An autopsy of the Democrats’ autopsy fiasco
June 12th, 20260 A number of sub-plots undergird the drama that erupted over the Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin’s release of an incomplete “autopsy” of the 2024 election. First, I’ll note that I don’t envy the dilemma in which Martin found himself. Martin had promised to deliver an in-depth examination of what went wrong in...
The Palestine industry: The rats of Gaza and the opportunists among us
June 4th, 20260 It all started with a call to my family in a displacement camp in northern Gaza. Since Internet lines rarely stay connected, I managed to send a message to the widow of my cousin — who was killed along with all of his sons during the ongoing Gaza genocide. I asked her a simple question: what do Gazans want? My purpose was to...
No war, no peace: The Middle East’s age of survival
June 4th, 20260 The Middle East is no longer drifting toward instability — it is now fully inside it. What once appeared to be a collection of separate conflicts has merged into a broader regional crisis. Across the Middle East — from Gaza to the Strait of Hormuz — the coming decade is no longer a quest for peace, but a struggle for...
Heading toward disaster in the Middle East
May 29th, 20260 U.S. policy in the Middle East has been so problematic because policymakers refuse to consider its impact on the Arab people. With Israel, it’s a different story. Over-attentiveness to Israeli concerns and a lack of sensitivity to Arab reaction to our actions has caused deep fractures between Arabs and the U.S. and within the Arab...
Self-engineered decay: Why Israel’s political collapse cannot be separated from its war crimes
May 29th, 20260 For those unfamiliar with the intricate machinery of Israeli politics, the unanimous 110-0 vote to dissolve the Knesset on May 20 appears to be an earth-shattering event. On the surface, it looks as if the days of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition of far-right extremists are numbered. The reality, however, is far more...
Sovereignty, Palestine and power vacuum: The urgent need for a united Arab initiative
May 22nd, 20260 President Trump's state visit to China will go down in history as the day the United States finally acknowledged Beijing’s ascendancy as a global superpower. That acknowledgment does not need to be articulated in a formal statement; it can be clearly read in the subtext of diplomatic behavior, global perception and shifting media...
GLP-1s can help people shed the pounds, but tennis can keep them fit for life
May 22nd, 20260 Nearly 1 in 8 Americans have turned to GLP-1s to shed pounds. For many, these drugs offer a powerful starting point to trimming their waistlines — but not a complete path to long-term health. Lasting health isn't defined by the scale. Sustainable improvements come from building healthier lifestyles over time — especially regular...
Speaking the truth about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians shouldn’t hurt
May 21st, 20260 Is it anti-Semitic to say that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza? Is it “hurtful and insensitive” for someone to acknowledge the suffering that Israel has inflicted on the Palestinian people? In recent weeks, actions by two institutions of higher learning brought these questions to the forefront. On April 15, faculty and...
Poll signals sharp decline in U.S. support for Israel
May 15th, 20260 Recent polls of U.S. voters demonstrate a steep decline in overall support for Israel. For example, in February, when Gallup asked with whom they most sympathized, 41 percent of respondents said Palestinians, while only 36 percent named Israel. This markedly contrasts with results to Gallup’s same question in 2023 when 54 percent of...
The assault on a French nun and the forgotten story of Palestinian Christians
May 15th, 20260 The video is horrifying, though it is the kind of horror now synonymous with the behavior of Israel, its military, its armed settlers and society that has been conditioned to see the "other" as subhuman. Yet, this was not the typical viral video that emerges almost daily from occupied Palestine. The victim, this time, was not a...
No talks under fire: Why Lebanon must refuse coercive diplomacy
May 8th, 20260 Any serious negotiation requires a minimum level of stability, credibility and mutual restraint. Right now, none of those conditions exist between Lebanon and Israel. To push for talks in the middle of ongoing bombardment and occupation in southern Lebanon and the continued killing of civilians is not diplomacy — it risks becoming...
Subjects of empire: Breaking the cycle of Arab dependence on U.S. elections
May 7th, 20260 Much of the current discourse on the Middle East remains fixated on the U.S. midterm congressional elections in November. This vote, in particular, is being framed as a pivotal turning point for everything from the survival of Gaza and Lebanon to the future of Iran and beyond. To a large extent, one can understand why U.S. corporate...
Five laws and standards that require the U.S. cut off weapons to Israel
May 1st, 20260 By Prem Thakker A new memo circulating on Capitol Hill details why the U.S. is obligated to cut weapons to Israel – even if Israel wants to buy them with its own money. A memo is circulating in Congress detailing five laws and international standards that obligate the United States to stop sending or selling weapons to...
