Levant

From Damascus to Baghdad, from Amman to Jerusalem, a region rich in history – and in conflict

 James M. Dorsey

Arab Silence, West’s Symbolism, to Backfire in Syria

Arab Silence, West’s Symbolism, to Backfire in Syria

JAMES M. DORSEY: Western and Arab nations have more to gain from real engagement with Mr. Assad’s opponents than from symbolic gestures and silence.

 Syria News Wire

Whisper it – things might be changing in Syria. A bit.

Whisper it – things might be changing in Syria. A bit.

NEWS FROM SYRIA: Foreign journalists allowed in? Recognition that there is, actually, an opposition? Great, but old habits die hard in Damascus.

 Juan Cole

Assad Plays the ‘Palestinian Card’ – Again

Assad Plays the ‘Palestinian Card’ – Again

PAUL NOTAR, INFORMED COMMENT: He’s always been a skilful player of ‘the Palestinian Card’ but as the region changes his hold on that particular narrative is no longer exclusive.

 Mondoweiss

Gaza Summer Games Sets World Records Again

Gaza Summer Games Sets World Records Again

ANNIE, MONDOWEISS: Now in its fifth year the Gaza Summer Games provides a beacon of light for 250,000 students.

 Mondoweiss

‘Drop Dead’: Message to U.S Gaza Flotilla

‘Drop Dead’: Message to U.S Gaza Flotilla

PHILIP WEISS, MONDOWEISS: The American Gaza flotilla protesters have received some helpful advice from the U.S. State Department. They could be shot by Israeli forces.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Three Books That WON’T Help You Understand Iraq

Three Books That WON’T Help You Understand Iraq

M. LYNX-QUALEY: It’s one of those lists again. You know it’s designed to gain a reaction and you can’t help yourself so here I go with my reaction to books on Iraq.

 Alexander McNabb

Beautiful Shemlan and the ‘British Spy School’

Beautiful Shemlan and the ‘British Spy School’

ALEXANDER MCNABB: Looking out over Beirut from Shemlan never fails to take my breath away.

 Syria News Wire

Two Months of Silence and Now This?

Two Months of Silence and Now This?

NEWS FROM SYRIA: Out with the jokes, out with the arrogant posture. In with nervousness, in with technical detail. It’s the ‘same old, same old’ – in a word ‘denial’.

 Ramzy Baroud

The Living Nightmare That is the Rafah Crossing

The Living Nightmare That is the Rafah Crossing

RAMZY BAROUD: The process of leaving Gaza through the Rafah Crossing to Egypt can only be described as a ‘human lottery’. A deeply unpleasant, humiliating lottery.

 Ramzy Baroud

The Everyday Miracle of Building a Playground in Gaza

The Everyday Miracle of Building a Playground in Gaza

RAMZY BAROUD: Houses were transformed into rubble during the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Residents have had to…

 Tabsir

‘Live Long and Prosper’: My Message to Region

‘Live Long and Prosper’: My Message to Region

LEONAR NIMOY, TABSIR: There is a viable plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It’s the ‘two-state’ solution and its application is, how should I put it, simply logical.

 Juan Cole

Israeli Attack on Unarmed Protesters – Criminal

Israeli Attack on Unarmed Protesters – Criminal

JUAN COLE: Israeli troops have a wide variety of non-lethal means of dealing with unarmed protesters. That they opted for live ammunition.

 Ramzy Baroud

Return to Gaza: Memories, Tears… and Barrad

Return to Gaza: Memories, Tears… and Barrad

RAMZY BAROUD: It was the visit to my former home which stirred some of the most poignant memories – a house full of unruly boys, an exasperated mother and a loving, resourceful, thundering father.

 Mondoweiss

White House Web Page on Israel: The Lobby will be Delighted

White House Web Page on Israel: The Lobby will be Delighted

PHILIP WEISS, MONDOWEISS: Whoever put together the new White House web page on Israel clearly didn’t pay much attention to the recent speech by President Obama on the Middle East. It’s a ‘lobby triumph’.

 Naseem Tarawnah

Dumb, and Dangerous: “Jordan Equals Palestine”

Dumb, and Dangerous: “Jordan Equals Palestine”

NASEEM TARAWNAH: 6,000 idiots from 69 countries around the world have signed a petition calling Jordan the alternative homeland for Palestinians?

 Syria News Wire

People Strike Back: Syrian Activists Take Up Arms

People Strike Back: Syrian Activists Take Up Arms

NEWS FROM SYRIA: Syrian forces are facing armed resistance for the first time. Will this provide the government with an opportunity to ‘divide and conquer’?

 Mondoweiss

Land Swaps With Palestinians? Israel Doesn’t Have Enough to Swap…

Land Swaps With Palestinians? Israel Doesn’t Have Enough to Swap…

PHILIP WEISS, MONDOWEISS: The premise of conducting a swap is, I believe, that you have something of equal value for the other party. Tell that to Israel.

 Ramzy Baroud

After 17 Years Trying to Visit Gaza, I Am Home

After 17 Years Trying to Visit Gaza, I Am Home

RAMZY BAROUD: Today the border at the Rafah Crossing officially opens. It’s another significant milestone of the ‘Arab Spring’.

 Naseem Tarawnah

Living in My Jordanian ‘Bubble’: Lessons Learned

Living in My Jordanian ‘Bubble’: Lessons Learned

NASEEM TARAWNAH: So Jordan’s Independence Day has come and gone. It’s a good time perhaps to reflect on some of the lessons I’ve learned.

 Mondoweiss

Masterful Obama Delivers Rebuke to Jewish Lobby

Masterful Obama Delivers Rebuke to Jewish Lobby

PHILIP WEISS, MONDOWEISS: A visibly angry Barack Obama, fresh from yet another humiliation at the hand of Benjamin Netanyahu, delivered a stinging rebuke to the Jewish lobby at the AIPAC conference.