Z E N D A  M A G A Z I N E
[renamed Zinda Magazine in 1999]

Aadaar 24, 6746                   Volume III                       Issue 6            March 24, 1997

                     zzzzzzzz    zzzzzzzz    zz      z     zzzzzzzzz             z
                               z      z               z z     z     z             z           z z
                             z        z               z  z    z     z              z         z   z
                           z          zzzzzzz     z   z   z     z              z      zzzzzzz
                         z            z               z    z  z     z              z     z          z
                       z              z               z     z z     z            z      z            z
                     zzzzzzzz   zzzzzzzz     z      zz     zzzzzzz        z               z

       A Weekly Online Publication of the ZENDA Assyrian Newsagency

===========================================================================
                      T H I S   W E E K   I N   Z E N D A
===========================================================================
The Lighthouse...................... A Call For Action
Good Morning Bet-Nahrain............ Assyrian Mayor/Erbil Survives Attack
Surfs Up............................ "Where is your compassion...?"
Surfers Corner...................... Preserving Our Heritage and History
News Digest......................... Ashur Shamoun of Canada in the ICU
Ziggurat............................ A Walk Through Pergamon Museum
Calendar of Events..................
Entracte............................ Kha b'Neesan in Australia & Germany
Intelligentsia...................... Classes and Seminars
Assyrian Surfing Posts.............. Assyro-Babylonian Mythology
Pump up the Volume.................. Wise and Knowledgeable
Back to the Future.................. Campaign against Tyre
                        King Abgar's Reign in Urhai
Literatus........................... From the Story of Anzu
This Week in History................ Yousif Malik
Bravo............................... ZENDA in 20 Countries
The Directory....................... News Sources
Bshena.............................. Bulgaria, Canada, Kent Law, & UCLA
Salute.............................. Adrin, Ashur, Lena, Shamiran,Sharokin & Zaineb

                                   :)

===========================================================================
                  THE   L   I   G   H   T   H   O   U   S   E
===========================================================================

                             A CALL FOR ACTION

I am an Assyrian who is not formally involved in any official position with any Assyrian organization but is very concerned about our national affairs, in particular the plight of our people in our homeland.  The recent developments in the Liberated Bet-Nahrain (North Iraq) and recent efforts here in the U.S. to undermine the independent, nationalistic movement of our people in the Homeland has prompted me to write this "Call for Action" to Zenda.    I very strongly believe that those Assyrians who have assumed critical positions in our organizations should be scrutinized and held accountable by us - the Assyrian people.  This call is specifically directed towards Dr. Lincoln Malik who has been and is the head of ZOWAA, the Assyrian Democratic Movement in this country.

To clarify my points let me step back a few years to the end of the Gulf War and the arrival in the United States of Mr. Yaqoub Yosep, a member of ZOWAA Central Committee in Bet-Nahrain.  He visited our Assyrian communities to inform us of the recent important developments in our homeland.   Mr. Yosep’s charisma and intellect, and his uplifting news that ZOWAA had rallied our brothers and sisters to rise and demand our national, political and human rights in Bet-Nahrain electrified us and marked a turning point in relations between the Assyrians in the United States and our brothers and sisters in our homeland.

I dare say that the Assyrian world has not seen a political figure of such high caliber since General Agha Petros.  Mr. Yosep's visit sparked the establishment of the Assyrian Aid Society and prompted a large number of capable Assyrians, who had kept to themselves due to their disillusionment with Assyrian organizations in this country, to flock to ZOWAA and swell its ranks.

Five years have come and gone since then, during which time two other ZOWAA delegations have visited our communities.  One would have expected ZOWAA leadership in this country to have built upon the tremendous outpouring of support of the Assyrian communities to develop a solid political and economic infrastructure for a focused, aggressive ZOWAA. But alas, this is not the case.  ZOWAA in the U.S. lacks the resources for effective action, and is currently very silent with no planned activities.  ZOWAA in this country has no clear sense of direction and still lacks effective channels of communication to keep us informed of the plight of the Assyrians in Bet-Nahrain.  Many good and capable Assyrians who joined ZOWAA have left disillusioned with ZOWAA’s direction in this country.  A good example is the very first branch of ZOWAA in San Jose.  This branch, in its first year of operation, was able to raise our national awareness and rally the Assyrians in San Jose to ship half a million dollars worth of medical supplies to our people in Bet-Nahrain.

