Middle East

“We must tell stories that are different from the ones we’re being brainwashed to believe… Remember this: another world is not only possible, she is on her way.” – Arundhati Roy

Israel/ Palestine

Despite Covid-19 Dangers, Israel ignores Pleas to Safeguard the Health of Palestinian Prisoners (Many Uncharged) in its Jails

Ramona Wadi

( Middle East Monitor ) – Unsurprisingly, Israel has not heeded requests to safeguard the health of Palestinian prisoners in its jails. Besides recommending “precautionary measures”, which are likely to provide no protection in confined spaces, it seems that Israel will persist with its medical neglect strategies, which have resulted in Palestinian prisoners dying. Yet […]

Donald Trump

Threatening Iran: Mired in Incompetence on Covid-19 at Home, Trump Tests Wagging the Dog

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – AFP quotes Trump as saying at a news conference and then on Twitter: “”We don’t want hostility, but if they are hostile to us, they’re going to regret it like they’ve never regretted anything before . . . If this happens, Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed! . […]

Bashar al-Assad

2 reasons – and 1 disease – that make peace in Syria so difficult

The Conversation

By Ora Szekely | – Despite many attempts at negotiations, the Syrian war – a conflict with a complicated and constantly changing cast of characters that has killed as many as 585,000 people and displaced over half of Syria’s prewar population – has proved extremely difficult to resolve. As the war grinds on, conditions are […]

Donald Trump

Iran Covid-19 Deaths Rival US as Trump Blockade blocks Medical Supplies; and Europe Defies Washington

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The European Union has activated the Instex trading mechanism for the purpose of sending medicine and medical supplies to Iran to fight the coronavirus outbreak. Instex operates in Euros rather than dollars and avoids US banks, so that the US Treasury Department cannot claim jurisdiction over it. The Instex bank […]

Israel/ Palestine

The Israel Gov’t is taking advantage of Pandemic to Heighten Military Dictatorship over Palestinians

Asa Winstanley

The populations of many countries the world over are right now living under unprecedented quarantine measures and restrictions on movement. The threat of the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic has changed the world for the foreseeable future. It is true that most people who contract COVID-19 (the disease caused by this new coronavirus) will suffer only […]

Feminism

Presence-as-Resistance: Iranian Women and the Politics of Social Contestation

Navid Pourmokhtari

Alberta (Special to Informed Comment) – Introduction As a concept and analytical reference point for examining contentious politics, oppositional social movements are by and large a Western construct (Tilly, 1978). They are perhaps best understood, moreover, as parcels of collective action that present an “organized [and] sustained … challenge to existing authorities” (Tilly, 1984, p. […]

War

Yemen still on the brink following coronavirus risks and fragile ceasefire

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

London (Special to Informed Comment) – As Yemen’s catastrophic war enters its sixth year, the Saudi-led coalition offered a desperately needed ceasefire on Friday, which the current coronavirus pandemic has made more vital than ever. The move came after the UN Secretary General on March 25 called for an end to hostilities in all regional […]

Saudi Arabia

Yemen: Saudi Forces Torture, ‘Disappear’ Yemenis

Human Rights Watch

(Human Rights Watch) – (Beirut) – Saudi military forces and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces have carried out serious abuses against Yemenis since June 2019 in al-Mahrah, Yemen’s far eastern governorate, Human Rights Watch said today. The abuses include arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances, and illegal transfer of detainees to Saudi Arabia. Saudi and Saudi-backed forces have […]