Women’s History Month Edition March 2014

THE CEDAR CONNECTION Published by the Lebanese-American Club of Michigan (LACOM)

Happy Women’s History Month from LACOM!

“Behind every great man there's a great woman.”

This month’s edition honors every great woman for her

sacrifices, resilience, and hard work.

Community Events

March 21

March 14 Global Fridays with Victor

Ghannam & Friends. Visit

arabamericanmuseum.org

for more info.

Justice Viviano launches re-election campaign (Page 2)

Married man becomes Maronite Catholic priest (Page 3)

Angelina Jolie visits Lebanon (Page 5)

OSCAR PERFORMERS CROON IN SPARKLING LEBANESE DESIGNS

Bejeweled dresses by Lebanese designers Reem Acra and Elie Saab

sparkled on stage Sunday night at the 86th annual Academy Awards.

In addition to dressing their usual clientele of A-listers for both the red

carpet and the after parties, Lebanese designers’ looks also featured on

several of the night’s performers.

Pink gave a spine-tickling ode to Judy Garland during the awards show

with a rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” In an unusual look

for the singer, one of Saab’s billowing, flower-covered gowns in scarlet

gave the punky pop star a hint of old-time glamour.

Acra made an appearance on stage when Broadway-turned-movie star

Idina Menzel performed “Let It Go,” the chart-topping song from the

animated film “Frozen,” in one of her gowns.

Among those who donned Acra for the red carpet was Bette Midler, who

arrived in a nude sheath covered with snaking red embroidery. Middler

told E! Television host Ryan Seacrest that Acra went to her house

personally for the fitting.

Continued on Page 4

www.lacom.org

Submit your event for next month’s

edition! info@lacom.org

Ali El Deek & Bassam

Saleh perform in

Dearborn. Visit

petraentertainment.com

for tickets.

March 7 ACCESS Domestic

Violence Awareness

Fundraising Banquet. Visit

accesscommunity.org for

more info.

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Women’s History Month Edition March 2014

Lebanese-American Justice launches re-election campaign

Michigan Supreme Court Justice David F.

Viviano recently launched a re-election

campaign to keep his seat on Michigan’s highest

court.

Governor Rick Snyder appointed Justice

Viviano to the court on February 27, 2013. He

previously served as Chief Judge of the 16th

Judicial Circuit and Macomb County Probate Courts.

Justice Viviano, whose mother is of Lebanese descent, received the 2013 Lebanese-American

Club of Michigan Trailblazer Award.

For more information about his campaign or to learn how you can get involved, visit

VivianoForJustice.com or Facebook.com/JusticeDavidViviano.

FEATURED BOOK OF THE MONTH

“Beirut Knights” pokes fun at Lebanese dating disasters. The book follows several interconnected short stories of a fictional character named Nadia and her closest friends. Illustrating some of the challenges women face, the book offers insight on catastrophic, yet amusing dating stories. Author Jasmina Najjar has worked as a journalist, managing editor, and copywriter since 2002. She currently works as a Communication Skills Instructor at the American University of Beirut.

To order the book, visit tpbooksonline.com.

BEIRUT KNIGHTS By Jasmina Najjar

Published in December 2013 Softcover - 180 pp

ISBN 978-9953-0-2790-6

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Women’s History Month Edition March 2014

Married Man Becomes Maronite

Catholic Priest in US When Wissam Akiki was ordained as a Maronite Catholic priest in St. Louis, he was welcomed by

hundreds of supporters, including his wife and daughter. For the first time in nearly a century, the Maronite Catholic Church in the United States ordained a married priest in a ceremony at St. Raymond's Maronite Cathedral

near downtown St. Louis.

Maronites are among more than a dozen Eastern Catholic church groups in the U.S.

Eastern Catholics accept the authority of the pope but have

many of their own rituals and liturgy.

Akiki, 41, speaking at the end of the two-hour ceremony,

called it a "historic day" and said he had been given two

great blessings - marriage to his wife of 10 years, Manal, and

"the dream to serve the Lord and church as a priest."

Pope Francis gave permission for Akiki to be ordained.

"He'll be a wonderful priest," Linda Hill, 54, said. "The fact that he's married will be exciting for the church. It's tradition in the old country. I guess we're finally catching up to the old country."

