Tishrin I 21, 6746 Volume II Issue 35 October 21, 1996
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A Weekly
Online Publication of the ZENDA Assyrian Newsagency
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T H I S W E E K I N Z E N D A
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-Section One-
The Lighthouse.............. How the
Middle East was Invented?
Good Morning Bet-Nahrain.... AUA's
Annual Report to AANF
Surfs Up.................... "There
were no reports of a gang fight."
Surfers Corner.............. AAA of
San Jose's $20,000 New Year's Raffle
News Digest................. New Assyrian
School in Detroit
"Chaldean" organized crime in Michigan
AANF donation to Assyrians in N. B-N & Georgia
Calendar of Events.......... Univeristy Seminars
through 1997
Entracte.................... Halloween
Party in San Jose
Intelligentsia.............. Assyrian
History/Language Classes in the U.S.
Assyrian Surfing Posts...... Assyrian
Kings List
Pump up the Volume.......... Tongue
and Lanuage
Back to the Future.......... Shalmenesar's
victory in Media ; the 1917 Motva
Literatus................... Damu realizes
he is dead
This Week in History........ Persian
Prince meets Assyrian Church officials
Bravo....................... Dr. Laurie
Pierce, UCS Professor
The Directory............... Directory
of ZENDA News Sources
Bshena...................... U. of
Michigan
Salute...................... Alice,
Arbil, Robert, and Felix
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THE L I G H
T H O U S E
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HOW THE MIDDLE EAST WAS INVENTED
Until this century, nobody talked about the Middle East
because
neither the term nor the states in the region existed.
Both were the
work of the victors in World War I - the true begetters
of the furies
that still rage...
The term "Middle East" was coined in 1901 by Adm. Alfred
Thayer Mahan,
the celebrated American advocate of naval power.
It was popularized
in speeches in 1916 by Sir Mark Sykes, a British member
of Parliament.
As a part-time diplomat he also negotiated the secret
Sykes-Picot
agreement, which defined spheres of influence in a soon-to-be-partitioned
Ottoman Empire.
The initial designer of the Middle East was Britain's
redoubtable War
Minister, Lord Kitchener, who proposed indirect colonial
hegemony,
replying on indigenous kings and emirs to carry out British
wishes.
This was the practice in Egypt, where Kitchener was serving
as British
Agent, "advising" a khedive. In Sykes's words,
"We deprecated the
Imperative, preferring the Subjunctive, even the wishful
Optative mood."
Protecting British India from Russian ambitions was Kitchener's
overriding concern, even though the Czar wa allied with
Britian in World
War I. Britian's nightmare was that Russia would
seize Constantinople
and turn the Islamic faithful against the British, especially
in India.
Birtian's counterstroke was to advance the claims of
its own Muslim
spiritual leader: Sharif Hussein, the Hashemite ruler
of Mecca,
great-grand-father of the present King of Jordan.
After Kitcheren died
on a torpedoed cruiser in 1916, his expansionist aims
were eagerly taken
by a new British Prime Minister, David Loyd George.
Liberating
oppressed peoples in the rotting Ottoman Empoire was
emotionally
appealing to the Welsh Liberal; so was the Zionist dream
of restoring
Jews to their ancient homeland.
The result was a British promise to establish a "national
home" for
Jews in Palestine, and the stapling together of virtual
protectorates
in Iraq, Transjordan, Kuwait, the small Persian Gulf
states, Syria and
Lebanon- the latter tow grudgingly yielded to French
control.
The new states, however, were less nations that swirling
eddies of
discontented peoples who generally despised their Western
overlords.
Lacking legitimacy, the new order was challenged by rebellions.
A
demobilized Britian retaliated with air power against
tribal armies.
By 1922, even as the empire reached its territorial pick,
enthusiasm
for Kipling-style imperialisms was waning and Lloyd George
was cast
from power. British rule in the Middle East became
a holding operation,
ending in piecemeal retreat.
The gloomy words of Col. Edward House, Woodrow Wilson's
confidant, were
prescient: "they are making a breeding place for future
war." Yet the
lines drawn in the sand then have this merit: They
are now in place.
Any radical changes would only sow fresh discord.
The task for today's
peacemakers is to secure mutual recognition for all existing
states -
to open rather than redraw hostile frontiers.
Karl. E. Meyer
Wall Street Journal
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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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SENATOR JOHN
NIMROD'S ANNUAL STATE OF THE AUA REPORT
10-12-96
The following is a report presented by Senator John Nimrod,
Secretary
General of the Assyrian Universal Alliance, to the delegates
of the
Assyrian American National Federation attending the
National Executive
Committee meeting in Turlock, California:
...We were very encouraged by the comments of several
of the delegates
voicing support for the AUA policy of telling the world
who we Assyrian
are, and what we want for our people (Nation).
