Ramzy Baroud

Motivated by their justifiable aversion to former US President Donald Trump, many analysts have rashly painted a rosy picture of how Democrats could quickly erase the bleak trajectory of the previous Republican administration. This naivety is particularly pronounced in the current spin on the Palestinian-Israeli discourse, which is promoting, again, the illusion that Democrats will … Continue reading “‘Leaving Aside’ International Law: Why Democrats Are as Dangerous as Republicans to a Just Peace in Palestine”

Claims made by Democratic New York City mayoral candidate, Andrew Yang, in a recent op-ed in the Jewish weekly, The Forward, point to the prevailing ignorance that continues to dominate the US discourse on Palestine and Israel. Yang, a former Democratic Presidential candidate, is vying for the Jewish vote in New York City. According to … Continue reading “‘Freedom is Never Voluntarily Given’: Palestinian Boycott of Israel Is Not Racist, It Is Anti-Racist”

"A Regime of Jewish Supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is Apartheid," was the title of a January 12 report by the Israeli rights group B’Tselem. No matter how one is to interpret B’Tselem’s findings, the report is earth-shattering. The official Israeli response merely confirmed what B’Tselem has stated in no … Continue reading “B’Tselem’s Historic Declaration: Israel’s Open War on Its Own Civil Society”

On January 11, the Israeli Lod District Court ruled against a Palestinian filmmaker, Mahmoud Bakri, ordering him to pay hefty compensation to an Israeli soldier who was accused, along with the Israeli military, of carrying out war crimes in April 2002, in the Palestinian Jenin refugee camp located in the northern occupied West Bank. The … Continue reading “Fearing the Palestinian Narrative: Why Israel Banned Jenin Jenin“

In an interview with the British newspaper, The Times, in 2015, former US Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, vehemently denied that exporting democracy to Iraq was the main motive behind the US invasion of that Arab country 12 years earlier. Rumsfeld further alleged that "the idea that we could fashion a democracy in Iraq seemed to … Continue reading “By ‘Force and Fraud’: Is This the End of the US Democracy Doctrine?”

Israel’s decision to exclude Palestinians from its COVID-19 vaccination campaign may have surprised many. Even by Israel’s poor humanitarian standards, denying Palestinians access to life-saving medication seems extremely callous. Amnesty International, among many organizations, condemned the Israeli government’s decision to bar Palestinians from receiving the vaccine. The rights group described the Israeli action as evidence … Continue reading “Covid-19 Under Apartheid: How Israel Manipulates Suffering of Palestinians”

2020 will go down in history as the year that terminated the American-sponsored "peace process". While 2021 will not reverse the monumental change in the US attitude and objectives in Palestine, Israel and the Middle East, the new year presents Palestinians with the opportunity to think outside the American box. The previous year began with … Continue reading “2021: Palestine’s Chance of Fighting Back”

On December 21, the United States Congress passed the COVID-19 Relief Package, as part of a larger $2.3 trillion bill meant to cover spending for the rest of the fiscal year. As usual, US representatives allocated a massive sum of money for Israel. While unemployment, thus poverty, in the US is skyrocketing as a result … Continue reading “The US Money Tree: The Untold Story of American Aid to Israel”

It is convenient to surmise that Israel’s current political crisis is consistent with the country’s unfailing trajectory of short-lived governments and fractious ruling coalitions. While this view is somewhat defensible, it is also hasty. Israel is currently at the cusp of a fourth general election in less than two years. Even by Israel’s political standards, … Continue reading “A Country in Turmoil: Why Netanyahu Is a Symptom, Not Cause of Israel’s Political Crisis”

December 8 came and went as if it was an ordinary day. For Palestinian political groups, it was another anniversary to be commemorated, however hastily. It was on this day, thirty-three years ago, that the First Palestinian Intifada (uprising) broke out, and there was nothing ordinary about this historic event. Today, the uprising is merely … Continue reading “When the People Rose: How the Intifada Changed the Political Discourse Around Palestine”