Middle East

Iran: School and University Women Lead Rallies, Sit-ins Bareheaded, as Leader Khamenei Softens on Compulsory Veiling

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Monday in Iran, demonstrations, marches and rallies continued for the 17th day, spearheaded by high school and college students. Many universities entered a third day of class boycotts by students, who said they would not return to their studies until the government released imprisoned students. At some universities students […]

Israel/ Palestine

New Israeli Policy of Targeted Assassination of Palestinians . . . by Drone

Middle East Monitor

By Ramona Wadi | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – For decades, the international community has sought to portray the occupied West Bank as being distinct from Gaza by focusing on the Palestinian Authority in terms of diplomacy, and showcasing Ramallah as an example of prosperity. Israel’s colonial violence in the occupied West Bank […]

Authoritarianism

‘They Have Found The Courage’: Iranian Women Go Hijab-Less In Public Amid Protests

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/ RL ) – Two young Iranian women posted a photo of themselves having breakfast at a restaurant in Tehran without hijabs. The same day, actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya spoke at the public funeral in the Iranian capital without a headscarf. On September 27, a video emerged of a woman without a hijab marching on […]

Iraq

America’s Fickle Relationship with the Kurds: Review of “Rethinking State-Non-State Alliances: Change and Continuity in the U.S.-Kurdish Relationship”

Marc Martorell Junyent

Barcelona (Special to Informed Comment) – Review of Ozum Yesiltas, Rethinking State-Non-State Alliances: Change and Continuity in the U.S.-Kurdish Relationship (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2022). The Kurds of Syria and Iraq have been at the forefront of the fight against the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Their fight against the radical group brought […]

Dissent

Iran Protests for Personal Freedoms Enter 3rd Week, as all Three Branches of Government Vow Crackdown

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al Jazeera reports that President Ebrahim Raisi met Saturday with the Speaker of Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and with the Chief Justice, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, about the wave of demonstrations that entered its third week this weekend. The heads of all three branches of civil government called on the police to […]

Apartheid

Joint Statement: States Should Act to Protect Human Rights in Palestine, and Dismantle Israel’s Apartheid

Human Rights Watch

In August, Israeli authorities raided the offices of seven Palestinian civil society organizations and ordered their closure in an attempt to stop their critical work, and further silence Palestinians. In response to this alarming escalation in the repression of our Palestinian partners, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch […]

Feminism

World joins Iran Protest for “Women, Life, Freedom,” but Patriarchy is Fighting Back

Middle East Monitor

By Hatice Nur Keskin | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – For the past few weeks, protests have taken place worldwide in support of Iranian women to defend their right to choose what to wear and what not to wear. This came after demonstrations began in response to the death of a 22-year-old woman […]

Apartheid

Nexstar, Broadcaster of “Kung Fu,” “Nancy Drew,” Fires Journalist Katie Halper for Defending Palestinian Rights

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Journalist Katie Halper of the YouTube channel Katie Halper Show (which can be supported at Patreon) was fired on Thursday from her three-year-long morning gig on “The Rising” at The Hill TV over her remarks on Israeli Apartheid practices toward Palestinians. Both the news site The Hill and The Hill […]

Authoritarianism

3 ways these latest Iran Demonstrations are different from past Protests

The Conversation

By Naser Ghobadzadeh, Australian Catholic University | – Once again, Iran is in the midst of political upheaval and civil unrest. The latest protests, triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the morality police, follow several other protests that have occurred in Iran over recent years. So what is new […]