Tag: Middle East

Oblivion Culture: Countering the German taboo on Palestinian trauma

A decisive part of the trauma experienced by Palestinians in Germany comes not only from its being rendered taboo, but also from what Pierre Bourdieu calls symbolic violence. The term describes the violence of those discourses that normalize and legitimize systemic violence…. Symbolic violence justifies the expulsion and dispossession of Palestinians and the seizure of… Read More Oblivion Culture: Countering the German taboo on Palestinian trauma

Dilip

Where is Syria headed?

Now, as the Arabic saying goes, the time has come for meditation after elation. Let us reflect on what has happened so far to try to foresee what the future may hold…. the hateful Assad regime was standing only thanks to two foreign occupations, out of the five foreign occupations across Syrian territory. Gilbert Achcar… Read More Where is Syria headed?

Dilip

The Chris Hedges Report: The Fall of Assad & What it Means for The Mid East

The Fall of Assad & What it Means for The Mid East (w/ Alastair Crooke) | The Chris Hedges Report As Chris Hedges stated: “That [discourse by Crooke] was fascinating and brilliant.” Crooke provides insight that would benefit many Americans if they would only take the time to read and listen. I live in Boston… Read More The Chris Hedges Report: The Fall of Assad & What it Means for The Mid East

Dilip

Syrians finally Won the Arab Spring; Can they avoid Pitfalls and Win Democracy?

Juan Cole Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Syrian Revolution of 2024 has succeeded in deposing the al-Assad dynasty, in power since 1970, throwing off the rule of the once mighty Syrian Socialist Baath Party, a feared and murderous one-party state. Rebel forces streamed into the capital, Damascus, Sunday morning, facing no significant resistance from government troops,… Read More Syrians finally Won the Arab Spring; Can they avoid Pitfalls and Win Democracy?

Dilip

A Massive Database of Evidence, Compiled by a Historian, Documents Israel’s War Crimes in Gaza

NB: This is the most painful thing I have ever posted on Palestine, and is painful reading, but it needs to be circulated. It is to the credit of the Israeli historian that he has done this work. We can only bow our heads to the victims. DS A woman with a child is shot… Read More A Massive Database of Evidence, Compiled by a Historian, Documents Israel’s War Crimes in Gaza

Dilip

Why Iran can’t Stand up for the al-Assad Government and Russia isn’t Offering Air Support

By Juan Cole / Informed Comment Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The strategic situation in Syria is dire for the Baathist government of Bashar al-Assad. Typically in military history, if an invader takes the capital of the other country, it secures its victory. Damascus is the prize. Damascus has an Achilles heel. It is landlocked, deep… Read More Why Iran can’t Stand up for the al-Assad Government and Russia isn’t Offering Air Support

Dilip

Israel’s war in Gaza amounts to genocide, Amnesty International report finds / Former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon accuses Israel of ethnic cleansing

Human rights group says Israel ‘brazenly, continuously and with total impunity … unleashed hell’ on strip’s 2.3m population A report from Amnesty International alleges that Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip constitutes the crime of genocide under international law, the first such determination by a major human rights organisation in the 14-month-old conflict. The 32-page… Read More Israel’s war in Gaza amounts to genocide, Amnesty International report finds / Former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon accuses Israel of ethnic cleansing

Dilip

President of Refugees International Condemns Biden Admin for Role in Gaza

By Diego Ramos Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, an independent humanitarian organization, and former head of disaster assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development, penned a fierce essay criticizing the Biden administration’s year-plus-long failure to hold Israel accountable and enforce the very measures it imposed on the Netanyahu government. Beginning with the Biden administration’s most… Read More President of Refugees International Condemns Biden Admin for Role in Gaza

Dilip

‘The whole foundation is rocking’: inside the explosive film about the investigation of Benjamin Netanyahu

The Bibi Files contains leaked footage of the Israeli PM being interrogated by police over allegations of corruption – and argues that these are partly why he has taken the region into the abyss. We meet the journalist behind it Julian Borger The Bibi Files, a new documentary, begins with its eponymous antihero, Benjamin Netanyahu, being… Read More ‘The whole foundation is rocking’: inside the explosive film about the investigation of Benjamin Netanyahu

Dilip