Celebrating Passover at the White House

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host a Passover Seder dinner in the Old Family Dining Room of the White House, April 3, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

For the seventh year in a row, President and Mrs. Obama hosted the annual White House Seder. The Seder provides an opportunity for the First Family to join in retelling the story of the Israelites’ arduous journey through the desert from slavery in Egypt to liberation in the Promised Land. In recounting the story, they joined their guests in performing the Seder rituals and followed the Haggadah’s command that we see ourselves as though we personally were liberated from Egypt. And they acknowledged how this story has inspired generations of Americans in the struggle for civil rights.

This year’s Seder continued a new tradition of having a guest chef. Susan Barocas, one of the inaugural guest chefs from last year – and Washington-based filmmaker and foodie – returned again this year to assist White House Chef Cris Comerford with the meal and brought new additions to the menu, including Moroccan Haroset Balls from the Sephardic tradition, and dishes emphasizing seasonal ingredients, including beets, squash, spring onions, radishes, arugula, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. These recipes were combined with family recipes provided by several of the Seder’s attendees.

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Continuing Our Focus on Solar Energy

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Today, President Obama visited Hill Air Force Base in Salt Lake City, Utah to host a roundtable on clean energy, tour solar installations on the base, and talk about the importance of clean energy jobs.

With the United States generating 20 times more solar electricity than when the President took office, we’ve made substantial progress -- and in his remarks today, the President announced more actions to drive growth in the solar industry while supporting our nation's veterans.

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Week in Review: Preventing a Nuclear Iran, a Dedication in Boston, and a Commitment to Fairness

This week, the President made a historic announcement on Iran, helped dedicate the new Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Boston, granted 22 commutations for those impacted by unjust and outdated drug sentencing laws, traveled to Louisville to see a job training program in action, and held a roundtable in Utah about the importance of solar energy.

Find out more about the past week in our latest weekly wrap-up.

Preventing Iran from Acquiring a Nuclear Weapon

In November 2013, the P5+1 and Iran took an important first step toward that goal with the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA), which halted the progress of Iran’s program and rolled back it back in key areas for the first time in nearly a decade. The IAEA has verified that Iran has met all of its obligations under the JPOA.

On Thursday, after many months of principled diplomacy building on the JPOA, we have achieved a framework for a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Full video: President Obama delivers a statement on #IranTalks: http://bit.ly/1BZcoAQ

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 2, 2015

Learn more about the President's Iran deal.

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Jihadis abduct Lebanese truckers, loot vehicles

BEIRUT: Suspected Nusra Front militants were holding around 10 Lebanese truck drivers hostage at a major border crossing with Jordan Friday, two days after rebel fighters seized control of it from the Syrian government.

“The incident occurred in no man’s land between the Syrian Nassib crossing and Jordan’s Jaber crossing,” Lebanon’s Economy Minister Alain Hakim, who was in contact with Jordanian authorities, told The Daily Star.

He said about 10 Lebanese truckers were kidnapped by militants in an area controlled by the Nusra Front, but the actual number was not known. A number of cars and trucks have been stuck in the area since Wednesday, Hakim said.

Syrian rebels took control of the major southern crossing Wednesday night, a day after Jordanian authorities had announced shutting the borders, particularly the Jaber crossing.

Omar al-Ali, head of the Lebanese refrigerated truck union, was cited by AFP as saying that between 30 and 35 Lebanese drivers and their trucks and refrigerated vehicles had been trapped in the border’s free zone.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Seer al-Dinnieh Mayor Ahmad Alam said that eight trucks he owns were stuck with their drivers at the border. He explained that two were stuck on the Nassib crossing, two on Jordan’s Jaber crossing and four were “out of reach.”

Alam added that his trucks and a number of other trucks contained fresh food products that would not last another day, confirming that “many tons” of items were stolen.

Ibrahim Tarshishi, head of the Bekaa Farmers Gathering, said he was informed about eight Lebanese truck drivers being held by Syrian militants at the Nassib crossing.

“Six of them are from Tripoli and two from Majdal Anjar,” Tarshishi told The Daily Star.

“They are still able to call their families for now.”

Tarshishi added that now there were around 22 other Lebanese truckers who were stuck at Jordan’s Jaber crossing. “Jordan can help us by letting those drivers in.”

A source from the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said the ministry had contacted the Jordanian Embassy in Beirut and requested that Jordanian authorities let the drivers in to the Hashemite kingdom.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that around 300 vehicles were stranded between a closed Jordanian border from one side and Syrian Islamist militants on the other.

Hakim said he had been speaking since Friday morning with Jordanian authorities through Jordan’s ambassador to Lebanon.

No ransom has been demanded yet, Hakim said, refuting media reports that the gunmen asked for $50,000 for the release of each Lebanese trucker.

