Khziraan 17, 6746 Volume II Issue 19 June 17, 1996
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A Weekly
Online Publication of the ZENDA Assyrian Newsagency
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THE L I G H
T H O U S E
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A REPEATED EXHORTATION
A very important, useful, and impending warning to all
globally
scattered Assyrian Political Parties, Social Associations,
Sacerdotal
Circles and despondent masses whose whims are still strained
to how to
resuscitate the vanishing splendor of their forefathers,
to realize that in
the Middle East in general and in Iraq in particular
great changes,
geographically, racially, and mentally are likely to
take place, owing to
hideous instability in that ill governed country.
Now is the opportune time for the Assyrians
to arise as a whole, to know
how to vindicate their national prerogatives in the frame
work of a
democratized sovereignty that arbitrarily has to be instituted
in that
subverted country. Though the Assyrians by inhuman
persecutions as recorded
are reduced to a minority their eligibility for having
ethnic rights in the
country of their ancestral heredity is strongly warranted
by the unearthed
sculptural culture admirably vouched by world wide nations.
Let me admonish every Assyrian that
the most important effort, which is
the only means to enable the scattered Assyrians' success
in retrieving
their national rights so far occulted by the self-seeking
power, would be to
realize how to regroup into a formidable unification
which is the basic
means thereby to signalize or to advert the attention
of the arbitrary
powers to a so far disregarded cause.
In order to attain that expedient unity
it behooves that every
Assyrian, irrespective of clan, category of religious
sect, be a disciple of
his own in sacrificing whatsoever he/she can so as to
carve that unity out
of a broken edifice, or in other words, to desist from
following
self-designed schemes, or adhering to persuasive eloquence
of those whose
sole whims are strained for carnal lust, or flagrant
arrogance, the two most
precarious ills that destroy a people or any well defined
organization. Be
it known to every Assyrian that without power all the
boisterous clamors or
ostentatious displays shall evaporate into vanity. Power
is never a
self-created object but it is made by a united group
of intelligent people
whose sole inclination is inherently coordinated to achieve
a specific
ambition. Have you dear Assyrian that power?
Or are you ever trying to
reproduce that unique object?
The present status quo of the Assyrians
is very weak to fight all the
odds adverse to their cause because the sheer inconsistencies
that prevail
between the self-styled political parties, and the schism
of faith that has
so crucially fragmented this people into ineffective
sections render them of
no weight in the arena of political vacillations.
Let the Assyrians be aware that in
no way could they be united so far as
they are still clinging to old fossilized procedural
worship and factional
tribalism. These obsolete doctrines should be superseded
by modernized
methods of life. Jesus Christ spared nothing in
revolutionizing the old
usages of life so strictly exercised by the patronizing
Pharisees, and
seconded by a spirited Martin Luther whose campaign unmasked
the so far
obscured European Nations to emblazon with the present
technological phenomena.
Arise dear Assyrian and open your eyes
so you can see how to salvage the
wreckage of your disorderly disrupted nation and let
the slogan of your
ambitious exertion be mostly directed at reaching a comprehensive
unity,
rather than to intensify the ties of disunification so
openly preached by
people mongers.
Shamasha Yosip Zaya
November 1994
[Shamasha Yosip Zaya, 90, was born in Matta d'Nara, Jelu,
in the Hakkary
Region (northern Bet-Nahrain) and studied at Qashisha
Yousip d'Bet-Kelaita's
School.]
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G O O D M O R N
I N G B E T - N A
H R A I N
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CROSS BORDER OPERATIONS IN NORTHERN IRAQ
(ZNRU: Iraq) On June 14, Turkish troops crossed
the border into northern
Iraq in two days of fighting with Kurdish rebels in which
51 guerrillas have
been killed, Turkish security officials said on Friday.
A high-ranking
security official told Reuters that troops
had pushed a few kilometres into Iraq in the hunt for
Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) rebels but later withdrew. Planes
from an air bases in
the city of Diyarbakir pounded PKK positions before mountain
commandos moved
against the rebels, he said. The Second Chief of the
Turkish General Staff,
General Cevik Bir, recently inspected the Turkish security
forces deployed
in northern Bet-Nahrain and was given briefings on the
recent developments
in the region. According to the Hurriyet News this briefing
included
information on the whereabouts of the PKK camps near
the Turkish border.