We also appreciated
the remarks supporting our work with all the governments,
especially
those from the Middle East. The governments have
the power and ability
to help the Assyrian cause. Most of the results
as reported at the
meeting, have been very positive. I am sorry that
we were not given
time for a question session where we would have had the
opportunity to
satisfy all concerns of the delegates.
The Executive Committee for the Iran Branch has been selected
and should
be in operation shortly. With an executive board
member in Iran we are
now able to communicate and be of assistance to another
sector of our
Assyrian people.
In the past weeks I made a visit to Washington DC in connection
with a
planned visit to northern Iraq. We had made all
arrangements for the
trip prior to this visit but with the recent changes
in control of
northern Iraq we are communicating with governments,
the Kurds, and with
the Assyrian Democratic Movement and others of northern
Iraq. It was
stated that it was not wise to travel there at this time.
We will keep
president Lewie (Sargon Lewie of the AANF) informed and
involved at all
times. Our meetings in Washington were informative
and beneficial. We
were briefed on the Assyrian position of USA and the
status of the two
American meetings with the North. There is still
a crisis of serious
concern among the Kurds and there is every effort being
made to unify
the Kurdish and Assyrian members in their parliament
and resume control
and provide the needed services to the people of the
North which is
affecting our people. I have also reported this
situation to the UNPO
(Underrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization) office
for
consideration at our Steering Committee the end
of this month where I
will consult with the Kurds and Turkomans who are also
UNPO members.
We will continue the briefing meetings in each region
which will keep
the officers and members of the local organizations informed.
The
Regional Directors and the AUA Delegates of the AANF
will be asked to
set up these meetings. We have already asked for
a meeting in the midwest
which will be followed by meetings with the Eastern and
Western regions.
I made two visits to New York this last month. In
one case I visited
the United Nations representatives and a week later attended
a UNPO
Foundation meeting where I was re-elected as the president
of the US
Foundation.
In July of 1997 the UNPO General Assembly will be in Estonia.
I have
asked president Sargon Lewie to consider attending with
me.
We are making great progress in working with the Assyrian
Federations in
Europe, Asia and Australia. Shmouel Warda, our
AUA Secretary in Australia,
was elected the president of the Assyrian Australian
National Federation
this past week.
Your president and I have agreed to meet on a monthly
basis and keep
each other informed of our activities which will enable
us to better
serve you, your organizations and our people not only
in the USA but
throughout the world.
Senator John Nimrod
AUA, Secretary General
October 12, 1996
Turlock- California
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S U R F S
U P !
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"I hope you made a mistake in reporting the incident,
otherwise we
will have had two tragic deaths in Los Angeles.
There was an 11 year
old Assyrian boy named Paul that was killed by a bullet
from an unknown
person in North Hollywood, CA while sitting in a minivan
with his
family. There were no reports of a gang fight."
[In the last issue ZENDA reported the victim as an Assyrian
girl. We
stand corrected. ZENDA will investigate the
matter further and
bring you more accurate information in our next
issue.]
**********
"Akhoonie M'ykra Mr. Tower: I can understand your
devotion to
Christianity, but others have points of view that are
as valid as
yours. A great philosopher once said, "I don't
believe a word you
say, but I will defend with my life your right to say
it!". Please
forgive me if you think that I'm pontificating, but I
would like to
post this poem that should gewt you thinking about what
you have
written:
When the talk turns on religion, I have notions of my
own,
Have my version of the Bible and the things I think alone.
And I've found them satisfying, found them comforting
to me.
But I'll never lose my temper, if you chance to disagree;
For religion as I view it, is a pathway to the goal,
And is something to be settled between each person and
their soul.
Now I'm not a Roman Catholic, but I wouldn't go so far
As to fling away the friendship of the folks I know who
are.
I have lived and neighbored with them, come to love them
through and
through,
I've respect and admiration for the kindly things they
do.
And I've come to the conclusion, though bigots think
it odd;
That it makes no difference to me, how a good person
worships God.
I know Methodists and Baptists, Protestants, Lutherans,
Scientists
and Jews,
Whose friendship is a treasure which I wouldn't want
to lose.
And I honor and respect them, and I would't dare condemn,
The form of prayer and worship which is comforting to
them.
When bigots talk religion, I just settle back and see.....
The helpful friends and loyal, every church has given
me
Poem written by the late Dr.
Preston Bradley
Pastor, Peoples Church, Chicago
'Judge not, lest ye be judged' "
Paul Newey [GYQS35A@prodigy.com]
Age 82
Chicago
"To [a ZENDA reader], First, I think that your mind is
corrupt because
you DO NOT call a 3000 years old heritage empty pride
and It's shame
for you and your mistress [a ZENDA reader] for wasting
many long years
of your life worshipping your worthless God. The
way of this world is
the reality you are living in hell and haven and this
Earth is going to
be your eternity and your Christians way seeking kingdom
of God is vain.
