James M. Dorsey

Arab World Puts Palestine on Backburner: Not for Long

Arab World Puts Palestine on Backburner: Not for Long

JAMES M. DORSEY: Many Arab countries are now preoccupied with their own internal issues which has seen Palestine slip down the agenda.

 Jonathan Cook

How Israel Starves Gaza: The Facts Revealed

How Israel Starves Gaza: The Facts Revealed

JONATHAN COOK: Evidence has recently emerged of the programme that Israel initiated to manufacture further Palestinian despair.

 James M. Dorsey

Palestinian Footballer Relives Horror of Detention

Palestinian Footballer Relives Horror of Detention

ANDREA LUCHETTA: Mahmoud Al Sarsak’s detention became an international cause celebre. He has recounted his experience in Israeli jail

 James M. Dorsey

Defensive Blunder: Hamas’ Football Boycott Call

Defensive Blunder: Hamas’ Football Boycott Call

JAMES M. DORSEY: Palestinians of all ages are huge fans of the Spanish football giants Barcelona FC. When Hamas called for a boycott of their match this week it fell on deaf ears.

 Tabsir

Turbanned, Bearded and Angry: Western Media on Islam

Turbanned, Bearded and Angry: Western Media on Islam

DANIEL M. VARISCO: The Newsweek cover this week is lazy and sensationalist. Not a lot has changed since Edward Said wrote a famous essay 30 years ago.

 Common Ground News Service

Auschwitz Visit: An Anti-Palestine Media Agenda?

Auschwitz Visit: An Anti-Palestine Media Agenda?

NATALIA SIMANOVSKY: The visit by a Palestinian official was not deemed suitable to receive strong coverage only its condemnation by Hamas

 Juan Cole

‘Diplomatic Ruin’, ‘International Isolation’: Peres Has Enough

‘Diplomatic Ruin’, ‘International Isolation’: Peres Has Enough

JUAN COLE: Netanyahu and Barak were intent on boxing Obama into a corner. But the wily octogenarian, Shimon Peres, has stepped in.

 Richard Silverstein

Israel Facing a Harsher, Less Predictable World

Israel Facing a Harsher, Less Predictable World

RICHARD SILVERSTEIN: There are forces out there seeking to capitalize on the Arab Spring: It’s s a different world Israel is facing. A harsher world, one more difficult to control.

 Francis Matthew

Romney: A Return to a Black and White Foreign Policy

Romney: A Return to a Black and White Foreign Policy

FRANCIS MATTHEW: US Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is suggesting a dangerous return to a simplistic foreign policy in which foreigners are divided simply into friends and foes.

 Ramzy Baroud

The Perilous Position of Syria’s Palestinian Refugees

The Perilous Position of Syria’s Palestinian Refugees

RAMZY BAROUD: There has been a flood of Palestinian refugees into Syria and they’re facing desperate times.

 Tabsir

Extremist Groups ‘Rejected’ By Islamic Countries

Extremist Groups ‘Rejected’ By Islamic Countries

DANIEL M. VARISCO: A recently released survey by the influential Pew Foundation has found that support among ordinary citizens for extremists is very low.

 David Roberts

Syria in Balance: Broken Borders, Unbroken Alliances

Syria in Balance: Broken Borders, Unbroken Alliances

DAVID ROBERTS: Russia is unfazed about alienating swathes of the Middle East not to mention the majority of Syrians, believing in time their position can be reasserted

 Rob L. Wagner

Morsi’s Election: The Opportunity for the U.S.

Morsi’s Election: The Opportunity for the U.S.

ROB L. WAGNER: There’s no doubt that alarm bells were ringing in Washington with the news of Morsi’s election. It does, though, present an opportunity

 Mondoweiss

The Long and Tortured History of Islamophobia

The Long and Tortured History of Islamophobia

ALEX KANE, MONDOWEISS: Deepa Kumar has written a detailed study of Islamophobia which links it inextricably to the cause of Empire

 Tabsir

When Will West Have Its ‘Road to Damascus’ Moment?

When Will West Have Its ‘Road to Damascus’ Moment?

DANIEL M. VARISCO: The only narrative seems to be ‘we can’t get involved in Syria because we’ll create another Iran’. There are alternative scenarios

 Tabsir

‘Blessed Are the Peacemakers’: But Where Are They?

‘Blessed Are the Peacemakers’: But Where Are They?

DANIEL M. VARISCO: Wherever you look around the Middle East there is conflict, death and horror. Where is our Ghandi?

 Rob L. Wagner

Romney’s Middle East Team: Same Old, Same Old

Romney’s Middle East Team: Same Old, Same Old

ROB L. WAGNER: If Mitt Romney wins the U.S. presidential election it looks like we’ll be taking a trip back in time to the reign of George W. Bush.

 David Roberts

Qatar Fire: Out Come The Shia Bogeymen

Qatar Fire: Out Come The Shia Bogeymen

DAVID ROBERTS: There has been some utterly dreadful reporting of the recent fire in a mall in Qatar. One particular report, however, stands out

 Juan Cole

Ten Good Reasons NOT To Arm Syrian Rebels

Ten Good Reasons NOT To Arm Syrian Rebels

JUAN COLE: Mitt Romney is flip-flopping on whether ‘Muslims Are Bad’ or that the U.S should supply them with sophisticated weapons.

 Mondoweiss

Iran: It’s War in 2013, Says Former Diplomat

Iran: It’s War in 2013, Says Former Diplomat

IRA GLUNTS, MONDOWEISS: War, according to Aaron Miller, is inevitable unless something extraordinary happens in the next year.