Advertisement Close

Politics

Pathbreakers of Arab America: Edward Said

This is the nineteenth in Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series includes personalities from entertainment, business, sports, science, academia, journalism, and politics, among other areas. Contributing writer, John Mason depicts our nineteenth pathbreaker, Edward Wadie Said. A Palestinian American, he was born in Jerusalem during the British Mandate period in 1935 to parents Wadie and Hilda Said, a business family. Said is a renowned scholar, literary critic, political activist, ad musician. As a professor of literature at Columbia University, he is known as one of the founders of postcolonial studies, a school of thought which is highly critical of the ill effects of western colonialism.

Bahbah: Genocide in Gaza Before the Eyes of the World

By: Bishara A. Bahbah / Arab America Featured Columnist The October 7th surprise and massive attack on Israel by Hamas militants resulted in the tragic, violent death of hundreds of innocent civilians at a scope that Israel has not witnessed in its 75 years of existence.  In retaliation, Israel has unleashed its sophisticated and well-equipped war … Continued

What is the Gaza Strip?

On October 7, the military wing of Hamas conducted an air and ground attack against Israel, taking hostages back into the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government responded with a complete siege on Gaza, stopping deliveries of food, water, electricity and other supplies, and carried out retaliatory air strikes. Breaking Updates Over 1,300 people in Israel and 1,799 people in Gaza have been killed. Between 100 and … Continued

Congresswoman Tlaib Calls on Biden Administration to Do More to Save Civilian Lives

WASHINGTON D.C.–Today, Representative Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) released the following statement: “I am calling for immediate de-escalation and ceasefire to save countless civilian lives, no matter their faith or ethnicity. Our government must lead with compassion for all civilians. I believe in my heart that the majority of Americans want the killing and violence to stop. War crimes … Continued

Bahbah: Without Palestinian and Arab “Enemies,” Israel Could Self Destruct

By: Bishara A. Bahbah / Arab America Featured Columnist Over the past decades, many believed Israel could self-destruct without their unifying focus of battling Palestinian and Arab enemies. As relations between Israel and Arab countries are warming up, and Palestinians have ceased, in the view of many Israelis, including its military and security establishments, to be … Continued

U.S. Needs More Focus on its Most Important M.E. Allies—Israel and Saudi Arabia—but not at the expense of the Palestinians

During a recent trip to the M.E. by NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman, he avers that the country exhibits “the threat to Israel’s original aspiration to be both a Jewish state and a democratic one is now so profound, posed by an extremist government trying to crush the independence of Israel’s Supreme Court.” In Saudi Arabia, he sees “the societal transformations being imposed from the top down by the iron-fisted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (M.B.S.)…” as profound. John Mason, contributing writer, assesses the NYTimes report in the context of occupied Palestinians and how they might fare in an Israeli-Saudi détente.

One Yemeni American Graduate’s Free Speech is Another’s Hate Speech: Arab American Law School Graduate Raises the Ire of Many

Yemeni immigrant Law School graduate Ms. Mohammed gave a speech in which she wanted to “celebrate CUNY for being one of the few law schools to defend the rights of its students to organize and speak out against Israeli settler colonialism.” She took a lot a flak for her speech from both within and without her university. The Law Faculty took her side and insisted her address was free speech and not, according to others, hate speech. Contributing writer, John Mason, takes us through this compelling story.

Rep. Tlaib Event Honoring Palestinian Nakba Underscores Usual Political Rhetoric: “If you’re pro-Palestinian, you’re antisemitic and anti-Israel”

Speaker McCarthy recently cancelled Rep. Tlaib’s registration of a reception in the House to commemorate Nakba. Senator Sanders then gave Tlaib space in the Senate for her event. Tlaib’s comments there called for the U.S. government to address Israel’s mistreatment of occupied Palestinians. Contributing writer, John Mason, reports on that event and also presents a brief observation on how American Democrats and Republicans both share in antisemitic sentiments, though unequally.

Al-Nakba: The 75th Anniversary Commemoration of ‘The Catastrophe’ of 1948

2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the major displacement of Palestinians at the time of Israel’s founding in 1948, Al-Nakba, which the United Nations will commemorate on May 15 in New York. While Israel’s progress since 1948 as an economic and military powerhouse is remarkable, it has done so at the expense of its most vulnerable peoples, militarily occupied Palestinians. John Mason, contributing writer, reports on Al-Nakba and on a U.S. belated rush to initiate a Saudi-Israel accord that seems aimed to quell innumerable external threats against Israel.

Florida Governor DeSantis exports his Repressive Vision for America to Israel, Intruding on Israeli Politics at a Sensitive Moment

Florida Governor Ron Desantis visited Israel recently to promote business with his state and hint at his yet unannounced candidacy for the U.S presidency. He brought with him all of his baggage of intolerance of anyone and everything different from himself and other supremacists. Desantis unfortunately dragged the Palestinians into his purview to underscore his intolerant view of people who are different. Contributing writer, John Mason reviews the governor’s trip to underscore similarities between Desantis’ vision and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s intentions for his far right wing government.

Arab Spring is Over, Done! An Anatomy of Hope—Dashed by the Realities of Raw National Power Against the People

Early film clips of pro-democracy protests in the Middle East and North Africa beginning in 2010 and 2011 gave some hope to Arabs for a different life. Tunisia and Egypt gave the most, initial hope, when authoritarian regimes were toppled by the ‘street.’ John Mason, contributing writer, reports on the struggle shared by Arabs across the region, who just wanted to eliminate corruption and obtain a better quality of life. With the recent arrest of Tunisia’s most prominent opposition leader, Rached Ghannouchi, the Arab World may have lost its last best hope.

1,451 Results (Page 8 of 121)