Upon the receipt of such information the Turkish jet
fighters bombed and
destroyed the targeted PKK camps, reports Hurriyet, in
the mountain regions
10 km inside the Iraqi border with Turkey.
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S U R F S
U P !
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"I WANTED TO REPLY TO AN E-MAIL, WHICH CRITICIZED YOU
ON SPEAKING ENGLISH AT ONE OF THE SEMINARS AT THE CONVENTION. REGARDLESS
OF WHAT LANGUAGE WE ARE SPEAKING, ENGLISH OR ASSYRIAN, JUST THE MERE FACT
THAT WE WERE ALL THERE SHOULD BE SATISFYING TO ANYBODY. THE FACT THAT YOUNG
GENERATION ARE TAKING THE INTEREST TO BE INVOLVED SHOULD BE REWARDED NOT
CRITICIZED. THERE IS A LOT OF ASSYRIANS THAT DON'T SPEAK THE LANGUAGE,
BUT THEY TAKE A GREAT PRIDE IN BEING ASSYRIAN. ASSYRIAN PRIDE COMES FROM
THE BLOOD THAT RUNS THRU OUR VEINS AND DOMINATES OUR ACTIONS NOT FROM THE
LANGUAGE THAT IS SPOKEN AT THE TIME. THEREFORE LETS NOT PUT ANY MORE BARRIERS
THAN WHAT WE HAVE TO SEPARATE OUR UNITY."
Bella Daniel
Turlock, California
"My name is Eshoo Zarip Tower. I left Iraq 30 years ago.
I have never
written anything towards the Assyrianism before. I feel
now may be I
should get involved and try to help in my own humble
ways. We have been
taught to the point of being brain washed to live in
past and be proud of
our 3000 years old mighty great heritage. It's time now,
I believe, to wake
up to the reality and bump off this thick accumulated
dust of illusion and
empty pride.
While it is absolutely true and flattering to remember
that our ancestors
reached the peak of power and intelligence almost 3000
years ago, we should
also remember not to ignore the cause of their demise.
While past
achievements give us courage and incitement to proceed
further, we learn
more from our failures. We learn more by recognizing
the facts of life
surrounding us today and not yesterday. It seems to me,
our so called
leaders are doing their best to keep us thinking that
we are still as mighty
as we were once...and for what reasons and purposes?
So we were great and famous 3000 years ago. Are we great
and famous
today? Have we learned anything from living in the past?
Where is this empty
pride leading us to? The pride that we have, let me tell
you, is empty and
vain. Pride does not put food on the table, educate our
children, develop
our nation to live healthy and prosperous, set new goals
and achieve them,
understand the Word of The Almighty God and abide by
it. Pride is the
greatest enemy our nation is facing these days. Pride
has blinded our
nation. If we ignore the bad and shameful side of our
nation that led to our
demise how can we solve the problems facing our nation
toady? We are drunk
with empty pride living high on the mighty heritage our
nation has had some
3000 years ago.
Lets sober up. Let's stop living in past. We have today
to live and
prepare for a better future.
I was reading Ninevah paper. I came across the article
"Assyria the
forgotten nation in prophecy." This article is written
by Reverend
John Booko. WE must be very careful how we approach and
understand
the words mentioned in the book of Isaiah. The book of
Isaiah prophecies
refer to past and future events. To be able to understand
these prophecies
accurately, one has to have loyalty and faith in The
Almighty God and His entire Word as written in both old
and new
testament in it's entirety without any preferences. Every
Word in the
Bible is inspired by God, therefore we should not just
choose and
select what seems to conglomerate our nation.
The important thing here to understand is that the Bible
is talking
about the Kingdom to come under Jesus Christ reign. This
is the happy
news Jesus came to give us when He was on earth. His
Kingdom to come
will abolish the entire present corrupt system. People
of all nations
will come together under one Government and one Kingdom.
