Geography Archives: Middle East

Shlomo Sand.  The Invention of the Jewish People.  Verso, 2009. By this time already, after 60-plus years of heatedly arguing the topic back and forth, is there anything new and insightful to be said that might have a bearing on the Israel-Palestine conflict and help to bring some political and intellectual closure at long last […]

On Sunday, 20 November, Sayed was arrested on Mohamed Mahmoud Street.  For four days, the Central Security Forces and the army tortured him. For more information about Mosireen, visit <mosireen.org>.  See, also, <against-torture.net>. var idcomments_acct = ‘c90a61ed51fd7b64001f1361a7a71191’; var idcomments_post_id; var idcomments_post_url; | Print

Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist.  Cf. “As with Morocco, with the outcome largely predictable, the most interesting aspect of the results will not be the allocation of seats but the turnout.  SCAF will be hoping for a high participation rate as evidence of popular endorsement of its transitional role” (James Asfa, “Democrats Against Elections: […]

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “Syria is an internal affair for us!”Barack Obama: “What a smart little boy he’s become!” Barack Obama: “We have reached the end of our patience!”Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “We have reached the end of our patience!” The top cartoon was first published by Gırgır; the bottom cartoon was first published by Çizgice.  They […]

According to Le Canard enchaîné, French agents are now in Lebanon and Turkey “for the mission to build the first contingents of the Free Syrian Army.” French intelligence agents have been sent to northern Lebanon and Turkey to build the first contingents of the Free Syrian Army out of the deserters who have fled Syria, […]

Fifty years ago, Freedom Riders braved beatings and arson by supremacists intent on maintaining apartheid in the Jim Crow South.  By challenging segregated transportation through nonviolent action, these African American and white activists set in motion a process that ultimately dismantled segregation.  While the struggle for racial justice continues, at least this shameful chapter of […]

Although Occupy Wall Street protesters have so far resisted attempts by the Democratic Party to co-opt their movement, a New York City “General Assembly” was bamboozled by what may be a State Department and/or NED initiative aimed at granting legitimacy to Egypt’s flawed election process. According to a November 16 story in Ahram Online and […]

  We are in the midst of a decisive battle in the face of a potentially terminal crackdown.  Over the past 72 hours the army has launched a ceaseless assault on revolutionaries in Tahrir Square and squares across Egypt.  Over 2000 of us have been injured.  More than 30 of us have been murdered.  Just […]

  The text in the painting reads the lyrics of a traditional Iraqi folk song: “Those who have forgotten us, when will you remember us?  When will we cross your mind?  When will you help our situation?  Love, you have left us with no explanation; you shut the doors in our face and abandoned us.  […]

Victor Nieto is a cartoonist in Venezuela.  Cf. “Given the impossibility of obtaining UN approval for an attack on Syria or Iran, it’s clear as the Qatar sky what’s going on.  Arm and finance a group of revolutionaries and get them to start an uprising.  When the state cracks down, get the opposition to call […]

The leader of al-Nahda movement, Rachid Ghannouchi, made his first visit to a foreign country after the first post-revolution Tunisian elections. His choice was the State of Qatar. Analysts see many messages in this gesture but some Tunisians are troubled by the invitation he had extended to the Emir of Qatar. Although many do not want any foreign leader present during the opening session of the constituent assembly, some Tunisians are singling out the ruler of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, as a persona non grata. They see him as a bully who is using Al Jazeera and his huge wealth to push an agenda that is not necessarily in the interest of their country.

The Occupy Wall Street uprising has taken the nation by storm, beginning in the Financial District in Manhattan and then spreading to cities and towns in every part of the country and around the world.  The anger over growing inequality and the political power of the rich that has been bubbling under the surface for […]

All over Syria, 13 November 2011 Cf. “There were massive demonstrations in Syria in support of the lousy regime, but they were totally ignored in the Arabic and Western press.  It does not fit the agenda” (As’ad AbuKhalil, “Demonstrations in Syria,” Angry Arab News Service, 13 November 2011); “Confirmed: Biggest rallies in #Syria‘s history.  A […]

TO give some idea of the potential of the USSR in its efforts to maintain parity with the United States in this sphere, suffice it to note that when its disintegration came about in 1991, there were 81 nuclear warheads in Byelorussia, 1,400 in Kazakhstan, and approximately 5,000 in Ukraine, which were passed on to […]

  Dear comrades and friends, On May Day 2006, I was invited to celebrate with the members of the “Bund” in Israel.  I took my video camera with me.  I thought it will be a one-time occasion, but it became a five-and-half-year political and personal journey. Unlike my previous films (Matzpen and Madrid Before Hanita, […]

Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist.  Cf. “The unnamed member state that informed the agency about Danilenko’s alleged experience as a Soviet nuclear weapons scientist is almost certainly Israel, which has been the source of virtually all the purported intelligence on Iranian work on nuclear weapons over the past decade.  Israel has made no secret […]

Ibrahim Jaza is a Syrian cartoonist.  Cf. “Once one of Syria’s closest allies, Turkey is hosting an armed opposition group waging an insurgency against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, providing shelter to the commander and dozens of members of the group, the Free Syrian Army, and allowing them to orchestrate attacks across the border […]

  In the immediate aftermath of the illegal capture of the Freedom Waves flotillas, Israel’s public image has been tarnished, as reports of violence at sea surface to counteract its claims of a peaceful takeover, and as human rights cyber-resistance group Anonymous retaliates by shutting down Israeli government web sites. As Israeli naval soldiers boarded […]

Jody McIntyre is a journalist, filmmaker, and political activist.  His first book, Life on Wheels: Palestine, will be published by Verso in 2012.  Video by GlobalFaction. var idcomments_acct = ‘c90a61ed51fd7b64001f1361a7a71191’; var idcomments_post_id; var idcomments_post_url; | Print

A letter from Cairo to the Occupy/Decolonize movements & other solidarity movements. After three decades of living under a dictatorship, Egyptians started a revolution demanding bread, freedom and social justice.  After a nearly utopian occupation of Tahrir Square lasting eighteen days, we rid ourselves of Mubarak and began the second, harder, task of removing his […]