- April 3, 2025
Global Affairs
Courting the Global South: Will Israel Become a UN Security Council Member?
By Ramzy Baroud There is a great irony in the fact that Israel is seeking a seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Since its establishment atop the ruins of Palestinian cities and villages in 1948, Israel has had the most precarious relationship with the world’s largest international body. It has desperately sought to […]
The Genocide of the Rohingya: Big Oil, Failed Democracy and False Prophets
By Ramzy Baroud To a certain extent, Aung San Suu Kyi is a false prophet. Glorified by the west for many years, she was made a ‘democracy icon’ because she opposed the same forces in her country, Burma, at the time that the US-led western coalition isolated Rangoon for its alliance with China. Aung San […]
Nuclear Apocalypse: Trump and Kim Should Not Hold the World Hostage
By Ramzy Baroud Not too far away from Seattle, Washington there are eight ballistic-missile submarines carrying the world’s large shipments of nuclear weapons. The 560-foot-long black submarines are docked at the Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, hauling what is described by Rick Anderson in a recent Los Angeles Times article as “the largest concentration of deployed nuclear weapons in […]
‘The Palestine Exception’: War on BDS is Now a War on American Democracy
By Ramzy Baroud There is something immoral in Washington D.C., and its consequences can be dire for many people, particularly for the health of US democracy. The US government is declaring war on the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The fight to defeat BDS has been ongoing for several years, but most notably […]
Fighting the Wrong Enemy: Why Americans Hate Muslims
By Ramzy Baroud Two officers sought me from within a crowd at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. They seemed to know who I was. They asked me to follow them, and I obliged. Being of Arab background, often renders one’s citizenship almost irrelevant. In a back room, where other foreigners, mainly Muslims, were holed for ‘added […]
‘The World is (Not) Flat’: ‘Trumpism’ is a Symptom of Decades-long Imperial Arrogance
By Ramzy Baroud No matter how hard White House officials try, they cannot construct a coherent ‘Trump doctrine’ that would make sense amid the chaos that has afflicted US foreign policy in recent months. However, this chaos is not entirely the making of President Donald Trump alone. Since 1945, the United States has vied for […]
Israel vs. the United Nations: The Nikki Haley Doctrine
By Ramzy Baroud The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, seems to be championing a single cause: Israel. When Haley speaks about Israel, her language is not merely emotive nor tailored to fit the need of a specific occasion. Rather, her words are resolute, consistent and are matched by a clear plan […]
‘Decolonizing the Mind’: Using Hollywood Celebrities to Validate Islam
By Ramzy Baroud When Terry Holdbrooks Jr., converted to Islam in 2003, he was inundated with death threats and labeled a ‘race traitor.’ If a religious conversion ever deserves to be admired, Holdbrooks’ conversion does, and not because Islam has ‘won’ yet another convert, but because the new convert was assigned the very rule of […]
US and Israeli Codependent Relationship is Not Just about Money
By Ramzy Baroud “We must look back twenty-five years to realize how far Israel has fallen in world support,” wrote famed Jewish scholar, Harvard sociologist, Nathan Glazer in 1976. In the last forty years since Glazer wrote his piece, which was uncovered and transmitted by Philip Weiss, Israel’s global support has fallen much further. The […]
Baroud in Al Jazeera: How America Became Pro-Israel
By Ramzy Baroud Mere days after Donald Trump won the US presidential election, American Zionists moved quickly to ensure that Israeli interests were fully guarded by the new administration. The Zionist Organization of America wasted no time, hobnobbing with notorious racists, also known for their anti-Jewish agendas. ZOA’s annual gala on November 20 hosted none other […]
American Muslims, No Apology Necessary
By Ramzy Baroud I have recently been asked to give a talk about “Being an American Muslim in the United States”. Although wary of the uses and abuses of the term, I obliged. Islam is a religion propelled by values, not race nor, theoretically, by blind tribal allegiances, I explained. The “American Muslim” identity which […]
The Uncomfortable Truth: Are We Hating Donald Trump for the Wrong Reasons?
By Ramzy Baroud I fear that many of us are hating Donald Trump for the wrong reasons. Multitudes are being swayed by mainstream media-inspired demonization of the new US president, based on selective assumptions and half-truths. US mainstream media, which rarely deviates from supporting the American government’s conduct, however reckless, is now presenting Trump as […]
Israel Rejoices in Unbridled Colony Expansion amid Trump’s Havoc
By Ramzy Baroud Within days of US President Donald Trump being sworn in, the Israeli government announced the approval of around 2,500 new housing units. Within the first two weeks of Trump’s presidency, the number of new housing units, all to be built illegally on Palestinian land, was raised to 5,500, including the first brand […]
Operation Chaos: Trump Will Ignite a Powder Keg in the Middle East
By Ramzy Baroud Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump is about to do just that, reversing an historical course that has been in the making for one hundred years. The inexperienced, demagogic politician hardly understands the danger that lies in his decision to move […]
Baroud in Al Jazeera: Time to Reclaim International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
Palestinian author and journalist, Ramzy Baroud argued in a piece published today in Al Jazeera that the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People must be reclaimed by civil society and people everywhere. “Although November 29 has galvanized pro-Palestinian communities around the world for decades, a few facts and problems about this day must […]
On Palestine, Obama and Trump Are All the Same
By Ramzy Baroud There are only a few weeks standing between us and January 20, when United States President-elect Donald Trump becomes ‘President Trump’. But many are still clinging onto some hope, however desperate, that this period of time, albeit rather short, will bring about a sea change. One of these persisting hopes is that […]
What Should Palestinians Expect – Can Trump Be Any Worse?