In short, ZOWAA in America operates in an ineffective, reactive fashion. This was evidenced recently by its failure to rally the Assyrians in the U.S. to send a strong message of condemnation regarding the Iraqi Army’s destruction of ZOWAA offices, Mr. Yosep's house, and the Assyrian TV and radio stations in Irbil and to demand a stop to the killings of our people in Bet-Nahrain, which still goes on with impunity.  We have yet to see the perpetrators of these crimes to be brought to justice.  ZOWAA here has also kept quiet on the recent activities that have sought to undermine our national movement in our homeland.

I demand a "Call to Action" because this is no time for excuses.  ZOWAA represents one of the few remaining hopes of the Assyrian nation to preserve what little is left of our homeland.  We cannot afford a weak ZOWAA in this country!  We need a ZOWAA here that attracts the best and the brightest of our nation to its circles of leadership and can do for our people here what ZOWAA in our homeland has been able to accomplish.  We need a ZOWAA, “a School of Nationalism” in this country that trains Assyrian politicians of today and inspires Assyrian politicians of tomorrow.  We need an aggressive ZOWAA that taps into the enormous talents, potentials and economic resources of our nation in this country to be at the forefront of the fight for our rights and the betterment of our nation both here and in our homeland.  And finally, we need a ZOWAA in America that sends a strong and clear message to the world and especially to our neighbors in Bet-Nahrain that we Assyrians in the United States will not tolerate abuses and mistreatments of our people. Enough is enough; we will not allow our people to be intimidated and forced out of our homeland.
 
I have known Dr. Lincoln Malik for a number of years.  He is a highly educated man and a career politician.  But the crucial position of representing our national movement from our homeland in the United States in not to be taken for granted.  Dr. Malik has failed to stir our passions in support of our people in Bet-Nahrain, and to do what is necessary to support ZOWAA’s national movement in our homeland.  It is time for Dr. Malik to pass the torch.  I urge all concerned Assyrians to join me in calling on ZOWAA to appoint a new figure to replace Dr. Malik, a person that can draw on the resources of our nation to develop ZOWAA into a strong, effective, and proactive organization in the United States.

It is time that we Assyrians demand accountability from people who have assumed positions of importance and impact our national affairs.  I invite all Assyrians to use Zenda as a “Forum for Accountability” and actively scrutinize the performance of such people.  We have to let our voices be heard, loud and clear!  Unless we Assyrians take an active role in our own affairs, we have only ourselves to blame for the pitiful state of our nation at the close of the Twentieth Century.

Ramin Daniels
San Jose, California
 

===========================================================================
     G  O  O  D    M  O  R  N  I  N  G    B  E  T - N  A  H  R  A  I  N
===========================================================================

            GOVERNOR OF ARBIL SURVIVES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

A Press Release of the Assyrian International News Agency

(ZNIA: Chicago) The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has announced that at 8:10 a.m. on February 23, 1997, Mr. Francis Harriri survived an assassination attempt. Mr. Francis Harriri is an Assyrian from northern Iraq and is the governor of the province of Arbil. The attack reportedly took place during Mr. Harriri's trip to the provincial headquarters in Arbil.  Although Mr. Harriri survived the attack, two of his bodyguards as well as five civilian bystanders were reportedly wounded. According to the
KDP, their initial investigation points to involvement by the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Specifically, the KDP has accused Mr. Kosrat
Rasool, allegedly a PUK political officer, of masterminding the attack.
The KDP has further suggested that the motivation behind Mr. Rasool's
assassination attempt may have been the intentional disruption of the
recent Ankara conference and ongoing peace negotiations in northern Iraq
between the two warring Kurdish groups.

