Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Dr Yvonne Ridley
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Europe’s matrix of indifference
I am angry, and have been for days. This time the reason was not the catastrophic, bleeding injustice of what is happening day after day to our Palestinian brothers and sisters in the Middle East. They will understandably sigh at our domestic plight, given their immense pain, suffering and the…
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My map is not ‘half-seen’, Karam Nama; it’s focused sharply
I read Karam Nama’s commentary on my article, “The cowards’ playbook”, published by MEMO last week, with interest. While I appreciate his generous words regarding my past work and physical courage, I fear that he has missed the point of my article. Moreover, I think that he misunderstands what true…
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The cowards’ playbook: Why today’s prisoners expose the political cowardice of Muslim regimes
There is a pathetic, recurring sickness plaguing the halls of power across the Muslim world. Insecure regimes terrified of the ballot box and hollowed out by their own economic incompetence, have defaulted to the ultimate cowards’ weapon: the prison cell. From North Africa to South Asia and into the fragmented…
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Syria has sacrificed the soul of the revolution by arresting Bilal Abdul Kareem
The Syrian revolution was fought to tear down a police state, not to replace it with a replica under a different banner. Today, Assad’s dungeons of Damascus may have been replaced by the security apparatus of Ahmed al-Sharaa (aka Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham – HTS), but the…
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Forget Truman’s dog: The devastating new price of friendship with Tel Aviv
“If you want a friend in Washington, buy a dog,” former US President Harry Truman said once. His classic line has just got a modern, satirical upgrade, though. A quick-witted colleague recently wondered what the late president would say about courting Israel today. The answer? If you want a friend…
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The Lion of Batna: A general who out-marched power
Courage and integrity are rarely mentioned in the same breath when it comes to discussing Arab rulers and what are essential qualities of leadership. The current crop at the top tend not to measure up in terms of either of them. As if the war in Gaza wasn’t a daily…
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Iran: Beware the Western propaganda
There’s lots of disinformation being pushed out about the protests in Iran, and while the crisis is probably as great as it was in 1979, there is not yet any done deal. The fact that a former prince — no, not that one — in exile in the US is…
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Secret Israeli pact ‘lies behind threat to dissidents and Gulf status quo’
Israel is behind a secret pact with the United Arab Emirates to destroy Saudi Arabia’s role as the Gulf’s regional powerbroker. The astonishing claim is just one of a series of sensational statements made by a senior Arab royal whistle blower to Middle East Monitor on Tuesday evening. The news…
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Kuwait is facing an unprecedented crisis that threatens its stability
While most Middle East analysts are focused on genocide in the Gaza Strip, another regional arena is experiencing major turmoil away from the spotlight, thanks to a ruling family long accustomed to keeping its internal affairs hidden behind a veil of secrecy. Kuwait, the Gulf state once known for its…
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If left unchecked, Abu Shabab’s Israel-backed militia promises nothing but disaster for Gaza
The large family of an Israeli agent in Gaza has thrown itself on the mercy of the Palestinian people after it emerged that one of their sons had betrayed them all in an unforgivable act of treachery. Rafah-born gangster Yasser Abu Shabab enjoyed relative anonymity as a drug dealer in…
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Israel has no right to exist – show me the law that says it does!
Last thing at night and first thing in the morning I check my live feeds for news from Gaza. It’s a depressing job I’ve done for nearly 600 days and it usually ends in tears. Mine! Tears for Gaza, tears for the destruction of Palestine, tears for the babies, tears…
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A musical revolution over Palestine is radicalising Arab youth
The genocide in Gaza has triggered a movement in global youth culture not seen since the incendiary climate of the late 1970s. This musical phenomenon has also provoked a Zionist-led media frenzy, driven by hysteria and moral panic last evidenced when Punk rock burst onto the music scene. Scholars in…
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Bin Salman’s shame as Arabs dance while Gaza burns
The Arab world must not and cannot remain silent any longer. It is, after all, this very silence that has allowed the slaughter of Palestinians to take place in Gaza these past 550 days. It’s very easy to criticise Britain and remind everyone why the Union Flag is known around…
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Leila Khaled: Bold, brave and beautiful
It is with great sadness that I am writing this article about an amazing woman whose life in this world must be remembered for its drama, courage and determination. Her name is Leila Khaled and she was a source of inspiration and admiration for thousands of bewildered teenage girls in…
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Marching may not save Gaza, but voting can
Voters have no idea of their own power and most democratically-elected politicians in the world hope it stays that way. If they could eliminate the voting process in the world’s democracies, it would certainly suit the agenda of some very powerful people who do some very bad things. Looking at…
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Trump, Starmer and Netanyahu are a triumvirate of evil
The Zionist state is on the verge of economic collapse and many of its citizens are leaving, but shush, don’t tell anyone. In fact, no one is talking about this, certainly not in Tel Aviv or Israel’s friends in the Western media, in case it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. There…
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Israel not only weaponises humanitarian aid, but also criminalises those who deliver it
During Ramadan, I tend to put down my pen and spend most working hours supporting charities operating in Palestine. These NGOs are not that popular with Labour’s liberal lefties who are afraid of helping anything or anyone linked to Gaza, such is the unrelenting intimidation from the Zionist lobby. I…
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Is Starmer waiting for a Christchurch-style atrocity in Britain before taking Islamophobia seriously?
I am a Muslim. People say I don’t look like one, but then again what does a Muslim look like? We are not all olive or brown skinned, and unless men wear a specific hat, and women cover their head with a hijab, and both wear traditional (in the Muslim…
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Israel and its supporters struggle to hide behind the last fig leaf of decency
The UK’s Queen Victoria (1819-1901) commissioned a fig leaf to cover Michelangelo’s statue of David because she was said to be shocked by the nudity. Ever since then the humble fig leaf has been used as a euphemism to censor, protect and control what society can see, read or think.…
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We should never side with dictators, urges US presidential wannabee: Really?
“We must choose a side, and it should never be the side of dictators.” It’s a simple enough statement, but when you examine the background of the person who has just said it you have to wonder if wilful blindness is becoming a contagion among America’s political elite. Either that…
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The Scots and Palestinians are cut from the same cloth
The pettiness of Zionist groups and their ability to claim “terrorism” at every turn, never ceases to amaze me. Nor does their pathological pursuit of anything and anyone pro-Palestine. Just the other day I was at a fundraising event for Gaza where the host wore a striking tartan on his…
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It’s back to the future, as Nazi-neocon insanity prompts Trump’s ethnic cleansing plan
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This enduring quote is commonly attributed to the late genius Albert Einstein. Decades after his death in 1955, politicians are still rediscovering his meaning today as they reinvent government policies while proclaiming their newfound passion for…
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Hind Rajab is indeed the Anne Frank of the Gaza Genocide
Every day in Palestine is an anniversary marking a tragedy or killing that is so horrific that it stops people in their tracks around the world. This article is a reminder, lest we forget. Anniversaries provide an opportunity to look back on shared experiences, both positive and negative, and appreciate…
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The privilege of dying in the West and the Gaza child with no name
My mother died last night. Joyce Ridley and her 98 years are gone forever, but definitely not forgotten by the three generations she left behind. Since I posted the news on Facebook — that’s how we communicate such sad news these days — I’ve been inundated with instant messages of…