Poetry Slams for the Deaf in Israel

Forward takes a look at a poetry slam in for the Deaf in Isreal. Read the full story here.

A new social network for signers

AN Israeli-based company is launching a new social network for signers. Joseph Geliebter, founder of SignTalk Foundation, says:

SignTalkers gives members of the signing community – both hearing and deaf – a space for thoughtful, thriving, and engaging conversation. Unlike other social media platforms, this exclusive space will serve to provide a home away from home to meet, share and interact with members of the signing community around the world.

Using the site requires registration. You'll find the SignTalkers website here and more information in a article published by an Israeli newssite here.

Deaf Syrian Refugee Gets Starring Role

A Syrian refuge who is deaf is staring in a Netflix series. Mustafa Alabssi takes the lead in Black Summer, a spin-off of Z Nation. Global News has a video report or read the story here.

"Our sign language romance"

The BBC Arabic followed a deaf couple from Lebanon as they prepared for their wedding.

Hearing Aids Given to deaf Syrian children

A team of audiologists from the Chicago-based "Deaf Planet Soul” charity are on a two-week mission to help deaf Syrian children in clinics around Lebanon. A spokesman tells the Associated Press, "When people think of refugees, they think of cut-off limbs and brain injuries, and all these visible things. They don’t think about the invisible results of war. They don’t think that this kid who can’t hear really needs help.” Read the full story here.

Deaf Boy to be allowed to Stay in UK

We told you recently about a "six-year-old deaf boy who fled Iraq with his family after ISIS threatened to kill disabled children." His parents were told he would have to leave the UK. Here's an update: Lawand Hamadamin "has been given a last minute reprieve to stay in Britain," according to The Telegraph. His brother and parents had settled into Derby where he learned British Sing Language at the Royal School for the Deaf. Read more from The Telegraph here.

6-year-old Deaf Boy on ISIS Hit List

Photo: Penguin PR

A six-year-old deaf boy is asking to stay in the UK. His family fled Northern Iraq when "ISIS ruled that disabled children should be killed by lethal injection." Read more in the Mirror.

A young Syrian girl is left deaf and hopeless

Maram Lahham is going deaf but "a government siege of her home town of Darayya has prevented the seven year old from receiving medical care and enough food to eat," reports the New Zealand Herald. Her mother is quoted as saying, "You can't imagine how hard it is to watch this happen to your daughter and not be able to do anything about it." Read the full story here.

Why ISIS is pitching its cause to the deaf?

Members of the terror group ISIS put out a video recently, calling on the deaf in the West to join their cause. We first told you about the video nearly two weeks ago in a post here. KERO‑TV in Bakersfield, California spoke with a deaf advocacy group and a psychiatrist to find out why the believe this is happening. (The captions don't seen to be working, but you can read the story here).

Islamic State puts out video directed at the deaf

There's a new ISIS recruitment video out--and it shows two armed and deaf Islamic State fighters using sign. The subtitles indicate it's an attempt to demonstrate how "normal" life can be for anyone living under ISIS rule. The video suggests anyone who is deaf can join the jihad in the Middle East.

First Saudi Sign Language Dictionary

There's a new Saudi Sign Language Dictionary--for the first time. Put together by the Saudi Association for Hearing Impairment, the dictionary has 2,700 sign words and a manual dictionary that includes the alphabet, numbers, more than 750 sign words and native phrases. Read more here.

A look at Gally from the Middle East

An Arab new site explains to its readers what it's like to be a student at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. Arab News, a Saudi Arabian publication, has the story here.

Israel Defense Forces

Members of the Israel Defense Forces performed their nation's national anthem in sign language last week. Volunteer soldiers go through a special training course at a military base in the city of Tzrifin, about 40 miles northwest of Jerusalem. At a closing ceremony they all sing the national anthem. All but the deaf soldiers. That is, until last week. The entire group signed the song Hatikva, according to the Israeli news website Walla. You can see the soldiers perform the song in the video below.

Arab school to use ASL

A school for the deaf in the Middle East will use new methods this year. The Al Amal School and Kindergarten in the United Arab Emirates' city of Sharjah is planning to introduce American Sign Language to its students, though Emirati sign language will still be used. Read more at Gulf News here.

Iran wins Women's Kata

Iran’s Mojdeh Mardani

Iran's Mojdeh Mardani beat competitors from Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish in Kata to get to the gold medal match where she took on a Venezuelan athlete to win the gold medal. Kata is a set sequence of karate moves organized into a pre-arranged fight against imaginary opponents. Iranians now have 11 medals, including one gold, two silver and eight bronze.

The Russian team won gold for men's Kata, Turkey took the silver and Iran the bronze.

Students create sound-sensing glove

Student innovators from Jordan University explain their sound-sensing glove hardware for the deaf to interact with the hearing. They were attending the recent World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea in Jordan (no captions).

Terps in Saudi Arabia

There's an interpreter shortage in Saudi Arabia. Ahmad Al-Faheed of the Arab Federation of Organizations Working with the Deaf reports there are only eight accredited sign language interpreters for 750,000 people with hearing difficulties in Saudi Arabia. That's one for every 93,000 people. Five of the eight work at King Saud University.

Deaf-Blind Performers take Stage tonight in NY

An acclaimed Israeli theater ensemble debuts its show Not by Bread alone tonight in New York. All the performers in the troupe, named Nalagaat (Hebrew for Please Do Touch) are deaf and blind. The US premiere takes place at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University. Read some background on the group in the New York Times here.

Deaf Restaurant in the Middle East

The BBC takes a look at a Gaza restaurant staffed by deaf people here.

Bringing Judaism’s Oral Law to the Deaf

If you are a religious deaf man in Israel, the traditional doors to Jewish learning have been in so many ways closed to you. But Yosef Tolidano—a young deaf man descended from a long and distinguished line of Sephardic rabbis—has pulled open those doors. Read more here.