Ramzy Baroud

The population of Syria’s Palestinian Refugee Camp, Yarmouk – whose population once exceeded 250,000, dwindling throughout the Syrian civil war to 18,000 – are a microcosm of the story of a whole nation, whose perpetual pain shames us all, none excluded. Refugees who escaped the Syrian war or are displaced in Syria itself, are experiencing … Continue reading “Do Something, Anything: Naming and Shaming in Yarmouk”

Waiting on Israeli society to change from within is a colossal waste of time, during which the suffering of an entire nation – torn between an occupied home and a harsh diaspora – will not cease. But what are Palestinians and the supporters of a just peace in Palestine and Israel to do? Plenty. Those … Continue reading “How Palestinians Can Defeat Apartheid”

Imagine if an American presidential candidate made a plea to his supporters on election day with the following statement: "The Republican administration is in danger. Black voters are going en masse to the polls. Liberal NGOs are bringing them on buses." Even in a country where Chris Matthews is a media celebrity and Pamela Geller … Continue reading “Netanyahu the Mythbuster: ‘Special Relationship’ No More”

No matter how one attempts to wrangle with the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) rise in Iraq and Syria, desperately seeking any political or other context that would validate the movement as an explainable historical circumstance, things refuse to add up. Not only is IS to a degree an alien movement in the larger body politic … Continue reading “‘Islamic State’ as a Western Phenomenon? Reimagining the IS Debate”

Truly, US President Barack Obama’s recent call to address the root causes of violence, including that of the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) and al-Qaeda was a step in the right direction, but still miles away from taking the least responsibility for the mayhem that has afflicted the Middle East since the US invasion of Iraq … Continue reading “The Truth About Root Causes of Terrorism”

The Sinai Peninsula has moved from the margins of Egyptian body politic to the uncontested center, as Egypt’s strong man – President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi – finds himself greatly undercut by the rise of an insurgency that seems to be growing stronger with time. Another series of deadly and coordinated attacks, on January 29, shattered … Continue reading “The ‘Great War’ of Sinai: How To Lose a ‘War on Terror’”

It was the moment many had been waiting for. On January 2, Palestine’s United Nations envoy, Riyad Mansour formally requested membership at the International Criminal Court (ICC). “We are seeking justice for all the victims that have been killed by Israel, the occupying power,” he said. There was no explanation why Palestine’s membership of the … Continue reading “Time To Move Out: The Problem with Mahmoud Abbas and His Authority”

In terms of losses in human lives, 2014 has been a horrific year for Palestinians, surpassing the horrors of both 2008 and 2009, when an Israeli war against the Gaza Strip killed and wounded thousands. While some aspects of the conflict are stagnating between a corrupt, ineffectual Palestinian Authority (PA), and the criminality of Israeli … Continue reading “Five Reasons Why 2014 Was a Game-Changer in Palestine”

Raed Mu’anis was my best friend. The small scar on top of his left eyebrow was my doing at the age of five. I urged him to quit hanging on a rope where my mother was drying our laundry. He wouldn’t listen, so I threw a rock at him. I didn’t mean for the rock … Continue reading “The Mockingjay of Palestine: ‘If We Burn, You Burn with Us’”

When news reports alleged that the two cousins behind the Jerusalem synagogue attack on 18 November were affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a level of confusion reigned. Why the PFLP? Why now? The attack killed five Israelis and wounded others. It was, to a degree, an expected addition to a … Continue reading “The Rise and Fall of Palestine’s Socialists”