The Arab sociologist Amro Ali has illuminated Germany's capital city as the center of an intellectual and artistic renaissance, fueled by Arab exiles from the authoritarian crackdowns that followed the 2011 uprisings. By Mati Shemoelof Berlin has become a magnet for political exiles from the Middle East in the years since the failed 2011 uprisings in Egypt and Syria. The city’s status as a hub for veterans of the Arab Spring was recently brought to life in an essay by Egyptian-Australian academic Amro Ali, who wrote about the role Berlin has come to play as the center of Arab intellectual…

Israel has repeatedly assisted in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by selling arms, training and know-how to murderous regimes. This makes it difficult to trust that it will do the right thing regarding the Kurds. By Eitay Mack The world is watching with alarm as the Turkish army commences its military invasion of the Kurdish stronghold in northeast Syria, with many observers warning of imminent war crimes, crimes against humanity, and even genocide against the Kurds. There is absolutely no doubt that Turkey’s success in preventing international recognition of the Armenian genocide between 1915 and 1923 has emboldened Erdoğan…

'Our Boys' shows that Mizrahi racism has transformed into a real and deadly threat. As the younger generation of Mizrahim, we must accept accountability for and develop a new understanding of Mizrahi-Palestinian relations. By Moran Habaz As someone who grew up in Jerusalem and experienced its bloodied streets as a teenager during the Second Intifada, HBO’s “Our Boys” shook my world. It made me reflect not only on that awful time in 2014, but also on the city’s very specific internal makeup. The series manages to capture Jerusalem’s explosive tensions, revealing both the divisions and connections along national, generational and ethnic lines, showing how a…

Donald Trump's apparent capitulation to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the fate of Syria's Kurds risks paving the way for ISIS to renew its strength in the region, while adding to the growing murkiness of the Syrian conflict's endgame. By Kareem Shaheen Even by Syria's standards, the chaos of the last few days has been dizzying. On Sunday evening, following a call between Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the White House issued a statement announcing that the United States would not stand in the way of an impending military operation by Ankara in northeastern Syria. The target…

It is hours — days, weeks, maybe some months if we’re fortunate — before my permit expires, when I would have to make my way back to the West Bank, or else Israel will deem my presence in my own ancestral city ‘illegal.’ By Mariam Barghouti If I were given a dollar for the number of times diplomats, journalists, activists, and policy-makers have asked me “Have you thought about speaking with Israelis?” I could buy myself a chateau in Yaffa. [tmwinpost] I choose Yaffa because that question rings loudly in my head whenever I visit the city. It is where…

Activists from Extinction Rebellion glue themselves to the doors of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange to protest Israeli corporations profiting from global warming. Dozens of Israeli climate activists blocked the entrance to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on Monday morning to demand that financial institutions move toward green and sustainable investments. They called upon the Israeli government to join a host of nations that have already declared a climate emergency. The activists are affiliated with Extinction Rebellion, an international civil disobedience group that seeks to force government action on climate breakdown. [tmwinpost] “This is a time of introspection,” said an activist named Tamir, referring to the…

From approving brutal interrogation techniques to writing false medical reports, doctors in Israel have taken an active role in the torture of Palestinian prisoners. By Ruchama Marton If the Shin Bet runs a school for its agents and interrogators, the curriculum most certainly includes a class on how to tell a lie. The texts taught, it seems, do not change with the years. In 1993, responding to accusations that the Shin Bet brutally tortured Palestinian detainee Hassan Zubeidi, then Commander of the IDF Northern Command Yossi Peled told Israeli journalist Gabi Nitzan that “there is no torture in Israel. I served for…

More than 100 Jewish academics sign open letter demanding the Trump administration stop exploiting anti-Semitism in order to quash criticism of Israel on college campuses. Jewish academics are fighting back against the Trump administration’s attempts to silence criticism of Israel on college campuses. More than 100 Jewish scholars have signed an open letter to the U.S. Department of Education in response to its demand that the Duke-University of North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies modify its curricular programming or face defunding. [tmwinpost] The open letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, whose signatories include renowned scholar Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky, and artist Molly Crabapple, condemns the Education…