Middle East

Palestinians ‘are not animals in a zoo’: On Kanafani and the need to redefine the role of the ‘victim intellectual’

Years before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, US media introduced many new characters, promoting them as ‘experts’ who helped ratchet up US propaganda, ultimately allowing the US government to secure enough popular support for the war. Though enthusiasm for war began dwindling in later years, the invasion of Iraq had begun with a […]

Israel/ Palestine

Chomsky on Israeli Apartheid, Celebrity Activists, BDS and the One-State Solution

Ramzy Baroud

( Middle East Monitor ) – This is, said Italian socialist Antonio Gramsci, the “interregnum”; the rare and seismic moment in history when great transitions occur, when empires collapse and others rise, and when new conflicts and struggles ensue. The Gramscian interregnum, however, “is not a smooth transition”, for these profound changes often embody a […]

Apartheid

Saudi Arabia: Biden Visit Risks Fostering Repression: US Should Publicly Seek Rights Commitments, Reforms

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – US President Joe Biden’s expected visit to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman risks encouraging new abuses and further entrenching impunity, 13 human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, said today in a joint letter to President Biden. The Biden administration should secure clear and […]

Apartheid

Apartheid: How a Reluctant UN Official Was convinced to so Describe Israeli Policies toward Palestinians

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Dawnmena (Dawn in the Middle East and North Africa), the democratization site founded by the late Jamal Khashoggi, carries an important column this week by Michael Lynk, who was the seventh United Nations Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, serving in […]

India

Ukraine War Fallout: Russia and Iran Plot Alternative Gulf Trade Route to Avoid US Sanctions

Gilbert Achcar

By Gilbert Achkar | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Naturally, one of the consequences of the sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia is to stimulate the latter’s search for ways to bypass the restrictions. Since the actions taken by Western countries to punish Russia for its annexation of Crimea and its first […]

Israel/ Palestine

First Israel made Gaza an Open Air Prison with high Unemployment; Now, Inflation is Hitting Hard

Middle East Monitor

By Ali Abo Rezeg | – ( Middle East Monitor) – The weary Gaza Strip has been languishing for more than 15 years under an inhumane land, sea and air blockade imposed by Israel. It was put in place following the Palestinian election in 2006 which was won by Hamas. Israel’s collective punishment of the […]

Displaced and Refugees

Starving Civilians is an ancient military Tactic, but today it’s a War Crime in Ukraine, Yemen, Tigray and elsewhere

The Conversation

By Tom Dannenbaum, Tufts University; Alex De Waal, Tufts University; and Daniel Maxwell, Tufts University | – A hideous contradiction is playing out in war-torn Ukraine. Thousands of Ukrainians are starving in cities besieged by Russian forces. Meanwhile, the country’s grain stores are bursting with food, and the government is begging for international assistance to […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Emergency: Iran’s Abadan hits unprecedented 126° F., as Gov’t Offices are forced to Close

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iran International reports that a temperature of 126 degrees F. (52.2C) has been recorded in Abadan. It is the highest temperature officially recorded in that city in the 70 years official records have been kept. Globally, it is one of the the higher temperatures observed before the summer solstice since […]

Apartheid

Israel’s Apartheid Law Causes Bennett Government to Fall, on Eve of Biden’s Visit

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will dissolve parliament and go to new elections. His government has lacked a majority in parliament for some time and recently lost an embarrassing vote on applying Israeli law to squatter-settlers in the Palestinian West Bank. Theirs will be […]