MEETING WITH ATTORNEY GENERAL BONTA IS A GOOD START
Following President Joe Biden’s proclamation recognizing April as National Arab American Heritage Month, the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee hosted a dozen leaders from the Arab American community in San Diego and California Attorney General Rob Bonta at Aladdin’s Lebanese restaurant in Hillcrest on May 4. The intergenerational Arab Americans from various countries of origin, religions and disciplines had a sincere and heartfelt conversation with the attorney general. Bonta also addressed a large audience of business, government, cultural and law enforcement leaders at an evening event sponsored by local Arab American organizations.
Arab Americans are uniquely equipped to address discriminatory barriers faced in California. Bonta related his lived experience as an immigrant from the Philippines facing similar barriers. He celebrated California’s diversity, describing it as “our secret sauce for a recipe of success.”
Arab Americans are from countries situated in the Middle East and North African region, so the term MENA is often used to identify our group. Kathryn Kanjo, CEO of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, said that when the U.S. Census and other government forms do not identify Arab American as an ethnic category, our identities are effectively invisible. All agreed that being counted and measured are steps toward being understood and recognized as full, contributing and valuable citizens. Yasmeen Obeid with the Majdal Community Center in El Cajon worked with individual Arab Americans to complete census forms marked with an ethnicity. Obeid said she witnessed how the inability to identify Arab Americans as an official group during redistricting meant they were not counted.
We also discussed high-profile cases, especially in higher education in California, where Arab Americans’ First Amendment rights were upheld. San Diego attorney Lana Nassar mentioned a legal victory in Orange County when a former Israeli soldier sued a Palestinian American for a 2018 Facebook post. She was ultimately forced to pay the defendant’s legal fees because of the frivolousness of the case, when it was designated as a SLAPP or strategic lawsuit against public participation.
Activist and retired engineer Jamal Kanj inquired if the Attorney General’s Office monitors hate crimes against Arab Americans because many Arab Americans fear reporting hate crimes for various reasons, including distrust of the police. Bonta shared resources for guidance and alternative means of reporting crimes and incidents.
We inquired if Assembly Bill 2844, touted as California’s antiBDS (boycott, divest, sanctions) bill, had been enforced since 2016 because its chilling effect on businesses entails signing contracting agreements with the state of California that includes a pledge not to adopt any “policy” that would “discriminate” against Israel. We believe that such laws should be ruled unconstitutional for forcing Americans to make a commitment to a foreign state.
Two of the authors of this essay, Kamel Miqdadi, a financial service professional and president of the San Diego chapter of the Network of Arab American Professionals, and Doris Bittar, California coordinator for the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, outlined how Arab narratives continue to be decontextualized and demeaned in California social studies curriculums. Arabs historically led the world for centuries in the fields of math, medicine, engineering and technology, yet about a year ago Arab American Studies were excised from the state’s Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum. California’s legislators and governor ultimately ignored our community’s requests to include such references. This latest example shows how Arab contributions to modernization, experienced every day in our ordinary lives, are not acknowledged. Rather, they are repeatedly erased by public officials and often reinforced by much of Western mainstream media, such as during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. We asked Bonta to investigate these blockages in California.
The third author of this essay, Dr. Tala Al-Rousan, the director of the Displacement and Health Research Program at UC San Diego, and Dr. Raed Al-Naser, a pulmonologist at Grossmont Hospital and an officer of the National Arab American Medical Association, highlighted how biomedical research on populations in the Middle East and North Africa region is scant, impacting progress. Al-Naser, a front-line provider during the COVID-19 pandemic, witnessed a disproportionate number of Arab American patients at the emergency rooms. These patients often ended up in the intensive care unit or dying due to COVID-19.
Al-Rousan addressed pronounced health disparities and slow innovation on scientific discoveries of therapies and interventions. One of the major barriers to research is the lack of data aggregated by racial/ethnic groups that recognizes Arab Americans as non-White. Exposures to environmental hazards and war before immigrating to the United States are increasingly common, yet little is done to understand effects on health. Funding of research to support Arab American scientists and staff will lead to better prevention, less disease and lower health care costs. Additionally, the narrative must better reflect how refugees statistically improve America’s economy, rather than detract from it.
The journey for equity affects Arab Americans’ well-being, sense of safety and ability to thrive. Bonta, California’s top law enforcer, indicated a strong commitment to continue the journey with us.
The journey for equity affects Arab Americans’ well-being, sense of safety and ability to thrive. Bonta, the state’s top law enforcer, indicated a strong commitment to continue it with us.
Al-Rousan is a doctor and professor at UC San Diego. She lives in Solana Beach and is on Twitter, @talarousansh. Bittar is a visual artist, writer, educator and civil rights organizer who lives in North Park. heads the San Diego Chapter of Network of Arab American Professionals, and lives in Escondido.