Two distinct camps are forming to battle over Syria policy in Washington. The first is made up of the neocons, who are busy fitting the Arab Spring into US strategic interests as they see them. John Bolton, Michael Doran, and Elliott Abrams have been leading the charge in articulating this argument. The second group are […]
Geography Archives: Israel
Libya News Roundup
Richard Seymour (20 August 2011): “I think we would see a recomposition of the old regime, without Qadhafi but with the basic state structures intact. The former regime elements would become regime elements, within a pro-US, neoliberal state with some limited political democracy. In addition, those calling for intervention in Syria would be strengthened, as […]
FlagMan: The Man Who Removed the Israeli Flag from the Israeli Embassy in Egypt
“#flagman the brave man that removed the Israeli flag from Israel Embassy in Cairo. His name is Ahmed Shehata #Israel #Egypt.” — Mohamed Aboelkhier Video by Jonathan Rashad Cartoon by Carlos Latuff Jonathan Rashad is a young Egyptian freelance photographer, who started his career in 2008 at the age of 16. Carlos Latuff is […]
Syrians Tweet Back to Obama
After US President Barack Obama declared on 18 August 2011: “For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President Assad to step aside.” . . . Haneen Khaddour (18 August 2011): “Here we go again #american intervention. No one wants you in #syria” Sate (18 August 2011): “Ya’ aha Obama. So […]
Social Origins of the Tent Protests in Israel
It started in mid-July, when Dafni Leef, a Tel Aviv filmmaker, was met with a hike in her rent that she couldn’t afford to pay. Instead of moving to a new apartment, she moved to a tent on Rothschild Boulevard, the city’s sleekest thoroughfare, and set up a Facebook event calling for her compatriots to […]
The Race with Iran: Saudi Arabia’s Sectarian Card
Four months ago, we returned from a trip to the Middle East and wrote that “the main question engaging people with respect to the Arab Spring is no longer, ‘who’s next,’ but rather how far will Saudi Arabia go in pushing a ‘counter-revolutionary agenda’ across the [region].” Since then, something of a discussion, if not […]
The Future of Arab Revolts: Interview with Samir Amin
The way Egyptian scholar and researcher Samir Amin sees it, nothing will be the same as before in the Arab world: protest movements will challenge both the internal social order of Arab countries and their places in the regional and global political chessboard. Hassane Zerrouky: How do you see what’s happening in the Arab […]
Libya — Lather, Rinse, Repeat — Syria: Liberal Imperialism and the Refusal to Learn
Two of my favorite quotes come into play here, one by the English poet, Alexander Pope, who explained that “some people will never learn anything . . . because they understand everything too soon,” and George Bernard Shaw, much more resigned and ironic in stating that “we learn from experience that men never learn anything […]
Middle East News Roundup: Arab Spring, Royal Summer, Islamist Autumn
Egypt Amin Saikal (ABC, 29 July 2011): “The Islamist parties [in Egypt] now stand a good chance to win an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections in November, and also contest successfully the presidential election. . . . According to an Aljazeera public opinion survey, released on July 7, 2011, nearly 50 per cent of […]
Listening to What Iranians Say about Their Nuclear Program Instead of Relying on “Intelligence” and Agenda-driven “Analysis”
As part of the current and ongoing effort to demonize further the Islamic Republic, there has been an uptick in media stories, drawing on conveniently leaked Western intelligence assessments, highlighting Tehran’s allegedly looming acquisition of nuclear weapons. One of these stories, from the Associated Press, seems particularly emblematic, so we want to look at it […]
The Tent Protests in Israel: Can They Break Out of the (Zionist) Box?
6 August 2011 The demonstrations currently roiling Israel constitute a grassroots challenge to Israel’s neo-liberal regime. Beginning as an uprising of the middle classes — especially young people who have trouble finding affordable housing — it has spread to the working class, the poor, and the Arab communities as well, though not the religious as […]
Still Trying to Detonate a War against Syria
Still lacking a fire starter called diplomacy, Uncle Sam fails to detonate a war against Syria. Hamid Karout is a Syrian cartoonist. This cartoon was first published in Tishreen on 14 July 2011; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes. Cf. “‘The OIC has a strong desire to build national dialogue between governments and […]
Justice for Palestine: A Call to Action from Indigenous and Women of Color Feminists
Between June 14 and June 23, 2011, a delegation of 11 scholars, activists, and artists visited occupied Palestine. As indigenous and women of color feminists involved in multiple social justice struggles, we sought to affirm our association with the growing international movement for a free Palestine. We wanted to see for ourselves the conditions under […]
Max and Missy: From the U.S. Boat to Gaza to Syntagma Square
Political sensitivity and thoughtfulness, depth of knowledge and analysis, deep commitment and kindness are, in my view, a perfect combination to build a movement for justice and to create meaningful change. These were the characteristics that so moved and inspired me these past couple of weeks as I spent time in Athens with two of […]
The Politics of Iran’s Space Program
Iran’s recent successful launch of a second satellite into orbit has drawn considerable attention around the world. As in the past, Iran’s announcement of the launch of its domestically built satellite into space received mixed reactions in the West. Some mainstream U.S. media treated the announcement with skepticism and ridicule. “Before you cancel that European […]
Israeli Flags at South Sudan Independence Celebrations
Images of Israeli flags at the celebrations of the independence of South Sudan have been widely circulated and commented upon in the Arabic-language media, though they appear to have received no attention in the English-language media. E.g.: Broadcast by BBC Arabic Published online by Al Jazeera on 9 July 2011 Published online by Rum Online […]
German Leopards for Saudi Arabia
Merkel just wouldn’t let the cat out of the bag. In the first days after the arms sale scandal began, her front seat in the Bundestag was conspicuously empty. When she finally did show up she wore a sour look but said not a word. The decision made and any reasoning behind it were highly […]
Syria News Roundup: The Beginning of the End of the Syrian Revolt?
Syrians for BHL Rami Zurayk (Land and People, 8 July 2011): “Is there anyone who follows politics and champions the Arab and Palestinian causes who does not know Bernard Henri Levy? . . . He was one of the first to enter the shattered remains of Jenin on board a Zionist tank to express his […]
Bernard-Henri Lévy’s “SOS Syrie” Conference: Zionists, Muslim Brothers, and Other Leaders of “Change in Syria”
Bernard-Henri Lévy, well known for his devotion to humanitarian military interventions, organized a conference to “stop the massacre” in Syria, “SOS Syrie,” in Paris on the fourth of July. There is no doubt that BHL is eager to replicate his Libyan success in Syria. Given the clear Russian opposition to any military intervention in Syria, […]
An Interview with Bassam Alkadi, President of the Syrian Women Observatory
Bassam Alkadi is President of the Syrian Women Observatory, Syria’s main women’s rights organization. A relentless fighter for human rights in Syria, he has been fired from his job, arrested, jailed, and forbidden from traveling, but he continues to be driven by logic and not revenge. He rejects dialogue for the sake of dialogue. Instead, […]
