- February 24, 2025
Middle East
Eclipsing Factionalism: The Missing Story from the Gaza Protests
By Ramzy Baroud The Gaza border protests must be understood in the context of the Israeli Occupation, the siege and the long-delayed ‘Right of Return’ for Palestinian refugees. However, they should also be appreciated in a parallel context: Palestine’s own factionalism and infighting. Factionalism in Palestinian society is a deep-rooted ailment that has, for decades, […]
The Ghost of Herut: Einstein on Israel, 70 Years Ago
By Ramzy Baroud Albert Einstein, along with other Jewish luminaries, including Hannah Arendt, published a letter in the New York Times on December 4, 1948. That was only a few months after Israel had declared its independence and as hundreds of Palestinian villages were being actively demolished after their inhabitants were expelled. The letter denounced Israel’s newly-founded […]
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 […]
Will Israeli Policies Change if Netanyahu Leaves Office?
By Ramzy Baroud If scandal-plagued Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, exits his country’s political scene today, who is likely to replace him? And what does this mean as far as Israel’s Occupation of Palestine is concerned? Netanyahu, who is currently being charged with multiple cases of corruption, misuse of government funds and public office, has, […]
Ahed’s Generation: Why the Youth in Palestine Must Break Free from Dual Oppression
By Ramzy Baroud As global voices continue to demand the freedom of 17-year-old teenage Palestinian girl, Ahed Tamimi, Israeli authorities have arrested nine additional members of her family. Those who were detained on February 26 include Ahed’s 15-year-old cousin, Mohammed Tamimi. Israeli troops had shot Mohammed in the head last December, shattering his skull. The teenager, who is […]
Netanyahu’s Corruption: How Israeli Journalists Project Israel’s Crimes on to Palestinians
By Ramzy Baroud In an article published in Al-Monitor without a single verifiable citation, Israeli journalist, Shlomi Eldar, went to unprecedented lengths to divert attention from the corruption in his country. He spoke of Palestinian journalists – all speaking on condition of anonymity – who “applauded” and “admired” Israeli media coverage of corruption scandals surrounding […]
Trump’s Move on Jerusalem: Is this the End of US Diplomacy in the Middle East?
By Ramzy Baroud Finally, US President Donald Trump pulled the plug. The so-called peace process, two-state solution, ‘land-for-peace formula’ and all the other tired clichés have been long dead and decomposing. But Trump’s announcement on Wednesday to officially recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel has also laid to rest the illusion that the US was […]
Hamas and Fatah Must Transform to Speak on behalf of Palestinians
By Ramzy Baroud The reconciliation agreement signed between rival Palestinian parties, Hamas and Fatah, in Cairo on October 12 was not a national unity accord – at least, not yet. For the latter to be achieved, the agreement would have to make the interests of the Palestinian people a priority, above factional agendas. The leadership […]
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 […]
The Terror Next Time: The Daesh Story Is Not Ending
By Ramzy Baroud Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul, has been reduced to rubble. It has been finally conquered, snatched back from the notorious group, Daesh, after months of merciless bombardment by the US-led war coalition, and a massive ground war. But ‘victory’ can hardly be the term assigned to this moment. Mosul, once Iraq’s cultural […]
The Curse of Mohammed Dahlan: Hamas Should Not Trade Resistance for Its Own Survival
By Ramzy Baroud “We have made mutual efforts with our brothers in Hamas to restore hope for Gaza’s heroic people,” Mohammed Dahlan told Palestinian lawmakers gathering in Gaza on Thursday, July 27. He spoke via satellite from his current exile in the United Arab Emirates. The audience clapped. True, Gaza has been pushed to the brink of […]
Fear and Trepidation in Tel Aviv: Is Israel Losing the Syria War?
By Ramzy Baroud Israel, which has played a precarious role in the Syrian war since 2011, is furious to learn that the future of the conflict is not to its liking. The six-year-old Syria war is moving to a new stage, perhaps its final. The Syrian regime is consolidating its control over most of the […]
Journalism, History and War: Sit, Type and Bleed
By Ramzy Baroud The typical newsroom set-up, where journalists chase headlines dictated by some centralized news gathering agency – often based in some western capital – does not suffice any more. In the case of the Middle East, the news narrative has been defined by others and dictated on Arab journalists and audiences for far […]
The Unwanted ‘Bride’: Can the 1967 War Offer Opportunity for Peace?