This Kingdom
will treat all nations of earth alike. There will be
no discrimination
between nation and nation..no wars..no sickness..no hunger..no
racial
problems. This earth will be cleaned of all the present
corruption and
turned into paradise for us to live healthy, happy and
prosperous ever
after. To be part of this kingdom, we must change our
direction of thinking
and adhere to the Word of God and apply it's principles
to our lives.
I would like to get in touch with John Booko if only I
know his e-mail.
Would you be kind to find it for me?"
Eshoo Zarip Tower
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S U R F E R S
C O R N E R
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A Reader asks: "Who should I contact in order to
have a username to
be posted on the Assyrian Global WhitePages Directory?"
To Our Readers: Please respond before the publication
of our next
issue (6/24/96).
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N E W S
D I G E S T
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A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE
ASSYRIAN AID SOCIETY OF AMERICA
JUNE 14, 1996
(ZNDA: San Jose) This is to inform the Assyrian public
that there is no
truth to the following news being talked about in the
Assyrian Communities
throughout the U.S.
It has been reported in local Assyrian media sources and
has been talked
about in the Assyrian communities that the Budweiser
Company has pledged to
donate a percentage of the proceeds from their beer sales
in the United
States to help needy Assyrians and that these funds
will be donated to the
Assyrian Aid Society of America.
This Press Release is to inform you that the above statement
is not a true
statement. Budweiser company nor any of their
associates, including Mr.
Eddie Rayis who is an employee of Budweiser has
not communicated any such a
pledge to The Assyrian Aid Society of America.
BET-NAHRAIN'S NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTED
(ZNDA: Modesto) Bet-Nahrain Inc. of Ceres, California
has a new board of
directors elected last month and installed last week
during an official
ceremony. The new members are as follow:
President
Joseph Lellhame
Vice President
Yonan Markus
Treasurer
Janet Shummon
Financial Secretary
Mary Odisho
Assyrian Cultural Center
Jerar Joseph
Special Affairs
Emanuel Warda
Mass Media
Sargon Dadesho
Education (also KBSV-TV)
Ninous Bebla
Membership
Robert Shummon
Ladies Auxiliary
Margaret Markus
ASSYRIAN STATE CONVENTION OF CALIFORNIA PROFITS UP FROM
LAST 3 YEARS
(ZNDA: San Jose) According to the official income
statement for the
Assyrian State Convention of California, sponsored by
the Assyrian community
of San Jose, California, the net profit generated from
the 4-day-gathering
exceeded the expectations of the convention officers:
Total Sales:
$81,945.00
Total Expenses:
$55,932.33
Net Income:
$26,012.67
Of the total net income 46% will be handed to the hosting
association, the
Assyrian American Association of San Jose, and the remaining
balance will be
distributed among the other affiliates of the Assyrian
United Organizations
of California, Assyrian charity organizations, and the
treasury of the AUOC.
The report concluded that nearly 3000 Assyrians attended
the convention held
at the Fairmont Hotel and the Blackberry Farm in Santa
Clara County.
WINEMAKING IN THE ANCIENT ASSYRIAN CITY OF URMIE
(CITY BY THE WATER)
A June 6 article in the British science magazine, Nature,
reports on the
recent findings on the ancient art of winemaking in northwestern
Iran from
5000-5400 BC (see also John Noble Wilford's article in
The New York Times
(6/6, p. A13). The pottery discovered in a recent
archeological finding
indicates the presence of calcium salts of tartaric acid
found in grapes and
the resins used to preserve wine. The ceramic jar
was excavated at Haji
Firuz Tepe at the southwest corner of Lake Urmie
by Dr. Mary M Voigt, an
anthropologist at College of William and Mary in Williamsburg,
Virginia.
The chemical tests were conducted by Dr. Patrick E McGovern,
an
archaeological chemist at the University of Penna Museum.
NISIBIN SCHOLARSHIP FUND OF THE AAA OF SAN JOSE
(ZNDA: San Jose) The "Nisibin Scholarship Fund" is a financial
aid program
designed to promote academic excellence and nurture national
awareness among
the Assyrian college and university students who reside
in the Santa Clara
Valley, California. It aims to support our youth
in their scholastic
endeavors and encourage them to be proud and productive
Assyrians.
