Human Rights

300th Person Executed in Saudi Arabia in 2025

Academic Freedom Under Siege: Right Wing Repression and Principled Resistance

By Mehmet Rakipoğlu and İbrahim Özcoşar | – Exeter, UK and Mardin, Türkiye (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – In the aftermath of 7 October 2023 – when Hamas’s surprise “Al-Aqsa Flood” attack and Israel’s devastating genocidal war on Gaza shook global politics – Western academia has entered its own crisis. From the United States […]

Displaced and Refugees

As Gaza rebuilds, what Lessons can be learned from Nagasaki in 1945?

The Conversation

By Gwyn McClelland, University of New England (The Conversation) – At first, there might not seem to be any immediate similarities between a devastated Nagasaki after the US atomic bombing in 1945 and Gaza today, aside from massive destruction. But in considering Gaza’s recovery from war – should the current ceasefire hold – much may […]

Academic Freedom

Protesting Northwestern U’s Flawed Compulsory Training on Criticism of Israel as “Antisemitism”

Committee on Academic Freedom

Committee on Academic Freedom | Middle East Studies Association | – Letter to Northwestern University expressing concern about its flawed compulsory anti-bias training and its threats against students who refuse to complete it Henry S. Bienen Interim President, Northwestern University nupresident@northwestern.edu Dear President Bienen and Colleagues: We write on behalf of the Middle […]

Authoritarianism

Federal Court: Trump Administration Violated First Amendment By Deporting Foreign Citizens for Pro-Palestinian Advocacy

Middle East Studies Association

Middle East Studies Association | – NB: The MESA news release below has been expanded with extended quotes from the Knight First Amendment Institute and Judge William G. Young that were only given as hyperlinks in the original. In Landmark Ruling, Federal Court Says Trump Administration Violated First Amendment By Deporting Foreign Citizens for Pro-Palestinian […]

Genocide

Overwhelming Evidence of Genocide against Palestinians: a Legal Expert unpacks the UN Report on Gaza

The Conversation

By Elisenda Calvet Martínez, Universitat de Barcelona The Conversation – On September 16, 2025, the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry (COI) on the occupied Palestinian territory including East Jerusalem and Israel issued its third report on the situation in Gaza since October 7, 2023. For the first time, the COI has recognised that genocide has […]

censorship

Protesting the Suspension of a Scholar at the University of Kentucky for Statements on Palestine

Committee on Academic Freedom

Committee on Academic Freedom | Middle East Studies Association of North America | – Letter to the University of Kentucky regarding the suspension of Professor Ramsi Woodcock for his statements about Palestine Eli Capilouto President, University of Kentucky elic@uky.edu James C. Duff Dean, J. David Rosenberg College of Law University of Kentucky jim.duff@uky.edu […]

censorship

Jimmy Kimmel’s Reinstatement shows the Power of Noncooperation

Waging Nonviolence

Disney’s reversal on Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension wasn’t an act of corporate consciousness — it was a strategic retreat forced by coordinated pressure. Joe Worthy ( Waging Nonviolence ) – The attempt to silence late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has backfired in a big way, with Disney/ABC now reversing the “indefinite suspension” it announced last week. This […]

Donald Trump

The Death of Civil Rights in the Age of Trump

Rebecca Gordon

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Warning: dangers in the mirror are often closer than they may appear. In other words, the next few paragraphs may seem to be hyperbole but are, in fact, expressions of reality (animated by a cold fury). On September 8, 2025, the Supreme Court did its best to murder what’s left of […]