By Ramzy Baroud Fear and trepidation are slowly building up, as US President-elect, Donald Trump, is fortifying his transitional team with people capable of bringing about a nightmare scenario, not only for Americans but for the rest of the world, as well. For Palestinians, however, the signs are even more ominous. From former New York […]
The War on UNESCO: Al-Aqsa Mosque is Palestinian and East Jerusalem is Illegally Occupied
By Ramzy Baroud Did Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, actually read the full text of the UNESCO resolution on Palestine and Israel, before he raved with anger? “I think this is a mistaken, inconceivable resolution,” he said. “It is not possible to continue with these resolutions at the UN and UNESCO that aim to attack […]
Why is the Truth on Syria Difficult to Decipher?
By Ramzy Baroud “The United States has the power to decree the death of nations,” wrote Stephen Kinzer in the Boston Globe. Kinzer’s article was entitled: “The media are misleading the public on Syria.” In his piece, the scholar at a Brown University Institute contested that his country’s media misinformation on Syria is leading to […]
Ban Ki-moon’s Legacy in Palestine: Failure in Words and Deeds
By Ramzy Baroud Ban Ki-moon’s second term as UN secretary-general is ending this December, he was the most ideal man for the job as far as the United States and its allies are concerned. Of course, there will always be other Ban Ki-moons. In fact, the man himself was a modified version of his predecessor, […]
The Native American, the Palestinian: A Spirited Fight for Justice
By Ramzy Baroud Thousands of Native Americans resurrected the fighting spirit of their forefathers as they stood in unprecedented unity to contest an oil company’s desecration of their sacred land in North Dakota. Considering its burdened historical context, this has been one of the most moving events in recent memory. The standoff, involving 5,000-strong Native […]
My Response to Bill Clinton: On (My) Liberty and (Your) America
By Ramzy Baroud Donald Trump wants to keep us out of the country altogether. But Bill Clinton, former president and husband of a Democratic presidential nominee, does not mind us staying, as long as we – Muslims – behave ourselves. Welcome to America where racial profiling is the country’s most popular idea, and where citizenship […]
France’s Doomed War on ‘Islamist Terrorism’
By Ramzy Baroud Days after a truck ploughed its way into throngs of people celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France, the Los Angeles Times reported that “[Daesh or the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] later claimed indirect responsibility for the attack”. The clearly deliberate act killed 84 people, many of whom were […]
From Nice to the Middle East: The Only Way to Challenge ISIS
By Ramzy Baroud I visited Iraq in 1999. At the time, there were no so-called ‘jihadis’ espousing the principles of ‘jihadism’, whatever the interpretation may be. On the outskirts of Baghdad was a military training camp, not for ‘al-Qaeda’, but for ‘Mojahedin-e-Khalq’, an Iranian militant exile group that worked, with foreign funding and arms, to […]
Being Black Palestinian: Solidarity as a Welcome Pathology
By Ramzy Baroud Last year, I wrote an article that made many readers unhappy. As soon as it was published, I began receiving messages of abuse and angry, threatening calls. I hesitated about reporting the threats to the local police in Washington State and, in the end, I resolved to file the unpleasant experience under […]
Will Brexit Help the Palestinian Cause in the EU?
By Ramzy Baroud After months of anticipation, the United Kingdom has decided to leave the European Union (EU). Although, the results were fairly close – 51.9% voted to ‘Leave’ vs. 48.1% elected to ‘Remain’ – the consequences of the decision will be far-reaching. Not only will the Brits negotiate their exit from the EU (thus, […]
Paris Conference a Tired and Cliched Failure
By Ramzy Baroud Matthew Duss is right. The Paris Peace Conference is different, and the fact that the United States’ stronghold of supposedly trying to resolve conflicts in the Middle East is being challenged, is a point worth noting. Yet, this is hardly important. “The multilateral nature of the conference is a Palestinian strategic victory, […]
The Paris Peace Gambit: Everyone Gains except the Palestinians
By Ramzy Baroud In their defense, the Israelis seem to have figured out the whole thing and opted out. But the hapless Palestinian leadership, along with their Arab League partners, joined by the French, EU and UN representatives, and even US Secretary of State, John Kerry, decided to play along. However, the French peace initiative-turned-conference […]
A Palestinian Perspective on Britain’s ‘Anti-Semitic’ Controversy
By Ramzy Baroud There is a witch-hunt in the British Labour Party. Britain’s Opposition party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is being hounded for not rooting out alleged anti-Semitism in his party. Those leading the charge are pro-Israel Zionists and their supporters within the party, members who are mostly allied with the former Prime Minister, the largely […]
The Spirit of Nelson Mandela in Palestine: Is His Real Legacy Being Upheld?
By Ramzy Baroud I had mixed feelings when I learned that Palestine has erected a statue of Nelson Mandela, the iconic South African anti-Apartheid leader. On the one hand, I was quite pleased that the unmistakable connection between the struggles of Palestinians and South Africans is cemented more than ever before. On the other hand, […]
