Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, April 1998, Page 77

Arab-American Activism

ADC, American Committee on Jerusalem Co-Sponsor National Cathedral Exhibit Provided by Palestinian Heritage Foundation

The Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC is displaying for a two-month period ending April 30 an exhibit of Palestinian arts and crafts provided by the Palestinian Heritage Foundation. Co-sponsors with the National Cathedral and the Palestinian Heritage Foundation are the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and the American Committee on Jerusalem, both headquartered in Washington, DC.

“The Palestinian crafts exhibited are rooted in ancient traditions,” according to Farah Munayyer who, with his wife, Hanan, assembled and administers the very large collection from which the objects at the National Cathedral have been selected.

“The costumes are bridal dresses.” Farah Munayyer explained. “Each cluster of villages had its own style of traditional costume. Specific colors, stitches and patterns in a dress easily distinguish it from those of a different region. Some elements of these costumes have remained unchanged for centuries. The style of the Bethlehem headdress dates back to the 12th century bc, while that of Ramallah to the second century ad.”

Munayyer said that “the embroidered patterns on the dresses are symbols of hope, prosperity, good health and protection from evil. Their symbolic meaning served in perpetuating them as amulets, passed on from mother to daughter for generations. These old patterns are being used nowadays in modern articles of clothing or home decoration like pillows and tablecloths.

“Similarly, the ceramic tiles on display are decorated with patterns popular in the Roman and Byzantine era, and can be seen on mosaic floors in churches of that time,” Munayyer explained. “Ceramic tiles decorated the whole exterior of the Dome of the Rock mosque, a task undertaken in the 16th century ad by Suleiman the Great. This sacred majestic building has had a strong influence on local arts, and has caused the art of tile painting to flourish in Jerusalem.”

The Munayyers and the Palestinian Heritage Foundation can be reached at P.O. Box 1018, West Caldwell, NJ 07006, tel. (973) 575-8648 and fax (973) 882-1545

—Richard H. Curtiss

Central Pennsylvania ADC Invites Press, Civic Leaders to Eid al-Fitr Dinner

Arab Americans from a broad swath of Pennsylvania towns invited local journalists and civic leaders to participate with them in a gala dinner marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The dinner, sponsored by the Central Pennsylvania chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), was held at the student union building of Penn State University at Harrisburg.

After a series of remarks explaining for non-Arab guests the significance of Ramadan and the festive holiday marking its successful conclusion, a number of distinguished guests were introduced. Keynote speaker at the observance was executive editor Richard Curtiss of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

Speaking on “Morality and American Middle East Policy,” he described how at the time he first arrived in the Middle East, “Americans, with a long tradition of building schools, universities, and hospitals there, were the most respected and, I can truthfully say, most beloved foreigners. Now, because of our Israel-centered policies, driven solely by domestic political interests rather than by American strategic or national interests, Americans are no longer physically safe in the Middle East.”

Curtiss invited Muslim Americans and Christian Arab Americans, through coordinated political action, to help “the American people take back the control of American Middle East policy from the special interests which are so distorting it today.” He concluded that “in the Middle East the United States, in its own national interest, must return to traditional American support for human rights, self-determination and fair play.”

Following the talks and a question period, the floor was turned over to local musicians for lively Arabic music that drew celebrants—tots, teenagers and their parents—to the dance floor to show that members of Pennsylvania diverse Arab American community have not forgotten their rich heritage.