Richard Silverstein

What Meshal’s Visit Really Means for the Future

What Meshal’s Visit Really Means for the Future

RICHARD SILVERSTEIN: The words were predictably fiery and pugnacious but Meshal’s visit points to a new direction for Palestine.

 Juan Cole

The Ten ‘To Dos’ That Will Guarantee Gaza Ceasefire

The Ten ‘To Dos’ That Will Guarantee Gaza Ceasefire

JUAN COLE: Achieving a ceasefire is significant but if it’s to remain in place all parties must use the gap in hostilities to secure real progress.

 mai abdul rahman

Re-Election: The Arab-Americans Obama Has To Thank

Re-Election: The Arab-Americans Obama Has To Thank

MAI ABDUL RAHMAN: Single women and Latinos had a key role to play in re-electing Barack Obama but Arab-Americans played a major part as well.

 Richard Silverstein

Erdogan to Gaza: The Siege Begins to Lift, Slowly

Erdogan to Gaza: The Siege Begins to Lift, Slowly

RICHARD SILVERSTEIN: Hard on the heels of Qatar’s high profile visit and investment in Gaza comes news that regional super-power Turkey plans a visit.

 Jonathan Cook

Annexation: Israeli Tourist Map Reveals Blueprint

Annexation: Israeli Tourist Map Reveals Blueprint

JONATHAN COOK: A visit to an Israeli tourist office in Nazareth uncovered a little more than I had expected.

 Common Ground News Service

What Is the Point of the Palestinian Authority?

What Is the Point of the Palestinian Authority?

DAWOUD ABU LEBDEH, CGNEWS: Its role is minimal compared to that envisaged in the Oslo Accords. Faced with a threat to its existence what should PA do?

 Rob L. Wagner

The Islamophobe Industry: Big Growth in U.S.

The Islamophobe Industry: Big Growth in U.S.

ROB L. WAGNER: In the United States ‘Muslim’ equals ‘Terror’ to a huge number of its citizens hence the increasing influence of Islamophobes

 Rob L. Wagner

Muslims: The Victims of ‘The New McCarthyism’

Muslims: The Victims of ‘The New McCarthyism’

ROB L. WAGNER: The odious campaign by Michelle Bachmann against Huma Abedin marks the real beginning of a potentially disastrous period in U.S history

 Juan Cole

Arab Voting Power Makes Bachmann a Romney Liability

Arab Voting Power Makes Bachmann a Romney Liability

JUAN COLE: Remember how Florida in 2000 hung on just a few hundred votes. Well, there are over 250,000 Arab-Americans in Florida. They can all tell when someone is prejudiced.

 Jonathan Cook

Israel Backs Itself Into Dangerous Cul-De-Sac

Israel Backs Itself Into Dangerous Cul-De-Sac

JONATHAN COOK: 2011 marked the point at which the Palestinians called Israel’s bluff and revealed Oslo to be nothing more than a stalling tactic. What does the upcoming year hold?

 Rania Al Malky

Egypt’s Intelligentisia Needs to Think as its Army Roadblocks Democracy

Egypt’s Intelligentisia Needs to Think as its Army Roadblocks Democracy

RANIA AL MALKY: SCAF’s advisory council should think twice before accepting (at best) a vague role that can only inflame an already tense climate.

 Rania Al Malky

Egypt Elections: What a Difference 365 Days Makes

Egypt Elections: What a Difference 365 Days Makes

RANIA AL MALKY: A year on bitterness has given way to gratitude. Had the elections not been so rigged, the uprising might have never have happened.

 Steve Royston

Saudi Arabia: A Glimpse Through the Myths

Saudi Arabia: A Glimpse Through the Myths

STEVE ROYSTON: Received wisdom portrays a backward, oppressive society, dominated by religious extremists and a monarchy whose main mission is self-preservation.

 Steve Royston

Palestinian Hope – Voices for a Lost Cause?

Palestinian Hope – Voices for a Lost Cause?

STEVE ROYSTON: “This military occupation has lasted for over 64 years and is an affront to humanity and civilised values. It is high time that the international community took some responsibility.”

 Naseem Tarawnah

Film Review: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Film Review: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

NASEEM TARAWNAH: While those of us in the Middle East may not necessarily face the exact same problems with advertising, we are facing very similar issues.

 Ramzy Baroud

How the PA Sold Out Palestinian Unity

How the PA Sold Out Palestinian Unity

RAMZY BAROUD: With a deficit standing at around $640 million, the PA government is experiencing one of its worst ever financial crises.

 American Bedu

Google Incites Muslim Women to Throw Off Veil – Claim

Google Incites Muslim Women to Throw Off Veil – Claim

AMERICAN BEDU: When Google decided to celebrate dancer Martha Graham’s birthday with an animation little did it understand the furore it would cause in Saudi…

 Omar al-Issawi

Israel Irked as Palestinians Move to Reconcile

Israel Irked as Palestinians Move to Reconcile

OMAR AL ISSAWI: That the PA recognizes Israel will not have escaped the attention of either Netanyahu, or for that matter Hamas.

 Mich Cafe

When the Lebanese Woman Shed the Veil

When the Lebanese Woman Shed the Veil

MICH CAFE, F. NAJIA: The Lebanese woman’s journey from “the age of the veil” to the relative freedom of “the age of the bikini” was a fairly quick one, but the path to ‘freedom’ was paved not by “circumstances” alone.

 Mondoweiss

Frustration with U.S on Palestine Catalysing More Direct Measures

Frustration with U.S on Palestine Catalysing More Direct Measures

DAVID SCHWARTZMAN, MAI ABDUL, MONDOWEISS: The Middle East peace process is going nowhere fast and interested parties are giving up on the U.S.