Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania (b. Chicago, Illinois, 1953) is an Arab-American journalist also known for his stand-up comedy. Hanania writes a syndicated column with a particular focus on the Middle East, and after the September 11 attacks, created a comedy act with the hope of defusing mutual suspicion.

Life and career

Hanania's parents are Palestinian immigrants. His mother is from Bethlehem; his father, George John Hanania, from a prominent Christian family in Jerusalem, served with the U.S. Army during World War II and with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor of the CIA. He himself served with the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War and in the Illinois Air National Guard. Hanania's wife, Alison, is Jewish; they live in Orland Park, Illinois.

Hanania long covered Chicago City Hall politics for various Chicago media. From 1977-1985 he reported for the Daily Southtown, and from 1985-1991 for the Chicago Sun-Times. From 1993-1996 he was publisher of the suburban Villager Newspapers group. He has also hosted a radio program on WLS (AM), published the Middle Eastern Voice newspaper, and launched the Arab American View, an English-language newspaper. He is managing editor of the Arab American Writers Syndicate 2007-present at www.ArabWritersGroup.com, and he is the host of a live radio talk show on WCEV 1450 AM Chicago at www.RadioChicagoland.com.

His internationally syndicated column, carried by Creators Syndicate 2002-2005 and is now self-syndicated, is from what Hanania terms "the moderate Palestinian voice", weighing the moral implications of different policy choices for actors in the various Middle East conflicts. He continues to write a Chicago political column carried locally with the Southwest News-Herald and the Arlington Heights Daily Herald, and has a humor/serious column for www.YnetNews.com the website of Yedioth Ahronoth, the largest newspaper in Israel. He is the Baby Boomer Blogger for MidEast Youth Web Site Blog (www.MidEastYouth.com) and editor of www.ArabAmericanTVOnline.com. He currently writes for various publications including the HuffingtonPost.com, the Arab News in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and occasionally for the Jerusalem Post newspaper. He is political editor of the Southwest News-Herald newspaper on Chicago's Southwest Side and suburbs, and publisher of the National Arab American Times Newspaper at www.AATimesNews.com which distributes more than 65,000 papers through 650 Arab American grocery stores in all 48 continental American states..

Hanania launched a standup comedy career to advance his agenda of promoting peace through moderation and using humor and co-founded with Israeli comedians Charley Warady and Yisrael Campbell and African American Comedian/Journalist Aaron Freeman "The Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour" www.IPComedyTour.com which broke the Arab Comedian taboo of refusing to appeare with Israelis. The first tour was launched in January 2007. The tour has been overwhelming received by Israelis and Palestinians but has come attack from mainly Palestinian extremist in the United States who openly oppose Hanania's repeated denunciations of Hamas as a "terrorist organization," his public outspokenness against suicide bombing and his open endorsement of the "two-state solution" and peace with Israel. Hanania was removed from one of his first comedy appearances at Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago in August 2002 when Jewish American Comedian Jackie Mason, who was added to Hanania's show at the last minute, refused to appear with Hanania because, according to the Associated Press, Hanania is a "Palestinian." [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/29/entertainment/main520137.shtml?source=search_story]

Hanania is also the host of the morning radio talk show in Chicago, "Mornings with Ray Hanania," broadcast weekday mornings Monday thru Friday from 8 am until 9:30 AM on WJJG 1530 AM Radio. (http://www.RadioChicagoland.com)

Criticism

*In a guest column in the Jerusalem Post titled "Getting Past Normalization," Hanania states Palestinians refuse to accept reality (i.e. normalization of Israeli occupation) and is critical of Palestinians for refusing to work with Israelis on the grounds that doing so "might somehow undermine their rights or the struggle against the occupation." He calls the Israeli occupation of Palestine, a "self-imposed imprisonment." [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847374282&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter]

Professional awards

* Named Best Ethnic American Columnist (2006/2007) by the New America Media Association
* Society of Professional Journalists Lisagor Award for column writing, 1985, 2003, 2007
* Chicago Newspaper Guild Column Award (2)
* Nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times (1990) for a Pulitzer Prize for his columns on the Palestinian Intifadah

Books

* "Arabs of Chicagoland", 2005 (Arcadia Publishing) ISBN 0-7385-3417-X
* "I'm Glad I Look Like a Terrorist: Growing Up Arab in America", 2001 (http://www.themediaoasis.com/book.htm) ISBN 0-9654761-0-3
* "Strike Back: Lentil Soup for the Arab American Soul", 1999 (USG Publishing) ISBN 0-9654761-1-1
* "Midnight Flight: The Story of White Flight in Chicago -- 1968" (Online Novel, http://www.themediaoasis.com/flight.htm) 1996

Politics

* Co-founder, National Arab American Journalists Association (http://www.NAAJA-US.com)
* President of the Palestinian American Congress, 1995-1996
* Board member of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam village
* Co-founder of Yalla, Salam! ("Palestinians for Peace Now")
* Co-founder of Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour (http://www.IPComedyTour.com)
* Co-founder of Infidels of Comedy The Christian Arab Comedy Tour (http://www.InfidelsofComedy.com)
* Various roles with American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

Quotes

:"If we can laugh together, we can live together.":"Americans are the most educated people in the world, but the least educated about the world."

External links

* [http://www.TheMediaOasis.com/ Ray Hanania official page]
* [http://www.hanania.com/ Ray Hanania personal web page]
* [http://www.IPComedyTour.com/ Israeli Palestinian Comedy Tour official page]
* [http://www.InfidelsofComedy.com/ The Infidels of Comedy Christian Arab Comedy Tour]
* [http://www.myspace.com/rayhanania/ Hanania's personal blog page]
* [http://www.NAAJA-US.com/ Official web page of the National Arab American Journalists Association]
* [http://www.ynetnews.com/headlines/1,7340,L-3449-0,00.html Opinion from Israel, Ynetnews] Articles by Ray Hanania from his column
* [http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9439.shtml Nothing to laugh at here] An article by Sousan Hammad
* [http://swside.blogspot.com/2008/04/arab-fanatics-come-out-swinging-for-my.html Hanania responds to Sousan Hammad's political attack] Response from Hanania to Sousan Hammad's political attack