Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Ray Hanania
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Behind the biased headlines of Israel’s occupation
Every day, Western media headlines showcase intense conflicts between Palestinians and Israelis, with the Palestinians more often than not getting the blame. Some are major news stories, as we saw in the three-day war that took place last weekend between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip which received much...
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Muslim life gets a break on American TV
I have longed for the creative expression of what it’s like to be Arab American to make it into the mainstream in literature, movies and, especially, television, which has an impact on public understanding of complex issues more so than any other medium. As an Arab American myself, this...
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The Arabs on board the Titanic have a story waiting to be told
This month marks the 107th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, which sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic in the early morning of 15 April, 1912. Only 706 passengers survived from among the estimated 2,223 passengers and crew — exact figures are disputed — who were...
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This was an election Nakba of their own making for Israel’s frustrated Arab citizens
Efforts to bring an end to the right wing, anti-peace policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have clearly fallen short of their goals. One thing is certain, though; the blame for his survival falls squarely on the shoulders of Israel’s Arab community. One must always take a cautious approach...
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Apathy cannot be Arab-Israelis’ most vocal political movement
Jewish Israeli voters and the country’s right wing seem more concerned about the impact of an Arab voter surge in the 9 April General Election than the Arabs are. There is actually a debate among Arab citizens of Israel about whether they should vote or not. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin...
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A new form of ‘anti-Semitism’ targets Tlaib and Omar
A hate-filled comment scribbled on a Post-It note attacking Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar should be a good lesson for all on how confused many Americans are about Arabs, Muslims, the Middle East and the truth about Palestine. The scribbled hate note read, “Rep. Omar. Stop your disgusting Jew hatred. Your...
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New Zealand massacres bring back memory of Ibrahimi Mosque attack
The horrendous terrorist attack against Muslim worshippers at two Mosques in New Zealand evokes a chilling memory of one of the first terrorist attacks against a mosque in 1994. Twenty-eight-year-old Australian White supremacist, Brenton Tarrant, entered two mosques on Friday in Christchurch, New Zealand firing at the congregants as they...
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Syrian radio host shakes up Detroit’s Arab community
Laila Alhusini was 26 when she decided to leave her home in Damascus, Syria in the autumn of 2000 to pursue new opportunities in the United States. Although Alhusini was working professionally for several Arab and Western media outlets in Damascus, including Associated Press and BBC World News, as...
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Congress criticises Ihlan Omar’s words, but remains silent about Israel’s violence
The obsession with US Congresswoman Ihlan Omar’s criticism of Israeli influence over American politics really is unique. And what makes this debate genuinely immoral is that it focuses on Omar’s words but ignores the killing and oppression of Palestinian civilians by Israel. The Minnesota Congresswoman has been pilloried over the...
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Violence is fundamental to Israel’s ‘democracy’ and always has been
Israeli soldiers hiding behind bunkers and using long-range sniper rifles have intentionally murdered 35 children, paramedics, journalists and disabled people during its ongoing assault against Palestinian civilian protestors along the Gaza border, a report released by the United Nations concluded this week. The UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) said...
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Sanders returns Palestine to the centre of the political debate in the US
Last month, leading Israeli journalist Tal Schneider told a teleconference hosted by Americans for Peace Now that the issue of the occupation and Palestinian rights has almost vanished from the Israeli political conversation. In previous years, it loomed heavy over nearly every election campaign. The shift in Israeli politics has...
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It isn’t just about ‘the Benjamins’, Ilhan
Newly-elected Ilhan Omar isn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves and smack issues in the face, stirring up a hornet’s nest of angry reaction from Republicans and Democrats alike. The Minnesota Congresswoman, one of two Muslim women now in the US House of Representatives, stepped into controversy this week when...
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Illinois prepares to celebrate Arab American Heritage Month in April
The affinity that the citizens of Illinois and, indeed, America itself once had for Arab culture began during the World Columbian Exposition that was held in Chicago in 1893. The World’s Fair, as it was called, feature a massive exhibit called “Street in Cairo”. The Cairo exhibit was huge and...
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Fifty-years of US media study reveals massive anti-Palestinian bias
While any reasonable person might feel that we do not really need to do a study to conclude that the mainstream US media has an anti-Palestinian, pro-Israel bias that affirms the lies of the latter while minimizing the reality of the former, one international research group has done just...
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Media hypocrisy puts pressure on Arabs but not Israeli activists
During the height of the 2012 Israeli war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Ilhan Omar published a tweet that read, “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel. #Gaza #Palestine #Israel” Omar’s comment reflected the anger many Arabs and...
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Israel’s Six Day War on the Internet
The fundamental failure of the Arab world to understand the significance of communications, public relations and now the internet has served to undermine Arab causes and allow their enemies to thrive. This failure is most obvious to Palestinians, who watch in amazement as Israel exploits every aspect of communications to...
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There is no end to Israel’s lies to justify its atrocities
The government of Israel and its lobbyists around the world have mastered the infamous art of the “Big Lie”. Although they have claimed to be the victims of such tactics used by Nazi Germany before and during World War Two, pro-Israel activists — Jews and non-Jews alike — have...
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Arabs can confront Israel’s racist nature by going to the polls
One of the most difficult and dangerous jobs in Israel is to be a Palestinian Arab member of the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, and for good reason. Such MKs pose the greatest threat to the continuation of Israel’s racist and Apartheid policies and have the power to stop it. Israel...
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Palestine-Israel conflict threatens to derail global Women’s March
What do you get when you create a collaboration of activists who share a common cause against the abuse of women but who also come from varying backgrounds of social justice and civil rights activism, and then throw in the Israel-Palestine conflict for good measure? A full-blown war, that’s...
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Christian Arabs should be given a greater role in Palestinian advocacy
The Arab and Muslim worlds are not doing enough to include Christian Arabs in their activism. Too often, the latter —whose numbers have been dwindling rapidly in the Middle East — are marginalised, patronised or simply ignored. Although Christians are often invited to speak at major conferences organised to address...
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If America’s ‘core values’ mean anything at all, then anti-BDS laws must be repealed
Last month, Airbnb, an American company that allows homeowners to list their properties for rental to visiting tourists, announced that it will prohibit listings of properties in Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. The company’s decision was morally and legally correct, not least because of the illegal...
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The weakness of international justice and the ICC
It is a proven fact that if you have good lawyers and clever publicists, you can pretty much avoid responsibility for any criminal action in today’s world. This isn’t a recent conclusion. We have seen evidence of this reality many times over the years. The law is manipulated often, such...
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Two borders, two sets of refugees, two very different reactions
This week, two protests by refugees at international borders made major headlines in the news. One group was treated with overwhelming sympathy from politicians and the news media, while the other was brushed aside with widespread disdain. At the San Ysidro Land Port on the border between Mexico and the...
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How Israel weaponises anti-Semitism to block Middle East peace
One of Israel’s most powerful weapons against the voices of Palestinian rights has been the exploitation of Jewish history — the Holocaust included — to justify its own atrocities against non-Jews. The Holocaust is undeniably one of the worst human tragedies in human history, an evil horror in which...