CAIR reports increase of hate against Arab and Muslim Americans, amid war on Gaza and anti-Israel occupation protests
March 15th, 20250 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reported a 7.4 percent increase in discrimination and attacks against Muslim and Arab Americans in 2024 compared to the previous year, detailing crackdowns on university students protesting in support of Palestine. The annual report, titled "Unconstitutional...
Federal court rejects deportation of Palestinian student arrested under Trump’s order for protesting against Israel
March 15th, 20250 Mahmoud Khalil: A Columbia University student becomes a symbol of free speech in America WASHINGTON, D.C. – The arrest of a Palestinian student from Columbia University and the federal authorities' attempt to deport him despite being a lawful permanent resident and a Green Card holder, have sparked the largest wave of protests...
U.S. court orders deportation of Lebanese businessman accused of funding Hezbollah
March 14th, 20250 The U.S. federal court has ordered the deportation of Lebanese businessman Mohammed Ibrahim Bazzi following his conviction for conspiring with Talal Chahine, founder of the La Shish restaurant chain, to illegally transfer millions of dollars. Bazzi, 60, was sentenced to time served — approximately two years since his arrest in Romania...
Trump reverses plan to displace Gaza residents; Israeli aggression on the strip resumes amid “second phase” talks
March 14th, 20250 The past week was filled with contrasting developments, some carrying serious dangers while others offered cautious optimism, shaped by the region’s ongoing conflicts and shifting diplomatic efforts. Gaza: the struggle of the second phase of the ceasefire As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government pushes...
Iran’s president tells Trump: “Do whatever the hell you want.”
March 14th, 20250 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has rejected negotiations with the U.S. under threats, telling President Trump to "do whatever the hell you want," according to Iranian state media. He also criticized U.S. foreign policy, referencing the recent Oval Office clash between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "You...
Facing Trump’s threats, Columbia investigates students critical of Israel
March 7th, 20250 NEW YORK — Columbia University senior Maryam Alwan was visiting family in Jordan over winter break when she received an email from the school accusing her of discriminatory harassment. Her supposed top offense: writing an op-ed in the student newspaper calling for divestment from Israel. The probe is part of a flurry of recent...
Michigan Jewish delegation visits Damascus, receives warm reception and tours synagogues
March 7th, 20250 Michigan Rabbi affirms that the new Syrian government seeks to embrace all sects in Syria Rabbi Asher Lopatin, director of community relations at the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, described his trip to Damascus, Syria, as part of a delegation of five American Jews as welcoming and acceptance by the Syrian people. The...
Israeli aggression escalates in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon amid regional tensions
March 7th, 20250 Israeli aggression continues to escalate in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, following a clear strategy that Israeli leadership has openly admitted aims to redraw the regional map of the Middle East. This aggressive policy is bolstered by strong U.S. support, further reinforced by President Trump’s threats against the residents of Gaza,...
Israel has shown “unprecedented disregard for human rights” in Gaza, U.N. human rights chief says
February 28th, 20250 On Wednesday, the U.N. Human Rights chief accused Israel of showing an unprecedented disregard for human rights in its military actions in Gaza and said Hamas had violated international law. "Nothing justifies the appalling manner in which Israel has conducted its military operations in Gaza, which consistently breached international...
Restoring Palestine to Its rightful owners: A conversation with Mads Gilbert
February 28th, 20250 We have long argued that the Israeli war and genocide in Gaza must catalyze a change in the overall political discourse on Israel and Palestine, particularly regarding the need to free Palestine from the confines of victimhood. This shift is necessary to create space where the Palestinian people are seen as central to their own...
Hezbollah stages show of strength at Nasrallah’s funeral, Palestinians strike in Haifa against Israeli aggression in West Bank
February 28th, 20250 Israel openly declares its continued occupation of south Lebanon and Syria with "American blessing" As Israel admitted to a "total failure" in preventing Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israeli settlements, and as its more than 14-month-long war on Gaza and South Lebanon has failed to achieve its objectives — rather...
Gaza has changed the discourse on popular resistance, but are we truly listening?
February 21st, 20250 Palestinians and Israelis agree that the Gaza resistance was the main reason behind Israel’s forced decision to accept a ceasefire and begin its gradual withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. The oddity is that Palestinians — dying, resisting, but remaining steadfast in Gaza — usually stand at the polar opposite of everything the Israeli...
Gaza preparing for second phase of ceasefire, Lebanon awaiting historic funeral for Nasrallah
February 21st, 20250 As the first phase of the “Gaza Agreement” continues to be implemented, Thursday witnessed Hamas handing over the bodies of four Israeli hostages. Meanwhile, Israel’s delays in initiating talks for the second phase appear to have ended. Several Arab countries are preparing to counter President Trump’s reconstruction plan, which...
