Deconstructing stereotypes: Jack G. Shaheen remembers 40 years
of commitment to positive Arab and US
understanding in evening lecture

[Monday December 10, 2012] On Wednesday December 19th, The Levantine Cultural Center presents honored media critic and film scholar Dr. Jack G. Shaheen in an intimate discussion and forum on misleading stereotypes based on Hollywood's negative portrayal of Arabs. Shaheen will be discussing his life-long commitment to illuminate social justice, with insights into the highs and lows of his 40-year quest, including his mission to reveal and terminate these damaging Arab and Muslim stigmas.

WHO: Jack G. Shaheen, media activist
WHERE: Levantine Cultural Center, 5998 W. Pico Blvd., LA 90035, street parking.
PRICE: Free to general public
INFO/RSVPs: Levantine Cultural Center, 323.413.2001, levantinecenter.org.

[Los Angeles-Monday November 27, 2012] Beginning Saturday, December 1st, the Levantine Cultural Center presents a fascinating new exhibit based on the work of film and media scholar Dr. Jack G. Shaheen's work: A is for Arab: Stereotypes in U.S. Popular Culture.

Event Details

Date/Time: 

Nov 14 2012 7:30pm - Nov 15 2012 10:00pm

Price: 

Free to the public

Where: 

Goethe-Institut Cinema
5750 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Narrating the Arab Spring connects the Goethe-Institut's network in the Arab world with Southern California. This series of events addresses what has become known as the "Arab Spring"

Event Details

Date/Time: 

Oct 18 2012 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Price: 

Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door
$40 with a signed book.
Students with I.D., $10
Click here to buy tickets

Where: 

Iman Cultural Center
3376 Motor Ave., Los Angeles CA 90034
Parking lot, street parking

Vijay Mahajan, Ph.D., visited 18 Arab nations for his book that reveals a vibrant, bustling place full of commerce and consumers hungry for goods of almost every kind.

BEYOND "ARAB SPRING" & "ARAB RAGE"
VIJAY MAHAJAN FINDS THRIVING ARAB MARKET
OF 350 MILLION CONSUMERS
THU, OCT. 18, 2012, 7 PM

"...what really makes the book is its immediacy. The author is not afraid to get his boots dirty. His research took him to...areas where foreigners do not normally go, such as south Beirut. He spoke not only to business leaders but also to ordinary people in the streets and shops." —LA Times

By Amal Abdul Aziz

Ibi Ibrahim is a visual artist and film director from Sana'a, Yemen. He draws his inspiration from being raised in a conservative household and culture. His work circles the challenges people live through in Muslim conservative societies vis à vis sexuality, individuality and identity. Ibi Ibrahim was born in 1987 and currently lives and works in the United States. 

1. Who is Ibi Ibrahim, besides being a visual artist, writer & director?

I feel I'm on this self discovery journey. As years pass, I learn more about who I am and what my purpose in life is. I am curious by nature, and always look for something to grab my interest. To many people, I'm the artist who's a rebel against censorship. To me, I'm a just a dreamer from Yemen.

Event Details

Date/Time: 

Jul 22 2012 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Price: 

Free to the public, suggested donation $5/up

Where: 

Levantine Cultural Center
5998 W. Pico Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90035
seating limited, RSVPs strongly suggested, 323.413.2001

L.A.'s "Progressive Conversations" series presents a public forum on Yemen featuring Will Picard from the Yemen Peace Project, Sunday, July 22, 4 pm at the Levantine Cultural Center. As the Republic of Yemen and its citizens face multiple revolutionary movements and political conflicts, the United States opens a new front in its global war on terror. Analyst and activist William Picard, just back from another trip to Yemen, explains this complex confluence of foreign policy and local crises, and what it means for the people of Yemen and the US. 

Event Details

Date/Time: 

Jun 24 2012 12:00pm - 6:00pm

Price: 

Free, parking $6 per car (carpooling recommended)

Where: 

Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, Blue Picnic Area
4100 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, Ca. 90056
2 minutes south of the Target at Rodeo and La Cienega

Levantine Cultural Center invites you to join our annual friends and family barbeque picnic on Sunday, June 24, 2012 from noon to 6 pm at the beautiful Kenneth Hahn State Park, located just south of La Cienega Blvd. and Rodeo Road. You may bring food for the barbeque and dishes to share if you wish. The LCC will provide drinks, some food, and all the other functional items (plates, napkins, cups etc) including charcoal for the barbeques.

In a letter titled "Ruh Jedida: A New Spirit for 2011," published on the Mideast web site 972mag.com, young Jewish descendants of the Arab and Islamic world living in Israel posted the following letter to their peers in the Middle East and North Africa on April 24, 2011.

We, as the descendents of the Jewish communities of the Arab and Muslim world, the Middle East and the Maghreb, and as the second and third generation of Mizrahi Jews in Israel, are watching with great excitement and curiosity the major role that the men and women of our generation are playing so courageously in the demonstrations for freedom and change across the Arab world. We identify with you and are extremely hopeful for the future of the revolutions that have already succeeded in Tunisia and Egypt. We are equally pained and worried at the great loss of life in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, and many other places in the region.

By Timothy Karr and Clothilde Le Coz | Foreign Policy in Focus

Springtime in the Arab world is looking bleaker now that despots in Libya, Bahrain, and Yemen and reactionary elements in Egypt have gained an upper hand against the pro-democracy protesters who have inspired the world. And the Internet, hailed sometimes in excess as a potent tool for these movements, has itself come under increasing fire from these and other autocratic states seeking to crush popular dissent.