Human Rights

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Steven Salaita called the move by leading academic group ‘a serious blemish on the university’s record’ The university rescinded Salaita’s tenured faculty appointment at school’s the American Indian studies program after he issued a series of Tweets condemning those who defended Israel’s […]

art and photography

5,000 Hanging Skirts: How Women Remember War Rape in Kosova

Juan Cole

By Frances Trix | (Informed Comment) | – – On 12 June, 5,000 skirts and dresses were hung on 45 clotheslines in the football stadium in Prishtina, capital of Kosova. “The laundry is washed clean, like the women who are clean and pure—they carry no stain,” asserted artist Alketa Xhafa-Mripa, the Kosovar originator of the […]

Colonialism

The Forgotten Costs of War in the Middle East

contributors

By David Vine | (Tomdispatch.com) | – First, they tried to shoot the dogs. Next, they tried to poison them with strychnine. When both failed as efficient killing methods, British government agents and U.S. Navy personnel used raw meat to lure the pets into a sealed shed. Locking them inside, they gassed the howling animals […]

Apartheid

Norway Insurance Co. divests from Israeli Firms in Palestinian West Bank

contributors

By IMEMC News | – – The Norwegian insurance giant, KLP Kapitalforvaltning, has divested two international building material companies from its investment portfolio because of their operations in the West Bank settlements. Haaretz Israeli newspaper reported, according to the PNN, KLP divested of its shares in these companies effectively on June 1, citing international law […]

Children

Yemen: Caught between Saudis & Houthis, Children Pay Price of War

contributors

By Belkis Wille | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | – – The deliberate targeting of schools has become a flashpoint in the war between Yemen’s rebels and a Saudi-led coalition. Hisham Yahya, 13, is an eager student. As we sat in the large, empty yard of his school in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, with weapons debris […]

Dissent

Tens of thousands participate in Israel’s annual gay pride Parade

contributors

AFP | (Video Report) | – – “Tens of thousands of people turned out on Friday for Israel’s annual Gay Pride parade, dancing in the streets of Tel Aviv and waving rainbow-coloured flags.” AFP: “Tens of thousands participate in Israel’s annual gay pride”

Druze

Al-Qaeda in Syria rubs out 23 members of Druze Religious Minority, Persecutes Others

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The al-Qaeda-linked Support Front has murdered 23 men from a single Druze clan in Qalb Lawzah, Idlib Province, Syria. Druze villagers fled in large numbers to surrounding Sunni hamlets seeking refuge from al-Qaeda. There are some 18 Druze villages in the north of Idlib Province. The […]

Apartheid

Expelled for Life: A Palestinian Family’s Struggle to Stay on Their Land

contributors

By Jen Marlowe | (Tomdispatch.com) Nasser Nawaj’ah held Laith’s hand as, beside me, they walked down the dirt and pebble path of Old Susya. Nasser is 33 years old, his son six. Nasser’s jaw was set and every few moments he glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was approaching. Until Laith piped up […]