Not mentioning that the the Nassib border crossing had fallen into the hands of the rebels, the Syrian government announced through its media agency SANA Thursday that the crossing was now closed and that any attempt to cross the borders would be considered “illegal trespassing.” Dozens of truckers were stuck between the two borders as a result and gunmen took the opportunity to loot the trucks as well as the transit area.

Pictures appearing on Twitter Friday showed gunmen looting the trucks. The pictures showed militants with rifles on their backs loading their vehicles and motorcycles with furniture, boxes of food and other items. One of the pick-up trucks used by the looters had the three-star flag used by Syrian rebels on the side of it.

Syrian rebels celebrated the takeover of the border crossing on their Twitter accounts, with some writing that “booty was confiscated,” in reference to the looted objects from the trucks in the transit area.

With the takeover of the Nassib crossing, the Syrian government lost its last major passage into Jordan, after rebels had taken control of the old customs “Jumrok Qadeem” crossing in October 2013.

The Nassib crossing is vital for the transportation of goods from Lebanon and Syria to Jordan and Gulf countries.“It is a vital road,” Hakim said. “It affects Syria and Jordan greatly, and not only Lebanon. But alternatives are available to us.”

After Wednesday’s events, most of the 370 kilometer border between Jordan and Syria had fallen to the rebels. The Observatory has been reporting that Syrian military aircraft had been bombing nearby areas since the loss of the crossing.

Hakim said that shelling was occurring nearby, but denied that any Lebanese citizens had been harmed. The Observatory cited witnesses who said two people were killed in the strikes.

Sudanese refugees cite mistreatment by UNHCR

BEIRUT: “All we wanted was our rights,” Othman, a Sudanese refugee in Lebanon who asked not to use his real name, told The Daily Star. “They weren’t giving us any answers at the [United Nations Human Right Commission] office so we decided to stage a protest.” Little did Othman know that a peaceful sit-in in front of the UNHCR office in Jnah would lead to his arrest and those of three of his fellow refugees, two of whom are still in jail to this day.

On Dec. 10 last year, Othman and around two dozen other refugees gathered blankets, bread and cardboard boxes and camped outside the U.N.’s refugee agency office to demand to know the status of their refugee and resettlement application.

Three days later, the refugees say a member of the UNHCR staff called the police to shut down the peaceful protest.

“[The staff member] came and said, ‘Get up! Get up! Your files are closed! Leave or I will call the police!’” Othman recalled.

Many dispersed, but Othman and three others remained and police came and arrested them, according to the refugees, on the UNHCR’s order.

Othman, who is from West Darfur, spent two months in jail before a member of the UNHCR’s protection staff came and organized his and one of the other detainees’ release on the grounds that they had refugee status.

Two remain locked up. One of whom, according to Othman, requires immediate medical attention due to complications stemming from a gunshot he sustained during a tribal dispute in Sudan.

He has received little help in prison and despite the fact that he has had refugee status for a year, the UNHCR has not secured his release or assistance, Othman says.

The arrest of these four refugees is the latest in a series of incidents that has fostered a toxic relationship between the UNHCR and Sudanese refugees in Lebanon.

Sudanese refugees in Lebanon feel that UNHCR staff are hostile toward them and their cases are not prioritized – sometimes completely ignored – due to a racial bias against them. But the U.N. agency maintains that it is doing all that it can to help Sudanese refugees.

The most notable story of the plight of Sudanese refugees in Lebanon is a two-month hunger strike which took place in front of the UNHCR offices in the summer of 2012 over motivations similar to those of Othman and his colleagues.

The two-month hunger strike escalated until the protesters blocked the entrance of the UNHCR’s office and 13 refugees were eventually arrested, also on the agency’s request.

This incident led to the creation of a group called Anjo, Save the Sudanese Refugees of Lebanon, which dedicated itself to protecting the Sudanese community in Lebanon, and they are active to this day. They meet weekly at a Sudanese restaurant in Jnah to discuss the plight of Sudanese refugees in Lebanon and how they can address other problems within the community.

According to their website, the UNHCR has 270 Sudanese refugees registered. Anjo estimates that there are about 900-1,000 Sudanese refugees in Lebanon that have either applied for refugee status, been declined or are registered.

The “[UNHCR] has a racial attitude toward [the Sudanese refugees], they are completely dismissive of the Sudanese, they don’t trust them and they don’t believe in them,” said Dr. Elmoiz Abu Noura, a former professor at the University of North Carolina and coordinator at Anjo.

The Sudanese community as a whole is faced with intense discrimination within Lebanese society. Many constantly live under the threat of being arrested as they traveled to Lebanon illegally to flee conflicts in Darfur, Kurdurfan or the Nuba Mountains.

