Hosted by Margaret Brennan of the CBS News program
Face the Nation, the annual AAM extravaganza this year was a scaled-down, 45-minute virtual event starring the cast and crew of two films the 2011 thriller
Contagion and the controversial Saudi TV series
Um Haroun as well as several former top U.S. officials and Yousef Al Otaiba, the United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United States.
It also featured a first for the Middle East: an unprecedented duet in Dubai with Emirati singer Mohamed Al Shehhi and visiting Israeli vocalist Dudu Tassa, performing “Sayidi Yasid Sadati” together in Arabic.
Three Arab embassies in Washington those of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE bankrolled this year’s online AAM ceremony, along with half a dozen corporate sponsors.
December 16, 2020
Israeli singer Dudu Tassa, who traces his Sephardic Jewish roots to Iraq, performed during his recent visit to Dubai with Emirati singer Mohamed Al Shehhi. (Photo courtesy of AAM)
Two of the biggest international stories of 2020 COVID-19 and the Arab world’s gradual warming to Israel dominated last Thursday night’s awards gala hosted by the Washington-based nonprofit group America Abroad Media (AAM).
Hosted by Margaret Brennan of the CBS News program
Face the Nation, the annual AAM extravaganza this year was a scaled-down, 45-minute virtual event starring the cast and crew of two films the 2011 thriller
Contagionand the controversial Saudi TV series