Commentary
Commentary
Freedom of expression in America has a different meaning when it comes to Israel
June 10th, 20190 When then-graduating PhD candidate Steven Thrasher made a speech at the NYU graduation commencement last month, endorsing the BDS movement, some parties felt the need...
Bahia Amawi and the strangest loyalty oath Americans are forced to take
December 21st, 20181 Bahia Amawi works as children's speech pathologist for the Pflugerville Independent School District in Texas. Or, rather, she used to work as a children's speech...
Journalism, history and war: Sit, type and bleed
June 19th, 20170 The typical newsroom set-up, where journalists chase after news headlines dictated by some centralized news gathering agency — often based in some Western capital —......
Israel and Saudi Arabia’s priorities in Syria
Current developments both inside and outside of Syria have shown that the primary sponsors of the extremist-dominated insurgency – namely, the United States, France,...
Will Tunisia be a model for political reform in the Arab world?
February 14th, 20140 The sociopolitical context for political reform in the Arab world is immensely challenging. As a result, few Arab countries have an easy way to democracy. But......
On war criminals and heroes: The whitewashing of Ariel Sharon
January 17th, 20140 The death of former Israeli leader Ariel Sharon enlivened U.S. media’s interest in the legacy of a man considered by many a war criminal, and by some a hero. In fact,...
France’s sham philosopher:Bernard Henri Levy and the destruction of Libya
November 22nd, 20130 While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “the world’s most influential Jew,” Bernard Henri Levy is number 45, according to an article published in the......
A showdown for war or peace
In pressing for negotiated settlements to the Iranian nuclear dispute and the Syrian civil war, President Barack Obama is challenging the imposing lobbying, propaganda...Saudi anger masks concern over loss of influence
WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia’s public anger against the United States masks the kingdom’s growing concern about its diminishing influence in the Persian Gulf and the......
Cracks widen in U.S.-Saudi alliance
WASHINGTON — While Monday’s meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and Saudi King Abdullah may have helped calm the waters, the latest anxieties and...Fractured opposition could derail Syria talks
WASHINGTON - Despite U.S. and Western pressure on the opposition to take part in U.N.-sponsored talks aimed at halting the two-and-a-half-year-old Syrian civil war, most......
Encouraging Iran’s readiness for peace making
If one day Iran succeeds in establishing normal relations with the Western world, it would create a sea change for the entire Middle East.On October 15 and 16, Iran...Russia throws Obama a life preserver on Syria
WASHINGTON— With President Barack Obama facing increasingly certain defeat in his quest for Congressional authorization to carry out military strikes against Syria,......
Sectarianism and the irrational new discourse: Why Arabs must worry
My friend Hanna is Syrian and also happens to be Christian. The latter fact was rarely of consequence, except whenever he wished to boast about the contributions of Arab...U.S. militarism in Mideast is radicalizing Iran
Iran was once on a path of liberalization and reform, before the U.S. Military began sowing destruction throughout the Middle East and Central Asia, following the......
Beirut, and love, and rain
Nizar Qabbani.Nizar Qabbani was a revolutionary lover, whose powerful poetry was known for its simple language. With aesthetic anger, he wrote verses that dealt with...Hypocrisy over Iran’s nuclear program
The controversy over Iran’s nuclear activities has at least as much to do with the future of international order as it does with nonproliferation. For this reason, all......
Obama opts for Syrian ‘regime change’
Following President Barack Obama’s address to an audience of Israeli students in Jerusalem last month, progressive commentators in the United States hailed the speech...Of hope and pain: Rachel Corrie’s Rafah legacy
“Hi Papa .. Don’t worry about me too much, right now I am most concerned that we are not being effective. I still don’t feel particularly at risk. Rafah has seemed......
Chavez’s legacy
Bertrand Russell once wrote about the American revolutionary Thomas Paine, "He had faults, like other men; but it was for his virtues that he was hated and successfully...The Tehran I remember
As someone who lived in Tehran, Iran back in the 1970’s, I especially enjoyed seeing the movie Argo win the Best Picture Oscar. It’s a great story, with......
How the Iraq war was sold
The Washington Post continues to allow former members of the Bush administration, including President George W. Bush, to distort the case for going to war against Iraq...Israeli attack: A desperate bid to save failed campaign against Syria
Israel has conducted airstrikes in Syria based on "suspicions" of chemical weapon transfers, in a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, international law, and in direct......