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From Wikipedia
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
Ray Hanania is a columnist (every Wednesday) with the Jerusalem Post and every Sunday with PalestineNote.com. His facebook page is [1].
Hanania's parents are Christian immigrants from Mandatory Palestine. 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 and spokesperson for the Town of Cicero [1]. 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,[2], spokesperson for the Town of Cicero[2] and he is the host of a live Morning Radio talk show Monday - Friday on WJJG 1530 AM Chicago. The show broadcasts every morning at 8 am and is simulcast in audio and video.[3]
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 formerly with the Arlington Heights Daily Herald (2002-2009), and has written a humor/serious column for www.YnetNews.com the website of Yedioth Ahronoth, the largest newspaper in Israel. Hanania writes a weekly column for the Jerusalem Post (every Wednesday) and also for PalestineNote.com. He is the Baby Boomer Blogger and editor of www.ArabAmericanTVOnline.com. He currently writes for various publications including the HuffingtonPost.com, the Arab News in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and for other US and international newspapers. 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"[4] which broke the Arab comedian taboo of refusing to appear with Israelis.
During one of the peace tours trips to Israel, Hanania performed at Off The Wall Comedy Basement, Jerusalem's only stand up club. This was considered a big accomplishment, since the club is owned by two Jews (David Kilimnick and Jeremy Saltan).
Hanania was removed from one of his first comedy appearances at the last minute at Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago in August 2002 when Jewish American comedian Jackie Mason refused to have him open for him. Mason's manager said it was because of Hanania's inexperience (he had turned to stand-up comedy after 9/11, and had made fewer than 20 performances) and because he is a "Palestinian." [5]
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.[6] and co-host of Radio Baladi (simulcast in Chicago and Dearborn on WNZK 690 AM Radio and live on the Internet at [7].
Professional awards
- MT. Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award 2009 by the Mehdi Family
- 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
Ray Hanania 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.
References
1. http://openjurist.org/212/f3d/353
2. http://www.thetownofcicero.com/news/default.asp
Ray Hanania Biography From Free Muslims Coalition - www.freemuslims.org
Ray Hanania is a veteran Chicago journalist. He covered Chicago City Hall politics and regional Illinois politics from 1977 through 1992, including seven years with the Chicago Sun-Times. His work included political column writing as well as daily news reporting, and feature and "big picture" analysis. It also included 18 months as the political writer for the "insider column," Page 10.
He won several awards for his journalism, including two Peter Lisagor Awards from the Chicago Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and earned a nomination for a Pulitzer Prize from the Chicago Sun-Times for a series of stories exploring the Palestinian rebellion (Intifada).
During that time, he hosted live call-in radio talk show programs, including for 10 years with the 50,000 Watt giant WLS Radio, and substituted often for the morning drive personalities.
He was a regular on television's #1 Political Interview program "City Desk" hosted by Dick Kay on WMAQ-TV (NBC affiliate), appearing an average of 28 times each year to question political guests that ranged from governors, to senators and local officials. And, he appeared as a regular commentator on Joel Weisman's popular political roundtable every Friday, Chicago Week in Review (WTTW Channel 11 PBS), appearing as the City Hall reporter an average of 20 times each year. He appeared on and off on every single Chicago television news talk show program as an authority on Chicago politics, and co-hosted the Friday roundtable broadcast each week by NPR Chicago affiliate WBEZ, exploring regional political trends.
Ray also served as a panelist on the Chicago Mayoral debate in 1990, a contest that launched the mayoralty of Richard M. Daley.
In 1992, he launched the political campaign consulting Urban Strategies Group which provided political consulting, after experiencing a political campaign firsthand running as a "suicide candidate" in the 38th Illinois House District as a Democrat. (It's good to see how vicious some reporters in the news media who have no scruples can be, and to understand firsthand the experiences candidates have in the "fish bowl.")
Candidates and clients included a wide assortment of Chicago's colorful political landscape, writing speeches and designing web sites for Mayor Daley, designing web sites and message strategies for city agencies, managing and directing political campaigns for countless Chicago aldermen, Chicago Democratic committeemen, state legislators, county commissioners, and three successful candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Several clients included those with serious public relation challenges requiring extensive crisis management. And, experience includes international communications consulting.
He provided basic media training also to the Ministry of Information in the Palestine National Authority, working with Yasser Abed Rabbo who surfaced as one of the country's leading moderates speaking out against violence and in support of compromise with Israel. Hanania has been a longtime outspoken critic of violence and advocate of peaceful relations between Palestinians and Israelis. He has been tapped by the U.S. State Department and the US Information Agency to provide media training sessions, meetings and presentations during the past decade to foreign media and government officials. He participated in meeting with President Clinton and Israelis and Palestinian officials towards strengthening the Oslo Peace Accords.
Some of the successful clients have included Ald. Bernard Stone, County Commissioners Maria Pappas and Allan Carr, Congressmen Danny K. Davis, Bobby Rush, Hispanic Democratic Organization, Louis Guiterrez, Ald. Danny Solis, Democratic Central Committeewoman Iris Martinez, and an independent slate in Indiana's local municipal elections.
Hanania has more than a decade experience as a senior manager for a Chicago Public Relations firm, overseeing B2B and B2C media and PR strategies. He also managed public affairs and grassroots campaigns for several major Illinois corporations in gaming, telecommunications, aviation, healthcare, liquor industry, and education.
Ray Hanania Biography
Winner 2009 Dr. M.T. Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award
National Winner Best Ethnic Columnist in America 2006/2007 New America Media
Three-time winner, Society of Professional Journalists Peter Lisagor
Award for Column Writing (1985, 2002, 2006) (7-time finalist)
Two-time winner, Chicago Newspaper Guild Stick-O-Type Award
1990 Pulitzer Prize Nominee (nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times)
Author, standup comedian, satirist, filmmaker, radio talk show host
Ray Hanania, a former Creators columnist who's now self-syndicated, is a Palestinian-American writer married to a Jewish woman. He writes about Mideast issues in an evenhanded way that makes him seem positively radical in a sea of columnists who back Israel almost unconditionally. Hanania's approach, as former President Jimmy Carter discovered with his latest book, is not popular with much of the mainstream media.
But it would be interesting if U.S. dailies followed the lead of Israeli newspapers in allowing a much wider spectrum of debate about Mideast issues. By the way, Hanania is also a stand-up comedian who's hilarious when he opts to use humor.
Ray Hanania on MySpace: www.myspace.com/rayhanania
Ray Hanania on Twitter: twitter.com/RayHanania