January 28, 2010 / 13 Shvat 5770

Residents of the Arab-Christian village of Fassuta cannot stop talking about the visit paid to the village by Senator Barack Obama, who is now President of the United States.  Ever since he came to visit the village's computer facility, at the initiative of the Jewish Federation of Chicago and the city's Cardinal, the people in the village refer to Barack Obama as "The Senator, the President of Fassuta."

Dr. George Ayoub, who at the time served as the mayor of Fassuta, remembers the event, during which the Senator, who was later elected to the American Presidency, visited this picturesque Catholic village that was granted a generous donation from the Jewish and Christian communities of Chicago.

Four years later, the people of Fassuta still talk about the young Senator who became President.

"Not a day goes by when we don't talk about it," Dr. Ayoub says. "We all wore our finest clothes and then suddenly the Senator, who later became President, arrived dressed in athletic gear.  It's already been a year since he became President.  We've wanted to visit him in the White House several times – a delegation of Arab Christians from the village – but we have not been able to.  We still hope to have the opportunity to visit him."

Dr. Ayoub, who is now a physician in the village, adds, "I am sure that he remembers me, and I am also sure that he remembers well the gift we gave him.  I hope that we will once again be able to see him, in a visit to the White House."