Arab World

By Juan Cole The Iraqi military made a push on Tikrit north of Baghdad on Tuesday, but had to call off their campaign when they ran into minefields, booby-trapped buildings, sniping and artillery and mortar fire on the part of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which now styles itself the “Islamic State” […]

Iraq

In Iraq, it isn’t just about minorities: The “Infidels” attacked by the so-called “Islamic State” include the Sunnis, Too

contributors

By Ali A. Olomi The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has declared war on “kafirs.” According to most observers, this term as ISIS uses it refers to Christians, Yazidi, and Shia Muslims. But this is far more than a conflict that pits Muslim versus Yazidi or Christian, or even Sunni vs Shia. To […]

Israel

Is Israel De-Industrializing Gaza?

contributors

By Martin Lejeune (Maan News Agency) On the night of the July 27, the first day of the Muslim Eid-Al-Fitr festival following the fasting month of Ramadan, the Israeli air force dropped three bombs on Al-Hurani’s carpentry workshop. Each of the three bombs had an explosive force of 250 pounds. Al-Hurani pointed towards the charred […]

Apartheid

After its Failed Gaza Campaign, What next for Israel?

contributors

By Paul Rogers, University of Bradford via The Conversation With a tenuous five-day ceasefire now underway, the pause in the Gaza War allows each side to consider its position. The Israeli Embassy in London reported on August 11 that: All known tunnels, 32 in total, have now been destroyed. Following the completion of the mission, […]

Featured

Can al-Abadi win over Iraq’s Moderate Sunnis?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Arguably, the so-called Islamic State (actually a vicious gang of serial killers) could never have taken over northern and Western Iraq if the largely Sunni Arab populations there had not been deeply alienated from the government in Baghdad by the openly sectarian politics of former Shiite prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. Al-Maliki systematically […]

Iraq

Inside Mosul: A Yearning for Deliverance from IS Radicals

contributors

By Khales Joumah | Mosul | niqash | NIQASH listens in on a conversation between Mosul locals to find out how they feel about US air strikes on their city and the Sunni Muslim extremists controlling it. Some support the use of force, others fear what will happen if the extremists are driven out and […]

Israel

Israeli Assault killed Half of all Chickens in Gaza, Damaged Agriculture

contributors

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Food and Agriculture Organization on Thursday warned that the Israeli assault on Gaza had caused extensive damage to the coastal enclave’s agricultural sector and would have long-term consequences. The FAO said in a statement that the five-week assault had “forced farmers and herders to abandon their lands and has paralyzed fishing […]

Apartheid

Dutch Lawyer who saved Jewish Boy in WWII returns Medal to Israel over Bombing of his Family in Gaza

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Henk Zanoli, a 91-year-old Dutch attorney who in 1943 saved a Jewish boy from the Nazis, has returned to Israel the “Righteous among the Nations” medal awarded him three years ago by the Yad Vashem museum. Zanoli’s mother had sheltered the boy, Elchanan Pinto, at risk to her own life, until the […]

Egypt

Egypt’s Cover-Up: Rabia Massacre One Year Later

contributors

By Sarah Leah Whitson Published in: Open Democracy “Forget about Morsy, forget about Rab`a,” my Egyptian neighbourhood grocer told me the other day, expressing the loyalty to the president, Abel Fattah al-Sisi, shared by many of his countrymen back home. “We are saved from these people.” Yet, one year later, there is no forgetting the […]