The name of prominent American Senator Bob Menendez has been in the headlines recently following allegations of misconduct and involvement in corruption cases, during which he declared his intention to fight for his innocence. The senator is not the only one on the list of accusations; his wife, Nadine Arslanian, has also been implicated as a partner in the company managed by Egyptian businessman Wael Hana. So, who is Nadine Arslanian?
In a 2020 interview on a YouTube channel called "The Armenian Report," Nadine stated that she was born to Armenian parents and fled from Lebanon, her birthplace, during the civil war in the country, as reported by "The Hill." She said, "During the civil war, we escaped from Lebanon to Greece, then to London, and we came to the United States and stayed in Palo Alto, California, for about seven months before moving to New York," according to the site.
In the same interview, Nadine explained that she attended New York University for both her undergraduate and graduate studies, specializing in international politics and French culture and civilization. She noted that she has a daughter who also enrolled at New York University, per "The Hill."
Regarding her meeting with Menendez, "The Hill" reported that Nadine, 56, met her husband, 69, at a restaurant in Union City, New Jersey, in 2018. She told Reuters she was unemployed at that time. Nadine mentioned, according to the New York Times, that the restaurant owner introduced her to Menendez, as she did not know at that moment he was a senator. She added that "he was very smart and charming and had a sense of humor."
They quickly found common ground to talk about, according to the newspaper, which was the desire for the United States to officially recognize the Armenian genocide, which resulted in the deaths of 1.5 million people, including many of Nadine's relatives. In 2019, after a decade-long effort, Menendez successfully persuaded the Senate to approve a resolution recognizing the deaths as genocide, a step that paved the way for President Joe Biden to officially acknowledge the massacre two years later.