Tens of thousands of Palestinians flee West Bank refugee camps
February 21st, 20250 Tens of thousands of Palestinians living in refugee camps in the occupied West Bank have left their homes as a weeks-long Israeli offensive has demolished houses and torn up vital infrastructure in the heavily built up townships, Palestinian authorities said. Israeli forces began their operation in the refugee camp in the northern...
The great march of hope: Gaza’s defiance against erasure
February 14th, 20250 The return of one million Palestinians from southern Gaza to the north on January 27 felt as if history was choreographing one of its most earth-shattering events in recent memory. Hundreds of thousands of people marched along a single street, the coastal Rashid Street, at the furthest western stretch of Gaza. Though these displaced......
Arab Americans reject Trump’s plan to relocate Palestinians in Gaza: A call for ethnic cleansing
February 14th, 20250 President Trump’s remarks about taking control of Gaza and resettling its population in neighboring Arab countries under the pretext of achieving lasting peace in the Palestinian occupied territories have sparked widespread condemnation and rejection both inside and outside the United States. Many human rights organizations, civil...
Mediators succeed in preventing Gaza truce from collapsing, Trump pushes “transfer” plan and threatens Jordan and Egypt
February 14th, 20250 Washington Awaits Arab countries' plan for Gaza President Trump has openly escalated pressure on Egypt and Jordan to accept Palestinians he intends to expel from Gaza, as part of his vision to transform the war-ravaged strip into the "Riviera of the Middle East." His aggressive stance was evident during his meeting with King Abdullah II......
Jewish leaders and public figures condemn Trump’s plan for Gaza in full-page NYT Ad: “Jews say no to ethnic cleansing”
February 14th, 20250 NEW YORK — On Thursday, February 13, more than 350 rabbis across denominations alongside well-known figures including Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield, Gabor Maté, Wally Shawn, Boots Riley and Debra Winger have placed an unequivocal statement in the New York Times against Donald Trump’s plans for Gaza. The ad delivers a clear and...
Trump’s Gaza proposal for “Riviera of the Middle East” sparks global condemnation
February 7th, 20250 President Trump's proposal for the U.S. to take over war-torn Gaza and create a "Riviera of the Middle East" after resettling Palestinians elsewhere has shattered U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, sparking widespread condemnation. The shock move from Trump, a former New York property...
Trump’s reckless U.S. occupation plan for Gaza is outrageous and unlawful
February 7th, 20255 In a press conference at the White House on Tuesday, attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump announced a controversial plan that includes U.S. control over the Gaza Strip and the resettlement of its Palestinian residents in Egypt, Jordan and/or other countries. Trump described Gaza as a “demolition...
Trump administration to cancel student visas of pro-Palestinian protesters, likely to draw legal challenges
January 31st, 20250 WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, President Trump signed an executive order to combat anti-Semitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests. A fact sheet on the order promises "immediate action" by the Justice Department to prosecute "terroristic threats, arson, vandalism......
Ahmed al-Sharaa declared transitional president of Syria, consolidating his power
January 31st, 20250 DAMASCUS – Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was declared president for a transitional phase on Wednesday, tightening his hold on power less than two months after he led a campaign that toppled Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa was also empowered to form a temporary legislative council for a transitional period and the Syrian...
Gaza’s unbreakable resistance: A historical perspective on the war and its aftermath
January 31st, 20250 The problem with political analysis is that it often lacks historical perspective and is mostly limited to recent events. The current analysis of the Israeli war on Gaza falls victim to this narrow thinking. The ceasefire agreement, signed between Palestinian groups and Israel under Egyptian, Qatari and U.S. mediation in Doha on......
The massive return of Palestinians to Northern Gaza and of Lebanese Southerners: A blow to Israel and proof of its military failure
January 31st, 20252 The sight of hundreds of thousands of Gazans returning to the northern areas of the Strip, coupled with the return of southern Lebanese residents to their villages on Sunday, served as a double blow to the Israeli occupation. It was also a practical declaration of the failure of Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon, which the...
Palestinians’ return to northern Gaza complicates Netanyahu’s war aims
January 31st, 20250 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed 15 months ago that Israel would achieve “total victory” in the war in Gaza — by eradicating Hamas and freeing all the hostages. One week into a ceasefire with the militant group, many Israelis are dubious. Not only is Hamas still intact, there’s also no guarantee all of the hostages......