Eligibility:
. Applicant must be Assyrian i.e. have at least
one Assyrian parent.
. Applicant must reside in the Santa Clara County,
California.
. Applicant must be enrolled in an accredited two
year college or
four year university in the United States.
. Applicant must be proficient in the vernacular
Assyrian, and be
able to articulate in Assyrian. Writing skills
are a big plus.
Application Criteria
. Applicants must submit an application, official
transcripts, and
an essay of no more than 500 words in Assyrian describing
their
interests, background, accomplishments, and goals
in the future.
Applicants need not write the essay themselves, but
will need to
convey their own ideas.
. Applicants must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
The scholarship applications will be available at the
Assyrian American
Association of San Jose by June 20th. The deadline to
submit an application
is August 31st and the scholarships will be awarded no
later than September
30th. For more information please call the Association
at (408) 927-8100 or
write to:
AAA of San Jose
Nisibin Scholarship Fund
P.O. Box 41311
San Jose, CA 95160
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D I R E C T O R Y OF THE
N E W S S O U R C
E S
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ZNNQ (Nabu Quarterly)
ZNRU (Reuters): ClariNet Communications Corp.
ZNSC (soc.culture.assyrian) newsgroup
ZNTN (Turkish News Agency)
ZNUP (United Press International)
ZNDA (Zenda: zenda@ix.netcom.com)
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C A L E
N D A R OF
E V E N T S
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June 30
CAN-AM Soccer Tournament: London, Ontario-Canada
Game 1 : London vs. Toronto
Game 2 : Detroit vs. Windsor
Game 3 : London vs. Windsor
Game 4 : Detroit vs. Toronto
Game 5 : Toronto vs. Windsor
Game 6 : Detroit vs. London
The Final : 1st team vs. 2nd Team
Followed by a Dance Party and the Canada Day Picnic on July 1
July 1-5 RENCONTRE
ASSYRIOLOGIQUE INTERNATIONALE
Praque, Czech Republic
July 2-7 10th
Annual Assyrian Youth Convention
of the Assyrian Church of the East
Chicago, Illinois
July 4-7 Assyrian
Olympics of California
San Diego, California
Thru Aug 15 "Beirut: Uncovering
the Past"
Profiles recent UNESCO archeology efforts
The British Museum
London, England
August 12-14 SyrCOM-96: Second International
Forum
on Syrian Computing
Symposium Syriacum
Uppsala University
Dept of Asian and African Studies
Box 513
S-751 20 Uppsala
Sweden
Fax: +46 18 181094
Witold.Witakowski@afro.uu.se
Aug 29-Sept 2 AANF National Convention
Red Lion Inn Hotel
Modesto, U.S.A.
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R E G U L A R C L A S S E S & M E E T I N G S
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Mondays
Assyrian History Class
"Assyrian History: 19th Century thru Present "
Instructor: Wilfred Alkhas
BETA on 20000 Almaden Rd, San Jose, Calif
Class begins on June 3
Fridays
Assyrian Educational & Cultural Club at
Modesto Junior College
1:00 pm
Founders Hall 108
Modesto, U.S.A.
Saturdays Nisibis
School
10:30-1:30
The Church of the East
Toronto, Canada
Nisibin School
Ages 4 thru 14
Assyrian Language, History, & Arts
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
BETA on 20000 Almaden Rd, San Joe, Calif
Classes begin on June 15
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A S S Y R I A N
S U R F I N G
P O S T S
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Assyrian Internet Shopping (Vov Alep)
http://www.vov-alep.com
English Translation of Yacoub Bar Malik Ismael's "Assyrians
& the Two World
Wars" -translated by Raman Michael
http://www.cs.toronto.edu:80/~jatou/fromRaman
Virtual Assyrian Gallery of the Museum of the Oriental
Institute at the
University of Chicago: Chuck Jones at cejo@midway.uchicago.edu
http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/QTVR96/QTVR96.html
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P U M P UP THE V O L U
M E
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ENGLISH
ASSYRIAN
Pressure
zroovya [M]
To Apply Pressure
zraa-va
Blood Pressure
zroovyaad demma
Atmospheric Pressure zaa-ro-voot aa-aar
_____________________________________________________________________
F = Feminine M = Masculine
P = Plural
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B A C K TO THE
F U T U R E
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B.C. (652) The war between Ashurbanipal and his
brother, the regent of
Babylon, begins. The wars with Elam, Arabs, and
the quieting of the
rebellions in the Trans-Jordan region left the Assyrian
armies exhausted and
ill-equipped. A few decades later Nineveh is defeated
in the hands of the
Medes and the Chaldeans.
