U.S. media coverage of Gaza continues to be disconnected from realities
January 8th, 20260 After more than two years of Israel’s assault on Gaza, one might think that there would be appreciable improvement in the way the Israeli/Palestinian issue is understood and presented. But U.S. press treatment of last week’s meeting between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear we still have a...
Participating in civic life is our duty as American citizens
January 7th, 20260 It’s a fundamental premise of American democracy that our elected representatives will do what we expect them to do. That doesn’t mean we can dictate every action they take. Overall, however, their job is to represent their constituents, not anyone else. But here’s the catch. Politicians can only do what we want if they know what...
The silent takeover: How Iran will control the Arabian Gulf
December 26th, 20252 For decades, the Arab rulers of the Gulf have lived inside a fantasy — one in which their skyscrapers, oil wealth and American alliances somehow guarantee their dominance of the region. But the future of the Arabian Gulf will not belong to them. It will belong to Iran. And not because Iran is loved, admired or embraced, but because...
Why Zohran Mamdani won: Demographics, grassroots power and Gaza
December 26th, 20250 Analysts are still working to understand Zohran Mamdani’s decisive victory in last month’s New York mayoral race. Like the blind men in the old Indian story of the “Blind Men and the Elephant”, the explanations offered have been mostly accurate but incomplete. Mamdani’s focus on affordability was appealing, as was his...
The three narratives: Gaza as the last moral frontier against Israel’s policy of annihilation
December 25th, 20250 Three dominant narratives contend for the future of Gaza and occupied Palestine, yet only one is being translated into consequential action: the Israeli narrative of domination and genocide. This singular, violent vision is the only one backed by the brute force of policy and fact. The first narrative belongs to the Trump...
Washington analysts are misreading voters on Israel and Palestine
December 19th, 20250 U.S. voters’ attitudes towards the Israeli Palestinian conflict have changed, but media commentators and political consultants haven’t figured that out. They are stuck in the past with outdated assumptions about the electorate and as a result continue to operate from an old playbook. A feature article in last week’s Washington...
When comedy meets conscience: Tucker Carlson, Theo Von and the question America cannot avoid
December 19th, 20250 Tucker Carlson’s appearance on Theo Von’s podcast This Past Weekend unfolded less like a structured interview and more like a long unguarded conversation that drifted toward subjects most mainstream platforms approach cautiously. Theo Von’s curious and disarming style gave Carlson room to speak without the time limits or tonal...
Dismissing politics as “dirty” is wrong and self-defeating
December 19th, 20250 I’m often struck by how often I meet people who think that all politics are dirty. They view politics as innately unethical, something they should avoid altogether. They stereotype politicians as dishonest and corrupt. I spent decades working in politics, and I can say with confidence that this view is mistaken and deeply unfair....
The Gaza and Ukraine plans compared
December 12th, 20250 In one week, the Trump administration passed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Gaza and released a 28-point peace plan for Ukraine. Commentators and critics have noted both similarities and profound differences between the two initiatives. First, both plans appear to be driven by the simple and commendable goal of...
If Gaza resistance ends: What history tells us about the Palestinian fate
December 12th, 20250 President Trump’s “Board of Peace” is reportedly set to be announced before the year’s end. This news coincides with increasing reports that the U.S. administration is serious about pushing forward the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire. However, many critical questions remain unanswered. How can a governing council be...
Netanyahu’s pardon bid: How the war on Gaza, an ICC warrant and U.S. politics are reshaping accountability
December 5th, 20250 On November 30, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially submitted a request for a presidential pardon to Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel. This dramatic move seeks to end his long running corruption trial, a case that has hung over Israeli politics for years and has often reflected the deep fractures within the country....
UNSC 2803: The U.S.-Israeli scheme to partition Gaza and break the Palestinian will
December 5th, 20250 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 is destined to fail. That failure will come at a price: more Palestinian deaths, extensive destruction and the expansion of Israeli violence to the West Bank and elsewhere in the Middle East. Why UNSC Resolution 2803 is doomed to fail The resolution, passed on November 14, was a...
