Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Nasim Ahmed
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David Cameron failed miserably trying to make Israel’s case in parliament
The Economist published a revealing article last week examining why Germany “goes too far defending Israel.” It was written after several high-profile Germans faced allegations of anti-Semitism. They aren’t alone. An Indian poet, an Australian political scientist, an Irish folk troupe, a British architect, a Bangladeshi photographer, an American...
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Israel is a ‘fragile state’ in war against time
It may seem counterintuitive to suggest that Israel is a “fragile state.” The usual material indicators used to measure the strengths and weaknesses of a state would indicate that Israel is anything but a fragile state. Its population not only enjoys the living standards of countries in the developed...
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There is ‘absolutely no’ chance of a two-state solution because Israel killed it
“Why are you obsessed with a two-state solution?” said Tzipi Hotovely, the Israeli ambassador to the UK during a Sky interview this week, snapping at the journalist for pressing her on the international consensus for ending Israel’s decades-long illegal occupation. “Why are you so obsessed with a formula that...
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Gaza at Doha Forum: MEMO speaks to PSC Director Ben Jamal
MEMO's Nasim Ahmed speaks with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign Director Ben Jamal at Doha Forum about the discourse on Palestine in light of the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, which has claimed the lives of up to 20,000 Palestinians since 7 October 2023, the majority of whom have been...
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Israeli minister's ‘Palestinians are Nazis’ slur reveals a genocidal vision
Israel’s extreme far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described Palestinians in the West Bank as “Nazis” earlier this week, intensifying the dehumanisation process that enables genocide and ethnic cleansing. “There are two million Nazis in Judea and Samaria,” he told the Times of Israel, using the Biblical term for the...
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Debunked: The myth of complexity of Palestine-Israel
Don’t take my word for it, listen to one of America’s celebrated authors, Ta-Nehisi Coates describing how he felt after discovering how uncomplicated Israel’s occupation of Palestine is. "It is made to sound as if you need a degree in Middle East Studies or a PhD to really understand...
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Sorry, Obama, there’s no ‘complexity’ when one side is committing genocide
Former US President Barack Obama gave a stirring response to the Israeli massacre of Palestinians in Gaza when he was asked about the current situation in the Middle East during a “Pod Save America” event. An excerpt of the interview released over the weekend, which has gone viral, has...
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Londoners gather in solemn solidarity for ‘Night for Gaza’
In a poignant show of solidarity, Londoners came together last night for ‘A Night for Gaza’, a sombre event mourning lives lost and voicing support for Palestinians facing devastating Israeli bombardment. Hosted by MEMO at the P21 Gallery, the evening provided a space for communal grief as artists and poets...
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As Gaza faces genocide, why is Jordan Peterson fuelling dehumanisation of Palestinians?
With the death toll in Gaza now surpassing the 8,000 Bosnian Muslims massacred in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, the refrain of “never again” rings devastatingly hollow. The world vowed never to allow such horrors after Srebrenica, just as it did after the Holocaust. Yet, here we are again –...
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Debunked: 'Gaza is not occupied'
Anyone interested in the truth should ask - if Israel doesn't occupy Gaza, why does it maintain the power to starve and withhold basic necessities? Israel wants the world to believe the myth that it “gave Gaza freedom.”...
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From Deir Yassin to Al-Ahli Hospital: Israel's legacy of killing Palestinians
Israel’s propaganda machine has begun to work overtime to convince the world of the occupation state’s innocence in the bombing of Al-Ahli Arab Hospital yesterday. Complicit in the destruction of Gaza, Western leaders aided by the media have also started to work round the clock to dutifully parrot the...
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Blaming the innocent, Israel adopts the logic of Al-Qaeda’s Bin Laden to carry out war crimes
Terrorists are known to resort to moral contortions to justify collective punishment and appalling violence against innocent civilians. Perpetrators claim their victims “had it coming” and somehow deserve their gruesome fate. By accusing victims of complicity in policies which the attackers oppose, terrorists absolve themselves of murder. The humanity...
