Featured

Bloomington, In. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – A dozen years ago I visited Israel on a two-week trip as a guest of an American pro-Israel group. I asked several of the speakers we heard, “Where do you think Israel will be in a hundred years?” The speakers invariably looked at me as though I […]

China

China dominates Middle East Solar Sector as Trump hobbles Renewables in US

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Chinese firms dominate the manufacture of photovoltaic solar panels, accounting for 80% of the global market (along with most elements of the supply chain). Volumes in China’s solar sector, including panels, batteries and EVs, expanded by a third in 2024, even though panel prices had plummeted. The Chinese will, however, […]

Cold War

Trump, an American Stalin? Massive Population Transfers were a Feature of Communist Dictatorship

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s proposal to ethnically cleanse Gaza of its 2.3 million Palestinians constitutes a profound reversal of post-1945 U.S. norms, which condemned such mass relocations of indigenous populations. It is the sort of thing Soviet dictator Josef Stalin used to do, and Trump has to decide if he wants his legacy […]

Featured

Ethnic Cleansing for “Gaza’s Riviera”? A Secret Israeli Memo and Trump’s Plan to Displace 2.3 million Palestinians

Dan Steinbock

During a press conference with PM Netanyahu on Tuesday evening, President Trump said the United States “will take over” the Gaza Strip. Around the world, observers were shocked. But the statement didn’t come out of the blue. “The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too,” Trump […]

Featured

Israel’s Increasingly Extremist Turn to Misogyny is Pinkwashed, while the Press Stereotypes Muslims

Mohammed Samaana

Belfast (Special to Informed Comment) – Pinkwashing of discrimination against women in Israeli politics and society has led western politicians and media to ignore the issue. Israeli news sites, in contrast, are frank about this worsening problem, which is spearheaded by the far right. In this article I will look at misogyny within the political […]

Bill of Rights

Are we All Hungarians now, or Palestinians? Trump’s Onslaught on the Rule of Law and Civil Liberties

H. Scott Prosterman

Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Most of (convicted felon) Donald Trump’s Executive Orders are brazenly unconstitutional, and stand to be reversed in Court rulings by thoughtful, law-abiding judges. But the red elephants in the room are the sycophantic, compliant judges he appointed during his last term such as Aileen Cannon of Florida. […]

Featured

On the 46th Anniversary of Iranian Revolution: An Interview with Amb. John Limbert

Fariba Amini

“No one should be surprised that the Iranian Revolution took a religious form. The fact that God appears on almost every page does not reflect religious convictions of my own, nor for that matter any conscious design at all, but simply arises from the circumstance that in any description of the fabric of Iranian life […]

Featured

Global South “Hague Group” Pledges Israel Arms Boycott and Backing for Palestinian State and Int’l Law

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The governments of “Belize, Plurinational State of Bolivia, Republic of Colombia, Republic of Cuba, Republic of Honduras, Malaysia, Republic of Namibia, Republic of Senegal and Republic of South Africa” gathered in The Hague in the Netherlands on Friday to announce the formation of “The Hague Group.” The entire document is […]

Featured

The Israelis Left behind 50 mn. Tons of Bomb-Infested Rubble in Gaza, as Hundreds of Thousands Stream Home

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli systemic destruction of civilian building infrastructure in Gaza generated over 50 million tons of debris by 1 December 2024. Clearing this rubble will be extremely dangerous for the following reasons. Since returning to Gaza in November 2023, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams of the UN Mine Action Service […]