- January 23, 2025
Palestine/Israel
Fighting for the Right to Walk
By RAMZY BAROUD Gaza’s troubles have somehow been relegated, if not completely dropped from the mainstream media’s radar, and subsequently the world’s conscience and consciousness. Weaning the public from the sadness there conveys the false impression that things are improving and that people are starting to move on and rebuild their lives. But nothing could […]
Fatah: A New Beginning or an Imminent End?
By RAMZY BAROUD This is hardly the rational order of things. An overpowering military occupation was meant to be resisted by an equally determined, focused and unyielding national movement, hell-bent on liberation at any cost and by any means. This is the unwritten law that has governed and shielded successful national liberation projects throughout history. […]
Gaza’s Kite Runners
By RAMZY BAROUD When seen from a distance, kites in Gaza may look quite ordinary. But while Gazan children, in many respects, are just children, their kites are hardly ordinary. Often adorned by the red, black, green and white of the Palestinian flag, Gazan children’s kites are expressions of defiance, hope and the longing for […]
The Real Tragedy – Who Killed Arafat and Why?
By RAMZY BAROUD Who killed Yasser Arafat? When the Palestinian leader was declared dead in a French hospital on Nov. 11, 2004, there was no way of knowing how questions related to his death should be phrased. Was he killed or did he die from old age? If he was killed, then who killed him […]
Gaza and the Language of Power
By RAMZY BAROUD Nearly six months have passed since the Israeli army ceased pounding the tiny stretch of land that is the Gaza Strip. Since then, Gaza continues to appear on the news once in a while, as a recurring subject of human misery. The tireless efforts of British MP George Galloway, and the courageous […]
Hamas’ Political Impasse: Between Principal and Necessity
By RAMZY BAROUD Much can be said to explain, or even justify Hamas’ recent political concessions, where its top leaders in Gaza and Damascus agreed in principle with a political settlement on the basis of the two-state solution. On June 25, Damascus-based leader of the Islamic group’s political bureau, Khaled Meshaal reiterated Hamas’ rejection of […]
A Boy and an Artificial Leg: A Gaza Story
By RAMZY BAROUD His room is ready; the walls have fresh paint and my kids prepared a basket of chocolates and other treats to place beside his bed. They hung a poster on his door that has been decorated with colored pens and glitter that says “Welcome Shobhi!” I have taught them that “Sobhi” actually […]
Gaza Disowned: The Pope, Israel and ‘Reconciliation’
By RAMZY BAROUD "Gaza is not on the Pope’s itinerary, nor will it be. There will be no change in these plans. But I’ll say it very clearly, the Pope is absolutely not going to Gaza." Such were the astounding comments made by the Pope’s spokesman in Israel, Wadie Abunasser, prior to Pope Benedict XVI […]
War without Context: Fatah, Hamas and Flawed Language
By RAMZY BAROUD From a distance, the struggle between Hamas and Fatah appears commonplace, a typical third world country’s political scuffle over interpretation of democracy that went out of control, or simply a ‘power struggle’ between two political rivals vying for international aid and recognition. In fact, the conflict may appear as if it popped […]
Non-Violence in Palestine: Timing and Intentions
By RAMZY BAROUD When one speaks of or advocates non-violence, does he promote such an idea because he believes that historically it has been a more effective means of liberation, or is it purely because he thinks that it is a more self-respecting means of struggle? In recent history, many advocates of non-violence have been […]
Israel Investigated, But Will It Repent?
By RAMZY BAROUD Any variation of the words “Palestine” and “massacre” are sure to yield millions of results on major search engines on the World Wide Web. These results are largely in reference to hundreds of different dates and events in which numerous Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army or settlers. But references to […]
Netanyahu and the Future of the Peace Process
By RAMZY BAROUD It seems that the Palestinian-Israeli peace process is in serious jeopardy. This is the immediate impression one gleans from media reports from Israel. Unlike Israel’s Kadima and Labour party "moderates" prime minister-designate Benyamin Netanyahu is widely seen as an obstacle to negotiations aimed at facilitating a two-state solution. The media stories, however, […]
Intifada: A Third Chapter
By RAMZY BAROUD Though the dust has settled in Gaza, the rubble from the untold number of demolished buildings, homes and mosques is far from being cleared away. Graves continue to receive victims, young and old alike, from Israel’s most recent offensive. And in the midst of this, with the hopes of some respite and […]
Was Hamas the Work of the Israeli Mossad?
By RAMZY BAROUD While various Western governments are struggling to define a possible relationship with the Palestinian movement Hamas, some progressive and leftist circles are also uneasy regarding their own perception of the Islamic movement. Some have even made the claim that Hamas is, more or less, an Israeli concoction. In fact, the accusation that […]
Engaging Hamas: Will History Repeat Itself?
By RAMZY BAROUD The political outcomes of the Gaza war are yet to be entirely decided with any degree of certainty. However, the obvious political repositioning which was reported as soon as Israel declared its unilateral ceasefire promised that Israel’s deadly bombs would shape a new political reality in the region. In the aftermath, Hamas […]
PLO: Why an Alternative and Why the Panic?