In their February, 1995 report on human rights abuses in northern Iraq
since 1991, Amnesty International (AI) has listed at least sixteen
victims of political assassination in northern Iraq. One of the victims
was Mr. Francis Yusuf Shabo. According to AI, Mr. Shabo was "born in
Mangesh (Duhok Province), married with four children. An Assyrian
Christian of the Chaldean sect, he was an active member of the Assyrian
Democratic Movement. He became a member of the parliament after the May 1992 elections and was a member of the National Assembly's Economic
Committee. He was also responsible for dealing with complaints submitted
by Assyrian Christians regarding disputed villages in Bahdinan from
which they had been forcibly evicted by the Iraqi Government and
subsequently resettled by the Kurds. "[Mr. Shabo] was shot dead by armed assailants on 31 May 1993 as he approached his home in Dohuk. No suspects were subsequently apprehended."

Another victim mentioned by AI was "Lazar Mikho Hanna (known as Abu
Nasir), a married Assyrian Christian born in 1933 in Mangesh. He "was a
member of the Iraqi Communist Party's Central Committee for the Iraqi
Kurdistan Region and was also a member of the three-person committee
responsible for the Iraqi Kurdistan Front's financial affairs. He was
shot dead by armed assailants on 14 June 1993 near his home in Dohuk. No
suspects were subsequently apprehended."

Regarding political assassinations, AI has noted that several Kurdish
groups have established "assassination squads" in northern Iraq. "The
security apparatus of the KDP, Rekkhistini Taybeti and that of the PUK,
Dezgay Zanyari, are said to have units akin to assassination squads,
whose members receive orders from senior party officials. There is also
widespread conviction that such unlawful and deliberate killings could
not have been perpetrated without the knowledge, consent or acquiescence
of the leaders of these two parties, to whom the security and
intelligence apparatuses are ultimately responsible." AI also disclosed
"details of extensive surveillance operations of named individuals, as
well as references to killings and attempted killings by the Islamic
Movement in Iraqi Kurdistan (IMIK)."
 

                 IRAN AGREES TO MEDIATE KURDISH TALKS

>From the February 24 issue of the Gulf Today, published in Sharjah (The United Arab Emirates):

(ZNDA: New York) The Islamic Republic News Agency reports that Iran wants to mediate an end to a power struggle between rival Kurdish groups in northern Iraq.  Senior officials from two Kurdish groups arrived on Fridy for talks with Iranian officials in a move to settle a fight for control of the Kurdish-controlled region., which was carved out in northern Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War.  Jalal Talabani, head of the PUK, asked for Iranian mediation in a meeting on Saturday with Agha Mohammadi, a representative of the Iran's supreme leader, the agency said.  It quoted Mohammadi as saying that Iran was ready "to respond to the requests" for mediation.  Nichravan Barzani, a senior official of the rival Kurdistani Democratic Party, was also in Iran, the agency said.  It said the KDP had asked for the meeting in Tehran but did not elaborate.  Last August, the KDP drove Talabani's supporters out of Irbil and surrounding areas with help from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's army.  A US-brokered cease-fire took effect in October and it largely has held. The United States and Britain patrol a "no-fly" zone over the north to protect the Kurds from attacks by Iraq, but the allies have given up trying to maintain order on the ground.  The United States, Britain and France set up a "safe haven" for Kurds after a failed rebellion by the Kurds in 1991.

 

===========================================================================
                      S   U   R   F   S     U   P   !
===========================================================================

"I wish you everyone at ZENDA a very happy and successful 6747."

Adrin Taksh
Berlin, Germany

                              **************

"I am looking for assyrian Mailing list to added to my address book could
you please send me a message with all the E-Mailing addresses is available
for assyrians."

Samir Younan
Toronto, Canada

[Since we wish to respect our readers' privacy we are unable to release such information.  If you permit we will release your email address so that our ZENDA readers can contact you at will.]

                              **************

"What a Joke we are:  we have all read about the recent earthquake in Ardebil, northwest Iran.  It took a heavy toll both on human life and in property damage. Recently, on his San Jose live T.V. show, Mr. George Maragolof dedicated the full hour for the collection of money to assist the
people of Arbedil.  I noticed that the phone was ringing non stop with
people calling in their pledges. As I was listening to these callers,
my blood pressure was steadily rising.  The President of our Shotapouta called in with a pledge of $50.  He also urged others to call in their pledges on the ground that this would let the people and the government of Iran know that we support them.  The Vice-President, as well as a couple of members of Shotapouta, joined then called in with their own pledges. I can't help but wonder what the President of our Shotapouta can possibly be thinking.  As I recall, the State of Iran considers its exiles to be traitors.  I am trying to understand therefore how Mr. Sargon Yalda figures that we could be considered both traitors and supporters at the same time?  Is it really the case that Iran will take special note of a donation amounting to a couple of thousand dollars? Will this goodwill gesture lead them to be somewhat more considerate when they are torturing Iraqi Assyrian prisoners held in Iranian jails?

