- November 24, 2024
Articles
Time to Move out: The Problem with Mahmoud Abbas and His Authority
By Ramzy Baroud It was the moment many had been waiting for. On January 2, Palestine’s United Nations envoy, Riyad Mansour formally requested membership at the International Criminal Court (ICC). “We are seeking justice for all the victims that have been killed by Israel, the occupying power,” he said. There was no explanation why Palestine’s […]
‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’: Things I Learned Writing about the Middle East
By Ramzy Baroud Writing about and reporting the Middle East is not an easy task, especially during these years of turmoil and upheaval. While physical maps remain largely intact, the geopolitical map of the region is in constant influx. Following and reporting about these constant changes without a deep and compassionate understanding of the region […]
5 Reasons Why 2014 was a Game Changer in Palestine
By Ramzy Baroud In terms of losses in human lives, 2014 has been a horrific year for Palestinians, surpassing the horrors of both 2008 and 2009, when an Israeli war against the Gaza Strip killed and wounded thousands. While some aspects of the conflict are stagnating between a corrupt, ineffectual Palestinian Authority (PA), and the […]
‘I Can’t Breathe’: Racism and War in America and Beyond
By Ramzy Baroud America’s ruling elites are blatant in their intentions of maintaining “white privilege” at home and economic dominance by military means abroad. Their “democracy” in both of these regions is a ruse, and it is yet to deliver any degree of social justice and equality to the millions of disadvantaged Americans which are […]
The Mockingjay of Palestine: ‘If We Burn, You Burn with Us’
By Ramzy Baroud Raed Mu’anis was my best friend. The small scar on top of his left eyebrow was my doing at the age of five. I urged him to quit hanging on a rope where my mother was drying our laundry. He wouldn’t listen, so I threw a rock at him. I didn’t mean […]
PFLP Soul-searching: The Rise and Fall of Palestine’s Socialists
By Ramzy Baroud The PFLP is back in the headlines after a recent attack in Jerusalem, raising questions about the current relevance of the group When news reports alleged that the two cousins behind the Jerusalem synagogue attack on 18 November were affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a level of […]
Talk of a Third Intifada: Where to from Here, Palestine?
By Ramzy Baroud When a journalist tries to do a historian’s job, the outcome can be quite interesting. Using history as a side note in a brief news report or political analysis oftentimes does more harm than good. Now imagine if that journalist was not dependable to begin with, even more than it being “interesting”, […]
The Age of TV Jokers: Arab Media on the Brink
By Ramzy Baroud As I was finalizing my research for this article, I found myself browsing through a heap of hilarious videos by mostly Egyptian TV show hosts Tawfiq Okasha and Amr Adeeb. In one of his numerous videos on youtube, Okasha, the star and host of the Cairo-based privately funded al-Faraeen channel, tries to […]
Political Prophecies: Sealing the Fate of al-Aqsa
By Ramzy Baroud Israel’s decision to shut down al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday, 30 October, is not just a gross violation of the religious rights of Palestinian Muslims. In fact, the rights of Palestinian Muslims and Christians have been routinely violated under the Israeli occupation for decades, especially in Jerusalem, and more recently in Gaza. During […]
Fighting for Survival in the Sinai: Egypt’s Convenient War
By Ramzy Baroud Sinai is both heaven and hell. This triangular desert boasts an arid landscape of hopeless horizons often interrupted by leftover military hardware from previous wars. The land is comprised of breathtaking beaches, incredible history, and a fusion of fascinating cultures that reach back into the past as far as ancient times can […]
Phantoms of the Past: Britain’s Vote on Palestine is a Nonstarter
By Ramzy Baroud It would be intellectually dishonest to reflect on the British House of Commons’ vote of Monday, 13 October, on a Palestinian state without digging deeper into history. Regardless of the meaning of the non-binding motion, the parliamentary action cannot be brushed off as just another would-be country to recognise Palestine, as was […]
The Missing Context: ‘Islamic State’ Sectarianism is Not Coincidental
By Ramzy Baroud Consider this comical scene described by Peter Van Buren, a former US diplomat, who was deployed to Iraq on a 12-month assignment in 2009-10: Van Buren led two Department of State teams assigned with the abstract mission of the "reconstruction" of Iraq, which was destroyed in the US-led wars and sanctions. He […]
Nothing about us without Us: The Token Palestinian and Authentic Narrative
By Ramzy Baroud I recall, with particular awkwardness, my first talk to a socialist student gathering at the University of Washington in Seattle nearly two decades ago. When I tried to offer an authentic view of the situation in Palestine from the viewpoint of a refugee, my hosts were distinctly unimpressed. However, the bespectacled head […]
What if ‘Islamic State’ Didn’t Exist?
