- June 10, 2025
Articles
A Defining Moment: Anti-Muslim Films, Cartoons and My Gaza Neighbor
By Ramzy Baroud A neighbor of mine, of many years ago from a Gaza refugee camp, was a sacrilegious person par excellence. Unemployed like most inhabitants of the camp, he was extremely poor. His family responsibilities were daunting, yet prolonged Israeli military curfews made it impossible for him to find a job, let alone venture […]
Egypt’s Gaza Policy: Time for Change is Now
By Ramzy Baroud If the new Egyptian leadership thinks it is possible to achieve lasting reconciliation between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah within the current political climate, it is likely to be disappointed. In the case of Gaza, the government of Mohamed Morsi should in fact pursue sensible policies free from the protracted and […]
Charity Economics, Subservient Politics: Why Oslo Must Go
By Ramzy Baroud Recent demonstrations in protest of the rising cost of living have swept across the West Bank. While they are not indicative of a Palestinian version of the ‘Arab Spring’, they are still an important first step. A reasonable demand, however, cannot possibly be for Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to sack […]
Growing Isolation: Boycott of Israel Crosses to Governments’ Realm
By Ramzy Baroud Should Israel be worried? Very much so, for the age of total impunity is coming to an end. Critical voices of the Israeli occupation and mistreatment of Palestinians are rising – not only within civil society circles, but among world governments as well. The picture may seem grim if seen through the […]
Humanitarian Disaster at Sea – Little Girl with Green Jacket
By Ramzy Baroud Has the sea always been so cruel? The little girl was dressed in blue pants and a green jacket. Her hair was finely kempt in a ponytail, probably interwoven by her mother. Thursday was meant to be a special day for her, a fact that was highlighted by the carefully chosen details […]
Palestinian Refugees from Syria Lost and ‘Betrayed’
By Ramzy Baroud The official position of Arab nations is unambiguous: solidarity with Palestine is paramount. But facts on the ground point to a disturbingly different reality, one in which Palestinians are mistreated beyond any rational justification in various Arab countries. The worst-fated among them are stateless refugees, who have for decades been granted only […]
Fighting Apartheid in Palestine: South Africa’s Unfinished Business
By Ramzy Baroud The recent approval by South Africa’s cabinet to distinguish between products made in Israel and those made in illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank was both politically sound and morally consistent with the country’s anti-Apartheid legacy. It was also a natural progression of South Africa’s policies, which have reflected impatience with […]
Arrigoni’s Murder Trial in Gaza: Answers Not Just a Verdict
By Ramzy Baroud There was once a young man from a very small Italian town called Bulciago who wished to change the world. As soon as he finished his exams, he began his quest. He travelled near and far, and when he arrived in Jerusalem in 2002, he knew he had found his calling. In […]
The Children Are Still Dying: Violence is Not News
By Ramzy Baroud Somewhere in my home I have a set of photo albums I rarely go near. I fear the flood of cruel memories that might be evoked from looking at the countless photos I took during a trip to Iraq. Many of the pictures are of children who developed rare forms of cancer […]
US Realists, Neocons and the War in Syria
By Ramzy Baroud In US political circles, the Syria conflict is increasingly being presented as a discussion pertaining to Israeli interests. This attitude is not substantially different from the way US politicians and media weighed in on the Egyptian January 25 revolution and its aftermath. Egypt mostly matters because of the US-brokered Camp David treaty […]
Shifting Truths in Sinai: Who Stands to Gain from Carnage?
By Ramzy Baroud Two Toyota Land Cruisers filled with about 15 well-built gunmen in ski masks and all-black outfits appear seemingly out of nowhere. Behind them is vast, open desert. They approach a group of soldiers huddled around a simple meal as they prepare to break their Ramadan fast. The gunmen open fire, leaving the […]
Neocons vs. the ‘Arab Spring’: Back on the Warpath
By Ramzy Baroud The neoconservatives are back with a vengeance. While popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and other Arab countries had briefly rendered them irrelevant in the region, Western intervention in Libya signaled a new opportunity. Now Syria promises to usher a full return of neoconservatives into the Middle East fray. “Washington must stop […]
At Stake in Mali: Refugees at Every Border
By Ramzy Baroud ‘We don’t even know who to be afraid of anymore,’ said Hama Ould Mohammad Bashir, a refugee from Mali (New York Times, July 18). ‘There are a lot of armed people, coming and going all the time.’ The humanitarian crisis in Mali is developing at an alarmingly fast pace. While there are […]
Why is Mali Spiraling out of Control?
By Ramzy Baroud Northern Mali promises to be the graveyard of scores of innocent people if African countries don’t collectively challenge Western influence in the region. Mali is fast becoming the Afghanistan of Africa. The tragic reality is that Mali – a large but sparsely populated country, with around 15.5 million inhabitants – was until […]
Lurking Danger: Palestinian Refugees in Syria
By RamzyBaroud ‘The flames are quickly approaching Yarmouk (as) someone is trying to drag the Palestinians into the fire,’ reported Palestinian commentator Rashad Abu Shawar (as cited in Israeli Jerusalem Post, July 20). Yarmouk is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria. Its inhabitants make up nearly a quarter of Syria’s entire refugee population of […]
Democracy and Slaughter in Burma: Gold Rush Overrides Human Rights
By Ramzy Baroud The widespread killings of Rohingya Muslims in Burma – or Myanmar – have received only passing and dispassionate coverage in most media. What they actually warrant is widespread outrage and decisive efforts to bring further human rights abuses to an immediate halt. “Burmese helicopter set fire to three boats carrying nearly 50 […]
Rohingya People Killed as the World Watches
By Ramzy Baroud The Muslim Rohingya people of Burma – also known as Myanmar – have long undergone systematic discrimination in a country with a bleak human rights record. However, the latest pogrom of violence and ethnic cleansing against the minority group has crossed even traditional bounds of cruelty. The campaign against the extremely poor […]
Time to Talk Camp David: Will New Egypt Meet Old Expectations?