Also, we are told that the monies thus collected by our people will simply go into a larger collection pool amassed by the Iranian community in the U.S.  So the question arises:  How will the Assyrian community get any credit for this? Also, we all know that the Iranian community in California is very affluent, and it can easily raise large amounts of monies.  This also goes for the Assyrians from Iran. Yet when was the last time this
group of Assyrians contributed or helped raise funds to assist Assyrians in Iran or anywhere else?

Last year during the May convention, when two children from north Iraq
came to the U.S. for heart surgery, Shotapouta invited the Assyrian Aid Society to bring them to the cathedral in downtown San Jose for a national prayer program.  Almost 800 people participated in the event. A donation [Mashkhadat], was collected for the Assyrian children of North of Iraq.  After the event, Shotapouta announced it had only collected $1360. By my math, if 800 people gave an average of $2, this would amount to $1,600. I happen to personally know several people who donated over $20. Shotapouta announced that the Chay and cake expense amounted to $1100. (As of today Assyrian Aid Society, has not received a penny from that Mashkhata)
I am embarrassed by this incident.  Since when do we deduct "expenses"
from Mashkhata?  And in any case, who told Shotapouta to provide tea and cakes free of charge to those who attended?  And if Shotapouta felt it wanted to provide this for free, why should it be deducted from mashkkata?

This brings me back to the earlier story.  How can the same group be
such scrooges with money that is rightfully deserved by our needy children in Iraq, while at the same time they appear on T.V. to solicit donations for Moslems who have made our lives miserable for so many generations past?
It is perhaps time to recall the Persian Expression which says: "It is wrong to donate a candle to the Mosque when it is needed at home" (In Farsi: cheragey ke ravast be khaneh Haram ast be masjed). So I would ask those eager beaver contributors on the TV hour:  WHERE IS YOUR COMPASSION FOR OUR OWN PEOPLE?  We have no oil. We certainly do not have a population of 60 million people. WE lack national resources.  So why don't you step forward when the issue is to help your own sisters and brothers?  Why aren't the phones ringing when the collection is for the families and children of Bet Nahrain?  Am I ashamed of our San Jose Shotapouta?  Yes, very definitely. And embarrassed as well. I think of my people in Bet Nahrain, waiting and praying for our help and don't really know how to answer their pleas and cries."
 
 

Lena Mushell
San Jose, California

                              **************

"I read your E-Newsletter and I like it very much.  Starting April we will have a new newspaper in Toronto "Eamama", We welcome any articles from your readers, your team and any assyrian world wide.  Could you please write my E-Mail address in your newsletter with a short message announcing my upcoming newspaper.  I would like to ask you if you will allow us to use some of your articles in the future in our Newspaper?"

Amira bet Shmoel
E-Mail: cs687@torfree.net

[Congratulations and thank you in considering our articles for publication in your journal.  With proper references, as outlined in the sections of our newsletter and ZENDA in general you may use any material published in ZENDA.]
 

"I am new to reading Zenda and corresponding with fellow Assyrians. Could you please explain some of the comments surrounding the story of the Assyrians who were murdered last month in Iraq? I understand what happened in Iraq; I don't understand why some of your readers are upset about the responses. I haven't paid much attention to politics so far in my life, but I do know any division among us is a serious problem since we are so few in number and lacking in political influence at this time. Is there an official organization functioning as the spokesperson for Assyrians in the US? Maybe some of my fellow younger Assyrians would also appreciate an objective perspective/explanation. I enjoy Zenda, and I want to explore my roots so future generations will not forget Assyrians and all the
contributions we have made to the world so far. Thanking you in advance, I remain"

