Arab World

( Middle East Monitor ) – By granting its 2024 World Press Freedom Prize to Palestinian journalists covering the Israeli war on Gaza, UNESCO has acknowledged a historic truth. Even if the decision to name Gaza’s journalists as laureates of its prestigious award was partly motivated by the courage of these journalists, the truth is […]

Arab World

Why are Algorithms called Algorithms? A brief History of the Persian Polymath you’ve likely never Heard of

The Conversation

By Debbie Passey, The University of Melbourne | – (The Conversation) – Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without algorithms. So, we’ve all heard of them, but where does the […]

Featured

Tens of Thousands of Israelis Demonstrate against Netanyahu, Demand Hostage Exchange Deal, New Elections

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that tens of thousands of Israelis rallied Saturday night against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv and other cities, including Jerusalem, Beersheba and Haifa. The protesters were responding in part to dueling news releases about the possibility of a breakthrough […]

Children

Israeli Violence against Palestinian Children is rooted in Viewing them all as Dangerous Adults

Global Voices

Written by Safa A playground in the West Bank. Picture taken by Justin McIntosh, August 2004. Wikimedia Commons. (CC-BY-2.0). ( Globalvoices.org ) – Since Israel’s latest aggression on Gaza began in October — described as “a mass assassination factory” — the literal and actual dehumanization of Palestinians has intensified. UNICEF has labeled Gaza “a graveyard […]

Featured

Keffiyehs, long a Symbol of Exotic Masculinity for White Colonizers, now Bashed when worn by Palestinians and Students

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Supporters of the Israeli genocide against tens of thousands of innocent Palestinian women, children, and noncombatant men in Gaza have fixed upon an unlikely villain in their denunciation of the slightest protest against this century’s worst act of barbarity. They are denouncing the patterned black-and-white scarf of cotton called a […]

Iraq

Carceral Imperialism: Torture, Abu Ghraib, and the Legacy of the U.S. War on Iraq

Maha Hilal

( Tomdispatch.com ) – “To this day I feel humiliation for what was done to me… The time I spent in Abu Ghraib — it ended my life. I’m only half a human now.” That’s what Abu Ghraib survivor Talib al-Majli had to say about the 16 months he spent at that notorious prison in Iraq […]

censorship

The Irony: Israel’s Supporters use “anti-Woke” Playbook to censor Palestinian Voices

Middle East Monitor

By Nasim Ahmed | – In recent years, a new line of attack has emerged from many pro-Israel groups, conservative commentators, politicians and activists – the idea that “wokeness” and oversensitivity to giving offence are threatening free speech. According to this argument, left-leaning activists and their allies are trying to shut down any speech they […]

Colonialism

Palestinian History: Understanding the Past, Engaging with the Present

Juan Cole

My 20-minute presentation on Israel Palestine is the first segment in the below below. In recognition of Arab American Heritage Month and in light of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, UM-Flint, in partnership with the Arab American Heritage Council, invited historians Juan Cole, University of Michigan Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History, and […]

Hizbullah

Will Israel’s Gaza Campaign expand to Hezbollah and Lebanon?

The Conversation

By Emilie El Khoury, Queen’s University, Ontario | – The devastating war in Gaza is now in its sixth month, and the figures are alarming: more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed. Almost one-third of the population is suffering catastrophic food insecurity and over two million (almost the entire population) have been displaced. More than […]