By RAMZY BAROUD When Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal declared before a cheering crowd in Doha, Qatar, on January 28, the need for a new leadership, his words generated panic amongst leaders of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority as well as traditional Palestinian leadership elites stationed in various Arab capitals. The reaction to Mashaal’s call was […]
Breaking Gaza’s Will: Israel’s Enduring Fantasy
By RAMZY BAROUD My three-year-old son Sammy walked into my room uninvited as I sorted through another batch of fresh photos from Gaza. I was looking for a specific image, one that would humanise Palestinians as living, breathing human beings, neither masked nor mutilated. But to no avail. All the photos I received spoke of […]
Is Israel Winning the ‘Media War’ over Gaza?
By RAMZY BAROUD "We are all Hamas," screamed a scrawny Mauritanian, repeatedly, as he determinedly drew his face closer to a TV camera. Behind him, thousands more tunefully chanted similar words, chants that were heard in different Arabic dialects, in fact in many different languages all across the globe. Yet, Israel, somehow is claiming victory […]
Gaza and the World: Will Things Ever Change?
By RAMZY BAROUD In times of crisis, most Arabs tune in to Aljazeera television. Sometimes it’s comforting for the truth to be stated the way it is, with all of its gory and unsettling details, without blemishes and without censorship. When Israel carried out massive air strikes against Gaza on Saturday, December 27, terrorizing an […]
Gaza: The Untold Story
By RAMZY BAROUD It’s incomprehensible that a region such as the Gaza Strip, so rich with history, so saturated with defiance, can be reduced to a few blurbs, sound bites and reductionist assumptions, convenient but deceptive, vacant of any relevant meaning, or even true analytical value. The fact is that there is more to the […]
Gaza: Salvation in a News Broadcast
By RAMZY BAROUD When Gaza’s electricity is in working order, most Palestinians in the impoverished and overcrowded Strip huddle around their television screens. It’s neither "American Idol" nor "Dancing with the Stars" that brings them together. It’s the news. Gazans’ relationship to news media is both complex and unique. Like most Palestinians everywhere, they intently […]
A Third Palestinian Intifada in the Making
By RAMZY BAROUD At a recent conference I was repeatedly asked about the prospects for a third Palestinian uprising, or Intifada. The question, although seemingly uncomplicated, is both loaded and important, and cannot be answered in a mere two minutes or less. A ‘third Intifada’ would imply that the second has already ended. But has […]
Europe and the Middle East: Will EU Be a More Just Mediator?
By RAMZY BAROUD Europe has showed greater willingness in recent months to play a larger part in the Middle East’s most protracted conflict, that of Israel and Palestine. But willingness doesn’t necessarily indicate readiness. For the European Union (EU) to be truly ready to take on a conflict of such magnitude, it must fully and […]
Marathon for Children: Running for the Right to Play
By RAMZY BAROUD I was ecstatic as I read an email sent by a manager at a Canadian toy company. The company donates a large number of toys each year to inner city kids throughout North America, using various NGOs. A few years ago, they decided to ship several thousand toys to Palestinian children. They […]
Palestinian Economy: From Bad to Wretched
By RAMZY BAROUD The numbers are grim, whether in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian economy is in one of its most wretched states, and the disaster is mostly, if not entirely manmade, thus reversible. The World Bank made no secret of the fact that Israeli restrictions are largely to blame, as […]
Palestinian Unity: Goal or Mantra?
By RAMZY BAROUD Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa used exceptionally tough language during a Cairo news conference 9 September, when he lashed out at Palestinian factionalism, saying that the League is going as far as studying the possibility of imposing sanctions on quarrelling Palestinians. "I am extremely angry with the Palestinian organisations… We are studying […]
United by Misery: Two Boys from Gaza and Nilin
By RAMZY BAROUD Ahmed Moussa was a 12-year-old Palestinian boy from the West Bank village of Nilin, near Ramallah. Mohamed Bahloul is a 12-year-old Palestinian boy from Gaza City. The former was shot and killed 29 July by Israeli forces following a peaceful protest against the Israeli apartheid wall. The latter is awaiting death in […]
How a Tiny Village Took on the Zionist Militants
By RAMZY BAROUD For some folks interested in genealogy, tracing one’s roots is a stimulating activity. It’s immensely interesting and meaningful to learn where one’s life started. DNA testing has made it possible to trace one’s roots back many generations and there are even free web sites that can help users trace their family history […]
On Humiliation, and Gaza’s Dying Children
By RAMZY BAROUD A six-year-old Palestinian girl from Gaza was killed by Israeli fire on 12 June. "Medics say the girl was decapitated by a [tank] shell," Associated Press (AP) reported the next day. The Israeli military said the soldiers opened fire in retaliation against "militants launching rockets into Israel". AP dispassionately elaborated that, "Gaza […]
One State: Coexistence, Not Apartheid
By RAMZY BAROUD For the last 60 years, all those who have sought a genuinely peaceful and fair solution for Israel and Palestine have faced the same obstacle — Israel’s sense of invincibility and military arrogance, abetted by the US and other Western governments’ unwavering support. Despite recent setbacks on the military front, the Israeli […]