Grace Yohannan Cotto
Apopka, Florida

===========================================================================
                  S  U  R  F  E  R  S      C  O  R  N  E  R
===========================================================================

ZENDA readers are invited to respond to the following request(s) by either
directly writing to the author or sending a reply to ZENDA.
***************************************************************************

I was very moved by Lena Mushell's little essay on her family history, as well as the previous article (I Give You America My Son) and would like to see more such family histories written. If you call on your readers to submit a family essay each, and carry one each week, I will take them, edit them, and get them published as an anthology of the Assyrian experience. What I'm looking for is the legacy handed down to our generation, the stories we've heard from our parents and grandparents and how we feel about them. From this, we build a new consciousness, a common view of what being an Assyrian means in a "real" sense.  I've interviewed a couple of elderly Assyrians and will do this on a regular basis.  This is slightly more difficult work given that most can't/won't write their histories. One lady, an eyewitness at the Semele massacre (she saw her father and mother shot before her young eyes), refused to allow me to tape her - audio or video-and once she knew I wanted or sought to write about her, refused to talk with me altogether. Her story, a history worth sharing, will be lost to our generation.

Robert W. Dekelaita
Editor of Nabu Quarterly
Chicago, Illinois

 

===========================================================================
                  N   E   W  S       D   I   G   E   S   T
===========================================================================

           ASSYRIAN-CANADIAN RADIO HOST SUFFERS A HEART ATTACK

(ZNDA: Ontario) Mr. Ashur Shamoun, Vice-President of the "Assyrian Voice of Canada, suffered a severe heart attack on Friday at 4 p.m., while preparing a radio program to air on Saturday.  Mr. Shamoun was rushed to Oakville Hospital and placed under intensive care. A Canadian reader of ZENDA commented that "Mr. Shamoun is well known in the Assyrian community of Canada as a leader that cares too deeply for the Assyrian community." No report on Mr. Shamoun's condition was made available at press time.

===========================================================================
                       Z   I   G   G   U   R   A   T
===========================================================================
"Als ich im letzten ZENDA den Artikel "THE NAMELESS GATES OF GODS" las, erinnerte ich mich an meinem ersten Besuch im Pergammon Museum. Das war zwar nach der Wende, aber noch vor der Wiedervereinigung Deutschlands, also musste ich erst ueber die Grenze rueber im Ost Berlin fahren. Als ich in der Friedrichstrasse die Grenzkontrolle hinter mich hatte, dachte ich, das ist also die DDR. Das war das erste Mal, dass ich im Ost-Berlin war, aber dies interessierte mich nicht, ich dachte nicht an die deutsche Geschichte, sondern an meine, ich wollte zu meinen Vorfahren. Ich war aufgeregt und hatte auch angst, ich war in einem fremden Land, in eine neue Stadt, aber
dies war alles uninteressant, den ich wollte zu meinen Vorfahren.
 

Ich stand vor dem Museum, hinter diese Waende stehen also die Werke meiner Urgrosseltern, dachte ich. Ich hollte Luft und bin rein in dem Museum. Ich bin im ersten Zimmer, aber dies ist keine der Werke, auf die ich gewartet habe, wo ist das Ischtar Tor? Bin ich etwa in einem falschen Museum? Mit meinem damals gebrochenen Deutsch fragte ich die Aufsichtperson dort,"Wo ist das Ischtar Tor?" Er hat mir den Weg beschrieben und ich machte mich auf die Suche. Ich bin durch das Tor durchgegangen, drehte mich um und fuer eine Weile dachte ich, ich bin in Babylon, ich bin Zuhause.
 

Das Gefuehl ist einfach unbeschreiblich. Hier haben also die Assyrer vor ein paar Jahrtausende das neue Jahr gefeiert, dachte ich. Ich bin dann in der Prozessionsstrasse spaziert. Vertieft in meinen Gedanken wollte ich meinem Nachbar auf assyrisch ansprechen, oeffnete mein Mund, dabei oeffnete sich mein Gehoer und auch mein Verstand, und ich merkte, dass ich doch nicht Zuhause bin. Ich musste enttaeuscht fest stellen, es ist nicht das alte Babylon, nein, das ist Berlin, Ost-Berlin, nein, das sind auch keine Assyrer, sondern Deutsche, Englaender, Italiener, Spanier, und, und, und.
 

