Middle East

By Pooyan Tamimi Arab, Utrecht University and Ammar Maleki, Tilburg University | – (The Conversation) – A young woman’s death in custody in Iran on September 16 has sparked nationwide protests. Mahsa Amini’s fatal injuries resulted from an arrest and beating by the country’s hijab police, which enforces the mandatory and “correct” way of wearing […]

Iran

Former Iranian President’s Daughter Arrested For Supporting Protests Triggered By Death Of Woman In Custody Over Hijab

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Mohammad Zarghami and Golnaz Esfandiari | – ( RFE/RL ) – Just days after expressing support for the protests in Iran, Faezeh Hashemi, the outspoken daughter of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was arrested in the Iranian capital on unknown charges. The hard-line Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards […]

Featured

Irony Officially declared Dead as Israeli Foreign Ministry Decries Russian Annexation of Others’ Territory

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In a further sign that all irony is dead, the Israeli Foreign Ministry rejected the annexation of four Ukrainian districts by Russia on Tuesday, saying that Israel “recognizes the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, and will not recognize the results of the referendums in its eastern districts.” On Tuesday, […]

Feminism

Unrest across Iran Continues under State’s extreme Gender Apartheid

The Conversation

By Haidar Khezri, University of Central Florida | – Unrest continues to erupt across Iran following the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman, who died after being arrested and reportedly beaten by Iran’s morality police. The Iranian force took Mahsa (Zhina) Amini into detention on Sept. 16, 2022, for not wearing her hijab according […]

Antisemitism

Israeli Dilemma over Swedish and Italian Fascism: Fears of Antisemitism, Hopes for Right Wing Solidarity

Middle East Monitor

By Adnan Abu Amer | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Israelis are watching political developments in Europe with interest, particularly in Sweden and Italy, amid fears that the Jewish communities there may soon face problems. Italy, for example, is expected to have a right-wing government involving Georgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party and […]

Authoritarianism

Iranian Teachers’ Union charges Gov’t with Dishonoring Nation’s Girls, Recalling Theme of Constitutional Revolution of 1905-1911

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – So far, the wave of street protests staged in dozens of Iran’s towns and cities appear to have been spontaneous and to lack organization or clear leadership. These demonstrations continued on Monday night in Sanandaj, Tehran, and some other cities, according to the Twitter feed of Iran Protests Watch. Although […]

Dissent

Iran on fire: Once again, women are on the vanguard of transformative change

The Conversation

By Vrinda Narain, McGill University and Fatemeh Sadeghi, UCL | – On Sept. 16, 2022, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, died in Tehran, Iran, while in police custody. Amini was arrested by the Guidance Patrol, the morality squad of the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran that oversees public implementation of […]

Israel/ Palestine

I saw what turning the Palestinian Village of Masafer Yatta into an Israeli Military ‘Firing Zone’ Means

Waging Nonviolence

By Mahmoud Soliman | – ( Waging Nonviolence) – Since a ruling of the Israeli Supreme Court on May 4, the Israeli military has been actively training in Masafer Yatta, in the middle of eight villages and hamlets where more than 1,100 Palestinians are living. More than half of the residents are children. Masafer Yatta […]

Bill of Rights

From Veiling to Abortion, Iran’s Theocrats seek to Control Women’s Bodies, just as do U.S. Republican Theocrats

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Saturday, hard line Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi announced that his government would pull out the stops to crush the popular unrest sweeping the country that was sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa “Zhina” Amini, 22, a Kurdish young woman who was arrested by the morals police for […]