Palestinian-American Columnist To Self-Syndicate After Being Dropped

By: Dave Astor Creators Syndicate is dropping the column by Ray Hanania, perhaps the first Palestinian-American writer represented by a major syndicate.

Hanania, who joined Creators in 2002, told E&P he enjoyed working with the syndicate. But Hanania added that as hard as Creators tried, it couldn't sell his feature to enough newspapers. The columnist is now self-syndicating, and noted that The Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel published one of his columns on Monday.

Why hasn't Hanania's feature -- which often discusses Mideast issues -- done better in syndication? "The Arab view, especially a moderate voice, just doesn't have the same appeal as someone screaming extremism," he said, adding: "It's easier for a newspaper to publish a pro-Israel view or a view critical of the Arab and Muslim worlds."

The columnist (www.hanania.com) also writes for papers such as Newsday in Melville, N.Y., and the Arab News in Saudi Arabia.

Hanania -- a stand-up comic as well as columnist -- is a former Chicago Sun-Times staff writer, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, and a Christian married to a Jewish woman.

In his Monday Sentinel piece, Hanania wrote: "The triple suicide bomb attacks in Amman, Jordan, should sound a wake-up call to Arabs and Muslims around the world that it is not enough to denounce terrorism. They must also denounce the extremists who make the terrorism possible and who wrap their violence in popular causes. ... Arabs and Muslims can unequivocally denounce all forms of terrorism, including suicide bombings in Israel and in Iraq, and still challenge unfair Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank or unfair American policies in Iraq."