Enttaeuscht aber auch froh bin ich wieder zur Friedrichstrasse gegangen, in die U-Bahn gestiegen und nach Hause gefahren, weit weg vom Zuhause!
 

Diese unbeschreibliche Mischung vom Glueck im Unglueck wiederholt sich jedes Mal, wenn ich zu Besuch bei meinen Vorfahren gewesen bin!!"
 

Adrin Takhsh
Berlin
 
 

--------------------------------
Kha b' Neesan Party:
Am 30.3.  feiern wir Assyrer wohnend in Wiesbaden und Umgebubgden den Anfang
unser Neu Jahr zusammen mit unser beruehmter Saenger Evin Agassi,
in der Willi Brandt Allee 14, Wiesbaden
Eintritt: 25,-DM
--------------------------------
Am 6. April werden wir noch einmal unser Neujahr feiern, diesmal mit Kaffee,
Kuchen und viele andere Ueberaschungen. Bei dieser Gelegenheit wird Frau
Adrin Takhsh einen Vortrag ueber die Zeremonien im alten assyrien halten.
Beginn: 17:00
in den ABGAD Raeumlichkeiten in Wiesbaden
(die genaue Adresse, nexte Woche)
--------------------------------
David's Konzert:
 

Sonntag den 20. Juli 1997 um 11:00
David Yonan spielt Geige
Mathaeikirchstrasse 1
Berlin
im Musikinstrumenten Museum Berlin, Curt-Sachs Saal (dierekt neben der
Philharmonie)
 
 

===========================================================================
      C   A   L   E   N   D   A   R     OF     E   V   E   N   T   S
===========================================================================
 

Thru Apr 6      The Ain Ghazal Exhibit
                        Smithsonian Institute
                        Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
                Washington D.C.
                        AAA of Southern CA      (818) 506-7577
 

Thru April 27           Masterpieces from the Pierpot Morgan Libray:
                        A collection of relics 3300 B.C. to 1800 B.C.
                        Cylindrical Seals
                        From Uruk, Akkadian, Babylonia and Assyria
                        California Palace of the Legion of Honor
                        Lincoln Park, San Francisco.
                        (415)863-3330
 

Thru Fall 1997  Ancient Mesopotamia: The Royal Tombs of Ur
                        2650-2550 B.C.
                        Third Floor
 

--------------------------------------------------------------
Mar 25                  The Discovery of a 3rd Millennium BCE Trading Post
                        in Northern Mesopotamia
                        A Hagop Kevorkian Lecture
 

                        Lecture by Dr. Michel Fortin
                        of the Department of History, Laval University, Quebec
 

                        The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology                    33rd and Spruce Streets,
                        Philadelphia, PA 19104
                        6 p.m.
                        Reception follows
                        Rainey Auditorium.
                        Free (215) 898-4890
 

Apr 5                   NEC Meeting of the Assyrian American National Fed.
                        Eden's Banquets (Assyrian Social Hall)
                        10:00 am
 

                        Hotel Information:
                        Radisson Hotel
                        4500 West Touhy
                        Lincolnwood
                        1-800-333-3333
 

Apr 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
 

Apr 11-13               Big Bear Ski Trip
                        Skiing, hiking, Mountain biking, etc.
                        Assyrian Student Union Big Bear Trip
                        Members $40  non-members $65
                        Includes lodging, transportation, and 1st night's food.
                        Contact Sargon Gewargis:  fishtale@juno.com
                                                      s8913705@mail.themall.net
 

Apr 24                  Beginning of Settled Village Life in Eastern Anatolia
 

                        Dr. Michael Rosenberg
                        Associate Professor, University of Delaware
 

                        6:00 p.m.
                        Reception Follows
                        Rainey Auditorium
                        Free (215) 898-4890
 

May 4                   "Near Eastern Archeology"
                        Speaker:  Dr. Thomas E. Levy
                        University of California, San Diego
 

                        Location:  Westchester, New York
                        Call Hugo Vandenwall Bake (914) 472-0874
 

