News The newly established Portland chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, an advocacy group that opposes Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, has issued its support for pro-democracy demonstrators across the Middle East.William Seaman, a co-founder and member of the Portland chapter, said that while this is a precarious moment for the region, it is also a hopeful one. With massive amounts of diplomatic ...   More

News Several members of Oregon's congressional delegation today were quick to issue statements praising protesters in Egypt for finally ousting President Hosni Mubarak."February 11th will live long in the hearts of all Egyptians," U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said in a statement. "Eighteen days of peaceful protest have accomplished a remarkable feat—the resignation of longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak.""Today’s ...   More

News After 18 days of protests and 30 years of authoritarian rule, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has finally ceded to popular demands and resigned. WW has been following local response to the ongoing tumult in Egypt. And this morning, Diaa Nassar, an Egyptian living in Portland, said the day's events mark one of the most jubilant moments he can remember. “It’s one of the most cheerful moments ...   More

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News We've been following the rapidly changing scene in Egypt and the impact it's had on Egyptians now living in the Portland area. For Erica Mandell, a native Portlander, the protests in Egypt have been right out her front door. A 2005 graduate of Lincoln High School, Mandell has been working in Cairo as a teacher and blogging about the dramatic events in Egypt.Mandell, who left Egypt last weekend, has ...   More

News In this week’s paper, we wrote about a local Egyptian couple and the expectations they have for their home country in its time of tumult. We checked in with Ahmed Raslan this afternoon to get an update on his thoughts given the rapidly changing political climate in Egypt. He says his sense of hope has been boosted and that though some anxiety lingers, he feels confident President Hosni Mubarak ...   More

News As events continue to develop quickly in Egypt, the local Egyptian community is planning another rally this Saturday, Feb. 5 in Pioneer Courthouse Square.Organizer Ahmed Raslan, one of the people featured in this week's WW piece about Egyptians in the Portland metropolitan area, says the rally will run from 1 pm to 3 pm. More details can be found on this Facebook page titled Egypt: We Hear You!Last ...   More

News Abeer Sayed long ago gave up on the political process that passes for democracy in her native Egypt. Sayed, a 31-year-old Egyptian raised by political activists in Cairo, moved to Portland in 2004 with her husband so he could pursue neurosurgery here. She says her parents were active in student protests   More

News We've been following local response to the ongoing tumult in Egypt, and a World Affairs Council lecture this Tuesday, Feb. 1 will try to answer some tough questions.Among them—what, really, is happening in Egypt? Will Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stay or will he go? And what happens next?The Feb. 1 event, at noon at 1126 SW Park Ave., features Thomas Bartlett, former president of the American ...   More

News About 100 people  rallied at Pioneer Courthouse Square this afternoon, demonstrating against Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and urging the White House to be harder on the Mubarak regime. As popular protests racked Egypt for the fifth straight day, supporters of the Egyptian protesters held rallies in solidarity across the United States and the globe. In Portland, members of the local Egyptian ...   More