Yvonne Ridley

British journalist and author Yvonne Ridley provides political analysis on affairs related to the Middle East, Asia and the Global War on Terror. Her work has appeared in numerous publications around the world from East to West from titles as diverse as The Washington Post to the Tehran Times and the Tripoli Post earning recognition and awards in the USA and UK. Ten years working for major titles on Fleet Street she expanded her brief into the electronic and broadcast media producing a number of documentary films on Palestinian and other international issues from Guantanamo to Libya and the Arab Spring.

August 15, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Netanyahu has dug himself into a hole in a graveyard full of untruths

Benjamin Netanyahu has dived headlong into the furore engulfing Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, revealing the most blatant meddling to-date by Israel in British politics. What’s more, he’s done...

Published in: Article, Europe & Russia, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, UK, US
August 9, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

The men in charge of Saudi Arabia really don’t care a jot about Muslim women

If ever there was a time for the government of Saudi Arabia to stand up and defend its female citizens it is now, with Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman’s...

Published in: Article, Asia & Americas, Canada, Europe & Russia, Middle East, Opinion, Saudi Arabia, UK, US
August 6, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

The Corbyn anti-Semitism row reveals how desperate Israel and its lobbyists are

The socialist leader of a British political party embroiled in an anti-Semitism row has apologised for appearing on platforms with people who drew Nazi-style comparisons with Israel’s actions. His...

Published in: Article, Europe & Russia, Germany, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, UK
July 31, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Scotland’s ‘Braveheart’ pension fund divests from Israeli bank

A landmark decision by a major Scottish pension fund to divest from Israel’s Bank Hapoalim could trigger a massive financial withdrawal by other funds in Scotland. The Falkirk Pension...

Published in: Article, BDS, Europe & Russia, International Organisations, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, UK
July 26, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Tariq Ramadan’s detention exposes the flaws in French liberté, égalité and fraternité

The authorities in France are coming under international pressure over their treatment of Muslim academic and philosopher Tariq Ramadan who is being held in custody pending investigations into a...

Published in: Africa, Article, Egypt, Europe & Russia, France, Opinion
July 13, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

With a British minister dodging Israeli bullets, will his new boss stand up for international law?

Now that Jeremy Hunt has replaced Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary in Whitehall, Palestinians are hopeful that there might be some cause for optimism, but if Britain’s top diplomat...

Published in: Article, Europe & Russia, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, UK
July 2, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Who killed Razan Al-Najjar?

A new petition circulating on social media serves as a reminder that the Israeli sniper who shot Palestinian paramedic Razan Al-Najjar on 1 June could be a British citizen...

Published in: Article, Asia & Americas, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, US
June 24, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Support for the Palestinians gathers pace in Trump’s America

Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the UN Human Rights Commission was an attempt to shield Israel from accountability, but it may have backfired among voters in...

Published in: Article, Asia & Americas, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, UN, US
June 19, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

The pro-Israel lobby exploits anti-Semitism, with more than a little help from Trump

There is a rise in anti-Semitism across the West. Shamefully, it is being exploited with great cynicism by the pro-Israel lobby to target Palestinian support groups and individuals instead...

Published in: Article, Asia & Americas, Europe & Russia, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, UK, US
June 7, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Israel’s red card and own goal

Rotem Kamer, the vice president of the Israeli Football Association, has accused Palestinians of waging “football terror” after Argentina called off a friendly match in Jerusalem. Argentina’s move came...

Published in: Argentina, Article, Asia & Americas, FIFA, International Organisations, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine
May 31, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Rohingya rape victims are braced for a Ramadan baby boom

Eid babies are normally seen as a great blessing across the Muslim world and a perfect end to pregnancies after Ramadan. We shouldn’t, though, expect any celebrations over the...

Published in: Article, Bangladesh, Israel, Myanmar, Opinion, UN
May 29, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Pakistani intelligence blocked a prisoner swap to release Dr Aafia Siddiqui

There were strong rumours sweeping across Pakistan recently that Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a cause célèbre across the Muslim world, had died in the Texas jail where she is serving...

Published in: Article, Asia & Americas, Middle East, Opinion, Pakistan, Qatar, US
May 20, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Mo Salah, fatwas and fallen heroes

Egyptian-born footballer Mohamed Salah hopes to help Liverpool FC to lift the cup next Saturday in the final of Europe’s prestigious UEFA Champions League, arguably the world’s top club...

Published in: Africa, Article, Egypt, Europe & Russia, Opinion, UK
May 16, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Heroic Palestinians are anything but victims

Israel’s refusal to acknowledge the Palestinians as anything other than the victims of Hamas manipulation and “incitement” is insulting and offensive to the people of Gaza on many levels....

Published in: Article, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine
May 2, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Britain’s Friends of Israel MPs get a lesson in hate

The number of British MPs from both the Labour and Conservative parties who appear to be concerned about the education of Palestinian children should be heart-warming. However, the focus...