May 5                   "Near Eastern Archeology"
                        Speaker:  Dr. Thomas E. Levy
                        University of California, San Diego
 

                        Location:  Tufts University, Boston
                        Call Jodi Magness (617) 628-5000 x2680
                        http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/classicsDept/aia.html
 

May 23-26               Assyrian State Convention of California
                        Turlock, California
 

May 24                  A C N C '97
                        The Third Assyrian Community Networking Conference
                        The Assyrian State Convention of California
                        Turlock, California
                    Organized by The Assyrian Community Networking Society
 

Jul 20                  A Concert by the Assyrian Violinist, David Yonan
                        Mathaeikirchstrasse 1
                        Musikinstrumenten Museum, Curt-Sachs Saal
                        Berlin
                        11:00 am
 

Aug 26-Sept 2           Assyrian American National Convention
                        Hyatt Regency Dearborn
                        Fairlane Town Center
                        Detroit, Michigan
                        All Single,double,triple,quad rooms: $95 per day
                        Reservations: (313) 982-6880
                        Reservations must be made by August 7.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               E N T R A C T E
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

Mar 30                  Kha b' Neesan Party
                        Willi-Brandt Allee 14
                        Wiesbaden
                        Entertainer: Evin Agassi
                        Donation: 25,-DM
 

Mar 31                  Kha B'Neesan 6747 Festival
                        Victorian Assyrian Communities
                        12 noon - 7:00 pm
                        Moonee Ponds Community Centre
                        Cnr Mt Alexander & Pascoe Vale Roads, Moonee Ponds
                        Adults $5   Family $20 (2 Adults & 4 children)
 

Apr 5                   Kha b'Neesan Dance Party
                        Chicago
 

Apr 6                   Kha b'Neesan Parade
                        Chicago
                        1:00-3:00 pm
 

                        New Year Celebration in Wiesbaden, Germany
                        &/lecture: "The New Year Ceremonies in Ancient Assyria
                        Speaker:  Adrin Takhsh
                        5:00 pm
                        ADBGAD, Wiesbaden
 

Apr 26                  A Cocktail Dance Party
                        5th Anniversary of the Assyrians Around the World
                                TV Program
                        Entertainers:  Julian Jindo
                                        Julian & Janan Band from San Diego
                        Hyatt Hotel
                        1740 North First Street
                        San Jose, California
                        (408) 993-1234
                        $20.00
                        Tickets:  Etminan Market & United Foods
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         I N T E L L I G E N T S I A
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO         Assyrian Athletic Club Soccer Development Program
                        Ages 7-14
                        7:45-9:45 pm
                        Mondays
                        Warren Park Gymnasium
                        Western Avenue & Devon Street
 

HARVARD UNIVERSITY      1997-98 Syriac Classes Taught by Dr. J.F. Coakley
 

                        Elementary Syriac
                        Instructor:  J. F. Coakley
                        Basic Syriac grammar and syntax
                        with selected readings from the Syriac Bible and
                        other early texts.
 

                        Readings in Syriac I
                        Historical and theological texts, and early poetry
 

                        Readings in Syriac II
                        Special attention to exegetical texts and to reading manuscripts.
 

MODESTO         Assyrian Educational & Cultural Club at
                        Modesto Junior College
                        1:00 pm
                        Fridays
                        Founders Hall 108
                        Modesto, U.S.A.
 

NORTH HOLLYWOOD     Assyrian Boy Scouts
                        Assyrian American Association of Southern California
                        Assyrian Club
                        5901 Cahuenga Blvd
                        North Hollywood, California
                        9:30am  to 12:30pm
                        Sundays
                        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
 

SAN JOSE                Nisibin School
                        Assyrian Language Classes
                        Ages 5-14
                        10:00-1:00 pm
                        Saturdays
                        AAA of San Jose BETA
                        20000 Almaden Road
 

                        Raabie Nimrod Simono's Intermediate Grammar Class
                        AAA of San Jose BETA
                        ONLY IN MARCH
                        Class Days Vary (Contact ZENDA for more information)
 

                        Maestro Nebu Issabey's Nineveh Choir Practice
                        AAA of San Jose BETA
                        8:00 pm
                        Thursdays
 

