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Israel general: ‘We will do in Lebanon what we did in Gaza’

IDF

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Israeli army Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said in an interview with Israeli media that Israel would carry out a military operation in Lebanon similar to the one conducted in Gaza, which resulted in high civilian causalities.

“(Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah) sees that the Israeli society didn’t break apart and was ready to pay the price (in Gaza), and that we know to do in Lebanon what we did in Gaza,” Gantz told newspaper “Yedioth Aharonoth” in his first remarks since the end of Israel’s war on Gaza in August.”The threat facing Israel from the Lebanon is much larger than that posed by Gaza,” he said.

While the Arab world is busy with wars and fights against terrorism, the common enemy remains Israel, says Gantz.“Neither Hezbollah nor Hamas currently want to start a war with us. Our enemies face other challenges at the moment, but the instability is such that I can’t promise that we won’t be fighting in Lebanon in 2015.”

In the same interview, Gantz defended the Israeli army’s performance during the latest aggression on Gaza.

During the 50-day war, Israel launched several thousand airstrikes and unleashed artillery barrages at what it said were Hamas-linked targets in Gaza, flattening entire neighborhoods. Hamas fired thousands of rockets and mortar shells at Israeli communities during the fighting.

More than 2,100 Palestinians and 72 people on the Israeli side were killed. Israel and Hamas signed a cease-fire on August 26.

SUCCESS STORY: Lebanese recipes passed down through generations

By Charlie Kadado, Lebanese Examiner

(TROY, MI) — There’s something special about Lebanese moms. Besides their strange obsession with television soap operas and making sure you’re wearing a jacket, they seem to always have a noteworthy interest in feeding you.Screen Shot 2014-10-02 at 10.20.11 PM

Just ask Camilia Saleh, owner of Cedar Grille in Troy, Michigan. Her mother Sadie Fares is now 90 years old, and still strongly hails as the matriarch of the family recipe book.

“I remember growing up and watching my mom make homemade meals everyday,” Saleh said. “She never let me touch anything. She used to tell me to stay away and that one day I’ll learn.”

Saleh says her mother had a passion for preparing the finest authentic meals from the finest organic ingredients.

“Every morning I would look out my window and see my mom picking fresh vegetables and beans from our land.”

These memories of watching her mother refine her already perfect recipes inspired Saleh to open Cedar Grille, on Crooks Road in Troy, in 2010.

“I wanted to share our culture and cuisine with my community right here in Troy. I wanted to show them what I was so proud of,” she said.

IMG_1415Saleh immigrated to the United States during the brutal Lebanese civil war, hoping to establish a better life for herself and her family.

“I used to work as a stock-keeper and hear the businessmen talk about America and Canada and how you could do things we could never dream of. I used to say that this is where we should be,” she said.

Saleh admits experiencing culture shock upon arriving to the States, but was eager to work and adjust to what she called “a wonderful opportunity.”

After years of working in the school system, Saleh decided to follow her husband’s footsteps in opening her own business.

“My husband asked me what I’d like to do best and I told him I loved our culture and our cooking. My mom worked hard all these years providing for us and I felt the love in all that. I wanted to share what my mom taught me with my community after sharing it with my family all these years,” she said.

Saleh’s husband, Antoine, owns Antoine Salon, which is also located in Troy.

“I contribute the success of this place to my husband, for being supportive and working behind the scenes. He’s the outside manager and he manages me too. IMG_1418He helps me a lot with his business experience,” she said.

After one year of planning, Camilia decided to finally follow her dreams and open the restaurant in honor of her mother. She hired a head chef, who used to cook for the former president of Lebanon, and several hand-picked employees to lead the operation.

“If you can manage people, you can manage anything. I’m a homemaker by nature, and I started this business hard and quickly, so I needed to get my game together to manage people fast,” she recalls.

It’s this sense of strength that follows a seemingly universal trait of Lebanese mothers. She says future immigrants should be prepared to face obstacles, but push through in the face of adversity.

“Don’t ever be afraid. If you can imagine it, go for it. With the support of family and believing in yourself, you can do anything you want.”

For more information about Cedar Grille, visit cedargrille.com.

VIDEO: This incredible Lebanese wedding entrance will amaze you!

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — It’s no surprise Lebanese people like to take things a few step further.

Watch this Lebanese couple from Zahle go above and beyond with one of the most incredible wedding entrances ever!

