For Palestinians, it doesn’t matter who wins the Israeli elections
April 12th, 20190 Israeli elections have just concluded and the results indicate that Benjamin Netanyahu is set to win a fifth term as Israeli prime minister. The race between Netanyahu and his strongest challenger, Benjamin Gantz, who is a former chief of staff of the Israeli military forces, was very tight. But even if Gantz and his associated political...The unfinished Gaza war: What Netanyahu hopes to gain from attacking Palestinian prisoners
April 12th, 20190 The current violence targeting Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails dates back to January 2. It was then that Israel’s public security minister, Gilad Erdan, declared that the “party is over.” “Every so often, infuriating pictures appear of cooking in the terrorist wings. This party is coming to an end,” Erdan was quoted in...Political and policy skills are merging
April 2nd, 20190 Here’s a surprise: The skills that can be used to win in politics are increasingly the skills needed to produce good policy. I know. You look at the policy stalemates in Washington and wonder how this could be. The people who arrived there by winning elections haven’t shown much in the way of policy-making prowess. But let me...Robocallers, you’re out
April 2nd, 20190 Most robocalls are prohibited by law, but scammers and dishonest people continue to send them. And even some legitimate companies violate people’s privacy rights with illegal robocalls. The FTC has announced several victories in the fight against illegal robocalls. In the first victory, the FTC announced that it stopped the operator...The shameful attack on Ilhan Omar that backfired
April 2nd, 20190 What happened to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was troubling. On the one hand, because she dared to challenge the way supporters of Israel have worked to silence debate on U.S. policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, she became a victim of incitement and the target of legislation meant to shame her. At the same time, however, the...On my visit to New Zealand: Can Christchurch heal our collective wounds?
April 2nd, 20190 I visited the city of Christchurch on May 23, 2018, as part of a larger speaking tour in New Zealand that also took me to Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton and Dunedin. New Zealand is an exceptional country, different from other countries that are often lumped under the generalized designation of the “Western world.” Almost immediately...Why the outrage? “Jewish Power” Party is the new norm in Israeli politics
March 9th, 20190 Immediately after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forged an alliance with the fringe political group Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power), a widespread outrage ensued. The anger did not emanate only from the Center, Left and Arab parties, but from some in the Right as well. Even the pro-Israel lobby in the U.S., known for its hawkish...Israel’s supporters are panicking: The game is over
February 22nd, 20191 Hardline supporters of Israel are in panic mode. It was in evidence earlier this week with the all-out assault on the first Somali, African-born immigrant, refugee, Muslim woman elected to serve in the U.S. Congress. Her crime was that she dared to point out, as a leading New York Times columnist and so many others have in the past, the...The first rule of AIPAC: You do not talk about AIPAC
February 22nd, 20190 Washington's political establishment went berserk when U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) publicly noted that U.S.-Israel relations are "all about the Benjamins" — slang for $100 bills, referring to money shoveled at American politicians by the American Israel Public Affairs Group (AIPAC). Omar was accused of antisemitism —...What great legislators have in common
February 16th, 20190 Each of the great politicians and legislators I’ve known over the course of my career in Congress was very different. They were masters of the rules, or unassailably knowledgeable about a given issue, or supremely watchable orators or consummate students of people. But they also shared key traits that I wish more elected officials...Gaza rallies for Caracas: On the West’s dangerous game in Venezuela
February 16th, 20190 Hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets of besieged Gaza to show their support for the democratically-elected government of Venezuela and its legitimate leader, President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela is struggling to defeat a coup attempt that is supported by the United States, Israel and many Western governments. The...American politics’ great divide
February 15th, 20190 One of the more striking political developments of the last few years has been the partisan sorting of American voters. It used to be that both the Republican and Democratic parties covered some ideological ground. Now, it’s so habitual for conservatives to make their home in the GOP and liberals in the Democratic Party that party and...Enough Western meddling and interventions: Let the Venezuelan people decide
February 15th, 20190 American politicians from the two main parties have finally found something to agree upon: More intervention in Venezuela. “Now, despite (President Nicolas) Maduro, there is hope (in Venezuela),” wrote Democratic Senator Dick Durbin in USA Today. “These events (meaning the current political instability in the country) are a...Now Chad, then Mali: Why African countries are normalizing with Israel
February 4th, 20190 Forget the hype. Israel’s “security technology” has nothing to do with why some African countries are eager to normalize relations with Israel. What is it that Israel is able to offer in the technology sector to Chad, Mali and others that the United States, the European Union, China, Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa and...False ‘victories’: Is the PA using the ‘State of Palestine’ to remain in power?
January 26th, 20190 The "State of Palestine" has officially been handed the chairmanship of the G-77, the United Nations' largest block. This is particularly significant considering the relentless Israeli-American plotting to torpedo the Palestinian push for greater international recognition and legitimacy. It is now conclusive that the main mission for......
Bahia Amawi and the strangest loyalty oath Americans are forced to take
December 21st, 20181 Bahia Amawi works as children's speech pathologist for the Pflugerville Independent School District in Texas. Or, rather, she used to work as a children's speech pathologist for the district. After nine years, Glenn Greenwald reports at The Intercept, the district's administration declined to renew her contract because she refused to...Among my biggest disappointments in politics
December 14th, 20180 The other day, a friend asked what surprised me most about politics. This may seem strange, but I’d never really thought about the question. My response was off-the-cuff but heartfelt. The biggest surprise is also among my biggest disappointments with American political life: The ongoing effort by politicians to suppress...From Central America to Syria: The conspiracy against refugees
December 10th, 20180 Watching the ongoing debate between U.S. liberal and right-wing pundits in U.S. mainstream media, one rarely gets the impression that Washington is responsible for the unfolding crisis in Central America. In fact, no other country is as accountable as the United States for the Central American bedlam and resulting refugee...Netanyahu’s predicament: The era of easy wars is over
December 3rd, 20180 When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his army to carry out a limited operation in the besieged Gaza Strip on November 12, he certainly did not anticipate that his military adventure would destabilize his government and threaten the very survival of his right-wing coalition. But it did, far more than the multiple......
The struggle to advocate for Palestinians has never been easy
November 24th, 20180 It has never been easy for Arab Americans to advocate for Palestinian rights; and while we have made real progress, the challenges continue to grow. I learned early on that this was not ever going to be a fair fight. In their relentless effort to silence our voice, supporters of Israel waged a relentless campaign to delegitimize...The real midterm elections wave wasn’t blue, it was Muslim
November 22nd, 20180 The Muslims are no longer coming—they are here! Well, in reality Muslims have been in America and contributing to it even before the nation was formed, since approximately 15 percent of the slaves from Africa were Muslim. But now Muslim Americans are “here” in a whole new way as a record number won their elections on Nov. 6.......
Five reasons why Trump’s Iran sanctions will fail
November 4th, 20180 The next round of economic sanctions on Iran, which will start going into effect on Nov.4, will mainly target the country’s oil and gas industries. These sanctions were eased after the 2015 signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, but are being phased back in following...It’s a new era, but China’s balancing act will fail in the Middle East
November 3rd, 20180 Although ties between Washington and Tel Aviv are stronger than ever, Israeli leaders are aware of a vastly changing political landscape. The U.S.' own political turmoil and the global power realignment — which is on full display in the Middle East — indicate that a new era is, indeed, in the making. Unsurprisingly, this new era......