It was about a year-and-a-half ago that he and the church petitioned the Vatican to allow him to enter the priesthood. Akiki completed seminary studies at Holy Spirit University in Lebanon, Our

Lady of Lebanon Maronite Seminary in Washington, D.C., and the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis.

He and his wife have one daughter, 8-year-old Perla. She read a brief prayer at her father's ordination. Peters said that in the most recent Maronite Patriarchal Synod, the church reaffirmed its

position in support of allowing married priests, a tradition that, worldwide, dates back centuries.

In a statement, the Archdiocese of St. Louis congratulated Akiki. "The Archdiocese of St. Louis

values its strong relationship with the Maronite community in St. Louis," the statement read in part. Those attending the ordination applauded the new priest several times, which clearly left him

moved. "It is a day of grace and of joy," he said.

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Women’s History Month Edition March 2014

Continued from page 1

Lebanese-American

of the Month Reem Acra is a renowned

Lebanese fashion designer best known for her use of silk and embroidery in her gowns. Acra studied fashion in both Paris and New York where she won several awards, and began creating custom wedding gowns in 1995. Acra combines detailed needlework with Swarovski crystals and seed pearls to create beautiful, highly detailed

designs on the bodices and skirts of her wedding gowns. Many of her gowns are constructed using silk-satin, though she also incorporates taffeta, chiffon, charmeuse and organza in her gowns as well to create beautiful, one-of-a-kind gowns for brides. The beadwork on Reem Acra’s gowns complements wide variety of dress styles that she has created. The delicate detailing and rich fabrics used by Acra have attracted a large number of celebrities to her gowns, including

Halle Berry, Angelina Jolie, Beyonce Knowles and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Her gowns are available to the general public at her Madison Avenue boutique in New York, as well as at a variety of stores internationally such as Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth

Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

“Just about to hit the Red Carpet, courtesy of Reem Acra, the most

adorable designer. Thank you, Reem! (She actually came to my house!)

#Oscars,” Middler tweeted.

Angelina Jolie was back in Los Angeles after a trip to Lebanon last week,

where she met with local leaders and toured Syrian refugee camps in the

country. The actress opted for a metallic silver sequined gown by Saab,

which she wore on stage to present alongside Sydney Poitier.

Saab, best known for his high-waisted gowns, was featured on the

uncustomary silhouette of actress Elsa Pataky, who is seven months

pregnant with twins. To accommodate her baby bump, the aquamarine

dress was given a drop waist.

Also dressed in sparkling Saab couture was Sarah Paulson, who starred in

“12 Years a Slave,” winner of best film of the year award.

Rising Lebanese designer Rani Zakhem has had a successful awards

season this year. He wrapped it up with a billowing, wedding-ready white

gown worn by retired Olympic ice skater Tara Lipinksi.

Lebanese designers also starred on the sidelines of the award ceremony.

Kate Hudson wore spring couture from Zuhair Murad to the Vanity Fair

Oscar Party. The designer showed the black and nude sheath dress mere

weeks ago in Paris. Lebanese designer Georges Hobeika also dressed

several stars for postshow parties.

Photo: Lupita Nyong'o, left, is embraced by Angelina Jolie, and Brad Pitt embraces Chiwetel Ejiofor as they celebrate in the audience after ”12 Years a Slave” was announced the winner for best picture during the

Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday, March 2, 2014, in Los Angeles.

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Women’s History Month Edition March 2014

TOP

@LucimaraSa: @LACOMNews Thank

you!! Extremely happy for my picture being

selected! Cheers!

@DowntownBeirut: @LACOMNews Beautiful photograph.

Thanks for sharing! #LebanesePride

@LACOMNews:

Attendees at @TEDxBeirut fill in the blank on the question,

“All we need is ______.”

OF THE MONTH

Also, a special thanks to

Michigan Supreme Court

Justice David Viviano,

the Arab American

Museum, comedian

George Khabbaz,

Downtown Beirut, and

TEDX Beirut for tweeting with us.

#LebanesePride

Join the Conversation!

@LACOMNews

Angelina Jolie visits Lebanon

The UN Refugee Agency Special Envoy Angelina Jolie visited

Lebanon and held talks with President Michel Sleiman and

Prime Minister Tammam Salam.

Jolie also visited children living in harsh conditions at a Syrian

refugee camp in

Lebanon, calling it

“a heart-rending

experience.”

The “Mr. & Mrs.

