By Ramzy Baroud Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump is about to do just that, reversing an historical course that has been in the making for one hundred years. The inexperienced, demagogic politician hardly understands the danger that lies in his decision to move […]
By Ramzy Baroud No, it was not just ‘another Middle East peace conference,’ as a columnist in Israeli ‘Jerusalem Post’ attempted to depict the Paris Peace Conference held on January 15, with top official representations from 70 countries attending. If it was, indeed, just ‘another peace conference’, representatives from the Israeli government and the Palestinian […]
By Ramzy Baroud – Al Jazeera Newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump is about to reverse an historical course that has been in the making for 100 years. The inexperienced, demagogic politician hardly understands the danger that lies in his decision to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. If he goes through […]
By Ramzy Baroud For a long time, the Israeli hasbara (propaganda) machine proved to be the best in the world. It had no real competition as the official Israeli discourse presented the world with a highly inaccurate version of reality and in doing so, managed to sustain and feed misconceptions for decades. These efforts worked […]
By Ramzy Baroud For some, the ‘manslaughter’ conviction – following the murder by Israeli army medic, Elor Azaria, of already incapacitated Palestinian man, Fattah al-Sharif – is finally settling a protracted debate regarding where Israelis stand on Palestinian human rights. Nearly 70 percent of the Israeli public supports calls to pardon the convicted soldier, […]
By Ramzy Baroud Long before December 28, when Secretary of State, John Kerry took the podium at the Dean Acheson Auditorium in Washington DC to pontificate on the uncertain future of the two-state solution and the need to save Israel from itself, the subject of a Palestinian state has been paramount. In fact, unlike common […]
By Ramzy Baroud Israel is dizzy. January 20th has been like another Christmas Day and Donald Trump is jolly old Santa Claus bearing gifts. The writing is already on the wall as President-elect Trump has appointed an extremist, David Friedman, as the next US Ambassador to Israel who intends to relocate the US Embassy from […]
By Ramzy Baroud There is no doubt that the UN Security Council condemnation of Israel on Friday was an important and noteworthy event. True, the United Nations’ main chambers (the Security Council and the General Assembly) and its various institutions, ranging from the International Court of Justice to the UN cultural agency, UNESCO, have repeatedly […]
By Ramzy Baroud On 12 December, the British government officially adopted a new definition of anti-Semitism that includes legitimate criticism of Israel. The definition was adopted earlier in the year by pro-Israeli group IHRA, although it was considered but abandoned by the European anti-racism agency in 2005. It is a rather dangerous move which will […]
By Ramzy Baroud After years of holding the Palestinian struggle hostage to their factional-feud, the current enemy of Palestinian unity today is not just the Fatah-Hamas dispute. According to Mouin Rabbani, writing in Al Jazeera, another pressing problem is the power struggle within Fatah itself. It is unfortunate that the Palestinian leadership often substitutes its failure […]
By Ramzy Baroud In July 2003, the then Palestinian Authority Chairman, Yasser Arafat, described Mahmoud Abbas as a “traitor” who “betrayed the interests of the Palestinian People.” Arafat loathed Abbas to the very end. This particular outburst was made during a meeting with United Nations envoy Terje Larsen. The meeting took place a few months after […]
By Ramzy Baroud The Palestine Solidarity Campaign has designated the week, November 25 to December 3, as the ‘biggest-ever campaign’ aimed at boycotting Israeli products and those of companies that contribute to the Israeli military occupation of Palestine. In a recently issued press release, the civil society-led group highlighted “99 actions that will take place […]
Palestinian author and journalist, Ramzy Baroud argued in a piece published today in Al Jazeera that the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People must be reclaimed by civil society and people everywhere. “Although November 29 has galvanized pro-Palestinian communities around the world for decades, a few facts and problems about this day must […]
By Ramzy Baroud There are only a few weeks standing between us and January 20, when United States President-elect Donald Trump becomes ‘President Trump’. But many are still clinging onto some hope, however desperate, that this period of time, albeit rather short, will bring about a sea change. One of these persisting hopes is that […]
By Ramzy Baroud Fear and trepidation are slowly building up, as US President-elect, Donald Trump, is fortifying his transitional team with people capable of bringing about a nightmare scenario, not only for Americans but for the rest of the world, as well. For Palestinians, however, the signs are even more ominous. From former New York […]
