By Oraib Al-Rantawi | @OraibAlRantawi It is not only Iran that is paying close attention to the uprisings of the Iraqi and Lebanese people; Israel is also monitoring the situation closely, especially in Lebanon. It has also been involved in the Iraqi crisis recently and dealing direct blows to the Popular Mobilisation Forces and the […]
Nelson Mandela’s Church Joins Boycott, Divestment from Israel to Continue anti-Apartheid Struggle
By Asa Winstanley | @AsaWinstanley | – Nelson Mandela’s church, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, this month endorsed Palestine’s Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). At a recent conference in Cape Town, the church denounced “Israel’s ongoing ill-treatment and oppression of Palestinian people, and the historic prophetic role played by the church and international […]
Erdogan’s Plan to Resettle Arabs in Syrian Kurdish Zone is dangerous and expensive
By Stasa Salacanin | – Although the Turkish offensive in north-east Syria has ceased for five days, concerns are mounting over the humanitarian impact of the operation to push Kurdish-led forces, which Turkey regards as terrorists, out of the area. Ankara’s plan to resettle millions of refugees into the area and its president’s threat to […]
Will Massive Lebanese Demos end the Country’s Era of Corruption?
By Amira Abo el-Fetouh | – We may be too optimistic to hope that the massive demonstrations that have spread in all the cities of Lebanon will lead to the collapse of Hariri’s regime that has ruled the country for about 30 years. This regime was established when businessman Rafik Hariri, close to Saudi Arabia, […]
Thank You, Tunisia: The only Democracy in the Middle East
By Mohammad Ayesh | – The overwhelming election victory of Tunisia’s new President, Kais Saied, and the statements he made in its aftermath send a very clear message: the counter-revolution in Tunisia has failed; it has been defeated; it has ended. Tunisians have always embraced the saying, “If people fight for life, destiny will listen […]
Does Facebook impose curfews on Palestinians in the ‘blue world’?
By Hossam Shaker | – When the Arab youth revolted in 2011 to demand freedom and democracy in their countries, Facebook was the social media platform of choice for crowd mobilisation, a proven experience in other contexts around the world. When Palestinian youth tried to take a chance and speak out against the Israeli occupation […]
Does the Demi Lovato Affair prove that Brand Israel is now toxic?
By Asa Winstanley | @AsaWinstanley | – “Brand Israel” was launched. As I’ve written before, this public relations strategy was an utter failure. War crimes, apartheid and denial of basic human rights are a hard sell, it seems. By now, Israel is a completely toxic brand, even for some of its own supporters. Israel no […]
South Africans advise Palestinians on how Apartheid can be Overcome
Ramzy Baroud | @RamzyBaroud | – The way to truly defeat Apartheid: A conversation with Na’eem Jeenah and Salim Vally “Perhaps the time has come for Palestinians and justice-loving Israelis to imagine a new future,” wrote South African intellectuals and academics, Na’eem Jeenah and Salim Vally, in their essay, “Beyond Ethnic Nationalism: Lessons from South […]
An Expansionist State? Did Israel ever have any intention of honoring either the 1947 Partition Plan or 1967 borders?
By Thomas Suárez | – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to annex parts of the occupied West Bank if re-elected in last month’s General Election, eliciting outrage from world leaders. However, that “promise” to usurp not just the West Bank, but all of Palestine, is century-old news, an ongoing promise being kept, and no […]