August 1988, Page 43

TIE EXCHANGE: Training, Information & Education Exchange

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Elmer Berger Fund will hold a dinner in honor of Rabbi Elmer Berger on Saturday, Aug. 20, at 7:30 p.m. at Dalem's Chalet, West Brattleboro, VT. A donation of $50 per plate is requested for the dinner, which will celebrate the completion of a volume of essays designed to spread Berger's message that Zionist ideology is an obstacle to peace in the Middle East. The book is scheduled for publication in October. For dinner reservati6ns, telephone Samir at 802-257-5121.

The Middle East Institute's 42nd annual conference, "A Middle East Agenda for the Next Administration," will be held Sept. 23 and 24 at the Capitol Hilton Hotel, 16th & K Streets, NW, Washington, DC. For information call 202-785-1141.

The Arab American Cultural Group is a grassroots organization formed in 1984 in Los Angeles, to preserve, develop, and present the cultural heritage of Arab Americans and to encourage greater understanding and appreciation of Arabic culture in the United States. Last year, the group brought together 100 artists of all races to perform in the first Arab American musical, "Where to Ramallah?" For information about the group, write the AACG, P.O. Box 74779, Los Angeles, CA 90004, or telephone 213-384-0502.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak recently laid the foundation stone for a new $160 million Alexandria library to be built with United Nations help near the site of the original library which was destroyed by fire in 48 B.C. Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C., was a leading cultural center of the Greek empire. Alexandria University officials hope to have 200,000 books on the shelves by the time the new library is opened in 1995.

PUBLICATIONS

The Iran-Iraq War and Western Security 1984-1987. Strategic Implications and Policy Options, by Anthony H. Cordesman. London: Jane's for the Royal United Services Institute, 1987.

The Struggle for Syria: A Study of Post-War Arab Politics, 1945-1958, by Patrick Seale. Yale University Press.

After the Last Say. Palestinian Lives, by Edward Said, with photographs by Jean Mohr. New York: Pantheon.

Turkey: America's Forgotten Ally, by Dankwart A. Rustow. New York: Council on Foreign Relations.

Islam in a World of Nation-States, by James P. Piscatori. Cambridge University Press.

Islam and Politics, by John L. Esposito, 2 nd ed., Syracuse University Press.

Boom or Bust? The Economy and the Oil Market, Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates, 150 Monument Rd., Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004. Multiscenario analyses and forecasts to 1995 for crude oil prices, OPEC production, non-OPEC oil supplies, and oil supply and demand balances for over 50 countries and regions.

In Search of Leadership: West Bank Politics Since 1967, by Emile Sahliyeh. The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC. Describes the emergence of a fresh generation of Palestinian leaders who spurn the traditional political establishment in the West Bank and Gaza.

TRADE AND FINANCE

The US Department of Commerce will have a US pavilion at the 25th annual Baghdad International Fair Nov. 1 to 15. Participation in this fair offers the best opportunity for US businessmen to meet key officials of Iraqi enterprises. For information contact Jim Price, Office of Service Industries, Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, or call 202-377-4781.

CULTURAL EVENTS

The Textile Museum, Washington, DC, will present "Embroidery in Morocco" in its two Pugh Galleries on the main floor beginning Oct. 18. This exhibition of Moroccan embroideries comes from the museum's rich holdings of North African textile arts.

A film currently showing at the Film Forum 1 in New York City is Jennifer Fox's first film, started seven years ago in Beirut after she dropped out of the film program at New York University "Beirut: The Last Home Movie" is a documentary about the Bustros family-three daughters, a mother, and a son living in a mansion along the so-called Green Line that divides the embattled Christian and Muslim portions of the Lebanese capital. Fox was able to get funding to finish the film early this year. It was co-winner of the grand prize at the Cinema du Reel, a prestigious documentary festival in Paris, and won the only two documentary prizes-for best film and best cinematography-at the US Film Festival held under the auspices of the Sundance Institute in Park City, UT.

ARCHAEOLOGY

A student has rediscovered a forgotten hoard of grain, dried fruit, spices, and insects from the 3,300-year-old tomb of Egyptian King Tutankhamen. Most of the discovery consists of the food placed in the tomb to sustain the king on his journey to the afterlife. The specimens, sent to London in 1932 by Howard Carter, were in 30 undisturbed cardboard boxes in a Royal Botanical Gardens storeroom.

A young Sudanese archaeologist, Mohammed Ashger, recently found the burial chamber of an Assyrian queen in Nimrud, Iraq. Dozens of gold pieces and finely carved alabaster jewelry have been removed from the tomb. Ashger lives in the same mud hut erected by an earlier British archeologist, M.E.L. Mallowan, whose wife, Agatha Christie, wrote many of her mystery stories while accompanying him on archaeological digs in Iraq and other Middle East countries,

TRAVEL TOURS

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has announced a series of special 14-day escorted tours of Egypt for members of its organization. Tours will begin Oct. 22 and conclude May 20, 1989. Highlights include a tour of Cairo; an 8-day Nile cruise to visit Luxor, Abu Simbel, and the Aswan Dam; and visits to the Sphinx and the great pyramids. For information call 1-800-227-7737, or write AARP Travel Service, P.O. Box 92933, Los Angeles, CA 90009.

HALDANE'S FACTS AND FIGURES

Atlanta physician and Egyptologist Charles S. Finch III recently presented new discoveries about African origins of ancient Egyptian civilization to a large audience at the Smithsonian Institution.

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.