Watch below (fast forward to the 10-minute mark):

Beirut airport seizes 750 smuggled iPhone 6 handsets

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — A traveler at the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport was busted on Thursday after attempting to smuggle 750 iPhone 6 handsets into Lebanon, according to airport officials.

The recently released iPhone has reached Lebanon, and consumers are able to purchase it for around $900. The iPhone 6 from Khoury Home is $999 with a 1-year warranty, according to a store manager.

The Lebanese cell phone market is commonly known to sell smuggled handsets at a considerably low price.

Smuggled handsets tend to be cheaper for consumers because buying from authorized dealers comes with the cost of taxes and the official warranty.

Airport officials say the bust is a small supply, with most illegal import organized at a much larger scale.

SUCCESS STORY: Lebanese-American educates and mentors youth

(DEARBORN, MI) — Dearborn resident Hussein Hachem immigrated to the United States from Ain El Tineh, West Bekka in 2007 to pursue his college education.

Coming with fresh eyes, Hachem looked at Dearborn’s Lebanese-American community as a strong and influential collective of immigrants, but a place that was missing the perspective of Lebanese-American youth.

In 2009, after two years of observing community activity from a distance, he joined the Lebanese American Heritage Club (LAHC) in Dearborn to interact with other local Lebanese-Americans.

“I wanted to start something founded by the youth and led by the youth,” he recalls.

(Photo courtesy of Bill Chapman Photography)
(Photo courtesy of Bill Chapman Photography)

Hachem launched the LAHC Youth Leadership Committee, which has grown into one of the group’s most important projects.

“Youth now have a more important role in our community. They are initiating programs, taking care of events from A to Z, coming up with innovative ideas, and making those ideas happen,” he said.

But Hachem wasn’t satisfied with sticking to weekly and monthly meetings to connect with local youth. He says he wanted to do something “more meaningful.”

“From my job at LAHC I was able to interact with many families and I saw that there were two problems — number one: parents didn’t have time to see their kids and keep up with their education and number two: prices were outrageous so it was hard for them to afford tutoring payments.”

After graduating from Wayne State University with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and chemical biology, Hachem started a business he called, “Educare Student Services, LLC” to solve those problems.

The company began as an after school tutoring program, but has since expanded into mentoring, college preparation, and ACT skills learning center on Mason Street in Dearborn.

The company has over 15 tutors and growing, added locations in Dearborn Heights and Canton, and daily tutoring hours in their learning center.

“Anybody that is studying they need a little help, even if you’re the smartest student. Sometimes you need a little hint so you can take the lead,” Hachem said.

He added that many of the students are of Lebanese descent and he frequently reminds them of their rich cultural history.

“The Lebanese people since the beginning of history have been people of history and education. Wherever we go, we the Lebanese people should reflect the beautiful image that love, education, and freedom are part of our roots. I hope to spread that message to the students I mentor,” he said.

Although United States culture was entirely different than what he was used to back home, Hachem recognized the importance of maintaining and promoting a cultural identity and ensuring that Lebanese-American youth follow suit.

He also says the United States has provided him with limitless opportunities for personal growth.

“When it comes to the opportunities, they are very limited in Lebanon in terms of what you can give and how you can grow. Even if you are the smartest students with many great ideas, resources are still very limited. In the United States, you have this opportunity to build, to grow, and to give back.”

Hachem has been recognized by President Barack Obama with the Call to Service Award, recognizing over 4,000 hours of community service. He has also received a leadership award from Dearborn’s Forum and Link newspaper and the 2011 Distinguished Student Leader Award from Henry Ford Community College.

For more information about Educare Student Services, LLC., visit educaremi.com.

VIDEO: 19-year-old Lebanese-Brazilian wows millions on YouTube

(SAO PAULO, BRAZIL) — Lebanese-Brazilian singer and songwriter Luciana Zogbi is impressing millions of people on YouTube with beautifully sung covers of hit American singles, including John Legend’s “All of Me” and James Morrison’s “Broken Strings.”

The 19-year-old singer has over 17 million YouTube views and 170,000 Facebook likes.

Watch Luciana perform “All of Me”:

Watch Luciana perform “Broken Strings”:

To watch more of Luciana, click here.

Dearborn music video sparks controversy

(DEARBORN, MI) — When local rapper Basel “Baze” Hachem uploaded a music video on YouTube this week, it resulted in a social media firestorm for its depiction of young local Arab Americans partying at a hookah lounge.

