A statement calling for conditioning U.S. aid to Israel, signed by 222 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, was submitted to the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) Platform Committee. The statement urges the DNC to adopt a platform which supports “efforts to withhold $3.8 billion in military aid to Israel” in response to the planned unilateral annexation of the West Bank. Signatories to the statement join Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in calling for withholding military funds to Israel should it continue to annex Palestinian land.
Read MoreSubsequently, in 2018 and 2019, Muslim women won an unprecedented number of local legislative seats. In Virginia, Ghazala Hashmi became the first Muslim person elected to Virginia’s state Senate. Also from Virginia, 24-year-old Abrar Omeish became one of the first Muslim women elected in the state and the youngest woman to hold elected office in Virginia’s history. In Minnesota, Nadia Mohamed made history by becoming the first Muslim and Somali person elected to the St. Louis Park City Council.
Read More"I'm trying to think of how we can manage some of the expectations and wanting to protect us from impossible asks… Time is what I'm more concerned about," said Fairfax County School Board Member At-Large Abrar Omeish during the June 23 work session.
At-large school board member Abrar Omeish says she found the creativity and passion that the Student Peace Award recipients brought to their projects inspiring.
The youngest person ever to serve on Fairfax County’s school board, Omeish won a Student Peace Award for leading a campaign to amend FCPS’s policy on bullying when she attended Robinson Secondary School.
“We don’t often focus on empathy-building and service and things that are ultimately the most important aspect of a human being and the character that we’re building in these students,” Omeish said. “The peace award is an incredible example of us saying this is something important to us and…that we look forward to seeing more students involve themselves in this kind of work.”
Read MoreThat’s especially true in Virginia. For example, this past November, Ghazala Hashmi became the first Muslim woman ever elected to the Virginia state Senate, and Abrar Omeish, 24, made history as the first Muslim elected to the Fairfax County School Board. And earlier in 2019 in a special election, 27-year-old Ibraheem Samirah, a dentist of Palestinian heritage, was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, making him the second Muslim to serve in that chamber along with Delegate Sam Rasoul.
Read More