Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Nasim Ahmed
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What would a non-colonial State of Israel look like?
The tension between democracy and ethnocracy goes to the heart of the Israeli narrative. The founders of the state believed that they were laying the foundations of a democratic state, one that would devote itself to the benefit of “all its people”. Its Declaration of Independence was clear that it…
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63% of a British audience would prefer to cut ties with Saudi Arabia
A night of compelling debate at the Emmanuel Centre in Westminster on Monday evening concluded with 63 per cent of the 1,000-strong audience voting for the motion that “The West should cut ties with Saudi Arabia”. The debate was organised by Intelligence Squared and began with a not insignificant 37…
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Is Labour’s anti-Semitism row fuelled by pro-Israel online ‘guerrilla warriors’?
The Labour Party in Britain has been dogged by allegations of anti-Semitism ever since Jeremy Corbyn’s victory in the 2015 leadership contest. The crisis has since threatened to tear the party apart. Now, though, what appears to be an organised campaign to fuel the row has been uncovered, raising concerns…
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How far will Saudi Arabia go to make sure that Bin Salman survives?
A Saudi campaign to save Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman has been gaining momentum since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on 2 October. With each passing day, the likelihood that he will survive the biggest crisis to hit the Kingdom since the 9/11 terrorist attacks — 15 of the…
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Profile: Jamal Khashoggi (22 January 1958 – 2 October 2018)
It would be impossible to say for certain the words Jamal Khashoggi would have conveyed to the world if, by some miracle, he became aware that they were going to be his last. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, the final article by the slain Washington Post journalist encapsulates what…
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Palestine Land Day remembered
What: Palestine Land Day (Yawm Al-Ard) When: 30 March What happened? On 30 March 1976 thousands of Palestinians from towns and villages in the Galilee region, northern Israel, marched in protest against an Israeli order to confiscate land belonging to indigenous communities in the area. The equivalent of 2,000 hectares…
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Remembering the October War
On 6 October 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a military campaign to reclaim territories they had lost to Israel six years earlier in 1967. The countries fought for 19 days until a UN resolution brought hostilities to an end on 25 October. What: October War When: 6 October – 25…
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Remembering the Iran-Iraq War
Thirty-seven years ago this week the longest and one of the bloodiest wars seen in the 20th century began, when Iraq launched a full scale invasion of Iran. The two countries fought for eight years with an estimated one million dead and over a trillion dollars in damages. Hostilities ended…
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Remembering Israel’s deadly assault on the humanitarian Freedom Flotilla
On 31 May 2010, Israeli commandos attacked a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid and activists to Gaza. The assault took place in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine civilians were killed by the Israeli soldiers. What: Sea and airborne assault on the Freedom Flotilla When: 31 May 2010…
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Remembering the Nakba
In 1948, the state of Israel was born following the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians by Israeli forces. What: The Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) When: 15 May 1948 Where: Palestine What Happened? On 14 May 1948, David Ben-Gurion, the executive head of the World Zionist Organisation, declared the establishment…
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Explained: Netanyahu’s media corruption scandal
Things probably could not get any worse for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Bruised from the defeat at the UN Security Council and battered by US Secretary of State John Kerry last week in an unprecedented speech from any senior US official, Netanyahu was thought to be holding out for…
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Palestine Book Awards 2016: Awarding literary talent
The fifth annual Palestine Book Awards took place on Friday in the presence of leading figures from the political, academic and literary communities. Thousands also joined in via social media for the unveiling of the winners of 2016 Palestine Book Awards and to hear Professor Salim Vally give his keynote…
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BDS is a crime, claims Michael Gove, but the ICJ disagrees
According to the Conservative MP Michael Gove, anyone involved in the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel “is committing a crime worse than apartheid.” His remark was made in New York during a speech at the third annual gala celebrating the top 100 People “Positively Influencing Jewish Life”…
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The Knesset Speaker denies political freedom to non-Jews but is still feted in Westminster
Yuli Edelstein is a member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party as well as the Speaker of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset; he also happens to be addressing British MPs this evening. Edelstein is a hardliner; a proud settler whose daily life involves breaking international law. He is visiting Britain at…
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US Democrats criticise Terrorism Designation Bill to ban the Muslim Brotherhood
America’s House Judiciary Committee approved legislation on Wednesday to add the Muslim Brotherhood to the US list of banned foreign terrorist organisations. The bill was introduced initially by Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz last year; it was approved by 17 votes to 10. It now requires the Secretary of State…
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UK survey on British Muslims cites Palestine as major issue
Few would have been surprised by many of the findings in a new survey commissioned by 5Pillars on the views of “influential British Muslims”. Billed as the “Normative Islam Report”, the survey sampled 150 influential Muslims from a cross-section of British Muslim communities. This included Sunni and Shite participants, as…
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Is Bernie Sanders a civil rights campaigner or a loyal supporter of Israel?
Standing metres from Martin Luther King during a Civil Rights march must have been a proud moment for the young Bernie Sanders. One can imagine the now veteran US senator sensing the gravity of the situation, burdened by duty and moral obligation to bring an end to centuries of legalised…
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Iraq’s religious split: 7th century issues or 21st century political fallout?
This is the second article of a two part series examining the Iraqi revolution and the five years that followed it. Part I looks at Iraq after the Arab Spring. Read Part I here. The Arab Spring reinforced a number of popular assumptions about the Middle East. None, however, has…
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Iraq after the Arab Spring
This is the first article of a two part series examining the Iraqi revolution and the five years that followed it. Part II looks at Iraq’s ancient Sunni-Shia division . Read Part II here. The Arab Spring carried with it the Middle East’s hopes, dreams and aspirations. Like its cousins…
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The politics behind the flight of Christians from the Holy Land
In Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, Christmas has very special significance, with services and processions by all of the Christian denominations, including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Ethiopian and Armenian. Celebrations stretch over more days than usual as some of the denominations celebrate on different days. The festive period will…
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Another iniquitous division of the Middle East maybe no better than a Daesh caliphate
One recurring theme during last week’s House of Common’s debate on airstrikes in Syria that merits far greater attention than it’s been given is the “imaginary line in the sand” between Syria and Iraq. In fact it’s gone completely under the radar, with barely any follow up conversation about its…
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Cameron’s case for bombing Syria is more political grandstanding than comprehensive strategy
I was probably not alone in wanting to be surprised by British Prime Minister David Cameron as he made the case for air strikes against Daesh/ISIS in Syria to a packed parliament on Thursday. I was hoping that he would succeed where others have failed by setting out a coherent…
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BDS has to be taken more seriously than Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson’s privileged upbringing may have rescued him from the ignominy of life as a jester, but his talent for buffoonery hasn’t gone entirely to waste in his political career. If anything, London’s mayor and Uxbridge/South Ruislip MP carries it as a badge of honour to tackle opponents head on,…
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Urgent question raised in parliament about Al-Sisi’s visit to Britain
On Tuesday, October 27, a full-page advertisement appeared in The Guardian, announcing the support of more than 300 UK-based scholars for an academic boycott of Israel. A week on, the list of supporters had grown to some 600. Criticism from the usual suspects was immediate, with condemnation by the Israeli…