Baze uploaded the video, titled “Can’t Let Go Remix”, on September 14. Within hours, it captivated the attention of the local community as it was shared across social media

The Arab American News posted the music video on its Facebook page and within 48 hours it had reached more than 20,000 Facebook users and sparked hundreds of mixed comments.

The plot of the video involves Baze serenading a woman in front of local hookah bar Blue Cafe, located on Schaefer Road. in east Dearborn. Inside the hookah lounge, dozens of college-aged locals are seen dancing, smoking hookah and lip syncing the song’s lyrics.

Baze’s clip did seem to generate strong backing by many, who expressed the importance of supporting locals who are trying to break into the entertainment industry. But many of those supporters were drowned out by the most controversial aspect of the video:

It captures two local young women— both of whom wear the headscarf— dancing and lip syncing along with dozens of other men and women. It ignited a range of debates on the hijab in Islam, and the “expected” behavior that comes with the territory.

“The two girls in the headscarves, one is my sister and the other is my cousin,” Baze told The Arab American News. “What people were saying about them was a disgrace. They are grown women, adults supporting their family.”

Baze said he was prepared for the backlash when he decided to let his sister and cousin appear in the video. His wife is also in the video, playing the woman he serenades. They, along with hundreds of other local young adults, showed up at Blue Cafe in August when he distributed flyers asking supporters to join him for the video shoot. It was shot by New Age Media, a local up-and-coming production company.

Since the release of the video, many commentators were also appalled at the “questionable” image the video may be setting for the community. But Baze said it’s the reality of a modern day Dearborn.

“The atmosphere of that video is what happens every weekend at all the cafes in Dearborn,” he said. “My video is innocent. When they have entertainment nights at hookah bars, don’t you see hijabi’s dancing and doing the dabke? When you go to a wedding, don’t you see the proud mother dancing in front of everyone? They were doing normal stuff, but people blew it out of proportion.”

Baze said criticism comes with the territory of his career choice. He was born in Saudi Arabia and moved to Detroit with his family when he was 4-years-old. He soon developed a passion for music, listening to late rapper Tupac Shakur while growing up.

Despite challenges from his father, Baze said he moved out of his home when he was 18 to pursue a career as a rapper. He began writing his own music, releasing free-style mix tapes and distributing them for free. His musical style is versatile, tackling life themes and infusing it with street and club vibes.

“I started off in my own community, they were in my mind first before I went to any other city,” Baze said. “I was on my own. The family wasn’t supporting me and I was giving CDs away for free, thousands of them.”

Due to word of mouth, he would soon earn a positive reputation in the local hip hop scene and would begin charging for shows and mix tapes, making a steady income. He said his family eventually came around to the idea of accepting his career choice.

His music has made it as far as Chicago and Miami and he has also developed a large following in such local cities as Sterling Heights and Novi.

He plans to stay in Dearborn with his wife and two children and hopes his music will eventually reach music executives in Hollywood. He said social media has become his strongest marketing tool.

Baze is aware that it’s not all too common for Arab Americans to pursue careers in the entertainment industry, but referenced former Dearborn resident Rima Fakih, Miss USA 2010, as a good example of someone who pursued her dreams while facing community backlash.

“It’s challenging knowing you are going to get hated on in your own community, but it helps you build up and move on from it,” he said. “If you don’t have haters, you aren’t doing anything right. The people who have been supporting me, without them, my music wouldn’t go anywhere and I thank them.”

Source: New America Media via Arab American News, Samer Hijazi, September 27, 2014
See original report here or here.

Prime Minister Salam sends emotional appeal to United Nations

(NEW YORK, NY) — During a diplomatic trip to New York, Lebanon’s prime minister Tammam Salam appealed to United Nation world leaders saying his country is facing a “fierce terrorist onslaught” and a national disaster created by more than one million Syrian refugees.

Speaking before the U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Salam said Lebanon is determined not to give in to “pressure and blackmail” by Islamic extremists who overran a the northeastern town of Arsal, Lebanon in August and are holding about 20 Lebanese soldiers and policemen hostage.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an al-Qaeda breakaway group, has already beheaded two of them and the Nusra Front, the main al-Qaeda branch in Syria, has shot a third, sparking days of violence against Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Since then, Lebanese troops have clashed with jihadist fighters in the border area near the Lebanese town of Arsal.

The extremists have made various demands in exchange for the soldiers’ release, including the release of Islamist prisoners in Lebanese jails.

