Arab World

By Juan Cole One of the frustrations for a world historian is the unyieldingly parochial vision of the North Atlantic common among journalists and even many historians, and consequently among the public. The 17 world leaders gathering for the D-Day commemoration should by all rights include Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Indian Prime Minister Narendra […]

Apartheid

US support for Palestinian Gov’t a ‘Knife in the Back’ says Israel, after Sabotaging Kerry Talks

contributors

Israel decries US ‘knife in back’ over Palestinian govt (via AFP) Washington’s support for a new Palestinian government backed by Israel’s Islamist foe Hamas, has left the Jewish state feeling betrayed, triggering a new crisis with its closest ally. Several Israeli ministers expressed public anger on Tuesday after… ——- Related Video: New Palestinian government: […]

censorship

No Regime? Egyptian Satirist Bassem Youssef Cancelled b/c “Enormous Pressure”

contributors

So, no regime then? Jon Stewart was on al-Barnamag [“The Program”] last year this time and remarked of the then Muslim Brotherhood government’s prosecution of his Egyptian counterpart, Bassem Youssef, for political libel of President Muhammad Morsi, “If your regime can’t handle a joke, you don’t have a regime.” AFP reports: Egypt satirist who mocked […]

Apartheid

Now Palestinians must go to the Int’l Criminal Court, and US Should Back Them

contributors

By Bill Van Esveld via Human Rights Watch Secretary of State John Kerry called the collapse of the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks “reality-check time” for the peace process. That reassessment should include the self-defeating U.S. policy of opposing steps toward justice and accountability in the name of negotiations. U.S. officials claim that […]

Islam

Israeli PM Netanyahu Vows never to Return Occupied E Jerusalem to Palestinian Residents

contributors

On Jerusalem Day Netanyahu vows never to divide the city (via AFP) Tens of thousands of religious Jews waving Israeli flags marched into mainly Arab east Jerusalem Wednesday as the country celebrated the anniversary of its capture in the 1967 Six-Day War. Fearing clashes, police closed the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque… —– related video: PressTV: […]

Bahrain

US Ally Bahrain’s Courts are Corrupt, in service of Injustice

contributors

Human Rights Watch A police officer in Bahrain who kills a protester in cold blood or beats a detainee to death might face a sentence of six months or maybe two years, while peacefully calling for the country to become a republic will get you life in prison. Bahrain’s problem is not a dysfunctional justice […]

Egypt

Egypt: Passive Aggression and Counter-revolution: Voters, Youth Stay Home

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Voting was abruptly extended from two days to three in Egypt’s presidential election on Tuesday, apparently because of an unexpectedly low turnout. The contest pits Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, until recently minister of defense and a high-ranking general, against leftist warhorse Hamdeen Sabahi. None of the other eligible Egyptian frontrunners agreed to run, […]

Apartheid

Pope Francis Calls for Palestinian State, Prays at Apartheid Wall

contributors

On Sunday in Bethlehem, Pope Francis called for recognition of an independent Palestinian state. CNN reports that he asked for “the acknowledgment by all of the right of two states to exist and to live in peace and security within internationally recognized borders.” As the AFP piece below makes clear, Pope Francis’s unscheduled stop at […]

Christianity

The Pope in Palestine: O Little Town of Bethehem caught in Apartheid Wall

contributors

Papal pilgrimage heads to Bethlehem (via AFP) Pope Francis arrives in Bethlehem Sunday to begin the most sensitive part of his three-day Middle East tour aimed at forging regional peace and easing an age-old rift within Christianity. After beginning his trip in Jordan on Saturday with an urgent… —— Related video: Pope Francis arrives […]