By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Joseph Michael Schreiber stands accused of having carried out an arson attack against a mosque in Fort Pierce, Florida, about an hour’s drive north from West Palm Beach. The mosque was burned down on the first night of Eid al-Adha or the Festival of Sacrifice, a […]
Archives for September 2016
Busting the Myths about Syrian Refugees in the US
Jeffrey H. Cohen | (The Conversation) | – – On Sept. 12, a new cease-fire took effect in Syria. With a lull in fighting, some are hopeful for an end to the nation’s ongoing civil war. Yet, even if the war ends soon, rebuilding the country will take time. As many refugees anxiously wait and […]
Israel gets $38 Bn from US as it Strangles Palestinian Economy
Ma’an News Agency | – – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian economy remains “worrying” as growth stagnation, delays in aid delivery, and Israeli restrictions continue to seriously impede improvements to the Palestinian financial situation, a World Bank report revealed on Thursday. According to the report, which will be presented to the Ad Hoc Liaison committee […]
Obama has one last Chance to remedy his Colossal Failure on Palestine/Israel
By Carl Bildt | ( Project Syndicate ) | – – STOCKHOLM – Next year marks the centennial of the Balfour Declaration, the British statement that paved the way for Israel’s founding in 1948, and for the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as the larger Arab world, that continues today. World leaders […]
Making Case for Pardon, Snowden Says Leaks Were ‘Necessary, Vital Things’
by Deirdre Fulton, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | – – ‘I think when people look at the calculations of benefit, it is clear that in the wake of 2013 the laws of our nation changed,’ Snowden tells the Guardian In a new interview with the Guardian, whistleblower Edward Snowden explains why U.S. President Barack Obama […]
Right-wing Israeli ministers meet with Facebook to discuss censoring ‘anti-Semitic incitement’
Ma’an News Agency | – – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Two right-wing Israeli ministers reportedly met with top Facebook executives on Monday in an effort to “minimize online anti-Semitic incitement,” according to Israeli news website Ynet. The site reported that Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, members of right-wing Israeli parties […]
Syria Truce holds, despite questions on Humanitarian Aid
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The London pan-Arab daily al-Quds al-`Arabi reports that the truce that began Monday night held during its first twenty-four hours, in the areas designated for a cease-fire by Russia and the United States. The boom of artillery fire faded away at nightfall on Monday. It coincided […]
End of the ‘Caliphate’ in Iraq? After Qayyarah, Mosul hangs in the Balance
Special Correspondent | (Niqash.org) | – – The liberation of the northern Iraqi town of Qayyarah from the [so-called] Islamic State group [IS] is a strategic victory in defeating the extremists, in addition to being a major financial blow to their efforts. Since it was liberated by Iraqi forces last month, Qayyarah has come to […]
As Truce Starts, Russia Tells Free Syrian Army to Stop Fighting Kurds
TeleSur | – – Moscow added it would continue its own air strikes against the Islamic State group and the militants formerly known as the Nusra Front Russia’s Defense Ministry called on Free Syrian Army militants to “stop fighting Kurdish units,” as the cease-fire announced last week began in the war-torn nation. The ministry, which […]