Our system of checks and balances needs attention
December 5th, 20250 Checks and balances are essential to our representative democracy. Under our system of government, the legislative, executive and judicial branches provide balance and prevent each other from growing too powerful. The American people have supported this arrangement. My concern is that the checks and balances have eroded. The system is...The waning loyalist: How America is turning away while its weapons continue to devour Gaza
There are moments in history when a powerful illusion finally breaks. For decades the illusion of unwavering American devotion to Israel felt unshakeable. It governed policy, shaped public opinion and crafted a political world in which any criticism of Israel was treated as a dangerous trespass. Yet today that illusion trembles. Bit by...
No end in sight to Israel’s wars
November 21st, 20250 In the days after October 7, 2023, then-President Biden cautioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to make the same mistakes the U.S. made following 9/11. Biden never publicly spelled out his meaning, but it was understood as a warning to Netanyahu: Don’t overreact or overreach, as President George W. Bush had done by......
The new kill zone: Gaza’s borders after the “ceasefire”
November 20th, 20250 The so-called Gaza ceasefire was not a genuine cessation of hostility, but a strategic, cynical shift in the Israeli genocide and ongoing campaign of destruction. Starting on October 10, the first day of the announced ceasefire, Israel transitioned tactics: moving from indiscriminate aerial bombardment to the calculated, engineered...
The American people want Congress to do its job
November 20th, 20250 It caught my attention recently when two senators issued a news release about trying to repeal laws that authorize the president to use military force against Iraq. This is a positive effort for several reasons. It deserves support. First, as the senators, Indiana Republican Todd Young and Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine, point out, the......
The majority without power: Lebanon’s Shi’as and the politics of exclusion
November 14th, 20250 Lebanon prides itself on being a democracy, but for countless citizens, that ideal exists only on paper. No community feels this disconnect more deeply than the Shi'a. Though they are widely believed to be the country’s largest sect — perhaps even its true majority — they remain excluded from genuine political power and access to...
Megyn Kelly and the new conservative revolt against Israel first politics
November 13th, 20250 Megyn Kelly has long been known as a sharp interviewer who occupies the moderate space inside conservative media. She built her reputation on tough questions, cool analysis and an ability to challenge anyone who sat across from her. In recent years, however, her voice has taken on a new charge. She is openly rejecting the political...
Polishing genocide: Israel’s desperate war to erase history
November 13th, 20250 Israel’s allies worldwide are desperately scrambling to help Tel Aviv re-establish a convincing narrative — not only about the Gaza genocide, but the entire legacy of Israeli colonialism in Palestine and the Middle East. The perfect little story, built on myths and outright fabrications — that of a small nation fighting for...
What Zohran Mamdani’s victory means for the Democratic establishment, and for Trump
November 7th, 20250 A grassroots revolution in America’s most powerful city challenges the old political order from within By Ali MansourThe Arab American News Zohran Mamdani’s stunning and historical election as mayor of New York City is far more than a change in name or a passing victory for a new progressive figure. It is a seismic political......
Verdict from the people: Why the Gaza tribunal is about accountability, not symbolism
November 7th, 20250 In the face of the international legal and political systems' paralyzing silence and utter failure to hold Israel accountable for its genocide in Gaza, international civil society has refused to stand idly by. Instead, it continues to forge a path, presenting essential working models for what true justice in Palestine must look...
The end of blind loyalty: Why America must reconsider its ties to Israel
November 7th, 20250 The world has become a witness to unimaginable suffering. In Gaza, entire families have been erased from the registry of the living. Children, once filled with laughter, now silenced by hunger, dust and fear, stare blankly from hospital beds that have no medicine in hospitals that no longer have walls. Every explosion feels like an echo......
Dearborn does not want or need wards!
November 7th, 20250 The old Arabic saying goes “The letter can be read from its title.” The committee name of “Dearborn Wants Wards” is as misleading and confusing as the campaign it waged in support of Proposal 1 to divide Dearborn into seven Council wards. The sound defeat of Proposal 1 by 71 percent of Dearborn voters proved one thing: Dearborn...
Political violence undermines our democracy
November 7th, 20250 I was in Congress for 34 years. During that time, I attended scores, possibly hundreds of public events. They were held in all kinds of places, in nearly every circumstance that you can imagine. I can recall only one incident of potential violence. There were sometimes heated disagreements, but almost never did people reject the......