“We will never give in to such pressure, and will remain focused on the release of our soldiers, while preserving our country,” Salam said.

Salam also said the number of Syrian refugees are equivalent to one-third of the Lebanese population and has become a major national disaster.

“To be fully aware of the implications of this situation, one should imagine a hundred million people – yes, one hundred million people – flocking massively into the United States and spreading randomly in cities, towns, schools and parks,” he said.

Deputy Secretary of State of the United Nations William J. Burns says that although the Lebanese people have “(proven) their strength,” they are also in “dire need” of help.

“The Lebanese people can count on the support of partners across the region and across the world, as well from the United Nations and multiple Security Council Resolutions,” Burns said.

25 Life Lessons from Lebanese-American Visionary Gibran Khalil Gibran

1. Be thankful for the difficult times. They have showed you how strong you can be.

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”

2. Kindness is a quality of the strong.

“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.”

3. There’s no such thing as absolute truth.

“Say not, ‘I have found the truth,’ but rather, ‘I have found a truth.’

“I AM IGNORANT of absolute truth. But I am humble before my ignorance and therein lies my honor and my reward.”

4. It’s the small people who try to belittle and humiliate others.

“To belittle, you have to be little.”

5. The harm others do to you is easier to forget than the harm you do to others.

“If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury; but if you injure him you will always remember.”

6. You might forget those who made you laugh, but you will never forget those who were by your side in your darkest hours.

“You may forget with whom you laughed, but you will never forget with whom you wept.”

“Hearts united in pain and sorrow will not be separated by joy and happiness. Bonds that are woven in sadness are stronger than the ties of joy and pleasure. Love that is washed by tears will remain eternally pure and faithful.”

7. It’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary.

“In the sweetness of friendship; let there be laughter and the sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.”

8. Love is life. And life is love.

“When you love you should not say, “God is in my heart,” but rather, “I am in the heart of God.”

“Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.”

9. Put love into your work.

“Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy. For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger. And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distills a poison in the wine. And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.”

“They deem me mad because I will not sell my days for gold; and I deem them mad because they think my days have a price.”

10. To understand the heart and mind of a person, look at what he aspires to be.

“To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.”

“Trust in dreams, for in them is the hidden gate to eternity.”

11. True love can’t be possessed.

“Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love. And think not you can direct the course of love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.”

12. Seek to put up with bad manners pleasantly.

“The real test of good manners is to be able to put up with bad manners pleasantly.”

13. Love binds everything together in perfect harmony.

“They say: ‘If a man knew himself, he would know all mankind.’ I say: ‘If a man loved mankind, he would know something of himself.”

14. Always look on the bright side of life.

“The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose.”

15. We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are.

“The appearance of things changes according to the emotions; and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.”

16. True love is the offspring of spiritual affinity.

“It is wrong to think that love comes from long companionship and persevering courtship. Love is the offspring of spiritual affinity and unless that affinity is created in a moment, it will not be created for years or even generations.”

17. Let there be space in your relationship.

“Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.”

18. If you pray when it rains, make sure you also pray when the sun shines.

“You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.”

19. When you give of yourself, that’s when you truly give.

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”

20. Real beauty comes from within.

“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.”

21. Your children are not your children. They are sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

“Your children are not your children. They are sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.”

22. Every relationship should be free from bondage.

“No human relation gives one possession in another—every two souls are absolutely different. In friendship or in love, the two side by side raise hands together to find what one cannot reach alone.”

“If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don’t, they never were.”

23. Be thankful for both the good and the bad in your life. It’s all meant to teach you something.

“I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.”

“When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”

24. Your attitude towards life will determine life’s attitude towards you.

“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”

25. A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand.

“A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand. Is not the mountain far more awe-inspiring and more clearly visible to one passing through the valley than to those who inhabit the mountain?”

Source: Purpose Fairy. Click here for original article.

Netherlands to give $3.2M to Lebanese Army

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The Netherlands will give $3.2 million worth of weapons to the Lebanese Army, said Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil during a meeting with the Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans on Monday.

Bassil also announced that Lebanon and the Netherlands would be collaborating at a legal level.

“We have agreed to form a common working group to follow up on the International Criminal Court’s case on the massacres committed by ISIS and the Nusra Front,” Bassil said on Twitter.

“We discussed how to fight terrorism in the region, we also discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries and how to develop them,” he added.

He also said he will meet with the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Fato Bensouda on this matter.

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