- May 6, 2024
Articles
Divide and Rule: How Factionalism in Palestine is Killing Prospects for Freedom
By Ramzy Baroud As Palestinians in the Occupied Territories begin preparations for local elections which are scheduled for October, division and factionalism are rearing their ugly head. Palestinian political platforms and social media are abuzz with self-defeating propaganda: Fatah supporters attacking Hamas’ alleged failures, and Hamas’ supporters doing the same. What is conveniently overlooked by […]
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, […]
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 […]
Farewell to Yarmouk: A Palestinian Refugee’s Journey from Izmir to Greece
By Ramzy Baroud (Based on interviews with Palestinian refugees from Syria.) The refugee camp of Yarmouk was ever present in his being, pulling him in and out of an abyss of persistent fears that urged him to never return. But what was this refugee without Yarmouk, his first haven, his last earth? How could any […]
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 […]
The Arab Spring Five Years On – A New Book by Amelia Smith (Editor), Ramzy Baroud, Philip Leech, Christine Petré, Ben White, Et al.
Just Published: The Arab Spring Five Years On By Amelia Smith (Author, Editor), Ramzy Baroud (Author), Philip Leech (Author), Christine Petré (Author), Diana Alghoul (Author), Jessica Purkiss (Author), Reem Assil (Author), Abdulrahman al-Masri (Author), Ben White (Author), Jehan Alfarra (Author), Sarwar Ahmed (Illustrator) Why did people power overcome despots in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen but meet […]
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 […]
People above Politics: Political Deal will not Hamper the Turkish-Palestinian Bond
By Ramzy Baroud Hyped emotions, and political opportunism aside, the Israel-Turkey normalization deal, signed on June 27 is unfavorable for Palestinians – and for Gazans, in particular. There is much that is being said to blame Turkey or placate the damage of seeing Turkey – which has for years been one of the most visible […]
Susan Abulhawa Reviews: I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso
Ramzy Baroud’s style is one of controlled passion and intellectual refinement that searches the world through the eyes of others, notable historic figures in particular. In a moving tribute “To Afzal Guru,” Baroud climbs into the spirit of this Kashmiri martyr on the day of his hanging, as he ruminates on his silly dreams of […]
Poetry by Ramzy Baroud, Samah Sabwai and Jehan Bseiso Shortlisted for Book Award
Middle East Monitor are pleased to announce the books shortlisted for the Palestine Book Awards 2016. The award, now in its fifth year, is an annual project that honours and celebrates books in English about Palestine. It is equally an attempt to encourage authors and publishers to create more fine books on Palestine. It has […]
Ramzy Baroud: Thanks, Turkey – but it’s freedom, not charity, that Gaza seeks (ALJAZEERA)
When Israeli commandos violently raided the Freedom Flotilla in May 2010, something extraordinary happened in Gaza: a deep sense of loss, but also pride. It was the first time that this generation experienced real solidarity emanating from a Muslim country, exhibited with such resolution and willingness to sacrifice. Many Palestinians had finally renewed their faith, […]
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, […]
Ramzy Baroudm TeleSUR TV: Israel castiga a palestinos con racionamiento de su propia agua
El gobierno de Israel les ha despojado a los palestinos de sus riquezas de agua potable y ahora los castiga provocando la escasez de la misma. Cuando sí les permiten tomar su propia agua, se la vende carísima. Israel le ha despojado a los palestinos de la Franja de Gaza de todos sus recursos acuíferos […]
Palestine’s ‘Prayer for Rain’: How Israel Uses Water as a Weapon of War
By Ramzy Baroud Entire communities in the West Bank either have no access to water or have had their water supply reduced almost by half. This alarming development has been taking place for weeks, since Israel’s national water company, “Mekorot”, decided to cut off – or significantly reduce – its water supply to Jenin, Salfit […]
Ramzy Baroud to RT: ‘Israel’s water war against Palestinians form of collective punishment’
