Z E N D A  M A G A Z I N E
[renamed Zinda Magazine in 1999]

Tamuz 1, 6746                   Volume II                       Issue 21                      July 1, 1996

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       A Weekly Online Publication of the ZENDA Assyrian Newsagency


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                                   THE   L   I   G   H   T   H   O   U   S   E
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                           THE PRODIGAL SON
 

INSIDE TENNIS:  What about the French Open?  Do you think you're
                capable of winning on clay?
ANDRE AGASSI:   Yes, I'm capable of winning on clay.  I have to prove
                that on the court, so I'm going to grasp this clay
                season with the right mentality, which is to win the
                French.  I think I can.  In three out of five sets,
                I can break guys down.  I can put together two great
                weeks.
INSIDE TENNIS:  What would it mean to you to win your second Wimbledon
                and break Sampras' streak of three in a row?
ANDRE AGASSI:   That would be exciting!  I mean, I kind of would hate
                to see [Sampras' streak] come to an end.  Not really.
                We'll see.  I would look forward to winning any
                championship of that level again.
INSIDE TENNIS:  Switch gears a little bit.  You come from a wonderful,
                culturally rich heritage.  What does it mean to be
                Armenian?
ANDRE AGASSI:   My father basically raised us American and as I got
                older, I found myself very interested in my heritage
                and background.  One day I would like to head over to
                that part of the world and really get a chance to see
                where it is that I came from.  Every day on the tour
                makes it difficult to take that kind of time but I'm
                very curious about my roots.
INSIDE TENNIS:  Is there a quality in Armenian culture that you can
                see in yourself?
ANDRE AGASSI:   It's tough to say, because my understanding of Armenians
                is based on my father and just a few people that are
                in my life.  It's tough for me to pinpoint one thing.
 

The preceding interview with Andre Agassi appears in the June 1996
issue of Inside Tennis magazine.  Andre's father, Emmanuel, was
born in the Assyrian village of Saralan in Urmie, Iran.  Emmanuel won
several boxing championship in Iran under the directions of former
Assyrian boxing champions George Issabeg and Andre Gvolowich.  Emmanuel
is often invited to the Assyrian olympic games and conventions in
California as a guest of the local organizations.
 
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                    G  O  O  D    M  O  R  N  I  N  G    B  E  T - N  A  H  R  A  I  N
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     TURKISH SOLDIER CROSS BORDER IN PURSUIT OF KURDISH REBELS
 

(ZNRU: Turkey) Turkish troops backed by air power killed dozens of
Kurdish guerrillas Thursday in a large cross-border raid against a
rebel base in the mountains of northern Bet-Nahrain. ``It is the
biggest cross-border operation in the past four months or so,'' a
military official in the eastern Turkish town of Tunceli told Reuters.
The regional governor's office in the nearby city of Diyarbakir said
in a statement that troops began to pull back toward Turkey after
killing 44 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels. There was no
independent confirmation of the casualty toll.  Twelve battalions of
commandos, police special forces and around 250 members of a pro-
government Kurdish militia poured five miles across the border in a
five-pronged attack from the province of Hakkari early in the morning.
A Turkish battalion consists of between 500 and 600 men.  The officials
said U.S.-made Cobra helicopters and air force planes pounded suspected
guerrilla positions.  The operation was aimed at around 500 rebels at a
base known as Mezi just inside Iraq.
 

   IRAQI BABEL NEWSPAPER DEMANDS BETTER RELATIONS WITH TURKISH PM
 

(ZNRU: Baghdad) Iraq's most influential newspaper on Sunday urged the
new Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan to improve Ankara's
relations with Baghdad.  Babel Newspaper, owned by President Saddam
Hussein's eldest son Uday, said improving relations with Baghdad would
secure economic benefits for Turkey. Turkish President Suleyman Demirel
on Friday approved Welfare Party leader Erbakan as the country's first
Islamist premier, heading a coalition with conservative Tansu Ciller.
Babel listed Turkey's complex relations with Iraq, the Turkish military
training agreement with Israel, the dispute over sharing the water of
the Tigris and the Euphrates and Turkey's stance on Gulf War sanctions
on Iraq among the problems Erbakan had inherited from previous Turkish
governments. Turkey was a key ally of the American-led military coalition
that ejected Iraqi troops from Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War. Baghdad
criticizes Ankara for supporting a U.S.-led allied air force based in
northern Bet-Nahrain to protect rebel PKK Kurds from possible attacks
by Iraqi armed forces. Iraq hopes that Turkey will support it in its
efforts to lift U.N. trade sanctions imposed after its 1990 invasion of
Kuwait.
 
