Dissent

Committee on Academic Freedom | Middle East Studies Association | – Cynthia Teniente-Matson President San José State University sjsupres@sjsu.edu . . . Dear President Teniente-Matson and colleagues: We write on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom to express our grave concern at the […]

Bill of Rights

Mahmoud Khalil, Released on Bail from ICE Detention, says “Justice will Prevail”

Common Dreams

The student organizer condemned the Trump administration’s treatment of “hundreds of men” he met while imprisoned in Louisiana for more than three months. By Julia Conley | – ( Commondreams.org ) – Leaving an immigration detention center in Jena, Louisiana after being imprisoned for 104 days for protesting Israel’s U.S.-backed bombardment of Gaza, former Columbia […]

Colonialism

Resistance Works: How Small Groups Took on Great Powers and Won a Victory for Decolonization, Africa, Indigenous Peoples, and More

David Vine

David Vine ( Tomdispatch.com ) – At a time when many may feel that good news has gone the way of the dodo, look no further than the homeland of that long-extinct bird — Mauritius — for a dose of encouragement. There, among the islands of the Indian Ocean, news can be found about the […]

Authoritarianism

American Spring? How nonviolent Protest in the US is Accelerating

Waging Nonviolence

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the size and scale of anti-Trump protests this year have dwarfed those in 2017, and they have been extraordinarily peaceful. Erica Chenoweth, Soha Hammam, Jeremy Pressman, and Christopher Wiley Shay June 12, 2025 ( Waging Nonviolence ) – On streets and highway passes, at intersections and in parks, millions of Americans […]

Bill of Rights

From the Chinese Exclusion Act to pro-Palestinian Activists: The Evolution of politically motivated Deportations

The Conversation

By Rick Baldoz, Brown University (The Conversation) – The recent deportation orders targeting foreign students in the U.S. have prompted a heated debate about the legality of these actions. The Trump administration made no secret that many individuals were facing removal because of their pro-Palestinian advocacy. In recent months, the State Department has revoked hundreds […]

Bill of Rights

Deporting Dissent: The dangerous Precedent set by the Persecution of pro-Palestine Activists

Middle East Monitor

( Middle East Monitor ) – “Rights are granted to those who align with power,” Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student, eloquently wrote from his cell. This poignant statement came soon after a judge ruled that the government had met the legal threshold to deport the young activist on the nebulous ground of “foreign […]

Dissent

Turkey’s Youth on the Frontlines of Protests

Arzu Geybullayeva

High school students have now joined university students in protests that have rocked the country since March 19 Written byArzu Geybullayeva ( Global Voices ) – Ever sinceMarch 19, when Istanbul’s popular mayor and main opposition party’s presidential candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu, was first detained, then arrested, on bogus corruption and terrorism charges, Turkey has been […]

Dissent

“The American Spring:” Trump is increasingly Like Middle East Rulers who were Overthrown

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Nationwide “Hands Off!” rallies were held in over 1,200 towns and cities, in every single state of the Union on Saturday, staged by over 150 organizations, including workers’ unions, democracy advocates, veterans and human rights groups, according to David Collins at AP. Some of the urban demonstrations were significant, with […]

Democracy

A Do-it-Yourself Kit for Defeating Trumpism: Because the Mainstream Politicians Won’t

H. Patricia Hynes

Greenfield, Mass. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – The Republican Administration’s edicts – imposed by broligarchs President Trump and Elon Musk – are with us for the next two to four years. Who/what will defeat them? Not the inside-the Beltway Democratic politicians. Most are supine and silent, or cautious and cowardly, or helping to advance […]