Yes I'm living in a world of dreams about my mighty powerful
past and
yes I will hold tight on my 3000 years old heritage with
PRIDE. I even
disagree with Mr. Ashur Simon Malek, I think that Assyrians
should
identify themselves first Assyrian and second as Assyrian."
Sargon Kanja
[ZENDA's policy is to publish any email message received
in response to
a message, article, or news items printed in our
weekly newsletter.
In the future, ZENDA will no longer print any messages
which may
include personal attacks to other ZENDA readers.
The staff of
ZENDA apologizes to its readers whose names appear
or are alluded to
in the above message.]
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S U R F E R S
C O R N E R
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Dear ZENDA Reader:
The Assyrian American Association of San Jose, a non-profit
cultural
and educational organization, is conducting a fund raising
raffle.
The Association is planning to make some improvements
to its building,
land, and perform a feasibility study to build a banquet
hall for the
Assyrian community in the San Francisco Bay Area.
We are in need of
the support of our fellow Assyrians and other community
groups and
businesses. Presently, the Association does not have
sufficient
capital to perform these tasks. In order to achieve
our goals it
was deemed necessary to plan and start a fund raising
function. A
raffle has been scheduled to take place on December 31,
1996 at the
New Year's Eve banquet to be held at the Westin Hotel
in Santa Clara;
winner need not be present to win.
Twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) will be given to a
lucky winner.
What a way to start 1997 ! One thousand tickets
have been printed to
be sold at one hundred ($100) each. Only one thousand
tickets will be
sold through December 31, 1996. The odds of winning
this $20,000 cash
prize are much better than winning any local lottery.
Please accept this letter as an invitation to help us
raise this money
needed to achieve our goals. You may E-mail your
name, address, and
telephone number to ZENDA Market Place. You will
be contacted by an
Association representative for further detail.
Your cooperation and understanding is greatly appreciated.
Yours in Assyrianism,
Galina Philipovtich Vartan
Treasurer of the AAA San Jose
YOUR NAME:
ADDRESS:
TELEPHONE: (DAY & Evening):
BEST TIME TO CALL:
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N E W S
D I G E S T
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ASSYRIAN SCHOOL TO OPEN IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN
(ZNDA: Chicago) An Assyrian school is soon to begin
its first
academic year in Detroit, Michigan. Under the auspices
of the
Assyrian-Chaldean Catholic Church in the U.S. the school
will provide
a complete elementary education as approved by the State
of Michigan's
Board of Education. The school will be administered
by the Chaldean
Order of Sisters and directed by Rev. Sarhad Jammo.
The construction
of this unique center of learning has so far exceeded
5 million
dollars. Among the many subjects taught at this
school will be a
"standardized" form of the Assyrian language.
AANF DONATES
THOUSANDS TO THE NEEDS ASSYRIANS ABROAD
(ZNDA: Turlock) As announced in the October 12 quarterly
meeting of
the National Executive Committee, the Assyrian American
National
Federation will donate a total amount $10,000 to the
Assyrian Relief
Fund of Georgia (Gorgistan) and $20,000 to the Assyrian
Aid Society
in northern Bet-Nahrain. It was also emphasized that
the fund
allocated for the Assyrian projects in northern Bet-Nahrain
will be
directly sent to the Assyrian authorities in northern
Iraq, bypassing
the intervention of the local Assyrian aid organizations
in the
United States.
ASSYRIAN CHALDEANS & THE ORGANIZED CRIME, WARNS A
US WEEKLY MAGAZINE
(ZNDA: Detroit) The following is an excerpt from an article
which
appeared in the U.S. News & World Report's September
30 issue:
"There is an Arab mob, which is particularly strong in
Detroit,
where there's a large population of Christian Iraqis
known as
Chaldeans. Their biggest racket is grocery coupon
fraud. They
own lots of little convenience stores and cut grocery
coupons out
of newspapers, make them look like they have been used
by customers
by crinkling them up and then send large amounts of them
to food
manufacturers to redeem them. It sounds like small
potatoes, but it
amounts to millions of dollars a year." Such reports
of criminal
activities are chronicled in a new book entitled New
Ethnic Mobs
(Free Press) by crime reporter William Kleinknecht.
[Last week ZENDA submitted a letter demanding an explanation
for
the improper use of the Assyrian-Chaldean name
in association
with criminal activities in the city of Detroit.
ZENDA also
encourages its readers to follow up and access
the Editorial page at:
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/letters.htm]
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C A L E
N D A R OF
E V E N T S
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Thru April 6 The Ain Ghazal Exhibit
Smithsonian Institute
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Washington D.C.