Israel has done so much to ensure that Palestinians don’t have access to water – not only as a form of collective punishment, but to also to ensure Palestinians do not develop their economy, says Ramzy Baroud, editor of The Palestine Chronicle. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have reportedly been left without access to safe […]
Gaza: resistencia a través de la poesía
Por Ramzy Baroud “(Al amanecer)… Resistiré… (Porque) sobre la pared hay aún una sábana blanca… Y mis dedos no se han disuelto (completamente) aún”. Éste es un verso traducido de “Tres paredes de la cámara de tortura”, de Mu’in Bseiso. Fue y sigue siendo uno de los intelectuales más influyentes de Gaza, y uno de […]
Gaza: Resistance Through Poetry
By Ramzy Baroud “(At dawn) … I will resist … (Since) upon the wall there is still a white sheet … And my fingers are yet to (completely) dissolve.” This is a translated verse from Mu’in Bseiso’ “Three Walls of the Torture Chamber”. He was -and remains – one of Gaza’s most influential intellectual and […]
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, […]
Interview with Ramzy Baroud: Western powers block efforts towards holding Israel accountable for its oppressive actions
Thomas L. Friedman recently published an article in New York Times, titled “Netanyahu, Prime Minister of the State of Israel-Palestine” in which he insists that Netanyahu is the reason for the conflict. Do you agree with his point? Elsewhere in his article, Friedman names Moshe Yaalon as a decent man; is he really decent, considering how […]
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 […]
Israel’s Future is Terrifying: Moshe Ya’alon and Israel’s Disconcerting ‘Morality’
By Ramzy Baroud Israeli society is constantly swerving to the Right and, by doing so, the country’s entire political paradigm is redefined regularly. Israel is now ‘ruled by the most extreme rightwing government in its history’ has grown from being an informed assessment to a dull cliché over the course of only a few years. […]
The Reductionist View of an Intifada
By Ramzy Baroud Associating the ongoing Palestinian intifada (uprising) with the number of stabbings or alleged stabbings carried out by Palestinian youths was a mistake from the start. An intifada is a collective movement, not individual acts of violence, no matter how frequent. The current intifada dates back to last October, when a large number […]
Time to End the ‘Hasbara’: Palestinian Media and the Search for a Common Story
By Ramzy Baroud Merely being in the company of hundreds of Palestinian journalists and other media professionals from all over the world has been an uplifting experience. For many years, Palestinian media has been on the defensive, unable to articulate a coherent message, torn between factions and desperately trying to fend off the Israeli media […]
Ramzy Baroud in Conversation with Hawa Mayere
Ramzy Baroud speaks to Salaamedia’s, Hawa Mayere, at the Palestine International Forum for Media and Communications, Istanbul, Turkey – May 19, 2016.
Roots of the Conflict: Palestine’s Nakba in the Larger Arab ‘Catastrophe
By Ramzy Baroud On May 15th of every year, over the past 68 years, Palestinians have commemorated their collective exile from Palestine. The ethnic cleansing of Palestine to make room for a ‘Jewish homeland’ came at a price of unrelenting violence and perpetual suffering. Palestinians refer to that enduring experience as ‘Nakba’, or ‘Catastrophe’. However, […]
Ramzy Baroud on the Listening Post: Who will Tell the Yemeni People’s Story?
While the international news media has trained its lens on the war in Syria, another conflict is failing to get its share of the coverage – Yemen. Both sides in this war have stocked up on all the media ammunition available – to fight the propaganda war. Rebel forces took over state media to tell […]
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, […]
By Sparing Israel, Abbas Deepens Palestinian Split
By Ramzy Baroud Palestinian National Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, is playing a very dangerous political game. At the same time as he is placing less pressure on the belligerent Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, he is keeping Palestinians further apart. Even when the 81-year-old leader no longer maintains his position, the legacy he has stubbornly […]
