March 1989, Page 50

TIE Exchange: Training, Information, & Education Exchange

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Association of Arab-American Journalists (AAAJ) has been formed in Chicago to "promote fellowship among Arab-American journalists and to encourage Arab Americans to pursue careers in journalism and related fields." The group is planning to establish a scholarship fund and an annual journalism contest. To become a member or obtain information about AAAJ activities, contact: Association of Arab-American Journalists, 15139 S. Windsor Dr., Orland Park, IL 60462.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Danny Thomas will honor Gov. John Sununu's appointment as chief of staff for President Bush at a banquet to be held March 18 at the Sheraton Washington Hotel in Washington, DC. The price of tickets for the event will be $150 per person, with all proceeds directed to the hospital, where an endowment will be established in honor of the governor, Mrs. Sununu, and their family. For tickets, call Richard C. Shadyac at (703) 276-9200.

PUBLICATIONS

Directory of Official Arab Representatives In the United States, updated January 1989, American Mideast Business Association, 80 Park Ave., New York, NY.

The Next Arab Decade: Alternative Futures, edited by Hisham Sharabi. Mansell Publishing, London, 1988.

Egypt After Nasser: Sadat, Peace and the Mirage of Prosperity, by Thomas W. Lippman, Paragon House, 1988.

Persepolis: The Archaeology of Parsa, Seat of the Persian Kings, by Donald N. Wilber. Darwin Press, Princeton, 1988.

US DAY OF ACTION

Floridians for Middle East Peace, a non-profit organization, invites interested groups to participate in a "US Day of Action," March 4 in Sarasota, FL, to express concern over US foreign policy in the Middle East. To schedule a speaker, call the organization at (813) 639-5699 (Punta Gorda) or (813) 371-6953 (Sarasota).

TRADE AND FINANCE

The Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco) announced that Saudi Arabia's oil reserves are more than 50 percent larger than previously estimated. Aramco said that a new study puts the kingdom's recoverable crude reserves at 252.38 billion barrels-one-fourth of the world's total.

CONFERENCES, LECTURES, AND SEMINARS

"Maghrib Unity," a lecture by Mary Jane Deeb, George Washington University, March 23, 5:30 p.m., Room 201, Canterbury Hotel, 1733 N St., NW, Washington, DC. Sponsored by the Middle East Institute.

The US Interreligious Committee for Peace in the Middle East, representing 1,000 Jews, Christians, and Muslims working together to encourage constructive US policy for peace in the Middle East, will sponsor a National Convocation for Peace in the Middle East at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC on March 8-9. Speakers will include Arthur Hertzberg, Walid Khalidi, Rita Hauser, and William Quandt. For information, contact: US Interreligious Committee for Peace, Greene and Westview, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia. PA 19119, or call (215) 438-4142.

A conference on "The Israeli-Arab Conflict: American-Arab and American-Jewish Perspectives," will be held at Rosemont College, Rosemont, PA, March 18-19. Speakers will include Morris B. Abram, James G. Abourezk, and Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Lughod. For information, contact the director of the conference, Masood Ghaznavi, at (215) 527-0200, ext. 320.

"Ottoman Art in the Service of the Empire," a series of lectures by Dr. Zdislaw Zygulski, professor of fine arts and curator of the National Museum of Krakow, April 4-12 in the Stephen Chan Auditorium of the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, New York, NY

"Using Critical Thinking As a Tool in Conflict Resolution: The Case of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" is the theme of a teachers' workshop for California educators on March 11 and April 8. The conference is sponsored by Najda: Women Concerned About the Middle East and New Jewish Agenda. For information contact Najda at (415) 549-3512.

OFFICIAL MUSLIM HOLIDAYS, 1989

The five principal Muslim festivals are: Eid al-Fitr, May 6-8; Eid al-Adha, July 13-16; Al-Hijra (14 10 A.H.), Aug. 2; Ashoura, Aug. 11; and the Prophet's Birthday, Oct. 11. The fasting month of Ramadan is expected to run from April 7 to May 5. The Haj (Pilgrimage) period will be from July 4 to Aug. 2. (Islamic holidays are determined by a sighting of the moon. Thus local variations of one or two days are possible.)

OBITUARIES

Elias S. Barsourn, 65, a retired Foreign Service officer, died Jan. 21 in Washington, DC. Mr. Barsourn, whose parents brought him as a child to the US from Turkey, was a well-known expert on Middle East affairs and served in a variety of positions with the Department of State and in the American Embassy in Cairo. He also worked for several years with the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

James S. Moose Jr., 85, a career Foreign Service officer, who had served as ambassador to Syria and Sudan, died Jan. 19 in Russellville, AK. Ambassador Moose was one of the first FSOs to speak Arabic and before his assignments as ambassador, served in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. He also served as deputy director of the office of African and Near Eastern affairs and as a Foreign Service inspector.

Fraser Wilkins, 80, a former US ambassador to Cyprus and inspector general of the Foreign Service, died Jan. 21 in Washington, DC. Ambassador Wilkins had assignments in Baghdad, Tangier, and Tehran and served in Washington as officer in charge of Palestine-Israel-Jordan affairs, and as director of the office of Near Eastern affairs.

EMPLOYMENT

The Middle East Research & Information Project (MERIP) seeks a circulation manager for its publication, Middle East Report, to begin work on March 1 in Washington, DC. Send resume and cover letter to: MERIP Search, P.O. Box 43445, Washington, DC 20010.

HALDANE'S FACTS & FIGURES

According to a survey published in Israel by Tel Aviv University's Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, 23.9 percent of all 'terrorist acts involving more than one state in 1987 were committed in South America. Western Europe was second, with 23.6 percent of such incidents, while the Middle East ranked a relatively distant third with 18 percent.

Material submitted by Exchange readers will be considered for publication as space and circumstance allow. "Facts & Figures" Items from "old Middle East hands" especially welcome. Editor: John T. Haldane. Write to TIE Exchange P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009, or call 202-939-6050 or 1-800-368-5788.