Middle East

Middle East Studies Association | Committee on Academic Freedom | – Letter raising concerns about Israel’s accession to the US Visa Waiver Program Mr. Alejandro Mayorkas Secretary Department of Homeland Security Washington DC alejandro.mayorkas@hq.dhs.gov Mr. Anthony Blinken Secretary Department of State Washington DC secretary@state.gov Dear Secretary Mayorkas and Secretary Blinken: We write […]

Africa

Egypt and Ethiopia are finally working on a Water Deal – what that means for other Nile River States

The Conversation

By John Mukum Mbaku, Weber State University | – Egypt and Ethiopia have waged a diplomatic war of words over Ethiopia’s massive new dam – the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam – on the Blue Nile, which started filling up in July 2020. The political row has threatened to get out of hand on occasion but […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Crisis: Though Turkey’s Forests are at Risk from Wildfires, the Country is still Wedded to Dirty Coal

Arzu Geybullayeva

In Turkey, when forests are not on fire, they are being destroyed by greedy men in suits Protests to save Akbelen forest continue despite the violence Written byArzu Geybullayeva ( Globalvoices.org) – Since 2019, the local residents of İkizköy village in Turkey’s southwestern province of Muğla have been trying to prevent deforestation in […]

Featured

The Other Sinead O’Connor, Pro-Palestinian Critic of Violent Israeli Extremist Ben-Gvir, and Muslim Convert

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Tragically, Sinead O’Connor is dead at 56. Many of the obituaries of Irish protest singer have been oddly thin, and have ignored key moments in her life. One was her contretemps with Israeli extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir, now the country’s Minister of National Security. She later became fiercely critical of the […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israeli Squatter-Settlers Rampage in Palestinian-Americans’ West Bank Hometown

Middle East Monitor

Eric Goldstein goldsteinricky ( Middle East Monitor ) – When Kayed Abu Awwad sold his home in Oak Lawn, Illinois, in June, he never imagined that he and his family would be homeless a few weeks later. Like many American-born Palestinians, Abu Awwad, a 38-year-old truck driver, planned to move his family to […]

Israel/ Palestine

Is Washington invested in Israeli Apartheid toward Palestinians?

The Conversation

By M. Muhannad Ayyash, Mount Royal University | – During his recent trip to the United States, Israeli President Isaac Herzog gave a speech before the United States Congress. Mainstream media coverage of his speech has focused on two points: the unbreakable “sacred” bond between Israel and the U.S., and the idea that calling Israel […]

Featured

Will the Triumph of the Messianic Israeli Far Right Destabilize the Country?

H. Scott Prosterman

Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – The Israeli government voted this week to limit their Supreme Court’s ability to overturn unconstitutional laws after several months of debate. This elicited storm of global criticism, including from the American Jewish Committee (AJC), which said it is “gravely concerned” that this will further fracture Israel and American […]

Haredim

With Israel in Turmoil, its “Lost Boys” are Stoking Extreme Nationalism

The Conversation

By Anna Lippman, York University, Canada | – We saw it in the United States on Jan. 6, 2021. We witnessed it during Canada’s so-called Freedom Convoy. The evidence is clear —fascism is on the rise in North America. But ethno-nationalist fascism is growing even faster in the remote areas of occupied Palestine amid widespread […]

Human Rights

Iranian Court Sparks Controversy By Diagnosing Hijab Protesters With Mental Illness

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Roya Maleki Left to right: Iranian actresses Afsaneh Bayegan, Azadeh Samadi, and Leila Bolukat were all arrested for appearing in public without the mandatory hijab, or head scarf. At their sentencing, judges ruled that they were “mentally ill.” ( RFE/RL ) – Judges in Iran have diagnosed three prominent actresses sentenced for […]