Nov 13
Babylon & Syria in the time of XENOPHON
Lecturer: M. Stolper
Oriental Institute
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Jan 15
Ashur & Marduk: The State Gods of Assyria & Babylonia
Lecturer: G. Frame
Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations
University of Toronto
St. George campus
Toronto, Canada
8:00 p.m
Mar 12
Guardians of the Gate: The Assyrian Winged Colossi
Lecturer: A. Harrak
Near and Middle Eastern Civilization
University of Toronto
St. George campus
Toronto, Canada
8:00 p.m
April 9
Recent Excavations at Gordion, Turkey:
An Achaemenid Persian Imperial Town in Central
Anatolia
Lecturer: T.C. Young, Jr.
Royal Ontario Museum
Toronto, Canada
8:00 p.m
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E N T R A C T E
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Oct 25
Halloween Party
Presented by Nights of Babylon Production
9:00 pm
Jora's Restaurant
San Jose Jet Center
1250 Aviation Ave. Ste. 235
408-995-5672
$8 cover
21 and over only
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I N T E L L I G E N T S I A
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Mondays
Assyrian History Class
Fall 1996 Session
"Assyrian Biographies"
Instructor: Wilfred Alkhas
BETA: Assyrian American Association of San Jose
20000 Almaden Road
San Jose, California
7:30-9:00 pm
Info: Wilfred_Alkhas@3mail.3com.com
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
10:00-12:00 pm
BETA: Assyrian American Association of San Jose
San Jose, California
SUNDAYS
Assyrian Boy Scouts
Assyrian American Association of Southern California
Assyrian Club
5901 Cahuenga Blvd
North Hollywood, California
9:30am to 12:30pm
Contact Sargon Gewargis @ fishtale@juno.com
(818) 891-3705 after 7:30 pm
Assyrian Student Union
California State University, Northridge
Assyrian American Association of Southern California
Assyrian Club
5901 Cahuenga Blvd
North Hollywood, California
6:00pm
Contact Sargon Gewargis @ fishtale@juno.com
(818) 891-3705 after 7:30 pm
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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 Kings List
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~jatou/kinglist
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P U M P UP THE V O L U
M E
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ENGLISH
ASSYRIAN
Language
lee/sha/na [M]
Tongue
lee/sha/na [M]
Assyrian Language lee/sha/na atoo/raa/ya
[M]
_____________________________________________________________________
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. (858-824) Shalmaneser III encounters the Medes during
his 24th
campaign and returns triumphant to his Assyrian
capital. A little over two centuries later his
beloved empire falls into the hands of Medians, never
to regain its glorious past.
<< Journal of the Assyrian Academic Society, Vol
VII,#1, Lucrece Dematran >>
A.D. (1917) The Russians withdraw form the war in Azerbaijan
and the
government of the city of Urmie passes into the hands
of the Assyrian
council, or the Mutva. Military control is exercised
by a joint
Assyrian-Armenian force.
<< A Brief Survey of the Assyrians in the History
of Persia..., Ishaya>>
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L I T E
R A T U
S
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DAMU REALIZES HE IS DEAD
-Old Babylonian Poetry-
"Woe! I am become a ghost!
Woe, I am become a ghost,
I am not one who can answer
my mother listening
in Guedinna,
my mother, who is calling to me
in the desert,
who is letting the call for me
resound in the desert.
She will not be answered
I am not the grass,
will not grow up for ther again,
I am not the waters,
will not rise fo her again,
I am not the grass
sprouting in the desert,
I am not the new grass
growing up in the desert!
<<The Harps That Once..., Jacobsen>>
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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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October 26, 1901: Crown Prince of Persia visits
Urmie and meets with
the officials of the Assyrian Church of the East
to discuss the prevention of further expansion of the
Russian Christian missionary work in Iran.
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B R A
V O
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Visiting Lecturer Laurie Pierce, a San Francisco-based
Assyriologist
who completed her Ph.D. at Yale Univesity, is offering
"Ancient
Babylonian Myths and Legends" at the University of California,
Berkeley during the current semester.
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the D I R E C T O R
Y
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ZNAD (Assyrian Democratic Organization)
ZNBN (Bet-Nahrian Inc/ KBSV-TV "AssyriaVision")
ZNDA (Zenda: zenda@ix.netcom.com)
ZNNV (Nineveh Magazine)
ZNRU (Reuters)
ZNSJ (San Jose Mercury News)
ZNTM (Time Magazine)
ZNUP (United Press International)
ZNUS (US News & World Report)
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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:
UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS
University of Michigan
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
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S A L U T E
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Zenda wishes to thank the following individuals &
organizations
whose contributions appear in this issue:
Robert Dekelaita Chicago, Illinois
Arbel Soleymani San Jose, California
Alice Shamoon
Santa Clara, California
Felix Vartanian San Jose, California
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Our Next Issue will appear on Monday, October 28, 1996.
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