<<Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times, Redford
>>
A.D. (July 1979) Friends of David Perley at Harvard University
establish the
David B. Perley Memorial Fund. The monies from
this Fund is used to
subsidize the publication of scholarly books or monographs
in the English
language about the Assyrians since the seventeenth century.
<< The Assyrian Star, August 1979 >>
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L I T E
R A T U
S
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AN ANCIENT FOOD RECIPE
From the Yale Culinary Tablets
ca. 3000 B.C.
...Split the pigeon in two. Other meat is also used.
Prepare water; add
fat, some ground salt, bread crumbs and ?, onion, samidu,
leek, and garlic,
having already soaked these "herbs" in milk...
<<Textes Cullinaires Mesopotamiens, Bottero>>
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T H I S
W E E K I N
H I S T O R Y
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June 18, 1938: Yousef Malik published the first
issue of the Assyrian
political journal, Athra in Beirut, Lebanon. Yousef
was later forced to
leave Lebanon.
June 22, 1977: The Assyrian Youth Cultural Society
of Tehran, Iran, under
the direction of Homer Ashurian published the Assyrian
magazine, Shveela.
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B R A
V O
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On May 28, a day after the conclusion of the Assyrian
State Convention of
California in San Jose, Ms. Jacklin Bajan, the chairwoman
of the Convention
Committee received the following letter from the Fairmont
Hotel where the
conventioneers had occupied hundreds of guest, banquet,
and meeting rooms:
We made it! I just wanted to drop you a note to
thank you for planning the
Assyrian American Convention at the Fairmont. From
our accounts, it looks
like you had a pretty good turnout. From my interaction
with the guests,
they seemed like a fun crowd - hopefully their enthusiasm
made your job
easier in the end. [We] had so much fun, we've
decided to give up our day
jobs, and play "door monitor" more often - we met some
great people, and saw
the latest in prom fashion!...I look forward to keeping
in touch with you!
Warm regards,
Kathryn D. Rambo
Sales Manager
Congratulations to the 1996 State Convention Committee
of the AAA of San
Jose and the Assyrian conventioneers for making this
year's convention an
unforgettable event:
Assyrian Women's
Conference
Assyrian Community
Networking Conference
Combined Prayer
Service of all Assyrian Churches in San Jose
Former Senator
John Nimrod's Presentation
Assyrian Aid
Society Report by Narsi David
An exhibition
of Fred Farhad's sculptures
AUOC Elections
"Federation's"
behind-the-scene campaigning
...and
The "cool,
crowded, and quiet" Memorial Day Picnic
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W E
L C O M E
T O Z E N D
A
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Zenda welcomes our new on-line subscribers from:
CORPORATE ACCOUNTS
3DO Corp
UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS
None
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
San Jose, California
Canada?
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A C K N O W
L E D G E M
E N T S
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Zenda wishes to thank the following individuals &
organizations
whose contributions appear in this issue:
Chris Aktas
Sunnyvale, California
Firas Jatou
Chicago, Illinois
Esha Tamraz
Sunnyvale, California
Maryam Pirayou
San Jose, California
Assyrian Aid
Society of America
Layth F. Jato
Canada
_____________________________________________________________________
ZENDA prints your comments and suggestions free
of editing, as they
appear in our mailbox. All letters will be printed
in our SURFS UP!
section unless directed otherwise.
We urge you to submit the activities of your local and
national
Assyrian communities, personal accomplishments, and meeting/school
events to ZENDA no later than Sunday, 12:00 PM, Pacific
Standard Time.
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IN OUR NEXT ISSUE: Assyrian
Olympics of California
AUOC Elections
1996 Assyrian National Convention's Schedule of Events
Our Next Issue will appear on Monday, June 24, 1996.
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