Published in: Article, Europe & Russia, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, UK
May 2, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

The Netanyahoo Nuclear Odyssey

With all the skill and showmanship of a fairground hustler about to introduce us to the bearded lady, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu whipped up his audience to heightened...

Published in: Article, Asia & Americas, Europe & Russia, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, Russia, UK, US
April 20, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Faking it for Assad

Dozens of conflicting columns about the chemical weapons attack on Douma have been churned out by a whole range of individuals, from untrained bloggers and Assad apologists to highly...

Published in: Article, Asia & Americas, Europe & Russia, Middle East, Opinion, Russia, Syria, US
April 7, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

The Palestinian struggle is being attacked by a digital occupation

Young Palestinians turn to the internet as one of the few places where they can roam freely in a virtual reality world. However, even that is now under attack...

Published in: Article, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine
April 1, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Palestine’s own Sharpeville massacre by its own Apartheid oppressors

Be in absolutely no doubt about the significance of the start of the peaceful Great Return March which began in Gaza on Friday and led to 17 Palestinians being...

Published in: Africa, Article, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, South Africa
March 21, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

A general’s death on this Iraq War anniversary reminds us that justice is never far away

Fifteen years ago this month, the invasion of Iraq began despite months of global protests as US President George W Bush and his willing accomplice, British Prime Minister Tony...

Published in: Argentina, Article, Asia & Americas, Europe & Russia, Iraq, Middle East, Myanmar, Opinion, Syria, UK, US
March 12, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Assad’s rape victims break their silence

The torture victim stood in front of her tormentor wondering what treatment would be meted out this time in the notorious Branch 215, also known as Raid Brigade run...

Published in: Article, Middle East, Opinion, Syria
March 8, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

With Assad on the brink, the Conscience Convoy highlights the plight of women in his jails

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan launched a blistering attack on world leaders from East to West on Wednesday as he met an international delegation of women in a demonstration...

Published in: Article, Asia & Americas, Europe & Russia, International Organisations, Iran, Middle East, Opinion, Russia, Syria, Turkey, UN, US
March 1, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Apocalyptic Gaza throws the Beast from the East into perspective

The headline news in Britain for the past few days has been about the “Beast from the East” and the Siberian blast which has turned the UK snow white,...

Published in: Article, Europe & Russia, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, UK
February 26, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

An open letter to Syria’s First Lady

Dear Asma, I was shown an old photograph the other day of a couple of children messing around in a paddling pool in the back garden of a pebble-dashed...

Published in: Article, International Organisations, Middle East, Opinion, Syria, UN
February 22, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Women around the world mobilise for Syria

As the world looks on while a Srebrenica-style massacre unfolds in eastern Ghouta, news of another dark side to the brutality of the Syrian regime is also beginning to...

Published in: Article, International Organisations, Middle East, Opinion, Syria, UN
February 4, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Trump blunders with US terror listing of Hamas leader Haniyeh

So the US government has labeled Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as a “specially designated global terrorist” and imposed a raft of sanctions against him, which basically means freezing any...

Published in: Article, Asia & Americas, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, US
January 31, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Palestine is definitely a European issue

Think tanks and commentators around the world have analysed and evaluated US President Donald Trump’s decision to accept Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the American Embassy from Tel...

Published in: Article, Asia & Americas, EU, Europe & Russia, International Organisations, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, UK, US
January 25, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Western feminists should support their sisters in Palestine, because they’re worth it

Whenever I talk about feminism, the f-word makes some people bristle. I really don’t know why, because feminism is all about equality and justice; it seeks an even playing...

Published in: Article, Europe & Russia, France, Iran, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine
January 23, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Erdogan has given Trump a bloody nose over Jerusalem

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a master of fiery rhetoric and more than a match for US President Donald Trump when it comes to delivering uncompromising, table-thumping speeches. However, unlike...

Published in: Article, Asia & Americas, Europe & Russia, International Organisations, Israel, Middle East, NATO, Opinion, Palestine, Turkey, UN, US
January 13, 2018 Yvonne Ridley

Palestinian leaders must be brave and bold

Palestine’s leaders are gathering in Ramallah to thrash out a response to Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Trump made his announcement 32 days ago; what has...

Published in: Article, Asia & Americas, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, UN, US
December 26, 2017

‘The world is creating another Palestine’

The international community must act swiftly on the Rohingya crisis or the world will create another Palestine. That was the stark warning issued by a delegation from the Middle...

Published in: Asia & Americas, Bangladesh, Myanmar, News
December 23, 2017 Yvonne Ridley

The child who knows too much about cruelty in this world

Millions of children around the world will wake up on Christmas Day and rip open their presents and parcels with an enthusiasm that only a child can display. The...

Published in: Article, Asia & Americas, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Opinion