libya.
August 22, 2011 at 5:20 PM ET by Nikki Sutton

President Obama: "The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way."

Today, President Obama called for the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, to step aside and took the strongest financial action action against the Syrian regime thus far.
August 18, 2011 at 9:37 AM ET by Macon Phillips

Broadening the Conversation on Immigration Reform

The White House recently met with representatives from a variety of ethnic communities to discuss the way forward on immigration reform.
August 15, 2011 at 8:38 AM ET by Kyle Lierman

President Obama Hosts an Iftar Dinner to Celebrate Ramadan

Continuing a tradition at the White House, President Obama hosts an Iftar - the meal that breaks the day of fasting - to celebrate Ramadan.
August 11, 2011 at 12:14 PM ET by Nikki Sutton

Making It Easier for Immigrants to Start Companies in the United States

USCIS announced today that it will make fundamental changes to improve immigration policies as part of the Administration’s comprehensive effort to attract and retain high-skill entrepreneurs.
August 2, 2011 at 1:14 PM ET by Alejandro Mayorkas

President Obama Speaks with Leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan

The President urged the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to take concrete steps toward a final settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
June 24, 2011 at 5:47 PM ET by Liz Sherwood-Randall