They’re also faced with intense discrimination in Lebanon because of the color of their skin.

UNHCR spokesperson Dana Sleiman told The Daily Star that their staff does sympathize with the plight of the Sudanese.

“[Feelings of resentment] might be attached to the fact that we are not able to always provide positive answers,” she said. “We’re not delivering positive news every day. We know ... it’s extremely difficult for Sudanese refugees.”

She added that it is not UNHCR’s policy to contact the authorities to deal with protesters, citing 2012 as an exception. However, she did not elaborate on the case of Othman last year.

With the help of Anjo, all but one of the 13 refugees arrested in 2012 were able to secure resettlement and leave Lebanon. Mohammad, who also declined to give his real name, is the last of that group and he is still awaiting resettlement.

But 2012 was not the first time, nor the last, that Mohammad was arrested at the request of UNHCR.

He told The Daily Star that he has been arrested nine times – often ending up in Roumieh Prison – while visiting the office. “I don’t know why they do this to me!” said a flustered Mohammad, who suffers from a stutter. “Maybe it’s because of the way that I talk or because Arabic isn’t my first language, but every time I go there to see what is happening with my file, they call General Security and have me arrested.”

Mohammad, who also hails from Darfur, came to Lebanon in 2010 after four years in one of Sudan’s worst prisons. He fled to Libya first, and then to Syria before ending up in Lebanon. “I didn’t know anything about Lebanon before I got here. I didn’t know that they treat black people like dogs,” he said bitterly.

Najwa Damer, another Sudanese refugee from the Nuba Mountains region who has lived in Lebanon for 16 years, has also felt the extent of racism in Lebanon. Her children were denied entry to a school because they are black. Her issue caused a stir and she appeared on Al-Hurra TV station to speak on her situation in February.

In an unrelated incident, she was arrested a few weeks later for having out-of-date papers.

Damer was not yet a registered refugee when she was arrested but she had submitted an application for refugee status in 2013 after giving up on returning to Sudan.

On March 2, 2015, a representative from UNHCR came to the prison and told her that she had been granted refugee status. However, according to Damer, her papers said she had been granted refugee status in July 2014 but nobody had notified her.

Had she been notified earlier, she may never have been arrested. Thanks to her newfound status, Damer was released Thursday. “I went to UNHCR many times over the past year and they would always check and say my file was not ready yet,” she told The Daily Star. “They didn’t tell me why it was delayed.”

The reasons for her eight-month delay are unclear and Sleiman said the UNHCR cannot comment on specific files due to privacy reasons.

Damer is grateful to be out of prison and reunited with her family but most Sudanese refugees still harbor distrust toward the U.N.’s refugee agency.

“The Sudanese would be better off if we couldn’t get refugee status at all,” Othman lamented. “If just gives us false hope.”

Welfare groups welcome ban on sale of colored chicks

BEIRUT: Highlighting the importance of animal welfare is among the reasons behind the Beirut governor’s recent decision to forbid the sale of colored baby chicks within the city, Ziad Chebib said Friday.

Speaking of concerns over the coloring, sale and treatment of the baby chicks, Chebib told The Daily Star that banning sales can “help prevent these welfare concerns, prevent avoidable disease risks and help teach children the importance of animal welfare.” According to the governor’s official announcement, the decision was made as “an effort to protect children and animals alike.”

This comes as welcome news to Animals Lebanon Executive Director Jason Meir, long an advocate for ending the trade of colored chicks.

“I appreciate his phrasing of the decision in this way,” Mier said, adding that the governor’s new decision helps “everyone understand how [animal welfare] relates directly to them.”

Artificially dyed baby chicks are given as a novelty gift for children to mark the Easter holiday.

While the tradition is popular in Lebanon, it did not originate in the country, and is practiced elsewhere in the world.

In recent years animal rights activists have increasingly brought attention to the inherent cruelty in the coloring and sales of the chicks.

The tiny, downy feathered chicks are dyed shades of bright pink, green, and blue, and sold for LL1,000 to LL2,000, often along Lebanon’s roadways, but their appeal wears off quickly as the colored feathers fall out and they grow up.

A recent news report by Al-Jadeed TV depicted the dying process in graphic detail. On the video, a worker dumps a group of baby chicks into a bucket and tosses them around in dye until they are coated. In the process, the rough handling breaks the chicks’ fragile legs and wings.

Meir said that some of the dyes used “are vegetable-based food coloring and would be relatively safe, other dies are toxic, with oils and synthetic [ingredients]. It’s not something you would want to be coated in.”

Mier explained that male baby chicks are primarily used for this practice as they are “without much value to farms.”

“Females are more desirable for [producing] eggs,” he added.

After being dyed, the chicks are sold outdoors, with no protection from the elements, and without adequate food and water.