TORONTO         Nisibis School
                        10:30-1:30
                        Saturdays
                        The Church of the East
                        Toronto, Canada
 
 

===========================================================================
      A  S  S  Y  R  I  A  N     S  U  R  F  I  N  G     P  O  S  T  S
===========================================================================
 

The Assyro-Babylonian Mythology
 

                http://pubpages.unh.edu/~cbsiren/assyrbabyl-faq.html
 

===========================================================================
                     P  U  M  P    UP THE   V O L U M E
===========================================================================
 

                English         Modern Assyrian
 

                Wise                    kha/keema               [M]
                                        kha/kim/ta (tha)        [F]
                Knowledgeable           Yaa/doo/aa              [M]
                                        Yaa/do/ta (tha) [F]
___________________________________________________________________________
F = Feminine     M = Masculine      P = Plural
 
===========================================================================
                B  A  C  K     TO THE      F  U  T  U  R  E
===========================================================================
B.C. (640)  The entire territory of Tyre in Lebanon is made into an Assyrian province. Earlier, between 671 and 667 BC, Assyrian kings Essarhadon and Ashurbanipal began campaigning against this Phoenician city.
 

<< The Phoenicians and the West, Aubet >>
 
 

A.D. (171) King Abgar, son of Manu, begins his reign over the Assyrian kingdom of Urhai (Edessa) for 35 years.
 

<< The Roman Near East, Miller>>
 

===========================================================================
                    L    I    T    E    R    A    T    U    S
===========================================================================
 

                            From the Story of ANZU
                                  ca 2800 BC
 

Let your name be greatest among all the great gods,
You shall have no equal among the gods your brethren.
Let there be diases to be built,
Establish your holy places in the four world regions,
Let your holy places come into Ekur.
Show yourself mighty before the gods
   for your name shall be "Mighty One."
 
===========================================================================
           T  H  I  S    W  E  E  K     I  N    H  I  S  T  O  R  Y
===========================================================================
 

March 28, 1899:  born in Baghdad, Yousif Malik, author of "The British Betrayal of the Assyrians."
 

===========================================================================
                         B     R    A     V     O
===========================================================================
 

This week with the addition of an Assyrian reader in Bulgaria the number of countries to which we email our weekly newsletter reaches twenty. We hope that in the year 6747 we will be able to also include new readership from Bet-Nahrain (Iran, Iraq, Syria,and Turkey).
 

Australia
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
Finland
France
Germany
England
Holland
Isreal
Italy
New Zealand
Pakistan
Poland
Spain
Sweden
Ukraine
U.S.
Uruguay
===========================================================================
                         the   D I  R  E  C  T  O  R  Y
===========================================================================
ZNAD (Assyrian Democratic Organization)
ZNAM (Archeology Magazine)
ZNAP (Associated Press International)
ZNBN (Bet-Nahrain Inc/ KBSV-TV "AssyriaVision")
ZNDA (Zenda: zenda@ix.netcom.com)
ZNMN (San Jose Mercury News)
ZNNQ (Nabu Quarterly)
ZNNV (Nineveh Magazine)
ZNRU (Reuters)
ZNSJ (San Jose Mercury News)
ZNTM (Time Magazine)
ZNUP (United Press International)
ZNUS (US News & World Report)
 

===========================================================================
             W   E   L   C   O   M   E     T O     Z   E   N   D   A
===========================================================================
Zenda welcomes our new on-line subscribers from:
 

CORPORATE ACCOUNTS
                        Applied Materials
                        Clarify
                        Samsung Electronic Inc
UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS
                        Kent Law School
                        University of California, Los Angeles
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
                        Bulgaria
                        Canada
 
===========================================================================
                     S     A     L     U     T     E
===========================================================================
Zenda wishes to thank the following individuals & organizations whose
contributions appear in this issue:
 
                        Adrin Takhsh                    Berlin, Germany
                        Ashur Simon Malek               Ontario, Canada
                        Shamiran Safaro         Melbourne, Australia
                        Zaineb Istrabadi                New York
 
and the following individual(s) for introducing ZENDA to our new readers:
 

                        Lena Mushell                    San Jose, California
                        Sharokin Betgevargiz    Chicago, Illinois
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------