Ramzy Baroud

I had mixed feelings when I learned that Palestine has erected a statue of Nelson Mandela, the iconic South African anti-Apartheid leader. On the one hand, I was quite pleased that the unmistakable connection between the struggles of Palestinians and South Africans is cemented more than ever before. On the other hand, I dreaded that … Continue reading “The Spirit of Nelson Mandela in Palestine: Is His Real Legacy Being Upheld?”

At the age of 21, I crossed Gaza into Egypt to pursue a degree in political science. The timing could have not been worse. The Iraq invasion of Kuwait in 1990 had resulted in a US-led international coalition and a major war, which eventually paved the road for the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. … Continue reading “Did the Arabs Betray Palestine?”

“Whether he made a mistake or not, is a trivial question,” said an Israeli Jewish man who joined large protests throughout Israel in support of a soldier who calmly, and with precision, killed a wounded Palestinian man in al-Khalil (Hebron). The protesting Jewish man described Palestinians as “barbaric’, “bestial’, who should not be perceived as … Continue reading “The Logic of Murder in Israel: A Culture of Impunity in Full View of the Entire World”

A thousand Israelis and their supporters gathered in Jerusalem’s International Convention Center on March 28 at a conference aimed at combating the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). The conference was a display of “fear, paranoia, anger and determination,” as described by Antony Loewenstein, and featured top government officials, members of the oppositions and a … Continue reading “Non-Violent BDS Should Be Welcomed, Not Condemned”

The nature of the current uprising in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is a testament to that claim. Previous uprisings were massive in their mobilization, clear in their message and decisive in their delivery. Their success or failure is not the point of this discussion, but the fact is that they were willed by … Continue reading “Intifada for Dummies: Why a Popular Uprising Is Yet To Take Off?”

The apparently sudden Russian military withdrawal from Syria, starting on 15 March, left political commentators puzzled, but few of the analyses offered should be taken seriously. There is little solid information about why the Russian leader decided to end his country’s military push in Syria. The intervention, which began last September, was enough to change … Continue reading “Federalism Is a Pandora’s Box; if Syria Succumbs to It, Others Will Follow”

A foray of condemnations of the boycott of Israel seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Calls from Western governments, originating from the UK, the US, Canada and others, to criminalize the boycott of Israel have hardly slowed down the momentum of the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). On the contrary, it has … Continue reading “Why BDS Cannot Lose: A Moral Threshold To Combat Racism in Israel”

When Arab streets exploded with fury, from Tunis to Sanaa, pan-Arabism seemed, then, like a nominal notion. Neither did the so-called “Jasmine Revolution” use slogans that affirmed its Arab identity, nor did angry Egyptian youth raise the banner proclaiming Arab unity atop the high buildings adjacent to Tahrir Square. Oddly, the Arabism of the “Arab … Continue reading “‘Plan B’ – Not an Enigma: Why the West Is Keen on Dividing the Arabs”

As US liberals and some leftists are pulling up their sleeves in anticipation of a prolonged battle for the Democratic Party Presidential nomination, the tussle becomes particularly ugly whenever the candidates’ foreign policy agendas are evoked. Of the two main contenders, Hillary Clinton is the obvious target. She is an interventionist, uncompromisingly, and her term … Continue reading “Transcending the Clinton-Sanders Debate: The Middle East in US Foreign Policy”

The Israeli “Right”, as demonstrated by a scary coalition of rightwing nationalists, ultranationalists and religious zealots, deserves all the bad press it has garnered since its formation last May. But none of this should come as a shock, as the “Right” in Israel has never been anything but a coalition of demagogues that catered to … Continue reading “‘Good Labor – Bad Likud’: Dispelling the Myth of ‘Democracy’ Within Israel’s Political Establishment”