Middle East

“These are not the Droids you’re Looking For:” Biden and Blinken try to Make the Israeli genocide against Gaza’s Palestinians Disappear

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Barak Ravid at Axios reports that when Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani a couple of weeks ago, he asked the government to have al-Jazeera Arabic “tone down” its coverage of Israel and Gaza. Blinken, addressing a Jewish group in […]

Feminism

Why have Tunisia’s Women won so many more Rights than those in Iran?

Mohamed Jegham

Istanbul (Special to Informed Comment) – To many foreign onlookers, Tunisia and Iran share many common qualities; Both countries are mostly Muslims and both are considered third world countries that have been influenced by western powers, Tunisia with the French colonization and Iran with the British Empire influence. Yet, when it comes to women rights, […]

Israel/ Palestine

The Reemergence of the Palestinian Statehood Issue (Ian Masters Interviews Juan Cole)

Juan Cole

Interview of Juan Cole by Ian Masters, Background Briefing.. Background Briefing with Ian Masters Background Briefing with Ian Masters · The Reemergence of the Palestinian Statehood Issue See also France 24: “‘Under siege, locked away’ Palestinians have been ‘depersonalised in Western political imagination’

Featured

US Troops in Iraq, Syria, targeted by Shiite Militias in Sympathy with Occupied Palestinians of Gaza

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Wednesday, Al-Quds al-`Arabi reports two rockets were fired at `Ayn al-Asad base in al-Anbar Province, Iraq, where US troops are stationed. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin both put pressure on Iraqi prime minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani. Al-Sudani reaffirmed his determination to […]

Israel/ Palestine

Is the One-Sided US Response to the Gaza Crisis a Sign of our Civilizational Decline?

Abdullah al-Ahsan

We are all witnessing horrors and carnage going on in the tiny landmass called Gaza – a land squeezed between Egypt and Israel where 2.3 million people were living before the beginning of the butchery. As horrific as Hamas’s attack of October 7 on Israel was, nothing justifies the demolition of civilian city quarters from […]

European Union

A Divided European Union can’t Even Agree on need for Ceasefire in Israeli Campaign against Gaza

Marc Martorell Junyent

Munich (Special to Informed Comment) – The European Union’s initial response to the current Israel-Hamas war has been chaotic. Shortly after the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel – which left at least 1,400 Israelis dead – Olivér Várhelyi, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, announced the suspension of “all payments” by the European Commission […]

Featured

Palestine Forgotten

Charles Hirschkind

Berkeley, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – During the last decade, Israel had come close to achieving what for many of its citizens had been a longstanding aspiration: the ability to forget the Palestinians. Thus, during the massive protests of recent months against the juridical reforms proposed by the Netanyahu administration, and against the […]

Israel/ Palestine

Hamas, Islamic Jihad: Holding Hostages is a War Crime

Human Rights Watch

Free Civilians Held in Gaza; Treat All Humanely; Don’t Use as Human Shields

Climate Crisis

If Gaza is a Conflict over Oil Money investments, Norway points to a Near Future where Petroleum is Worthless

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Biden administration has concluded that the horrific Hamas attacks on Israel of October 7 and after aimed at derailing the normalization negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. But why should this issue be so pressing as to cause a war? Saudi Arabia is the world’s swing petroleum exporter. The […]