Items by Nasim Ahmed
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- November 11, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
Rushing to support the ‘ugly, extremist face of Israel’ does not defend ‘free speech’
Britain is mired in another row about freedom of speech following Tuesday’s student protest against extreme right-wing Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely. To the dismay of Palestinian student groups, the 42-year-old was invited by the Debating Society at the London School of Economics (LSE) for what was billed as a...
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- November 4, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
When it comes to climate change, the Middle East is in a bind
Alarm bells are ringing at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow over the perilous fate of the planet. The threat of a “doomsday” scenario was echoed in the speeches of world leaders taking part, warning of the “existential threat to human existence”. The message could not be clearer or...
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- October 29, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
Remembering Israel’s massacre of Palestinians in Kafr Qasem
In one of the worst massacres in Palestinian history, Israeli border police killed forty-nine residents of Kafr Qasem, including women and children...
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- October 22, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
The Middle East is in desperate need of geopolitical recalibration, maybe it’s underway
One of the gains from the much talked about American “pivot” towards Asia is the genuine prospect for geopolitical recalibration. As implausible as this may sound, amongst the shifting sands of Middle Eastern politics, at least one part of the formula for engendering the much-needed regional adjustment is already...
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- October 15, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
The checkpoint between academic freedom and Israel needs to be lifted
The public debate around three high-profile cases related to academic freedom in UK universities has exposed the contradictions and double standards at the centre of this row, the result of which will be nothing less than a hierarchy of protected speech and the right to hurt and offend some...
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- October 6, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
By endorsing the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, Europe stifles academic freedom
The European Commission is set to incorporate the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism as part of Europe’s strategy to combat anti-Jewish racism. Details of the Commission’s plan were outlined yesterday in a 26-page programme. The three central goals are to prevent anti-Semitism in all its...
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- September 28, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
Sudan is turning on former allies under the pretext of fighting corruption
Sudan’s Transitional Government has been accused of illegally expropriating the assets of Malaysia’s national oil company, Petronas, which could trigger legal proceedings against Khartoum in the International Court of Arbitration. Petronas is a multi-billion-dollar company, ranked amongst the largest corporations in the world with more than 20 years of successful...
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- September 22, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
Middle East disinformation wars and the battle for narratives in the digital space
MEMO in conversation with Marc Owen Jones...
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- September 16, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
Israel’s future is apartheid in a ‘solution of the three classes’
Reading the reflections of one of Israel’s most celebrated contemporary public intellectuals on the apparently never-ending occupation of Palestine, I was reminded of an old saying about the nature of truth. “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is...
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- September 8, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
Blair mustn’t be allowed to ‘dodge’ responsibility for the chaos caused by the ‘war on terror’
Two schools of thought have emerged to explain the defeat of the West in the so-called “war on terror”. With proponents such as acclaimed CIA analyst and author Michael Scheuer, the first claims that it was a result of imperial hubris. “Al-Qaeda hates us not for who we are...
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- August 25, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
Blair’s criticism of the Afghan withdrawal is a robust defence of Western militarism
The architects of the “war on terror” have hit back following the humiliating US withdrawal from Afghanistan. From the political leaders who sanctioned never-ending wars to the intellectual high priests in journalism, academia and think tanks who cooked it up, exponents of Western imperialism have been doing the media...
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- August 10, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
Kier Starmer’s Labour is ‘purging’ Jews critical of Israel, says new report
The infighting within UK Labour over Israel took a surprising twist last week that could push the party into further disarray. Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) – the main grouping of left-wing Jews in the Labour party known for their highly critical stance on Israel – have accused Labour...
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- July 29, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
Ben & Jerry’s is wrong, Israel and apartheid are one and the same just ask its leaders
The founders of Ben & Jerry’s doubled down on the company’s decision to end business in the Israeli occupied West Bank with a compelling article in the New York Times yesterday. Demonstrating rare moral leadership and courage where none seems to exist in the profit-seeking world occupied by multinational...
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- July 22, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
UAE denounced by victims of hacking scandal as Israel seeks to save-face
The global hacking scandal involving Israel’s notorious NSO Group has sparked fury around the world as the full extent of the industrial scale spying operation targeting politicians, academics and activists begin to emerge. As many as 50,000 phone numbers were said to have been targeted for surveillance by NSO Group’s...
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- July 7, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
UK Labour Party reinstates controversial member accused of Islamophobia
The British Labour Party has become embroiled in another major race row following its decision to readmit Trevor Phillips to the party just over a year after he was suspended for alleged Islamophobia. The 67-year-old writer and broadcaster is one of the most high-profile members of the party. As...
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- June 28, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
Unpacking the appointment of an ‘unapologetic’ Israel supporter as Britain’s Health Secretary
Sajid Javid made a surprise comeback to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s cabinet this weekend following the resignation of Matt Hancock. The former health secretary fell on his sword a day after his secret affair with an aide was exposed by British tabloids. The appointment of Javid, who has served...
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- June 22, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
US cannot claim to lead the world on combating racism if it continues to support apartheid Israel
The UK plans to boycott a UN sponsored anti-racism conference in South Africa citing anti-Semitism concerns...
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- June 9, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
MEMO in conversation with Prof. Norman Finkelstein
Prof. Finkelstein is an American political scientist, activist and author. His primary fields of research are the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the politics of the Holocaust....
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- May 18, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
Israel’s Palestinian citizens are key to ending apartheid
Despite Israel’s efforts to “spirit the Arabs out of their homeland” and the vain hope of its first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, that “the old will die and the young will forget”, just over half of the Palestinian people not only live in their historic homeland but have also...
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- May 5, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
MEMO in conversation with Omar Shakir
Watch our conversation with the Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, Omar Shakir, discussing the organisation's latest report which found that Israeli authorities are committing apartheid and persecution against Palestinians....
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- April 29, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
The lives of four Yemeni journalists are on the line, but Joe Biden could save them
The fate of four Yemeni journalists is in the hands of US President Joe Biden, Dr Khalid Ibrahim and Dr Ikram Ais have told me as they explained the details of their campaign for their release. Ibrahim is the Executive Director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, while...
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- April 14, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
MEMO in conversation with Justin Scheck
Scheck has been writing about Saudi Arabia since 2016. A graduate of Bates College, he worked at small newspapers in California before starting his career at the Journal in 2007. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and an Emmy nominee....
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- March 28, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
Remembering the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative
A Saudi-led peace initiative endorsed by the Arab League's 22 member states offered Israel a comprehensive formula for peace based on international norms...
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- March 25, 2021 Nasim Ahmed
The already ‘messy break-up’ of American Jews over Israel is getting messier
An alliance of far-right groups including Jewish Power, a party so extreme that even unflinching supporters of the pro-Israel lobby in the US cannot stomach, are poised to enter Israel’s parliament, if exit polls for the latest General Election are to be believed. Ideological heirs of Meir Kahane, who...