Middle East

In Historical Irony, Israel can only have a Government with Palestinian-Israeli (and maybe Muslim Brotherhood) Support

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In a great historical irony, the immediate future of Israeli politics may depend on the Israeli branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. After the recent Israeli election, the fourth in less than two years, long-serving prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu once again appears to be falling short of attracting 61 members of […]

European Union

Over objections of Dem Hawks, Biden agrees to indirect Talks with Iran in Vienna to return to the 2015 Nuclear Deal

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – AFP reports that an arrangement was reached at Friday’s teleconference in Vienna between the current signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to mediate indirect talks between Iran and the United States next week. State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the US had agreed to participate in the discussions […]

Israel/ Palestine

Why has Israel Just demolished the Palestinian Village of Al-Araqeeb for the 185th Time?

Middle East Monitor

By Nabil Al-Sahli | – (

Books

An Egyptian woman writer who dared: the Nawal El Saadawi I knew

The Conversation

By Omnia Amin | – Throughout the Middle East and beyond, the name Nawal El Saadawi is not one that can be received with indifference. During her lifetime and even after her passing on 21 March 2021, the Egyptian author, physician and activist evokes intense feelings that range from love and respect to hatred and […]

European Union

UN Security Council to meet with Iran without the US in quest to Restore 2015 Nuclear Deal breached by Trump

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The European Union announced yesterday that today, Friday, Iran will meet by video with the current signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal or Joint Collective Plan of Action (JCPOA) with a view toward returning the parties to compliance. The US under Trump withdrew in May, 2018. The Biden administration welcomed […]

Israel/ Palestine

The Biden Administration is back to calling Palestinians ‘Occupied,’ but can’t see them being Colonized

Ramona Wadi

( Middle East Monitor) – In another move that shows US President Joe Biden is navigating between the Trump administration’s era and the return to the two-state politics, the US State Department’s 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights presented two facets of the current administration’s policy. The title reads, as it did during former US […]

Egypt

Suez canal: what the ‘ditch’ meant to the British empire in the 19th century

The Conversation

By Jonathan Parry | – The week-long blockage of the Suez canal by the Ever Given container ship has reminded us that the canal, though immensely important to the world’s commerce, is also very vulnerable. Since its completion in 1869, it has symbolised global interconnectedness. But it has also demonstrated how fears, rivalries and bottlenecks […]

Egypt

Egypt’s Sisi threatens ‘Instability that no one Can Imagine”: Will the Next Mideast War be over Water?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The closure of the Suez Canal for a week by the Ultra Large Container Ship, the Ever Given, signaled the importance to world commerce and energy supplies of the canal, through which some 12 percent of world trade passes. Another danger to that world artery, which connects the Indian Ocean […]

Haredim

Israel’s Latest Election produces no Clear Winner, except the far Right and the Occupation

Ramzy Baroud

( Middle East Monitor ) – A “major setback” was the recurring theme in many news headlines reporting on the outcome of Israel’s General Election last week. While this referred specifically to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to secure a decisive victory in the country’s fourth election in two years, it is only part of […]