By Ramzy Baroud What if the so-called Islamic State (IS) didn’t exist? In order to answer this question, one has to liberate the argument from its geopolitical and ideological confines. Flexible language Many in the media (Western, Arab, etc) use the reference “Islamist” to brand any movement at all whether it be political, militant or […]
Nakhwa without Borders: Gaza and the End of ‘Arab Gallantry’
By Ramzy Baroud On its own the Arabic word al-Nakhwa, means “gallantry.” Combined with the word “al-Arabiya” – “Arab gallantry” – the term becomes loaded with meanings, cultural and even political implications and subtext. But what is one to make of “Arab gallantry” during and after Israel’s most brutal war on Gaza between 8 July […]
Convenient Genocide: Another Failed War to Re-Arrange the Middle East
By Ramzy Baroud A few months ago, not many Americans, in fact Europeans as well, knew that a Yazidi sect in fact existed in northwest Iraq. Even in the Middle East itself, the Yazidis and their way of life have been an enigma, shrouded by mystery and mostly grasped through stereotypes and fictitious evidence. Yet […]
Losing the Plot: Israel’s Premier to Face New Gaza Reality
By Ramzy Baroud Netanyahu’s war-turned-genocide in Gaza has backfired badly – his strategy has helped resurrect Hamas, the very movement he tried desperately to crush Aside from being a major military setback, Israel’s war on Gaza has also disoriented the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu like never before. Since the announcement of a ceasefire […]
Netanyahu vs. Abu Ubaydah: On Victory and False Victory
By Ramzy Baroud In the rush to analyze the outcome of Israel’s 51-day war in Gaza, dubbed Operation Protective Edge, some may have neglected an important factor: this was not a war by traditional definitions of warfare, thus the conventional analyses of victory and defeat is simply not applicable. That being the case, how can […]
Fearing Political Islam: Why Arabs Betrayed Gaza
By Ramzy Baroud Ask any Arab ruler, and they will tell you of the great sacrifices their countries have made for Palestine and the Palestinians. However, both history and present reality are testaments, not only to Arab failure to live up to the role expected of them and stand in solidarity with their own oppressed […]
Gaza Changed Everything: Things Cannot Stay the Same after Israeli Genocide
By Ramzy Baroud After every bloody episode of violence perpetrated by Israel, media spin doctors are often deployed with one grand mission: to absolve Israel of any responsibility in their acts of carnage. Not only do these apologists demonize Palestinians, but anyone who dares to take a stand on their behalf. The main staple of […]
Hashtag Genocide: Why Gaza Fought Back
By Ramzy Baroud My old family house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza was recently rebuilt by its new owner, into a beautiful three-story building with large windows adorned by red frames. In Israel’s most recent and deadliest war on Gaza, the house sustained significant damage. A large hole caused by Israeli missiles can […]
On Heroes and Preachers: Gaza’s New Resistance Paradigm
By Ramzy Baroud “Where is the Palestinian Gandhi? In Israeli prison, of course!,” was the title of an article by Jo Ehrlich published in Modoweiss.net on Dec 21, 2009. That was almost exactly one year after Israel’s concluded a major war against Gaza. The so-called Operation Cast Lead (December 27, 2008 – January 18, 2009) […]
Recruiting to Kill – It Is Not Just an Israeli War on Gaza
To some, US secretary of state John Kerry may have appeared to be a genuine peacemaker as he floated around ideas during a Cairo visit on 25 July about a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian fighters in Gaza. But behind his measured diplomatic language, lies a truth not even America’s top diplomat can easily hide. […]
Gaza’s Resistance Will Not be Crushed
By Ramzy Baroud On the 13th day of Israel’s so-called Operation Protective Edge, stories of entire families collectively pulverized, women and children keenly targeted by Israeli soldiers saturate the media. Until now, 430 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 18 Israel soldiers been killed at the hands of the Resistance. In Shejaiya, […]
Israel Awakens the Palestine It Tried to Crush
By Ramzy Baroud When the bodies of three Israeli settlers – two teenagers, Aftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar, both 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19 – were found on 30 June near Hebron in the southern West Bank, Israel went into a state of mourning and a wave of sympathy flowed from around the world. The […]
‘Prince of Darkness’ Disowns Iraq’s Tragedy
By Ramzy Broud As Iraq stands on the verge of a complete breakdown into mini sectarian states, former leading neoconservative and Iraq war advocate Richard Perle has chimed in on the situation on Newsmax TV. His statements in an interview given on Saturday were yet another testimony to the intellectual degeneration of a group that had once promised […]
Ramadan, Socialism and the Neighbour’s Beat-up Car
By Ramzy Baroud For those who spent childhoods in Gaza, the spiritual month of abstinence provokes reflection on how it enabled Palestinians to uncover the collective strength of their beleaguered community When I was a child, I obsessed with socialism. It was not only because my father was a self-proclaimed socialist who read every book […]
Reverting to the Ummah: Who is the ‘Angry Muslim’ and Why
By Ramzy Baroud “Brother, brother,” a young man called on me as I hurriedly left a lecture hall in some community center in Durban, South Africa. This happened at the height of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, when all efforts at stopping the ferocious US-western military drives against these two countries terribly failed. The young […]
ISIL and Iraq’s Pandora’s Box
By Ramzy Baroud “Labeiki ya Zaynab,” chanted Iraqi Shiite fighters as they swayed, dancing with their rifles before news cameras in Baghdad on 13 June. They were apparently getting ready for a difficult fight ahead. For them, it seemed that a suitable war chant would be answering the call of Zaynab, the daughter of Imam […]
Missing Settlers Become Weapons in a War on Unity
By Ramzy Baroud When three teenage Israeli settlers from the illegal Jewish settlement of Gush Etzion went missing on 12 June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw an opportunity to discredit the fledgling Palestinian unity government. His statements and the actions of the Israeli army since have centered on indicting the Palestinian movement Hamas, while […]
