- April 18, 2024
Palestine/Israel
‘Elected by Donors’: The University of Cape Town Fails Palestine, Embraces Israel
By Ramzy Baroud It was a scandal of the highest caliber. On November 23, the senate of the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa was practically bullied into reversing an earlier decision calling for the academic boycott of Israel. While the story may seem relevant in South Africa’s political and academic contexts, in […]
Money, Power and Turf: Winning the Middle East Media War at Any Cost
By Ramzy Baroud It is hardly surprising to see Middle Eastern countries at the bottom of the World Press Freedom Index, as the worst violators of freedom of the press. But equally alarming is the complete polarization of public opinion as a result of self-serving media and, bankrolled by rich Arab countries, whose only goal is […]
The Unfinished ‘Coup’: The End of the Netanyahu Era and the Political Earthquake ahead
By Ramzy Baroud Nothing seems to be working for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has tried every trick in the book to save his political career and avoid a possible prison sentence. Nevertheless, for Israel’s longest-serving leader, the end is almost certainly nigh. Netanyahu described his indictment on charges of fraud, bribery, and breach of […]
Israel’s Next Move: The Real Danger in the US Decision to Normalize Illegal Jewish Settlements
The US decision to defy international law on settlements is not dangerous because it violates international law, for the latter has hardly ever been a concern for Washington.
O próximo passo de Israel é o verdadeiro perigo contido na decisão dos EUA de normalizar assentamentos ilegais
Não é de surpreender que o governo dos EUA finalmente tenha decretado que os assentamentos judaicos ilegais construídos em desafio ao direito internacional são de alguma forma “consistentes” com a lei. A política externa dos EUA está se aproximando dessa conclusão há algum tempo. Desde que se mudou para a Casa Branca em janeiro de 2017, o presidente Donald Trump desencadeou uma reversão total e completa da política externa de seu país em relação à Palestina e Israel.
The Infallible Warrior: Honest Reflections on the Legacy of Yasser Arafat 15 Years after his Death
By Ramzy Baroud 15 years after the passing of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian people continue to reflect on his legacy. Thousands of images of “Abu Ammar” have been shared across numerous social media platforms remembering a man whose nom de guerre has been affiliated with the Palestinian struggle for decades. Arafat’s legacy, however, […]
How Western Media Bias Allows Israel to Getaway with Murder in Gaza
By Ramzy Baroud An Israeli attack on Gaza was imminent, and not because of any provocations by Palestinian groups in the besieged, impoverished Gaza Strip. The Israeli military escalation was foreseeable because it factors neatly in Israel’s contentious political scene. The war was not a question of “if”, but “when”. The answer came on November 12, when […]
A Lesson for the Palestinian Leadership: Real Reasons behind Israel’s Arrest and Release of Labadi, Mi’ri
By Ramzy Baroud The release on November 6 of two Jordanian nationals, Heba al-Labadi and Abdul Rahman Mi’ri from Israeli prisons was a bittersweet moment. The pair were finally reunited with their families after harrowing experiences in Israel. Sadly, thousands of Palestinian prisoners are still denied their freedom, still subjected to all sorts of hardships […]
Microsoft Should not Fund Israeli Spying on Palestinians
By Ramzy Baroud The act of Palestinian activists covering their faces during anti-Israeli occupation rallies is an old practice that spans decades. The masking of the face, often by Kufyias – traditional Palestinian scarves that grew to symbolize Palestinian resistance – is far from being a fashion statement. Instead, it is a survival technique, without […]
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinian Christians that Nobody is Talking about
By Ramzy Baroud Palestine’s Christian population is dwindling at an alarming rate. The world’s most ancient Christian community is moving elsewhere. And the reason for this is Israel. Christian leaders from Palestine and South Africa sounded the alarm at a conference in Johannesburg on October 15. Their gathering was titled: “The Holy Land: A Palestinian Christian Perspective”. […]
She Deserves our Support: Betty McCollum Wants US to Stop Subsidizing Torture of Palestinian Children
By Ramzy Baroud n December 2018, 17-year-old Palestinian teen, Ayham Sabah, was sentenced by an Israeli military court to 35 years in prison for his alleged role in a stabbing attack targeting an Israeli soldier in an illegal Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Sabah was only 14 years old when the alleged attack took place. Another […]
The Last Lifeline: The Real Reason behind Abbas’ Call for Elections
By Ramzy Baroud The call by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for elections in the Occupied Territories is a political ploy. There will be no true, democratic elections under Abbas’ leadership. The real question is: why did he make the call in the first place? On September 26, Abbas took on the world’s most important […]
Administrative Torture: Free Heba al-Labadi, a Jordanian Citizen in Israeli Prison
By Ramzy Baroud On August 20, Heba Ahmed al-Labadi fell into the dark hole of the Israeli legal system, joining 413 Palestinian prisoners who are currently held in so-called administrative detention. On September 26, Heba and seven other prisoners declared a hunger strike to protest their unlawful detention and horrific conditions in Israeli prisons. Among the prisoners is Ahmed Ghannam, […]
On Racism and ‘Wild Beasts’: Why Israel Besieges Palestinians
By Ramzy Baroud The Israeli Apartheid Wall, which is being built largely on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, once more underscores the ugliness of military occupation. As such, it truly epitomizes the nature of Israeli apartheid and also delineates the siege-driven, isolationist mentality that dominates the ruling-class thinking in Israel. Even years before the establishment […]
The Africa-Palestine Conference: Why South Africa Must Lead the Way
By Ramzy Baroud On September 16, I visited South Africa, a country where many Palestinians have always felt welcomed, if not overwhelmed by the degree of genuine and meaningful solidarity. While having the honor to address many audiences in six, major cities, I have also learned a great deal. An important and sobering lesson is that while […]
Netanyahu on Steroids: What a Gantz-led Government Means for Palestine
By Ramzy Baroud Experience has taught Palestinians not to pay heed to Israeli elections. But to every rule, there is an exception. Although it is still true that no Israeli Zionist leader has ever been kind to the Palestinian people, the dynamics of the latest Israeli elections on September 17 are likely to affect the […]
Apartheid Made Official: Deal of the Century is a Ploy and Annexation is the New Reality
By Ramzy Baroud Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is moving quickly to alter the political reality in Palestine, and facing little or no resistance. On September 10, Netanyahu declared his intentions to annex swathes of Palestinian land adjacent to the Jordan River, an area that covers 2,400 square kilometers, or nearly a third of the Occupied West Bank. […]
Israeli Folly: How Netanyahu Cemented the Hezbollah-Hamas-Iran Alliance
By Ramzy Baroud To serve his limited political agenda, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, may have unwittingly unified various resistance groups in the Middle East after years of separation and discord. On August 24-25, Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army to strike several targets of parties he perceives to be allies of Iran in the region. The unprecedented […]
Humanity Denied: What Is Missing from the Omar, Tlaib Story
By Ramzy Baroud Israel’s decision to bar two United States Democratic Representatives, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, from entering Israel and visiting Palestine has further exposed the belligerent, racist nature of the Israeli government. But our understanding of the Israeli decision and the massive controversy and discussion it generated should not stop there. Palestinians, who have been at the […]
Jewish Settlers Rule the Roost in Israel, but at What Cost?