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                  S   U   R   F   S     U   P   !
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"I read the excerpt about the plight of the Assyrians living on the
banks of the Khabour river, and could not help but be dismayed by the
poor spelling, which was left unedited by Zenda.I think typographical
errors such as these ought to be corrected by Zenda's editors. Use of
a spelling chekcker, which is available with many word processors,
would eliminate some of these mistakes, but not all; hence the need
for Zenda to proof read the articles."
 

Joe Davida
San Diego, California
 

[ZENDA assures its readers that it will exercise greater care in
minimizing the typographical errors found in our articles. Incidently,
our spell checker shows that a misspelling occurs in the above letter.
We took the liberty of pressing the "ignore" button and keep our
ZENDA reader's letter as is.  We only hope that our readers will not
"ignore" the message behind our article- The Plight of the Assyrians
in Khabour is not a misspelling of fate, rather a situation in need of
immediate attention.]
 

                         ********************
 

"Two Items I'd like your answer to:
 

1) I understand that you list your news sources in every issue,
however, can you be more specific and detailed? For example when you
indicate ZNRU or ZNUP can you at least provide the publication name,
date and page number so that someone like myself who's interested in
more details can get those details? There are occasions when I make
references or need to direct others to the source of information, this
would be of great help.  Please, this is not an indication in any way
that I have reasons to want to verify the information you are
publishing.  I just want to make sure that I am clearly understood
and leave no room for assumptions.
 

2) Once you mentioned that you know of Assyrians in S. America and a
specific country.  I just met an Assyrian lady who just arrived from
S. America.  She has been there for 1 year, lives with her so who's
been there for 15 years.  I do not remember the country name but I
believe it is the same country you had mentioned in your talk some
time ago.  I want to see if this lady can make contact with other
Assyrians when she returns from her visit to San Jose."
 

Esha Tamras
San Jose, California
 

[ZENDA readers are encouraged to inquire about the proper citation
of any article appearing in the NEWS DIGEST section.  Please
submit the date of the ZENDA publication and the title of the article.
Also, upon the receipt of your visitor's personal data ZENDA will
gladly send the information to our reader's email address in Uruguay.]
 

                            ************
 

"On behalf of Babylon Financial Network,INC, we would like to thank
the Assyrians for their excellent support and response to
"Card Babylon " Master & Visa Card, although the low interest rate
offer has expired, but, still to those who are interested in getting
the card with the regular interest rate can call 312-338-9100 (in
Illinois) and 1-800-NINEVEH (outside of Illinois)."
 

Atooraya ?
 

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                                       S  U  R  F  E  R  S      C  O  R  N  E  R
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A few new books worth your serious summer reading-time:
 

1) Comparative Edition of the Syriac Gospels, Aligning the Sinaiticus,
   Curetonianus, Peshitta and Harklean Versions (1996)
        -George Kiraz
        -Volumes 1-4.
        -ISBN 900410419
        -E. J. Brill, Leiden, New York, Koln
 

2) The Origins and Ancient History of Wine (1995)
        -Patrick C. McGovern, Stuart Fleming, and Solomon Katz (1995)
        -409 pages
        -Gordon and Breach,  POB 200029
         Riverfront Plaza Sta.  Newark, NJ  07102-0301
        -Tel: 201-643-7500
 

3) Religion and Politics in the Ancient Near East
        -edited by A. Berlin
        -(ISBN 1-883053-24-2); $25
        -150 pages
 