By Ramzy Baroud Despite early assurances by Egypt’s new President Mohammed Morsi regarding his ‘commitment to international treaties and agreements,’ one can already foretell a likely confrontation between Egypt and Israel. A chaotic transition notwithstanding, a new, post-revolution Egypt is emerging. It is is more self-assertive, emphasizing issues of national dignity and respect. In fact, […]
A Post ‘Arab Spring’ Palestine
By Ramzy Baroud ‘Will the Arab Spring serve the cause of Palestine?’ is a question that has been repeatedly asked, in various ways, over the last year and a half. Many media discussions have been formulated around this very inquiry, although the answer is far from a simple “yes” or “no.” Why should the question […]
Hamas and Jordan: Winds of Change, Uncertainty
By Ramzy Baroud – Special to Gulf News The official Jordanian media has described a recent meeting between King Abdullah of Jordan and exiled Hamas leader, Khalid Mesha’al, as if it were a routine exchange of ideas. But neither Petra, Jordan’s news agency, nor Hamas officials could hide the fact that the meeting had everything […]
The Predicament of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon
By Ramzy Baroud When Lebanese security reportedly killed 18-year-old Ahmad al-Qasim over a documentation dispute in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, the camp’s Palestinian refugee population erupted in anger and dismay. Within a few days of the June 15 incident, the outrage had spread and more refugees were killed. Fouad Muhi’edeen Lubany was killed on […]
Gaza Experiment: Mere Words Will Not Help Solve Gaza Crisis
By Ramzy Baroud – Special to Gulf News The fifth anniversary of the Israeli siege on Gaza was commemorated on June 14 with a barrage of statements, urging Israel to end the blockade and allow Gazans long-denied humanitarian assistance, freedom of movement and access to trade routes. The punitive siege has turned into yet another […]
Off the Agenda: The Unresolved Question of Egypt’s Economy
By Ramzy Baroud A new Egypt demands a new constitution and president. Many pressing questions also need to be addressed, including the religious-secular divide, the value of Sharia in the making of law, citizenship, minority rights, the rule of civil society, foreign policy, and much more. One issue that requires urgent attention in the current […]
Sectarian Divide Takes Alarming Turn
By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf News The conflict in Syria is giving way to a troubling phenomenon of hastily drawn sectarian lines throughout the Middle East. A perpetual and repugnant war is likely to replace the collective aspirations for equality, freedom and democracy that fuelled the non-violent uprising nearly 15 months ago. Between May 25 […]
War Rages on Palestinian Soccer – Free Mahmoud Sarsak
By Ramzy Baroud On June 4, Palestinian national soccer team member Mahmoud Sarsak completed 81 days of a grueling hunger strike. He had sustained the strike despite the fact that nearly 2,000 Palestinian inmates had called off their own 28-day hunger strike weeks ago. Although the story of Palestinian prisoners in Israel speaks to a […]
À l’occasion de la parution en français de son livre « La Deuxième Intifada », Ramzy Baroud répond à nos questions
Info-Palestine.net La Deuxième Intifada fut l’expression de cette capacité de la société palestinienne à se mobiliser dans les plus difficiles des circonstances et de soutenir cette mobilisation pendant des années en dépit des coûts terribles imposés par la violence israélienne, explique Ramzy Baroud. Info-Palestine: Six ans après avoir été écrit, votre livre « La Deuxième […]
Starving and Broke: Yemen’s Renewed ‘War on Terror’
By Ramzy Baroud Yemeni forces continue to push against fighters affiliated with al-Qaeda. Their major victories come on the heels of the inauguration of Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi, who is now entrusted with the task of leading the country through a peaceful transition. A new constitution and presidential elections are expected by 2014. Faced with […]
Redefining the ‘Arab Spring’: Is Chaos Overtaking Revolution?
By Ramzy Baroud The age of revolutionary romance is over. Various Arab countries are now facing hard truths. Millions of Arabs merely want to live with a semblance of dignity, free from tyranny and continuous anxiety over the future. This unromantic reality also includes outside ‘players’, whose presence is of no positive value to genuine […]
Palestine’s Future in Safe Hands
By Ramzy Baroud The commemoration of the Nakba needs to be more than a ritualistic event; the remembrance should be integrated into a clear and comprehensive national project aimed at offsetting the harm wrought to generations of Palestinians. There is no question that Israel has repeatedly failed in distancing or erasing the memory of those […]
The Palestinian Nakba: The Resolve of Memory
By Ramzy Baroud Many Palestinians remember and reference al-Nakba, also known as the Catastrophe, on May 15 every year. The event marks the expulsion of nearly a million Palestinians, while their villages were destroyed. The destruction of Palestine in 1947-48 ushered in the birth of Israel. Older generations relay the harsh and oppressive memory of […]