By Ramzy Baroud There is a saying that goes: “Be careful what you wish for, for you may get it.” This has been Israel’s dilemma from the very beginning. The Zionist movement, which held its first conference in Basel, Switzerland 120 years ago, wanted Palestine but not the Palestinians. They achieved this objective 50 years […]
Trump’s Visit to Israel: How Palestine Disappeared from US Media Coverage
By Ramzy Baroud As if he has, overnight, been transformed into a master politician, Donald Trump’s 27-hour trip to Israel has left many analysts mystified. Quoting former Israeli political adviser, Mitchell Barack, the New York Times referred to Trump as the “Liberace of world leaders”, in reference to flamboyant, piano player, Wladziu Valantino Liberace. The latter, known […]
When Daesh is Defeated: Who Will Fill the Intellectual Vacuum in the Arab World?
By Ramzy Baroud Back in the Middle East for a few months, I find myself astounded by the absence of the strong voices of Arab intellectuals. The region that has given rise to the likes of Michel Aflaq, George Habash, Rached Al-Ghannouchi, Edward Said and numerous others has marginalised its intellectuals. Arab visionaries have either been […]
Normalization under Occupation: How Israel Understands the Arab Peace Initiative
By Ramzy Baroud Once more, the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 is taking center stage. Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas insisted during his speech before the recently-concluded Arab League Summit in Jordan, that the Initiative is the only solution on the table; asserting that it will not be changed or even tweaked. But why […]
‘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 […]
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 Trump-Netanyahu Circus: Now, No One Can Save Israel from Itself
By Ramzy Baroud The President of the United States can hardly be taken seriously, saying much but doing little. His words, often offensive, carry no substance, and it is impossible to summarize his complex political outlook about important issues. This is precisely the type of American presidency that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prefers. However, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Paris and the End to a Western-dominated Era in the Middle East
By Ramzy Baroud No, it was not just ‘another Middle East peace conference,’ as a columnist in Israeli ‘Jerusalem Post’ attempted to depict the Paris Peace Conference held on January 15, with top official representations from 70 countries attending. If it was, indeed, just ‘another peace conference’, representatives from the Israeli government and the Palestinian […]
Baroud in Al Jazeera: Trump’s Embassy Move to Jerusalem ‘Self-Destructive’
By Ramzy Baroud – Al Jazeera Newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump is about to reverse an historical course that has been in the making for 100 years. The inexperienced, demagogic politician hardly understands the danger that lies in his decision to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. If he goes through […]
Navigating War: Has the War in Syria also Destroyed Journalism?
By Ramzy Baroud When a veteran war reporter like Robert Fisk constructs his argument regarding the siege of Aleppo based on ‘watching’ video footage, then one can truly comprehend the near impossibility of adequate media coverage on the war in Syria. In a recent article in the British ‘Independent’, Fisk reflects on the siege, uprising […]
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 […]
Honoring Aylan Kurdi by Ending the War in Syria
By Ramzy Baroud “A photograph, no matter how emotionally wrenching, can only do so much,” wrote Paul Slovic and Nicole Smith Dahmen in QZ.com. The photograph referenced in their comment was that of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, whose body was washed ashore on some Turkish beach in September 2015. It has been over a year […]
‘Activism’ and Its Consequences: Syrian Refugees Are Not Subjects for a Social Media Gallery
By Ramzy Baroud The Italian ‘activist’ was keen on that photo, as if her social media activism career was dependent on it. As if the misery of the poor Syrian child was not palpable enough in his dejected face and his rash-infested skin, she wanted to define a point of absolute misery for a perfect […]
Libya’s ‘Operation Odyssey Lightning’ – The Obama Doctrine is Ravaging the Middle East
By Ramzy Baroud Everyone seems to have a theory on how to obliterate ISIS, or ‘Daesh’. However, two points are rarely raised: one, concerning the origins of the group and the second, on whether there are genuine intentions to defeat it, in the first place. We must boldly address the first to unravel the enigma […]
Of Hajah Zainab – Is Palestine still the central issue for Arabs?
By Ramzy Baroud Palestine is increasingly absent from Arab consciousness, at least at the official and media levels. For years, the discussion has veered elsewhere, to other regions and various other concerns, as Arab regional alliances are no longer driven by the ‘question of Palestine.’ Whether one blames that neglect on the so-called Arab Spring, […]
