06-07-23 Arab American Christians with Mayor Mary Basta & Sir Rateb Rabie S3E6

06-07-23 Arab American Christians with Mayor Mary Basta & Sir Rateb Rabie S3E6

The Ray Hanania Radio Show

ArabNews.com/rayradioshow

Wed June 7, 2023, S3 Ep6

Welcome everyone and thank you for joining us on live radio in Detroit and Washington D.C., and live streaming on the US Arab Radio Network at www.ArabRadio.us, and on the Facebook Page of Arab News Newspaper, the Voice of a Changing Region at https://Facebook.com/ArabNews

We're going to explore two issues during today's radio show

First, we're going to explore the identity and challenges facing Christian Arabs in America, with a Christian American Egyptian elected official, Mary Basta, who is the Mayor of Bolingbrook in suburban Chicagoland in Illinois ...

Mayor Basta immigrated with her family when she was very young and settlement in Nashville, Tennessee ... but in 2003, she and her family moved to Bolingbrook Illinois, the 16th largest municipality in the State with nearly 75,000 residents ... In 2019 she successfully ran for and was elected a Trustee in Bolingbrook ... and was then appointed Mayor by her board colleagues in August 2020 ... in 2021, a year later, she was elected by a large majority of Bolingbrook voters to a full term of four years as Bolingbrook Mayor.

How does an Arab American with no experience in politics, rise up so quickly to become the mayor of an important city like Bolingbrook. She showed a great interest and concern in her community ... Mayor Mary Basta will tell us ... and I am telling you Mary Basta's story is a great story ...

https://www.bolingbrook.com/?SEC=0506393A-9DFE-4C7C-905C-C4D2609F079A&DE=0D89AE7E-8639-4C4E-8A3D-7A6FA65D1EF2

Then, we will speak with Sir Rateb Rabie ... a Palestinian who was born in Jordan ... Sir Rateb is the founder of the Know Thy Heritage foundation and the Holyland Christian Ecumenical Foundation, which advocate for Christian Arab rights and Palestinian Rights in America.

Sir Rated has been working with the Christian Arab Americans and Middle East communities for many years and will help us understand some of the challenges they face today... the title "Sir" comes from prestigious honor of Knight Commander of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre (KCHS), a Vatican chivalric order.

... Arabs are still an immigrant community in America ... but their population numbers continue to grow

https://www.all4palestine.org/ModelDetails.aspx?gid=8&mid=1918&lang=en

For more information on Ray Hanania visit his website hub at www.Hanania.com or the website of the National Arab American Journalists Association www.NAAJA-US.com 

Read his stories at www.ArabNews.com