bulletin_board_64_June-July 2015 Bulletin Board 5/7/15 8:36 PM Page 64 Upcoming Events, Announcements —Compiled by Kevin A. Davis & Obituaries Upcoming Events The 5th Annual Orlando Arab Fest will take place May 17 at Lake Eola Park in Orlando, FL. The festival, hosted by the Arab American Community Center of Florida, will feature performances, vendors and food. Visit for information and tickets. The 12th Annual Lebanese Festival will be held May 22 in El Cajon, CA and will feature rides, food, entertainment and more. Visit for more information. Ali Deek and Joseph Attieh will perform at the Sheraton Premiere Hotel in Tysons Corner, VA on May 22. The event will also feature the Miss Lebanon Emigrant Pageant 2015. Visit for more information and tickets. From May 23-25 the annual ICNA-MAS Convention will be held at the Baltimore, MD Convention Center. The event will feature such speakers as Imam Siraj Wahhaj and Naeem Baig, as well as a youth conference, Qur’an competition and a bazaar. To register, visit . Team Palestine for PCRF will host Bike the Drive on May 24, a bicycle fund-raiser for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund along Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive. Visit for more information and to register. The Halal Food Festival of Toronto 2015 will be held May 30 and 31 at the International Centre in Toronto, Canada. The festival is the largest halal food show in North America. Visit for more information. The Indiana Center for Middle East Peace will host its Arab Festival on June 6 and 7 at Headwaters Park in Fort Wayne, IN. The festival will feature food, music and activities for all ages. Visit for information and tickets. Islamic Relief will host a Walk for Water on June 7 in Ridgefield Park, NJ. Proceeds will benefit IR USA’s water and sanitation 64 BulletinBoard programs around the world. Visit for registration information. The 13th Annual Arab-American & North African Cultural Street Festival will be held June 13 on Great Jones St. in Manhattan’s East Village. The festival will feature live music, food, cultural activities and vendors. Visit for more information. Announcements At a March 20 celebration, the Arab American National Museum (AANM) inaugurated a new 4,700 square foot expansion to the museum in Dearborn, Michigan. The expansion reflects the growing influence of the AANM and the importance of its mission. At the ceremony, AANM also announced that its “Little Syria” exhibit would be on display at Ellis Island. Visit for more information. Obituaries Dinkha IV, 79, the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, died March 26 in Rochester, MN of unknown causes. Born in Iraq, he quickly rose through the ranks of the Assyrian Church, serving in both Iran and Iraq early in his career. As Patriarch, he announced the end of a 500-year-old hereditary bloodline, opening the post of his successor to anyone qualified through experience. During the Iran-Iraq war, Dinkha relocated to Chicago and established headquarters there, only returning to Iraq in September 2006 for a brief visit. In successive wars, he became a spokesperson for the growing Assyrian diaspora, both in the U.S. and worldwide. Basil Soda, 47, a Lebanese fashion designer, died of cancer March 30 in Beirut. He became well-known in the capitals of world fashion for his own clothing lines from his East Beirut design house. Soda’s outfits have been worn by such celebrities as Paris Hilton and Katy Perry. Abdelhadi Tazi, 94, a Moroccan scholar and diplomat, died April 2 of unknown causes in Rabat. Born in Fez, Morocco, he studied at the University of Al Karaouine, THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS the Moroccan Institute for High Studies, the Mohammed V University, the Language Institute of Baghdad and the University of Alexandria. Known for his translation of numerous texts from English and French into Arabic, Tazi was also a well-known diplomat, serving as his country’s ambassador to Iraq, Libya, the United Arab Emirates and Iran. He was a founder of the Moroccan Diplomats Club and a member of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco. His publication on the works of Ibn Battuta was particularly celebrated among his peers. Sid Ali Kouiret, 82, an Algerian actor, died April 5 at his home in Algiers of complications from diabetes. Born in Algiers to a poor family, as a child he stabbed his alcoholic father, a taxi driver, and was forced to live on the street at an early age. In late adolescence, he began acting in amateur troupes. Within the next few years, his acting engagements would take him to Berlin, Paris and Bucharest. In 1955, during Algeria’s struggle for independence, he was forced to flee to Marseille, France, after harassment from the DST, the French intelligence in Algeria. There, he performed for a troupe affiliated with the FLN, Algeria’s anti-colonial guerrilla organization. Kouiret returned to Algeria following its independence in 1962, and his acting career began to take off. From 1963 until 2007, he was featured in numerous TV shows and films, including 1971’s “L’Opium et le Bâton,” directed by Ahmed Rachedi. Jehan Rajab, 81, a Kuwaiti author, died on April 5 in Jabriya, Kuwait of unknown causes. Born in 1934 in Brazil, she studied in both Gibraltar and Britain before settling down in Kuwait. She was famous for her book Invasion Kuwait: An English Woman’s Tale, about Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. She was married to Tareq Rajab, a prominent Kuwaiti artist, and founded the Tareq Rajab Museum as well as the New English School, both in Kuwait. ❑ JUNE/JULY 2015