4) Emar: The History, Religion, and Culture of a Syrian Town in the
   Late Bronze Age
        -edited by M. Chavalas
        -(ISBN 1-883053-18-8); $30
        -109 Pages
 

5) Before the Moses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature (2nd Edition)
        -B. Foster
        -(ISBN 1-883053-23-4)
        -$67.50 ($39 for INDIVIDUALS who have purchased the 1st edition)
        -970 pages
 

For inquiries contact CDL Press PO Box 34454 Bethesda Md. 20827 or phone
301-762-2066 or E-Mail: MC141@UMAIL.UMD.EDU
 

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                                          N   E   W   S       D   I   G   E   S   T
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                        IRAQI OIL TO FLOW
 

(Sabah News: Iraq) Following an agreement between the UN and Iraq on
limited oil sales, the first oil to flow through the Yumurtalik-Kirkuk
overland oil pipeline will begin to move at the end of this month.
About one million barrels of Iraqi oil will be delivered from Yumurtalik
to world markets. The UN fears that Iraq will actually sell more oil
than the agreed amount and at a lower price.  The UN will appoint
experts and inspectors to the region to control the amount of Iraqi oil
moving through the pipeline and to ensure that the oil is sold at world
prices.
 

 PROMINENT ASSYRIAN BUSINESS EXECUTIVE WILL SPEAK AT AUA FOUNDATION
 

(ZNDA: Chicago) The Assyrian Universal Alliance Foundation in
Chicago will hold its 12th Annual Scholarship Awards Dinner on July 21.
This year's guest speaker, Walter Y. Elisha, a resident of  Charlotte,
South Carolina, received his M.B.A. from Harvard University and is
currently the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Springs Industries, Inc.,
one of the largest textile manufacturers in the USA.  He is also a
Director of AT&T, Cummins Engine Co. and an Associate of Harvard
Business School and the president of the American Textile Institute.
Mr. Elisha's parents were natives of Golpashan, Urmie and northern
Bet-Nahrain.   Formerly the CEO of Jewel Tea Company in Chicago, Walter
generously contributes to the academic advancement of the Assyrian
students in the United States.  Mr. Elisha is also listed as one of
the highest paid Fortune 500 corporate executives and remains a member
of President Clinton's Advisory Board of Business Executives in the U.S.
If any questions e-mail me at [GYQS35A@prodigy.com]
 

            SUMERIAN BOARD GAME APPEARS AS A SHAREWARE
 

(ZNSC)  Out of the shimmering horizon of FAE (Fuel Air Explosives)
walks a man, on his way from Eridu to Ur of 4200 years ago, right
over the top of your position on a lonely vigil on the night of
Desert Storm's deep thrust into Iraqi territory.   But who is of
the past and who of the future?  As you debate and he describes
his life in Sumer, you play a game that this master craftsman of
Ur has made to sell in the ancient markets. The Royal Game of Ur
v1.0 is a Windows shareware version of the ancient Sumerian game -
the oldest board game known, 5 examples of which were found in the
royal graves at Ur by Woolley.  It has great graphics, game sounds,
original MIDI music, and is a lot of good fun to play.
 

Royal Game of Ur:  A Computer Game for Windows
        http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PSNeeley
 
 

Newsbytes...
 

(ZNNY: New York)  "As Iraq continues to be hit by stringent economic
sanctions, art experts and archeologists say precious artifacts from
some of the world's oldest civilizations are pouring into the
international market to raise cash,"  writes The New York Times.
 
