- November 24, 2024
Articles
The ‘Last Martyr’: Who Killed My Neighbor, Kamal Al-Assar?
By Ramzy Baroud When I learned of the death of Kamal Al-Assar a few years ago, I was baffled. He was only in his 40s. I remember him in his prime, a young rebel, leading the neighborhood youth, armed with rocks and slingshots, in a hopeless battle against the Israeli army. Understandably, we lost, but […]
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 […]
‘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 […]
70 Years of Broken Promises: The Untold Story of the Partition Plan
By Ramzy Baroud In a recent talk before Chatham House think-tank in London, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, approached the issue of a Palestinian state from an intellectual perspective. Before we think of establishing a Palestinian state, he mused, “it is time we reassessed whether the modern model we have of sovereignty, and unfettered sovereignty, […]
The Trials of Benjamin Netanyahu: Corruption in Israel is Not Just an Israeli Issue
By Ramzy Baroud Whether the string of scandals, now hounding Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, lead to his sacking or not, it matters little. Though nearly half of Israelis polled last July – well before the scandals took a much dirtier turn – believe that Netanyahu is corrupt, a majority of Israelis said that they […]
The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story – Book Review
Reviewed by Vacy Vlazna (Ramzy Baroud. The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story. London: Pluto Press, 2018. Pre-order now) Dr. Ramzy Baroud’s new book, The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story is described simplistically as ‘non-fictional narrative of modern Palestinian history.’ It is much, much more; for us readers, it is an intimate encounter, chapter by chapter, […]
‘Creeping Annexation’: Why Israel Shelved the ‘Greater Jerusalem Law’
By Ramzy Baroud The postponing of an Israeli Knesset bill that would have annexed major illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank to the Jerusalem municipality is the result of behind-the-scenes US and, possibly, European pressure. But the story of the so-called “Greater Jerusalem law” does not end there. Israel wants to maintain an absolute demographic […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
What Is Behind the Hamas-Fatah Reconciliation?
By Ramzy Baroud Egypt’s enthusiasm to arbitrate between feuding Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, is not the outcome of a sudden awakening of conscience. Cairo has, in fact, played a destructive role in manipulating Palestinian division to its favor, while keeping the Rafah border crossing under lock and key. However, the Egyptian leadership is clearly […]
The Balfour Declaration Destroyed Palestine, Not the Palestinian People
By Ramzy Baroud Some promises are made and kept; others disavowed. But the ‘promise’ made by Arthur James Balfour in what became known as the ‘Balfour Declaration’ to the leaders of the Zionist Jewish community in Britain one hundred years ago, was only honored in part: it established a state for the Jews and attempted […]
Endorsements and How to Pre-Order: The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story
This is a history of modern Palestine like no other: built from the testimony of people who have lived through it. Ramzy Baroud here gathers accounts from countless Palestinians from all walks of life, and from throughout the decades, to tell the story of the nation and its struggle for independence and security. Challenging both […]
The Fight Ahead: 13 Questions about the Origins, Objectives and War on BDS
By Ramzy Baroud BDS stands for ‘Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions’. The BDS Movement was the outcome of several events that shaped the Palestinian national struggle and international solidarity with the Palestinian people following the Second Uprising (Intifada) in 2000. Building on a decades-long tradition of civil disobedience and popular resistance, and invigorated by growing international […]
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 […]
Three Years after the War: Gaza Youth Speak Out
By Ramzy Baroud “At bedtime, I am afraid to turn the lights off. I am not a coward, it is just that I worry that this bulb hanging from the ceiling is the last light that remains (shining) in my life.” Soon after he penned these words, Moath Alhaj, a young artist from a Gaza refugee […]
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 […]
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 […]
Al-Araqeeb Village: Palestinian Bedouins Refuse to Surrender 116 Times
By Ramzy Baroud On August 1, the Palestinian Bedouin village of Al-Araqeeb was destroyed for the 116th time. As soon as Israeli bulldozers finished their ugly deed and soldiers began evacuating the premises, the village resident immediately began rebuilding their homes. 22 families, or about 101 residents, are estimated to live here. By now, they are […]
‘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 […]
Power to the People: Why Palestinian Victory in Jerusalem is a Pivotal Moment
By Ramzy Baroud Neither Fatah nor Hamas have been of much relevance to the mass protests staged around Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. Neither have American pressure, half-hearted European ‘concern about the situation’ or cliché Arab declarations made one iota of difference. United Nations officials warned of the grim scenarios of escalation, but their statements were mere […]
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 […]
The Story behind the Jerusalem Attack: How Trump and Netanyahu Pushed the Palestinians into a Corner
By Ramzy Baroud Early October 2016, Misbah Abu Sbeih left his wife and five children at home and then drove to an Israeli police station in Occupied Palestinian East Jerusalem. The 39-year-old Jerusalemite was scheduled to hand himself over to serve a term of 4 months in jail for, allegedly, trumped up charges of ‘trying […]
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 […]
