Aljisser Group

The first event I will be blogging about is “Feast for Falasteen", a fundraiser event that took place in Mamlouk restaurant, NYC in December 2005. I knew about event in early December from Maryam, my work colleague and good friend from JumpTV. It seemed like a great starting point to better knowing the Middle Eastern Community in NYC.  I then spoke with Samia A. Halaby , a very nice lady and a former professor at Yale University's School of Art, whose paintings have been collected by the Art Institute of Chicago, New York's Guggenheim Museum and the British Museum in London.

She explained to me that in an effort to raise funds for a bringing the art exhibit “Made in Palestine” in New York city next March. She and aljisser ( the bridge) , the Arab art and culture group,  are organizing several fund raising events, including this one.

Maryam and I went to the event and we really enjoyed our time. We got acquainted with several persons. Surprisingly not all of them have a Middle Eastern background. Actually they never visited the region before. The group was a blend of activists from Rutgers school of law, university professors, journalists, business men and college students.

The food was great, and we had lots of fun when the belly dancer came and the singers’ kept singing. Every body danced and enjoyed their time. I am posting some pics at Flickr. The next party ‘MIN LAYALI FALASTEEN’ on January 21st would be as good as this one. I will keep you posted.