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                   D I  R  E  C  T  O  R  Y  OF THE  N  E  W  S   S  O  U  R  C  E  S
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ZNNQ (Nabu Quarterly)
ZNNY (New York Times)
ZNRU (Reuters):  ClariNet Communications Corp.
ZNSC (soc.culture.assyrian) newsgroup
ZNTN (Turkish News Agency)
ZNUP (United Press International)
ZNDA (Zenda: zenda@ix.netcom.com)
 

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                             C   A   L   E   N   D   A   R     OF     E   V   E   N   T   S
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July 1-5        RENCONTRE ASSYRIOLOGIQUE INTERNATIONALE
                Prague, Czech Republic
 

July 3-7        10th Annual Assyrian Youth Convention
                of the Assyrian Church of the East
                Sponsored by the Mar Gewargis Youth organization
                Chicago, Illinois
 

July 4-7        Assyrian Olympics of California
                San Diego, California
 

July 14         Ordination Ceremony of Rev. Shmuil Khangaldi
                Bet-Eil Assyrian Ministry
                        held at
                St. Timothy Lutheran Church
                5100 Camden Avenue
                San Jose, California
                5:00 pm
 

Thru Aug 15     "Beirut:  Uncovering the Past"
                Profiles recent UNESCO archeology efforts
                The British Museum
                London, England
 

August 12-14    SyrCOM-96: Second International Forum
                           on Syrian Computing
                Symposium Syriacum
                Uppsala University
                Dept of Asian and African Studies
                Box 513
                S-751 20 Uppsala
                Sweden
                Fax: +46 18 181094
                Witold.Witakowski@afro.uu.se
 
Aug 29-Sept 2   AANF National Convention
                Red Lion Inn Hotel
                Modesto, U.S.A.
 
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                    E N T E R T A I N M E N T
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July 14         Nusard-il Picnic
                San Jose, California
 

July 20         Garden Party at the BETA
                AAA of San Jose
                20000 Almaden Road
                San Jose, California
                Entertainment:  Assyrian Stand-up Comedy
 

July 21         12th Annual Scholarship Awards Dinner
                Assyrian Universal Alliance Foundation
                Edens Banquet Hall
                6313 North Pulaski
                Chicago, Illinois
                (312) 274-9262, FAX (312) 274-5866
                Questions? Write to GYQS35A@prodigy.com
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          R E G U L A R  C L A S S E S  &  M E E T I N G S
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Mondays          Assyrian History Class
                 "Assyrian History: 19th Century thru Present "
                 Instructor:  Wilfred Alkhas
                 BETA on 20000 Almaden Rd, San Jose, Calif
                 Class begins on June 3
 

Fridays          Assyrian Educational & Cultural Club at
                 Modesto Junior College
                 1:00 pm
                 Founders Hall 108
                 Modesto, U.S.A.
 

Saturdays        Nisibis School
                 10:30-1:30
                 The Church of the East
                 Toronto, Canada
 

                 Nisibin School
                 Ages 4 thru 14
                 Assyrian Language, History, & Arts
                 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
                 BETA on 20000 Almaden Rd, San Joe, California
 

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           A S S Y R I A N   R A D I O  &  T V  S H O W S
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Monday-Friday   AssyriaVision (MODESTO/TURLOCK)       4 PM - 12 AM  [pst]
                KBSV@nineveh.com  (209) 538-4130
 

Friday          Assyrian Weekly Magazine (SAN JOSE)   8 PM -  9 PM   [pst]
 

Saturday        AssyriaVision (MODESTO/TURLOCK)      10 AM -  6 PM   [pst]
 

Sunday          AssyriaVision (MODESTO/TURLOCK)       3 AM - 12 AM   [pst]
 

                Assyrians Around the World (SAN JOSE) 8 PM -  9 PM   [pst]
 

                Atour TV (SAN JOSE)                   9 PM - 10 PM   [pst}
 
 

[pst] Pacific Standard Time - California
 

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  A  S  S  Y  R  I  A  N     S  U  R  F  I  N  G     P  O  S  T  S
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                          N e w   S i t e (s)
 

Epic of Gilgamesh
        http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/Gilgamesh.html
 

Cuneiform Writing
        http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/Cuneiform.html
 

Mesopotamian Timeline
        http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/MesoTimeline.html
 

Code of Hammurabi
        http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/
                        world_civ_reader_1/hammurabi.html
 

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               P  U  M  P    UP THE   V O L U M E
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                 ENGLISH                ASSYRIAN
 

            Coup de etat        qyam-khela  [M]
            Revolution          poo-laa-aa  [M]
            Insurrection        qyama       [M]
 

Note:  pronounce "q" as in qatoo (cat)
_____________________________________________________________________
F = Feminine     M = Masculine      P = Plural
 

 
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             B  A  C  K     TO THE      F  U  T  U  R  E
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B.C. (9000)  The Cayonu settlement appears near today's Diyarbakir in
northern Bet-Nahrain.  The animal bones found here indicate a shift
from the use of wild animals to the use of domesticated ones.
 