By Ramzy Baroud In a succession of events that indicated major coordination between various Israeli government offices, Jewish settler groups and the municipality of Jerusalem, Israel recently moved to outlaw the Muslim call for prayer, first in Jerusalem, then in other Arab areas inside Israel. This move was clearly aimed at literally and figuratively silencing […]
By Ramzy Baroud As I was growing up, I was always reassured by the sound of the ‘Muadhin’ making the call for prayer in our refugee camp’s main mosque in Gaza. Whenever I heard the call very early in the morning, announcing in a melodic voice that the time for the ‘Fajr’ (dawn) prayer was […]
By Ramzy Baroud The Fatah movement is involved in a massive tug-of-war that will ultimately define its future. Though the conflict is between current Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and once Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan is in no way motivated by ending the Israeli occupation, their war will likely determine the future political landscape of […]
Ninety-nine years since Balfour’s “promise”, Palestinians insist that their rights in Palestine cannot be dismissed. By Ramzy Baroud When I was a child growing up in a Gaza refugee camp, I looked forward to November 2. On that day, every year, thousands of students and camp residents would descend upon the main square of the […]
By Ramzy Baroud Last July, the Palestinian Authority took the unexpected, although belated step of seeking Arab backing in suing Britain over the Balfour Declaration. That “declaration” was the first ever explicit commitment made by Britain, and the West in general, to establish a Jewish homeland atop an existing Palestinian homeland. It is too early […]
Chissà se, prima di lasciarsi andare a un immotivato accesso di rabbia, il Presidente del Consiglio Italiano Matteo Renzi avrà letto il testo integrale della risoluzione UNESCO su Palestina e Israele? E’ questa la domanda dell’analista Ramzy Baroud di Ramzy Baroud* Roma, 27 ottobre 2016, Nena News – Chissà se, prima di lasciarsi andare a […]
“Non ci sarà mai una Palestina libera se prima i palestinesi non libereranno se stessi dalla repressione delle divisioni e del fazionalismo”: il punto di vista dell’analista palestinese Ramzy Baroud sulle ultime elezioni locali (rimandate). Mentre i palestinesi nei Territori occupati si preparano per le elezioni locali, previste per ottobre, le divisioni e il “fazionalismo” […]
By Ramzy Baroud Despite all the threats and political grandstanding, Unesco’s World Heritage Committee has approved, on October 26, a new resolution that reaffirms the status of occupied Jerusalem’s Old City on the list of endangered world heritage sites. The approval of the resolution, entitled ‘Old City of Jerusalem and Its Walls’ comes only days […]
By Ramzy Baroud Did Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, actually read the full text of the UNESCO resolution on Palestine and Israel, before he raved with anger? “I think this is a mistaken, inconceivable resolution,” he said. “It is not possible to continue with these resolutions at the UN and UNESCO that aim to attack […]
By Ramzy Baroud The Israeli official narrative regarding its conflict with the Palestinians is deliberately confounded because a muddled up discourse is a convenient one. It allows the narrator to pick and choose half-truths at will, in order to create a falsified version of reality. For instance, this is part of what Israeli Prime Minister […]
By Ramzy Baroud Former Israeli Prime Minister and President, Shimon Peres, was a very successful brand. He was presented to the world as stately, wise, a relentless advocate of peace, and a sane voice amidst a conflict deemed senseless and unending. Now that he is dead at 93, international media are rife with touching tributes […]
By Ramzy Baroud Ban Ki-moon’s second term as UN secretary-general is ending this December, he was the most ideal man for the job as far as the United States and its allies are concerned. Of course, there will always be other Ban Ki-moons. In fact, the man himself was a modified version of his predecessor, […]
By Ramzy Baroud Thousands of Native Americans resurrected the fighting spirit of their forefathers as they stood in unprecedented unity to contest an oil company’s desecration of their sacred land in North Dakota. Considering its burdened historical context, this has been one of the most moving events in recent memory. The standoff, involving 5,000-strong Native […]
By Ramzy Baroud Division within Palestinian society has reached unprecedented levels, becoming a major hurdle on the path of any unified strategy to end Israel’s violent occupation or to rally Palestinians behind a single objective. Newly-appointed Israeli ultra-nationalist Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman understands this too well. His tactic since his ascension to office last May is centered […]
By Ramzy Baroud Division within Palestinian society has reached unprecedented levels, becoming a major hurdle in the path of any unified strategy to end Israel’s violent occupation, or to rally Palestinians behind a single objective. Newly-appointed Israeli ultranationalist Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman understands this too well. His tactic since his ascension to office last May […]