- April 29, 2024
Articles
Confronting the Obvious Truth: Palestinian Authority vs. the People
By Ramzy Baroud Saeb Erekat is an enigmatic character. Despite minimal popularity among Palestinians, he is omnipresent, appears regularly on television and speaks with the moral authority of an accomplished leader whose legacy is rife with accolades and an astute, unwavering vision. When Palestinians were polled by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center (JMCC) in […]
Ramzy Baroud: Palestine Remains the Core Struggle in the Middle East
Interviewed by Info-Palestine (This interview was originally published in French.) Info-Palestine: Our interview with Ramzy Baroud is concerned with the situation in Palestine, the raging conflicts in the Middle East and the role of the International Solidarity Movement. — Dr. Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for over 20 years. He is […]
Recasting the Rules over Palestine: An Intellectual Intifada in the Offing
By Ramzy Baroud My first stop, after living for 22 years in a refugee camp in Gaza, was the city of Seattle, a pleasant, green city, where people drink too much coffee to cope with the long, cold, grey winters. There, for the first time, I stood before an audience outside Palestine, to speak about […]
Of course, It is an Intifada: This is What You Must Know
By Ramzy Baroud When my book ‘Searching Jenin’ was published soon after the Israeli massacre in the Jenin refugee camp in 2002, I was quizzed repeatedly by the media and many readers for conferring the word ‘massacre’ on what Israel has depicted as a legitimate battle against camp-based ‘terrorists’. The interrogative questions were aimed at […]
Listen to Syrians: The Media Jackals and the People’s Narrative
By Ramzy Baroud Imagine the Syrian war from the point of view of ordinary Syrians from a variety of backgrounds. They are most likely to offer a different perspective and to hold entirely different expectations than most other parties involved. A resident of Idlib, a villager from Deraa, a housewife, a teacher, a nurse or […]
Seven Points Not on the Arab Media Agenda – What is There to Celebrate?
By Ramzy Baroud It has been recently announced that Arab ‘media experts’ plan to ‘celebrate’ Arab Media Day on April 21, 2016. The theme for the first day, of what is meant to be an annual tradition, is: “The Role of the (Arab) Media in Combatting Terrorism”. The mockery is surely multi-faceted. One is the […]
Israel’s High-Stake Game in Al-Aqsa and Why Netanyahu May Prevail
By Ramzy Baroud The State of Israel was established on the ruins of Palestine, based on a series of objectives that were named after letters from the Hebrew alphabet, the consequences of which continue to guide Israeli strategies to this day. The current violence against Palestinian worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Occupied East Jerusalem is […]
How Yarmouk Came About: Israel’s Unabashed Role in the Syrian Refugee Crisis
By Ramzy Baroud When Zionist Haganah militias carried out Operation Yiftach on 19 May, 1948, the aim was to drive Palestinians in the northern Safad District outside the border of Israel, which had declared its independence a mere five days earlier. The ethnic cleansing of Safad and its many villages was not unique to that […]
Huffington Post Arabic and the Absurdity of ‘Liberal’ Expectations
By Ramzy Baroud What does it mean to be a ‘liberal Arab’? Even in the West, definitions of the ‘liberal’ vary. In the American context, the demarcation of the ‘liberal’ overlaps cultural and political lines. Republicans use the term in a derogatory way to describe their opponents. Watch ‘Fox News’ to understand. (On second thought, […]
دعوة الي الفلسطينين في كل مكان: ساعدونا في كتابة تاريخ الشعب الفلسطينى
أعزائي الفلسطينيون في كل مكان يقود المؤلف والمؤرخ والصحفي الفلسطيني د. رمزي بارود مجموعة من الباحثين والصحافيين للمساعدة في كتابة كتابه الجديد حول الشعب الفلسطيني. الفكرة من وراء الكتاب المساعدة في جسر الهوة بين السياسة، الأيديولوجيا، الدين، والجغرافيا، وذلك بالنظر للتاريخ، والماضي والحاضر الفلسطيني بطريقة تساعد في الإجابة على أسئلة متعلقة بالوحدة، والهوية والأمة الفلسطينية. […]
Palestine’s Crisis of Leadership: Did Abbas Destroy Palestinian Democracy?
