- December 24, 2024
Global Affairs
8 Things I learned about Palestine While Touring 8 Western Nations
By Ramzy Baroud On 20 February, I embarked on a global book tour that has, thus far, taken me to eight nations. The main theme of all my talks in various cultural, academic and media platforms was the pressing need to refocus the discussion on Palestine on the struggle, aspirations, and history of the Palestinian […]
Ramzy Baroud – The Last ‘Peace Process’ Warrior: Abbas Hanging by a Thread
By Ramzy Baroud The “deal of the century” is a farce. We suspected that, of course, but, upon his return from Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed in more detail why the long-anticipated plan of the administration of US President Donald Trump has no basis in reality. Netanyahu told his Cabinet that there are […]
The Boomerang Effect: How Netanyahu Made Israel an American Issue, and Lost
By Ramzy Baroud Despite massive sums of money spent to channel public opinion in the United States in favor of Israel, unmistakable trends in opinion polls are attesting to the changing dynamics of Israel’s support among ordinary Americans. Not only is Israel losing its support and overall appeal among large sections of American society, but […]
Foreign Policy for Sale: Greece’s Dangerous Alliance with Israel
By Ramzy Baroud For a brief historical moment, Alexis Tsipras and his political party, Syriza, ignited hope that Greece could resurrect a long-dormant Leftist tide in Europe. A new Greece was being born out of the pangs of pain of economic austerity, imposed by the European Union and its overpowering economic institutions – a troika […]
The New Cold War is Happening in Africa
By Ramzy Baroud There is a new Cold War that is brewing and the African continent is slated to be its epic center. With China’s impressive rise as an economic superpower and Russia’s re-emergence as a strong military contender, the United States government is giving more attention on Africa. This fact has been confirmed once […]
‘Whitewashing’ Genocide in Myanmar
By Ramzy Baroud Although the genocide of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar has gathered greater media attention in recent months, there is no indication that the international community is prepared to act in any meaningful way, thus leaving hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees stranded in border camps between Myanmar and Bangladesh. While top United […]
The Trials of Africa and the Real Dr. King They Want Us to Forget
By Ramzy Baroud On January 15, millions of Americans commemorated Martin Luther King’s Day. His famous speech, ‘I Have a Dream’ was repeated numerous times in media outlets as a reminder of the evil of racism, which is being resurrected in a most pronounced way in American society. But that is only one version of […]
Shadow Armies: The Unseen, but Real US War in Africa
By Ramzy Baroud There is a real – but largely concealed – war which is taking place throughout the African continent. It involves the United States, an invigorated Russia and a rising China. The outcome of the war is likely to define the future of the continent and its global outlook. It is easy to […]
Whitewashing: The Media’s Two Narratives on Terrorism
By Ramzy Baroud Within hours after Akayed Ullah, a Bangladeshi immigrant, allegedly detonated a pipe bomb in New York City on December 11, severely injuring himself and wounding four others, a most comprehensive official and media narrative emerged. The formulation of the narrative concerning Ullah’s motives, radicalization and assumed hate for the US was so […]
‘Say the Word’: What the Rohingya Struggle is Really About
By Ramzy Baroud Pope Francis lost a historical opportunity to truly set his legacy apart from previous Popes. Alas, for him, too, political expediency trumped all else. In his visit to Burma (Myanmar) on November 27, he refrained from using the word “Rohingya.” But what’s in a name? In our frenzied attempts at understanding and articulating the […]
Decades of US Diplomacy Has Failed: Why the US Wants to Shut the PLO Office
By Ramzy Baroud On November 18, just days before the 50th anniversary of United Nations Resolution 242, the US State Department took its first step towards severing its ties with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The timing of this decision could not be any more profound. The first formal contact between the US and the […]
How Britain Became an Obstacle to Peace
By Ramzy Baroud Arthur James Balfour’s wrote 84 words that sealed the fate of the Palestinian people by ultimately displacing most of them from their historical homeland to live in permanent exile. “His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best […]
Walls and Militarized Police: How Israel Is Exporting Its Occupation to the United States
By Ramzy Baroud Israeli footprints are becoming more apparent in the US security apparatus. Such a fact does not bode well for ordinary Americans. US Senate Bill S.720 should have been a wake-up call. The Bill, drafted by the Israel lobby group, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), as part of its “2017 Lobbying Agenda” is […]
The Real Reason behind Trump’s Angry Diplomacy in North Korea
By Ramzy Baroud To understand the United States’ stratagem in the Pacific, and against North Korea in particular, one has to understand the fundamental changes that are under way in that region. China’s clout as an Asian superpower and as a global economic powerhouse has been growing at a rapid speed. The US’ belated ‘pivot […]
Spot the Difference: Trump and Obama, in Their Own Words
By Ramzy Baroud The nature of the rhetoric in Donald Trump’s first speech at the United Nations General Assembly was largely predictable. Even his bizarre threat to “totally destroy North Korea” was consistent with his overall style and previous warnings. But how different was his speech, if compared with the first and last UN speeches of President Barack Obama? A 19th […]
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 […]