<< Nissan, The Early History of the Ancient Near East>>
 

A.D. (1976) Zecharia Sitchin's THE TWELFTH PLANET appears in the book
stores around the world.  The product of 30 years of research, this
Book One in a series of the Earth Chronicle Books, concluded that
today's humans are descendants of the Nefilim, a superior race
from Marduk, the 12th planet, who settled in Bet-Nahrain (Mesopotamia).
 

<< Sitchin, The 12th Planet >>
 
 
 

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              L    I    T    E    R    A    T    U    S
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                   ******** Inanna Spoke ********
                            ca.  3000 BC
 

"The shepherd!  I will not marry the shepherd!
His clothes are coarse; his wool is rough.
I will marry the farmer.
The farmer grows flax for my clothes.
The farmer grows barley for my table."

<<Wolkstein & Kramer, Inanna >>
 

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    T  H  I  S    W  E  E  K     I  N    H  I  S  T  O  R  Y
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July 4, 1980:  dies Rabbie Koorush Benyamin in Tehran, Iran.  Rabbie
Koorush spent much of his life teaching Assyrian language and history
to thousands of students, and published several books on the Assyrian
language and grammar.  In recognition of his remarkable achievements
July 4 is celebrated as the "Day of the Assyrian Teacher" around the
world.
 

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                      B     R    A     V     O
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On Saturday June 22, 1996, the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA)
honored nine lawyers at the Abbey at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, who were
eligible to receive the title Senior Counselor at ceremonies held
at the ISBA Annual Dinner.  Among them was Paul Newey of Chicago, a
ZENDA reader, who has been a lawyer since 1940, but did not come to
Illinois to practice until 1946.  Paul is the son of the late Reverend
Paul S. Newey of Chicago who came to the U.S. in 1906 from Urmie and
the late Mary Yonan who also came to Chicago the same year from
Tkhooma, Bet-Nahrain.  Paul notes, "you can take the man out of Assyria,
but you can't take the Assyrian out of the man."  He is now writing a
book on a Chicago mafia character whom he knew in his many years as a
law-enforcement official and prosecutor.  His past includes positions
with the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Treasury Department,  U.S. Army
Intelligence, the CIA, and the State's Attorney's Office in the largest
County in the U.S (Cook County Illinois). Paul has always boasted and
been proud of his ancient Assyrian heritage.
 

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      W   E   L   C   O   M   E     T O     Z   E   N   D   A
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Zenda welcomes our new on-line subscribers from:
 

CORPORATE ACCOUNTS
                        Amdahl Corp
 
UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS
                        California State Univ., Stanislaus
 
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
                        San Jose, California
                        Chicago, Illinois
                        Turlock, California
 

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  A   C   K   N   O   W   L   E   D   G   E   M   E   N   T   S
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Zenda wishes to thank the following individuals & organizations
whose contributions appear in this issue:
 

                Firas Jatou             Chicago, Illinois
                Paul Newey              Chicago, Illinois
                George Mikael           Turlock, California
                Jeanclaude Toma         Milpitas, California
                Steve Neeley            ?
                Richard Hooker          Washington State University
 

_____________________________________________________________________
ZENDA  prints your comments and suggestions free of editing, as they
appear in our mailbox.  All letters will be printed in our SURFS UP!
section unless directed otherwise.
 

We urge you to submit the activities of your local and national
Assyrian communities, personal accomplishments, and meeting/school
events to ZENDA no later than Sunday, 12:00 PM, Pacific Standard Time.
 

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  Our Next Issue will appear on Monday, July 8, 1996.
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