Paris, 1913: The Arab Congress

Paris, 1913: The Arab Congress

Note: This article was written by my friend Robert Goodhouse, a descendant of the Syrian-American publisher, Najeeb Diab. He lives in Dubai and is a Vice President of Rapiscan. -Linda Jacobs   One hundred years ago Moslems and Christians from the Middle East...
Naoum Mokarzel

Naoum Mokarzel

Unlike the other early Syrian immigrants who have been featured in my blogposts to date, Naoum Mokarzel is well known to scholars and third-generation Syrian-Americans. He was an important publisher, spokesman for his community, and an exemplary man in many ways. What...
“A Parabolic Pilgrimage” (Part 2)

“A Parabolic Pilgrimage” (Part 2)

In an excerpt from my new book, Strangers in the West, we continue the travails of new Syrian immigrants who landed in New York harbor. When a Syrian arrived at Castle Garden or Ellis Island, he or she was examined by various officials including emigration and health...
“Selma the Syrian Siren”

“Selma the Syrian Siren”

Orientalism and the Early Syrians In my forthcoming book about the nineteenth-century Syrian colony of New York City (Strangers in the West), I purposely have not focused on Americans’ orientalist attitudes toward Syrians. Reporters regularly described their...