Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Nasim Ahmed
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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 starker:…
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Remembering Israel’s massacre of Palestinians in Kafr Qasem
Israel’s seemingly never-ending drive to uproot Palestinians from their homes by force of arms and threat of imminent slaughter resulted in one of its bloodiest massacres on 29 October 1956 in the village of Kafr Qasem, on the Israeli side of the 1949 Armistice (“Green”) Line. What? Israel’s massacre of…
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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 underway,…
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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 members…
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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 forms;…
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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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Middle East disinformation wars and the battle for narratives in the digital space
The Middle East’s disinformation wars and the battle for narratives in the digital world were discussed in this week’s “MEMO in conversation…” programme. The region has in recent years become a major source of disinformation and a key battlefield in the global information system as regimes not only pit…
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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 accepted…
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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 but…
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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 rounds…
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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 under…
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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 companies,…
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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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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 the…
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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 in…
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US cannot claim to lead the world on combating racism if it continues to support apartheid Israel
The United Nations launched the “World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR),” one of the biggest global initiatives to combat racism in 2001 at a conference in Durban, South Africa. It was a grand project. Built on UN initiatives from the 70s and 80s and symbolically…
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MEMO in conversation with Prof. Norman Finkelstein
Join MEMO for a live conversation with Prof. Norman Finkelstein as we discuss his book ‘Knowing Too Much: Why the American Jewish Romance with Israel is Coming to an End’ in light of Israel’s latest bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Prof. Finkelstein is an American political scientist, activist and author. His primary…
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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 kept…
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MEMO in conversation with Omar Shakir
Following last week’s publication of the report by Human Rights Watch A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution MEMO interviewed the report’s author, Omar Shakir, who is the Israel and Palestine director of the Washington based pre-eminent rights group. Shakir has a long history of covering…
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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 Ais…
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MEMO in conversation with Justin Scheck
MEMO interviewed Wall Street Journal journalist Justin Scheck about his new book ‘Blood and Oil‘ which he co-authored with Bradley Hope. The book traces the meteoric rise of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and exposes his ruthless quest for power. Scheck has been writing about Saudi Arabia since 2016. A graduate of…
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Remembering the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative
What: 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. In exchange for Israel’s complete withdrawal from all territories occupied during the June 1967 Six Day War, the Arab states offered full normalisation of diplomatic ties…
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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 openly…
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MEMO in conversation: Decolonising Israel, Liberating Palestine
MEMO interviewed Israeli peace activist and author Jeff Halper about his latest book: Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine: Zionism, Settler Colonialism and the Case for One Democratic State. The Israeli academic and activist was asked about his personal intellectual journey which led him to becoming an anti-Zionist campaigner before moving onto the…