For this reason Mier stressed the importance of selling the animals within a licensed facility.

“You cannot guarantee the welfare of animals when you have them sitting on the side of the road, the sun beating down. There is no food, no water. Throughout the day, some of the animals just die, if they don’t die, they become severely dehydrated.”

Those who sell the chicks don’t provide information to customers on how to care for them, nor do they offer proper chicken food.

“You shouldn’t be able to buy an animal without, at the same time, being able to get the things you need to take care of the animal,” Mier said. “Sometimes people buy pigeon food, others just give them bread and scraps.”

In general, the chicks are kept indoors while they are still small, but eventually end up locked on balconies, rooftops, or ultimately abandoned in parking lots once grown.

Mier said that Animals Lebanon anticipates requests to rescue the animals after the Easter holiday has ended, and once they have grown into crowing roosters, though by that time it’s often too late.

“Lots of them don’t survive,” he said, if you put them on the balcony and don’t give them water they end up dying within two days.” He added that one of the biggest problems is finding a home for the chickens, once they have been rescued.

Mier said that sustainably improving animal treatment in Lebanon is a gradual process, and the central goal of the new National Animal Protection and Welfare Law. Animals Lebanon helped draft this legislation in cooperation with the Agriculture Ministry.

The law was approved by the Cabinet on Feb. 4, and is now in the process of being moved to Parliament for enactment, pending a final vote.

“We are hoping that, if it is possible to pass laws this year, our law will pass,” Mier said.

Their law aims to improve Lebanon’s compliance with international conventions on animal welfare. It seeks to regulate animal care and handling among establishments, and individual pet owners, that keep animals.

It also calls for safe practices and licensing among the nation’s pet stores and prohibits the sale of animals on the street. Another priority is the immediate end to behavior that constitutes animal cruelty.

The law will come into force over a period of three years, which is ideal, according to Mier. “So often laws fail because the change is too quick,” he said, adding that they can lead to “a backlash of the public.”

Policeman slain by jihadis receives hero’s funeral

BAZZALIEH, Lebanon: It was a sad day in the otherwise idyllic Bekaa Valley village of Bazzalieh. Internal Security Forces 1st Sgt. Ali Bazzal, a son of the village, finally returned, but in a coffin.

Bazzal was among more than 30 policemen and Army soldiers kidnapped by ISIS and the Nusra Front during their brief invasion of Arsal last August. He was executed by the Nusra Front last December.

Residents of the village headed to the Hekmeh Hospital in Baalbek at noon to receive his body.

Locals and relatives showered Bazzal’s motorcade with rice and flowers as it reached the village around 1 p.m. Some opened fire in the air in expression of anger. Waiting for the body of his slain son, Ramez Bazzal broke down in tears as the casket arrived at the family home.

“Thank God my son is a martyr for the entire nation because he was defending Arsal [when he was captured] and he married [a woman] from Arsal,” Bazzal said. “We know every person who took part in killing Ali. The Hujeiri family has conspired against him and killed him, particularly [Sheikh] Mustafa Hujeiri,” he added, in reference to a controversial preacher from Arsal, better known as Abu Taqiye, who is sympathetic to the Nusra Front.

The Lebanese Army Thursday retrieved the body of 27-year-old Bazzal. An ISF detail gave the casket a special salute and the coffin, draped with a Lebanese flag and carried by security personnel, was taken to the village’s mosque for a funeral service before burial.

“You’re here to tell me goodbye, my son,” yelled Zeinab Bazzal, Ali’s bereaved mother, as dozens of women wept near the coffin.

Once she heard about his killing, Zeinab promised to receive his coffin celebrating as if it was his wedding ceremony. “Congratulations for your martyrdom, you’re a groom,” Zeinab said, before resting momentarily after becoming short of breath.

“Bid farewell to Ali, we will not see him again,” Zeinab said, addressing the women. “I will make Abu Taqiye drink from the same bitter cup we drank from, before I kill him with my hands,” she said.

Banners congratulating Bazzal on his martyrdom were on display throughout in the village. Hundreds of locals and ISF personnel took part in the funeral prayers.

Bazzal is survived by a wife and young daughter.

The Nusra Front and ISIS still hold 25 policemen and Lebanese soldiers hostage since a brief incursion into the northeastern border town of Arsal last August.

Negotiations to free the captives, held in Arsal’s outskirts, have reportedly stalled and their families are now holding an open-ended sit-in in Downtown Beirut to pressure the Lebanese government to hasten their release.

Taking part in the funeral was Hussein Youssef, the father of one of the captured servicemen who speaks on behalf of the families of all the captives. “We hope that handing over the body of martyr Ali to his family will lead to the return of all the other captives safely back home,” Youssef said during the funeral.