By Ramzy Baroud Jewish Israeli settlers are on a roll as they rampage across the occupied Palestinian West Bank. While settler violence is part of the daily routine in Palestine, the violence of recent weeks is linked directly to the General Election in Israel, scheduled to be held on 17 September. The previous election, just four months […]
Bassam Shakaa: The Making of a Palestinian ‘Organic Intellectual’
By Ramzy Baroud It would be unfair to claim that Palestine has not produced great leaders. It has, and Bassam Shakaa, the former Mayor of Nablus, who passed away on 22 July at the age of 89, was living proof of this. The supposed deficit in good Palestinian leadership can be attributed to the fact […]
Israel’s War on Innocence: Palestinian Children in Israeli Military Courts
By Ramzy Baroud On July 29, 4-year-old Muhammad Rabi’ Elayyan was reportedly summoned for interrogation by the Israeli police in occupied Jerusalem. The news, originally reported by the official Palestinian news agency, WAFA, was later denied by the Israeli police, more than likely in an attempt to lessen the impact of the PR disaster that followed. The Israelis are not […]
‘Clear and Decisive Win’: Why Netanyahu Needs a War on Gaza More Than Ever Before
By Ramzy Baroud Media reports of an impending Israeli war on the besieged Gaza Strip are now a regular occurrence. The frequency of these reports fluctuates based on Israel’s own political landscape. Empirical experience has taught us that when Israeli leaders are in trouble, they wage a war on Gaza. Now that Israeli Prime Minister […]
Killing Tariq: Why We Must Rethink the Roots of Jewish Settlers Violence
By Ramzy Baroud Seven-year-old Tariq Zabania from Al-Khalil (Hebron) was killed on the spot when an Israeli Jewish settler ran his car over him on July 15. Little Tariq’s photograph, lying face down on the road, was circulated on social media. His untimely death is heartbreaking. Tariq’s innocent blood must not go in vain. For this to […]
The Book of Palestine: National Liberation Vs Endless Negotiations
By Ramzy Baroud Those who are still hoping that the new American agenda on Palestine and Israel is temporary, or reversible, should abandon this false hope. Washington’s complete adoption of Israel’s messianic, extremist policies regarding Occupied Palestine has been a long time in the making. And it is here to stay. Despite the unmistakable clarity […]
Africa and Palestine: A Noble Legacy that Must Never Be Betrayed
By Ramzy Baroud Europe’s “Scramble for Africa” began in earnest in 1881, but never ended. The attempt at dominating the continent using old and new strategies continues to define the western relationship with this rich continent. This reality was further validated when I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on 23 June. Although my objective was to address various […]
The Day After: What if Israel Annexes the West Bank?
By Ramzy Baroud Calls for the annexation of the Occupied West Bank are gaining momentum in both Tel Aviv and Washington. But Israel and its American allies should be careful what they wish for. Annexing the Occupied Palestinian Territories will only reinforce the current rethink of the Palestinian strategy, as opposed to solving Israel’s self-induced […]
‘World Refugee Day’: Palestinians Keep their Right of Return Alive through Hope, Resistance
By Ramzy Baroud The United Nations’ World Refugee Day, observed annually on June 20, should not merely represent a reminder of “the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.” It should also be an opportunity for the international community to truly […]
Kushner as a Colonial Administrator: Let’s Talk about the ‘Israeli Model’
By Ramzy Baroud In a TV interview on June 2, on the news docuseries “Axios” on the HBO channel, Jared Kushner opened up regarding many issues, in which his ‘Deal of the Century’ was a prime focus. The major revelation made by Kushner, President Donald Trump’s adviser and son-in-law, was least surprising. Kushner believes that […]
Facing the Facts: Israel Cannot Escape ICC Jurisdiction
By Ramzy Baroud The Chief Military Advocate General of the Israeli army, Sharon Afek, and the US Department of Defense General Counsel, Paul Ney, shared a platform at the ‘International Conference on the Law of Armed Conflict’, which took place in Herzliya, Israel between May 28-30. Their panel witnessed some of the most misconstrued interpretations of international […]
