IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 297 
Expressing support for the recognition of April as National Arab American 
Heritage Month (NAAHM) and celebrating the heritage and culture 
of Arab Americans in the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 13, 2023 
Ms. TLAIB (for herself and Mrs. DINGELL) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the recognition of April as National 
Arab American Heritage Month (NAAHM) and cele-
brating the heritage and culture of Arab Americans in 
the United States. 
Whereas every April, the United States shall celebrate Arab 
American Heritage Month given the rationale herein pro-
vided; 
Whereas today the Arab American Institute estimates that 
there are roughly 3,700,000 Arab Americans living in the 
United States, from a variety of faith backgrounds in-
cluding both Christians and Muslims originating from 
any of the 22 Arabic speaking countries, have throughout 
their history in the United States generously shared their 
culture, music, and food with their fellow citizens and 
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•HRES 297 IH 
contributed disproportionately to their numbers to the 
economy and society of the United States, having brought 
with them to the United States their resilient family val-
ues, strong work ethic, dedication to education, and di-
versity that have added strength to our democracy; 
Whereas Arab American entrepreneurs from the first door-to- 
door peddlers to owners of restaurants, bakeries, and 
stores, to large manufacturers of men’s and women’s 
clothes (Farah and Haggar for example) have been hard- 
working, self-sufficient contributors to the United States 
economy; 
Whereas the first recorded Arab in the United States was the 
Moroccan Mostafa (Estanaico) Zemmouri in 1527, and 
that Arab Americans, including the early Syrians and 
Lebanese, began arriving in significant numbers to these 
shores in the 1870s, including Antonio Bishallany, who 
arrived in Boston in 1854, and another early wave ar-
rival, Dr. Joseph Arbeeley who became United States 
citizens and including waves of other Arab Americans 
that followed; 
Whereas Arab Americans have served in protection of the 
United States in every major confrontation and in all 
branches of the military, and from World War I and 
World War II to the present day as exemplified by ace 
jet pilot, Colonel James Jabara who was highly decorated 
and served in World War II and the Korean War, and 
all other Arab American persons in uniform today, as 
well as first responders throughout the United States, 
and as public servants from both political parties, past 
and present, that have served in the United States Gov-
ernment, the Congress, the Senate, and as ambassadors 
and cabinet members; 
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•HRES 297 IH 
Whereas Arab Americans have excelled in science, engineer-
ing, medicine, education, scholarship, and architecture in-
cluding an organic chemist, Elias James Corey (Nobel 
Prize 1990), chemist investigating transition reactions, 
Ahmed Zewail (Nobel Prize 1999), chemical physicist, 
Mostafa El-Sayed, a leading nanoscience researcher, a 
member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Na-
tional Medal of Science laureate who sat on the Presi-
dent’s National Medal of Science Committee in 2014, Dr. 
Farouk El-Baz a pioneer in space photography, Dr. Mi-
chael DeBakey, cardiovascular surgeon and inventor of 
ventricular assist devices and aorta repair procedures; 
Whereas, in 1959, Mohamed Atalla, an Egyptian-American 
engineer who was an important pioneer and contributor 
to the early field of modern electronics, invented the 
metal-oxide-semiconductor 
field-effect 
transistor 
(MOSFET), which is the most-frequently manufactured 
device in history, and hailed by the United States Patent 
and Trademark Office as one of the most important in-
ventions in electronics; 
Whereas Arab Americans have excelled in sports like quarter-
back and Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie and in 
entertainment including actors, singers, comedians, and 
musicians such as actor, singer, and founder of St. 
Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Danny Thomas, Emmy-win-
ner Tony Shalhoub, comedian, and commentator Dean 
Obeidallah, gifted musician Dr. Ali Jihad Racy, award- 
winning violinist Simon Shaheen, and so many others; 
Whereas, according to Census Bureau data, Arabic is one of 
the fastest growing languages in the United States, and 
that Arab American journalists, newspaper editors, and 
writers have informed their communities and others in 
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