Human Rights Watch | (New York) – Militias, volunteer fighters, and Iraqi security forces engaged in deliberate destruction of civilian property after these forces, following US and Iraqi air strikes, forced the retreat of Islamic State fighters (also known as ISIS) from the town of Amerli and surrounding areas in early September 2014, Human Rights […]
Growing Up in Syria: Children Images and War
Asaad Al-Saleh | (Informed Comment) When I wrote my book, “Voices of the Arab Spring” (Columbia UP, 2015), I did not feature testimonials by children. Though the book surveys participants from various backgrounds—in age, politics, and education— – children were excluded for a proper reason. They should stay out of politics, though adults in the […]
Facing Down Anti-Muslim Bigotry Through Faith in America
David Schanzer | (ISLAMiCommentary) – Address to Islamic Association of Raleigh (NC) David Schanzer As-salamu alaykum. Thank you so much for the invitation to address you this afternoon. I am very pleased to be included in this wonderful celebration. I know we are gathering today with very heavy hearts. I was out of town last […]
Will Terrorist attack on Tunisia Museum-goers Test Gov’t’s Commitment to Rights?
Human Rights Watch | (Tunis) The despicable attack in the Bardo Museum in Tunis on March 18, 2015, killing at least 19 foreign tourists and Tunisians, will test efforts by the Tunisian authorities to build a rights-respecting society, Human Rights Watch said today. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the assault at the museum, much […]
United Nations: 100,000 Gazans Still Homeless Since Summer Attack
By IMEMC News & Agencies | – The official UN death-toll for the 2014 war shows that 1,549 Palestinian civilians were killed in comparison to four Israelis, and 504 Palestinian children were killed for one Israeli child. PNN reports that, in the Gaza Strip, the seven weeks of hostilities between Palestinian armed groups and the […]
Syria: Signs of Popular Backlash Against al-Qaeda
By Robert S. Ford and Tony Ghazal Mouawad | (Informed Comment) As the Syrian civil war drags into its fifth year, the al-Qai’da linked Nusra Front [Support Front] has a reputation as being among the toughest fighters and has consolidated its position on the Syrian scene. At the same time, there are hints that many […]
Worst than ISIL: Iraq’s US-caused Public Health Catastrophe
By Mozhgan Savabieasfahani | (Informed Comment) The Iraqi people, once the envy of the Arab world for their outstanding educational and health-care systems, have been reduced to a nation of refugees, flung across the Middle East. U.S.-created thugs are axing Iraq’s historical heritage into pieces. The Iraqi health system continues to disintegrate as doctors flee […]
Palestine: 2014 sees Record number of Journalists Targeted
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) said Sunday that 2014 saw 465 violations of media freedoms in the occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. MADA chairman Dr. Ghazi Hanania told reporters that 2014 was “the worst, the deadliest, and the hardest year ever for journalists and media […]
Palestinian-Israelis Aspire to National Role after Elections
France24 | – At 20% of the Israeli population, Israelis of Palestinian heritage have united to back a single party and for the first time could lead the opposition in parliament with the third-largest party, giving them an official role in diplomacy. This marginalized community dreams of gaining the influence its numbers support. – JC […]