“Never Again”?
April 24th, 20260 “I am human” — and so are they. I learned as a child that “wrong is wrong.” Historically Jewish people have been wronged; there is no doubt. Anti-Jewish sentiment is on the rise here at home and around the globe. What happened to Jewish people on Oct 7 was horrific and wrong. I have and will continue to stand up and...
Iran war has President Trump In a box
April 24th, 20260 With the apparent collapse of the U.S. talks with Iran, President Trump finds himself in a box with no easy way out. Polls are showing that key elements of his winning electoral coalition are growing weary of the war and frustrated with its domestic consequences. As we approach the midterm elections, Republicans in Congress are also......
The cowardice of qualification: When anti-war voices speak the language of empire
April 24th, 20260 A respected human rights activist has spoken repeatedly against the U.S.-Israeli aggression on Iran. She recognizes the illegality of the war and does not shy away from condemning it in clear terms. Yet, almost invariably, she feels compelled to qualify her position, reminding her audience that Iran has killed "tens of thousands of...
The Lebanon conspiracy: Massacres, negotiations and a new order
April 17th, 20260 Israel’s latest war on Lebanon is not only being waged from the air. It is being reinforced politically from within, as Beirut moves in step with U.S.-Israeli efforts to isolate Hezbollah and weaken Iran’s negotiating position. In a previous article, we examined the seven messages that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu......
Sending money to loved ones shouldn’t cost a fortune — or a risk
April 10th, 20260 By Abdul El-Sayed Every year, Arab Americans send billions of dollars to support family members abroad — to Teta in Beirut, Amu in Cairo or Khalo in Baghdad. These remittances can be lifelines. They cover rent, provide for school fees and underwrite medical bills. They are acts of love via Western Union. But sending that money is...
After Iran: Is this the unraveling of the U.S.-Israeli order?
April 10th, 20260 The knives are out — and this time they are not aimed at Tehran, but at Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. Even the ever morally flexible Chris Christie moved quickly. The former New Jersey governor and longtime Republican insider, speaking on CNN, did not merely criticize Trump; he used the moment to indict establishment...
Hard hits, unbroken resistance: Why Israel can’t win against Hezbollah
April 4th, 20260 Any serious forecast of the future of the Israel–Hezbollah war has to begin with a simple but uncomfortable truth: history does not repeat itself exactly, but in southern Lebanon it comes very close. Israel possesses overwhelming military and technological superiority, yet its past confrontations in Lebanon suggest that this advantage...
ACRL condemns misleading and dangerous framing by the Detroit News, community voices won’t be silenced
April 4th, 20260 The Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) strongly condemned the recent article published by the Detroit News and authored by George Hunter, which irresponsibly conflates constitutionally protected speech with criminal conduct and perpetuates harmful, stigmatizing narratives about the Arab and Muslim community in Metro Detroit. This......
AHRC calls for responsible journalism: Let us avoid painting with a broad brush
April 4th, 20260 The American Human Rights Council (AHRC‑USA) expresses deep concern regarding the intent and the possible negative backlash of the recent Detroit News article written by George Hunter and published on March 25, 2026, titled “Temple Israel fuels debate about Hezbollah threat in Detroit area.” The article’s framing, purpose and...
Trapped by his own image: Trump’s Iran war and the politics of ego
April 4th, 20260 The judgment on the Trump administration’s war on Iran is already largely settled across mainstream media, public opinion, and much of the analytical sphere. What remains supportive of the war is limited to two predictable camps: official government discourse and the president’s most loyal supporters, along with entrenched......
Yes, Iran is playing chess, but only after rewriting the rules of the game
March 27th, 20262 By Ramzy Baroud & Romana Rubeo The origins of chess are contested, but few dispute that while the game began in India, it was the Sassanian Persian Empire that refined it into a recognizable strategic system. It was Persia that codified its language, symbolism and intellectual framework: the shah (king), the rokh (rook) and...
From Palestine to Iran: What Arab and Muslim silence really reveals
March 26th, 20260 By Ramzy Baroud & Romana Rubeo I have always found it interesting, and at times revealing, when seasoned activists and intellectuals in the West, including those who see themselves as deeply committed to Palestine, raise the same familiar point: Arab governments must stand up to Israel and the United States in solidarity with their......
