Middle East

Why Algeria’s Coup and Civil War Should Alarm Americans about Trumpism, Whether he is Convicted or Not

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Donald Trump’s attempted coup on Jan. 6, for which he has now been referred to the Department of Justice on sedition and other charges by the January 6 Committee of the House, evoked in me a powerful feeling of déjà vu. It reminded me of Algeria 1991. Algeria had been […]

Israel/ Palestine

New Extremist Israeli Government Further Marginalizes Palestinians and risks Alienating 70% World’s Jews

H. Scott Prosterman

Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – A crisis is brewing in the relationship between Israel and the United States, and even between Israel and the American Jewish community. The new Israeli government, the most extreme in the country’s history, is led by Benjamin Netanyahu, on trial for corruption, Itamar Ben-Gvir, of the far-right Jewish […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israel, Palestinian Children, and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (HRW)

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch ) – We write in advance of the 94th pre-session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and its review of Israel. This submission includes information on unlawful attacks and the unjustified use of lethal force against children, detention, mistreatment, and abuse of children, the impact of movement restrictions […]

Authoritarianism

Iran: Till Death Do us Part

Fariba Amini

Revised 12/21/22. Within a. period of 4 months this year, I lost both my mother and oldest brother. The sense of loss has been enormous. Yet beyond my own grieving, I think every day about the hundreds of young people who have lost their lives in Iran. There is naturally no comparison. I remember that, […]

Authoritarianism

Iranian State Arrests Popular Actress Taraneh Alidoosti, star of Academy-Award-Winning Film, for Protesting Executions

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iranian authorities arrested renowned actress Taraneh Alidoosti, 38, on Saturday for an Instagram post in which she denounced the execution last week of the first of this fall’s protesters to be put to death by the Iranian government. Her instagram account, which had 8 million followers, has been suspended. She […]

Featured

2022 was Deadliest Year for Palestinians under Occupation on Record, with 153 Killed by Israeli Forces, Squatters: UN

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The UN Officer of the High Commissioner on Human Rights has issued a press release detailing the views of its experts on the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians during the past year, which they say has seen the worst death rate among the Occupied population since the organization began systematically […]

Authoritarianism

Iran: dissent by public figures has amplified the protest across the country – and the world

The Conversation

By Roja Fazaeli, Trinity College Dublin | – Iran’s Islamic Republic continues to violently suppress ongoing pro-democracy protests, which broke out in September in response to the killing of a young woman who had been arrested for not wearing a proper head covering. According to the NGO Iran Human Rights at least 458 protesters have […]

Houthi

Facing Houthi Victory in Yemen, US Changes Tactics

Foreign Policy in Focus

By Edward Hunt | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus) – After years of backing a disastrous, Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen, the United States is shifting its approach to the war, supporting a UN-brokered truce that has resulted in the most significant reduction of violence since the war began. Bowing to the reality that […]

Authoritarianism

Why Istanbul’s mayor was sentenced to jail – and what it means for Turkey’s 2023 presidential race

The Conversation

By Ahmet T. Kuru, San Diego State University | – A Turkish court’s decision on Dec. 14, 2022, to jail Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu for two years and seven months for insulting public officials hung on comments he made three years ago. But its impact will be felt on an event taking place in a […]