By Ramzy Baroud The crisis of leadership throughout Palestinian history did not start with Mahmoud Abbas and will, regrettably, be unlikely to end with his departure. Although Abbas has, perhaps, done more damage to the credibility of the Palestinian leadership than any other leader in the past, he is also a by-product of a process […]
A Call to Palestinians Everywhere: Help Write Our History
Dear Palestinians Everywhere, Palestinian Author, historian and Journalist, Dr. Ramzy Baroud is leading a group of researchers and journalists to help write his new book about the people of Palestine. The idea behind the book is to bridge politics, ideology, religion and geography to look at Palestinian history, past and present in a way that […]
‘Islamic State’ Pretence and the Upcoming Wars in Libya
By Ramzy Baroud Another war is in the making in Libya: the questions are ‘how’ and ‘when’? While the prospect of another military showdown is unlikely to deliver Libya from its current security upheaval and political conflict, it is likely to change the very nature of conflict in that rich, but divided, Arab country. An […]
Misreading the Refugee Crisis
By Ramzy Baroud So far this year, “nearly one quarter of a million migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe”, reported Al Jazeera’s Inside Story, citing the International Organisation for Migration. The situation is indeed bleak, not only because the number of refugees is constantly on the rise, but also because Europe appears rather disinterested […]
Western Legacy in Libya Leaves a Hole Filled by Migrants Fleeing for Europe – Interview with Ramzy Baroud
By Sputnik International The scale of the crisis in the Mediterranean can’t be ignored. Two thousand migrants have died already this year on their journey to Europe. Fifty migrants remain unaccounted for after their rubber dinghy sank, this came just days after 200 migrants were presumed dead after their boat capsized off the coast of […]
War Begets War Refugees: The Moral Bankruptcy of Italy and NATO
By Ramzy Baroud On April 26, 2011, a meeting that can only be described as sinister took place between the then Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, and French President, Nicolas Sarkozy. The most pressing issue discussed at the meeting in Rome was how to deal with African immigrants. Sarkozy, who was under pressure from his […]
Shifting Priorities: The Rise and Fall of Arab Revolutionary Discourse
By Ramzy Baroud Strange how intellectual discussion concerning the so-called “Arab Spring” has almost entirely shifted in recent years – from one concerning freedom, justice, democracy and rights in general, into a political wrangle between various antagonist camps. The people, who revolted across various Arab countries are now marginalized in this discussion, and are only […]
Missing Link in Palestinian Baby’s Murder
By Ramzy Baroud The legacy of Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas is draped in contradictions and utter defeat. His reign can only be regarded as an astounding failure, during which not a single Palestinian national objective was attained, nor a liberation vision put forward. Alas, the 80-year-old leader remains at the helm of […]
The Palestinian Bubble and the Burning of Toddler, Ali Dawabsha
By Ramzy Baroud One-and-a-half year old Ali Saad Dawabsha became the latest victim of Israeli violence on July 31. He was burnt to death. Other members of his family were also severely burnt in a Jewish settlers’ attack on their home in the village of Duma, near Nablus, in the West Bank. A spokesman for […]
Darker Horizons Ahead: Rethinking the War on ‘IS’
By Ramzy Baroud As much of the Middle East sinks deeper into division between competing political camps, the so-called ‘Islamic State’ (‘IS’) continues its unhindered march towards a twisted version of a Muslim caliphate. Many thousands have lost their lives, some in the most torturous ways, so that ‘IS’ may realize its nightmarish dream. Of […]
A Chance for Arab-Iranian Reconciliation: An Opportunity in the Iran Nuclear Deal
By Ramzy Baroud “The Americans have taken the Shia Muslim side in the Middle East’s sectarian war,” declared Robert Fisk in the “Independent” newspaper on July 15, a day after the US and five major world powers reached a landmark agreement with Iran about its nuclear programs. Fisk’s proclamation is quite cursory. Aside from the […]
Why Palestinians Fight Back: The Logic of Life and Death in Gaza
By Ramzy Baroud Another row is brewing between Israel and the Palestinian Resistance Movement, Hamas, over the release of Avraham Mengitsu, an Israeli citizen who, according to Israeli military sources, ‘slipped into Gaza’ on September 7, 2014. The circumstances of Mengitsu’s entry into Gaza remain unclear, especially since Hamas’ political leader, Khaled Mashaal, denied that […]
No ‘Crisis in Islam’: Just Apathy of So-called ‘Historians’
By Ramzy Baroud On the “BBC This Week” program, historian Tom Holland labored to counter the argument that the so-called Islamic State should not be labeled as such: “The Islamic State”. Holland’s logic in the program seemed more philosophical, concerned with dialectic and logic of language, and hardly situated in any proper historical context. His […]
Baskin’s Generous Offer: Making Peace with Israeli Occupation
By Ramzy Baroud It would be fair to assume that Gershon Baskin’s recent article in the Jerusalem Post – Encountering Peace: Obviously no peace now, so what then? (June 24) – is not a mere intellectual exercise aimed at finding ‘creative’ solutions to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Baskin is a regular contributor to the […]
The B Vocabulary: The Western Left and Its Sterile ‘Field of Ideas’
By Ramzy Baroud Over the year, I realized that the term ‘left’ is not exclusive to a political ideology, but a mode of thinking championed mostly by self-tailored ‘leftist’ western intellectuals. I grew to dislike it with intensity. But that has not always been the case. My father was a communist, or so he called […]
Just Politics: Iran, Like the Rest, Is Not Blameless
By Ramzy Baroud When the United States government declared its war on Afghanistan in October 2001, thus taking the first step in its so-called ‘war on terror’, following the devastating attacks of September 11 earlier that year, Iran jumped on board. Then Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, dubbed a reformist, provided substantial assistance in the US […]
Middle East Reporting: The Need for Honest Journalism
By Ramzy Baroud Writing about and reporting on the Middle East is not an easy task, especially during these years of turmoil and upheaval. But I cannot remember another time in recent history when we have needed journalists to shine in order to challenge conventional wisdom, to think in terms of contexts, motives, alliances, and […]
The Good, Bad and Uncertain about Recognizing ‘Palestine’
By Ramzy Baroud No matter what Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas does, his popularity is declining. In some ways, Abbas’ threshold for popularity was really never impressive to begin with, a trend that is unlikely to change in the near future. But now that a power struggle in his Fatah party is looming, and his […]
Beyond the Middle East: The Rohingya Genocide
By Ramzy Baroud “Nope, nope, nope,” was Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s answer to the question whether his country will take in any of the nearly 8,000 Rohingya refugees stranded at sea. Abbott’s logic is as pitiless as his decision to abandon the world’s most persecuted minority in their darkest hour. “Don’t think that getting […]
Nakba and the Question of ‘Palestinian Strategy’
By Ramzy Baroud “What is the Palestinian strategy?” is a question that I have been asked all too often, including on 15 May, the day that millions of Palestinians around the world commemorated the 67th anniversary of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians by Zionist militias in 1947-48. The question itself doesn’t require […]