Smith” star and

United Nations

special enjoy spent

three days touring

a camp of 3,500

children who were

either orphaned or separated from family as they fled the

bloody civil war in neighboring Syria.

“The generosity and solidarity shown by Lebanon and

Lebanese to its neighbor serves as an example to the world for

which we should all be grateful. We all need to help them bear this burden,” Jolie said.

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Women’s History Month Edition March 2014

RECIPE CORNER Leftover Tabouli Quiche

Recipe courtesy of Bethany Kehdy

Ingredients 2.5 cups strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting

1⁄2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp sugar

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp dried active yeast

2 cups of parsley leaves, washed, and dried

1 tbsp finely chopped mint

150g or 2 tomatoes, very finely chopped

1 spring onion, very finely chopped

1/4 tsp allspice

1 lemon, juiced

4 eggs

1.) Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, add the salt and sugar and pour in the oil, then mix well with your hands.

2.) Add the yeast to 150ml/5fl oz/scant 2/3 cup lukewarm water and stir until dissolved. Pour the water and yeast

mixture into the flour and oil mixture, little by little, combining it with your hands as you go, until a ball is formed.

Depending on the age and brand of flour, you may find that you need more or less water.

3.) Transfer the dough to a well-floured work surface and continue kneading it until it is smooth and elastic. Return

the dough ball to the mixing bowl, then score the top with a knife to loosen the surface tension. Cover with a damp,

clean kitchen towel and place it in a warm, draught-free place for about 1 hour or until it doubles in size.

4.) Slice the parsley into super thin threads using a very sharp knife. Put in a salad bowl along with the mint and

tomatoes. Season the chopped spring onions with the allspice and then add them to the salad bowl. Add a little of

the lemon juice and olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Leave it to sit for an hour or so and then

strain the tabouleh well of its juices and reserve them for serving. The salad should be quite sharp to contrast with

the bland dough.

5.) Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it out on to a lightly floured work surface and knock it back, then knead

gently before rolling it into a log. Divide the log into two balls of equal size, each weighing about 220g or 7 3/4 oz

each. Lightly flour the work surface once more and use a rolling pin to roll out each ball. Cover the loaves with a

kitchen towel and leave to rest for a further 10 minutes.

6.) Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 ̊F and place a baking sheet in the oven to warm up. Baking one loaf at a time,

spray a loaf lightly with water and bake for 1.5 minutes just until a pocket of air has formed but not until the top

and edges are lightly golden as you’ll need to be able to work with a pliable and not a brittle bread.

7.) As soon as you remove the first loaf from the oven, use a damp tea towel and go around pinching the edges of the

bread to create a wall or rim. Once the quiche wall or rim has been shaped then very gently begin removing the top

layer of the Arabic bread pocket making sure you don’t tear the base layer. Set aside the flatbread quiche and repeat

the same process with the remaining loaf.

8.) Crack and beat two eggs for each quiche in a separate bowl. Once you’ve whisked two eggs into each flatbread

quiche, sprinkle the strained tabouleh over each flatbread quiche. Transfer to the oven and bake for about 5

minutes or until the egg mixture has set and the edges are golden and crisp. Serve immediately!

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Women’s History Month Edition March 2014

NEWS IN PHOTOS

Sarah Paulson in Elie Saab. Catherine Zeta Jones in

Zuhair Murad.

Jenna Dewan-Tatum in Reem Acra.

THE OSCARS

PHOTOS BY OUR FANS ON TWITTER

Photo by Jack Keilo -- @Centrici Photo by Lucimara Sa -- @LucimaraSa

Women’s History Month Edition March 2014

LACOM salutes strong & hardworking women in

celebration of Women’s History Month.

“No man succeeds without a good woman behind him. Wife or

mother, if it is both, he is twice blessed indeed.” -Godfrey Winn

The Lebanese-American Club of Michigan

P.O. Box 1452

Warren, MI 48090 info@lacom.org

Cedar Connection Published by LACOM

Dr. Wissam Shaya – President

Elias Yammine – Vice President

Maurice Farah – Secretary Tom Sokol – Treasurer

Naji Chidiac – Board Member

Dr. Wissam B. Malouf – Board Member

Pierre Rechdan – Board Member

Charlie Kadado – Editor

Write for us! Send your article or editorial to

thecedarconnection@lacom.org on or before the 1st of the month!

Thank you!

PRESS RELEASES: thecedarconnection@lacom.org

248-924-4854

313-744-3498