Middle East

RT | (Video Report) | – – “In the face of the deadly threat posed by the so-called Islamic State, many Kurdish women decide not to leave their survival to fate. Instead, they fight for their lives and their future. Taking up arms, they join the YPG – Kurdish People’s Protection Units that defend their […]

censorship

PM Netanyahu wants a Free Press, just not in Israel

contributors

By Ari Heistein | (Informed Comment) | – – Continuing his assault on transparency and independent voices in the media, Prime Minister Netanyahu denied investigative journalist Raviv Drucker’s Freedom of Information Law request last week regarding the frequent telephone calls between the Prime Minister and Amos Regev, the editor-in-chief of Israel’s biggest daily Israel Hayom. […]

Christianity

Israel releases 16 Squatter Youth suspected in arson of Church of Loaves & Fishes

contributors

By IMEMC | – – Israeli police detained and have now released 16 young Jewish settlers, Thursday, after an overnight arson attack damaged a revered shrine in northern Israel. The arson attack struck the Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where many Christians believe Jesus fed the […]

Iraq

End of Sykes-Picot: Is Independence for Iraqi Kurdistan a Decade Away?

contributors

Niqash.org | Sulaymaniyah | – – As Iraqis and Syrians fight, Kurds are holding elections and drafting laws. After Kurds also won in Turkish elections, nationalists hope the 100th birthday of the Sykes-Picot may be its last and borders will be redrawn. As Turkish voters went to the polling booths, Iraq’s Kurds were watching eagerly. […]

Economy

From Iran: Sanctions help the Hardliners

contributors

William Beeman | (Informed Comment) | – – Bill Beeman writes from Iran: I am continuing my trip through Iran traveling from Yazd to Isfahan via Na’in Discussions with a variety of ordinary people in shops, on the street and in a couple of cases in private homes are very revealing about the public attitude […]

BDS Occupied Territories

French Telco CEO Receives Death Threats, is Cyberstalked over Withdrawal from Israel

contributors

By IMEMC | – – Orange boss Stephane Richard has taken legal action after receiving death threats against himself and family members amid a row over withdrawing his brand from Israel, legal sources said Tuesday, according to AFP. Richard filed a complaint at a Paris court last week before heading to Israel in a bid […]

Apartheid

Israel’s Ultranationalist Squatters March in Jerusalem, beat Palestinian Journalist

contributors

Channel 4 News | (Video Documentary) | – – “Bussed in from nearby settlements, Israel’s ultranationalist right were defiant at a rally for Jerusalem day this year. Hardline views have become more influential than ever in Israel – with both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the wider public. Inigo Gilmore went to meet the settlers.” […]

Arab World

Women’s Voices Matter, especially in the Middle East

contributors

By Lauren Feeney | (Informed Comment) – – Before there were nine million Syrian refugees, civil wars in Yemen and Libya, mass death sentences being handed down in Egypt, there was a moment of profound hope. It is easy to lose track of the emotions that first defined the Arab Spring among headlines full of […]

Arab Americans

In defeat for Israel Lobbies, Professors’ Union censures U of Illinois Over Salaita Firing

contributors

By Lauren McCauley, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | – – Attorneys for Professor Steven Salaita called the move by leading academic group ‘a serious blemish on the university’s record’ The university rescinded Salaita’s tenured faculty appointment at school’s the American Indian studies program after he issued a series of Tweets condemning those who defended Israel’s […]