Middle East
Middle East
Fair Observer provides inclusive, insightful and contextual analysis of the Middle East with its manifold cultures and civilizations.
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360° Analysis / Israel / Palestine / Politics / Middle EastThe Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement’s biggest problem is that it will not work. This is the final part. Read part one here. “The Problem with BDS is the Ambiguity of the Goal” Even Prof. Norman Finkelstein, an outspoken critic of Israeli policy who lost his tenured position at DePaul University because of his views, has criticized the BDS approach. In an interview on the occasion of the publication of his book Knowing Too Much: Why the American Jewish Romance with Israel Is Coming to an End, he stated: "I’ve written a little book on Gandhi, and one of the significant insights of his is that it’s important not only for your tactics to be...
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360° Analysis / BDS / Israel / Palestine / Politics / Middle EastThe Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement’s biggest problem is that it will not work. This is the first of two parts. As we marked the 45th anniversary of the occupation this June, I would support any effective nonviolent strategy that will end the occupation of the West Bank and lead to the establishment of a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, with mutually agreed-upon land swaps — what is known as a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders — which I believe is in the genuine interest of both the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples. If BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions), clearly a nonviolent tactic, could produce such a...
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By Noura ErakatThe recognition of Palestine by the UN General Assembly as a non-member observer state has diplomatically affirmed the Palestinian cause for self-determination, argues Noura Erakat. The bid will not, however, work to salvage the two-state solution, which has long been declared dead. The Palestinian UN bid for non-member observer status was certain to pass as the majority of UN member states had expressed their support for the initiative. The positive vote will do little to alter the course of Israel's ongoing settler-colonial expansion in the West Bank or its racially-motivated policies aimed at the forced population transfer of non-Jewish Palestinians throughout Israel and the Occupied...
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Politics / United States / Europe / Focus Article / Middle East / Americas / Africa / AsiaFair Observer's five best articles for November. In the northern hemisphere winter has set in. Israel and Palestine are in the news again. In the US, President Obama and the Republicans are battling each other over rival visions of society as the fiscal cliff looms ever closer. China has a new set of leaders who face immense challenges. India is witnessing yet another corruption scandal; this time it involves the son-in-law of the dynasty that has largely ruled the country since 1947. In Europe, unemployment has hit a record high and the continent remains mired in economic crisis. Brazil’s economy is also slowing down to one of its lowest levels of growth in a decade. Clearly,...
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360° Analysis / Gaza / Hamas / Israel / Palestine / Politics / Middle EastStripped of the usual polemics and accompanying rhetoric, here, in the wake of Operation Pillar of Defense, an American humanitarian worker tries to give a citizen's perspective of the Palestinian issue within the context of the Arab world and its relations with the west. The "Other" Like all Jews born into America after the massacre in Europe, Andrea's childhood must have been disturbed by the tales of the maniacal bloodletting. And disturbed further by other occasional malignancies; those signs along certain American beaches in the 1950s come to mind: "No Jews or dogs allowed". It set their story apart from the rest of us Goys whose nightmares were limited to...
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360° Analysis / Gaza / Hamas / Israel / Palestine / Politics / United States / Middle EastThose who supported Obama's re-election have an obligation to challenge his unconscionable support for Israel's attacks against the Gaza Strip, argues Stephen Zunes. The November 21 ceasefire between Israeli and Hamas forces is a huge relief for the civilian population on both sides — the primary victims of the conflict. But the Obama administration’s unconscionable decision the previous week to block a ceasefire effort by the UN Security Council (UNSC) not only resulted in additional civilian deaths but also serves as an indication that, despite the president owing his re-election to the hard work of his progressive base, his foreign policy will continue to lean to the...
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Kurdish / Kurdistan / Kurds / Politics / 360° Context / Middle EastThe Kurds are a historically oppressed people without a state, whose grievances and aspirations for independence have recently drawn international attention largely because of the Kurdish role in the Syrian conflict. Background As the largest ethnic group in the world without a state, the Kurdish people have endured a history marked largely by rebellion, repression, and marginalization. Approximately 25 to 30 million Kurds live in the Middle East, primarily in a mountainous region known as Kurdistan, which encompasses parts of Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. The Kurdish people possess many attributes typical of a nation: their own language, traditions, and in some cases, government and...
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360° Analysis / Egypt / Gaza / Hamas / Israel / Politics / Middle East / AfricaWith the rise of Qatar and Turkey as international players, Egypt is eager to re-establish its role at the forefront of regional affairs. As Mohammed Morsi grapples with an unsurprising domestic backlash following a highly controversial presidential decree in which he unilaterally granted himself additional powers, last week Egypt was thrust under the regional spotlight with the recent Gaza conflict. Regional Powers Traditionally, the regional balance of power in the Middle East and North Africa lies with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iran, who represents the Shi'a crescent. In recent years and especially as a result of the Arab Uprisings, this regional power balance has begun to shift. No...
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360° Analysis / Egypt / Morsi / Politics / Middle East / AfricaMorsi's presidential decree appears necessary by virtue of an increasingly politicized and non-elected judiciary that appears intent on frustrating the Egyptian president's ambitious reform plans. In August 2012, less than two months after the newly elected Egyptian president was inaugurated, I wrote an article dubbed, “President Morsi’s Huge Task: The Cleansing of the Old Guard”. The piece briefly highlighted the fact that Mohammed Morsi was inheriting the old system of the defunct Hosni Mubarak regime. At the end of the article, I wrote: “Sometimes decadent and deeply infested systems are in need of surgical cleansing to launch a departure into effective...