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After advocating death and destruction on Gaza, Jordan Peterson proves he is nothing but a spiritual charlatan
“Go to hell!” That was American-Muslim scholar, Dr Omar Suleiman’s fiery response to controversial Canadian psychologist, Jordan Peterson, after the 62-year-old tweeted his support of an impending Israeli massacre in Gaza. “Give ’em hell ,” Peterson had posted on X, cheering on the Israeli Prime Minister, while seemingly oblivious...
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The myth that Israel can continue to ‘manage the conflict’ with Palestinians lies in ruins
Operation Al-Aqsa Flood led by Hamas has shattered the myth that Israel’s occupation of Palestine can be managed in perpetuity without resolving the underlying cause of the cycle of violence that plagues the region. For years, the occupation state has pursued a policy of “managing the conflict” instead of...
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‘I’m a Palestinian’: Former Israeli PM Golda Meir
Former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir is the subject of a new film called 'Golda' starring Helen Mirren. To mark its release, MEMO takes a look back at an interview Meir did in 1970 with the UK's Thames TV, in which she calls herself a Palestinian in order to...
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Living under the dark shadow of 9/11
The September 11 terror attacks changed the world, with no community feeling the aftershocks more than Muslims in the West. Sweeping counterterror measures undermined civil liberties, enabling heightened surveillance and eroding Muslims’ freedoms. At the core of America’s response was the rushed Patriot Act. As the ACLU critiqued, it sanctioned...
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On Zionist Literature
As a tribute to the influence on Zionist thought of the 19th century English novelist George Eliot, Israel honoured her legacy by naming streets in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv after her. Eliot — real name Mary Anne Evans — completed her last novel, Daniel Deronda, in 1876. It’s not...
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Weaponised definition of anti-Semitism is a ‘tool’ to undermine free-speech
The highly controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism has been repeatedly abused to suppress criticism of Israel and stifle pro-Palestinian activism at UK universities, a startling new report has found. Produced by the European Legal Support Centre and the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, the report...
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Israel’s occupation of Palestine has long exceeded any temporary military necessity
A new UN study has concluded that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories is illegal. “The Legality of the Israeli Occupation” looked at Israel’s extended control over the Palestinian Territories to see if it breaches international law. The report analysed the applicable rules and principles, including the UN Charter,...
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Trapped in a legal black hole, Palestinian refugees in Turkiye dream of going home
Istanbul has become home to thousands of Palestinian refugees who have fled from the war in Syria over the past decade. I spoke to refugees Mahmoud Mohammed Hamid, Fatima Yusuf, Jummah Farhan and many others in the popular city about their plight. As stateless Palestinians, they are part of...
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Bank account closures have affected British Muslims for decades, with little political reaction
The closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account at Coutts, a prestigious private bank in London, sparked a political and media frenzy, exposing the glaring hypocrisy and double standards within the British Establishment. For decades, prominent UK charities, pro-Palestine civil society groups and respected British Muslims have faced the abrupt...
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US proposal to rescue Israel is as offensive as it is ridiculous
“Why is the US paying for Israel’s peace?” is a reasonable question to ask in light of recent rumours in Washington over the latest proposal to rescue the occupation state from the brink of disaster. The sentiment was widely shared in response to a recent article by Thomas Friedman...
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What did we learn from Fridman’s podcast with Netanyahu, Harari and El-Kurd?
One could do a lot worse than interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, author Yuval Noah Harari and Palestinian poet and activist Mohammed El-Kurd, if one wanted to offer viewers a balanced view of what is often called the Israeli-Palestine conflict. The three individuals loosely represent the three main...
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US behaving like ‘thought police’ with pro-Israel resolution denying apartheid
The two major political parties in the US have waded into the debate about whether or not Israel is a racist state by passing a non-binding resolution pledging loyalty and support to it. Democrats and Republicans employed the symbolic power of Congress in a move intended to counter the...
