All posts tagged: Arab

Arab leaders huddle in Saudi Arabia in pushback to Trump’s Gaza plans : NPR

Arab leaders huddle in Saudi Arabia in pushback to Trump’s Gaza plans : NPR

Published by Sam

This handout picture shows (from L) Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein and UAE’s National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al-Nahyan pose for a picture in Riyadh on February 21, 2025. Saudi Royal Palace/AFP via Getty hide caption toggle caption Saudi Royal Palace/AFP via Getty DUBAI — There was no final communique, press conference or details of when the meeting started or ended, in contrast to standard protocol when Arab leaders meet. Instead, a single photo was released on Friday, showing Arab leaders standing shoulder-to-shoulder in Saudi Arabia for what the kingdom called an “informal brotherly gathering”, though with lofty discussion on Gaza’s future. This unusual level of secrecy around the high-level meeting indicates how sensitive these talks are for Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, leaders from other Gulf states, Egypt’s …

Syria and the inevitability of failed transitions in Arab Spring countries

Syria and the inevitability of failed transitions in Arab Spring countries

Published by Sam

Post-Bashar al-Assad Syria is seeking a new equilibrium in an exceptionally complex geopolitical context. The country is partially occupied by two foreign powers and overshadowed by a third. Israel, which has occupied and colonized the Syrian Golan Heights since its conquest in 1967, has extended its influence into the buffer zone established after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The United States has special forces stationed in eastern Syria. To the north, Turkey aspires to create its own buffer zone within Syrian territory. These three countries intend to militarily intervene in Syria as they see fit: Israel, to prevent the reconstruction of a Shiite axis extending into Lebanon; the US, to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State organization; and Turkey, to contain Syrian Kurdish forces it claims are linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), according to Ankara. Read more Subscribers only Syrian refugees returning home, a dilemma for Turkey’s economy These foreign interventions represent the first major obstacle to the establishment of a new order in Damascus, a prerequisite for the restoration of Syrian …

For Arab Americans and Muslims in newly red Dearborn, a mix of defiance, ambivalence, fear

For Arab Americans and Muslims in newly red Dearborn, a mix of defiance, ambivalence, fear

Published by skeptic

DEARBORN, Mich. (RNS and NPR) — Jumana Judeh understands why so many in her Arab American community voted the way they did in last week’s presidential election, even as she had tried to get them to change their mind, endorsing Kamala Harris in the final days before the election. “It wasn’t the outcome that I was hoping for. But at the same time, I think the Arab community got their message across that we could no longer be taken for granted,” said Judeh, a Christian and a Palestinian American. “Even though we’ve paid a heavy price. “I’m scared. I have no clue what Trump is going to do. I don’t think Trump knows what he’s going to do,” she added. Home to one of the largest Arab American communities in the country, Dearborn, Michigan, has long been considered a Democratic stronghold. This election, the city went Republican for the first time since 9/11, with 42% voting for former President Donald Trump and only 36% supporting Vice President Harris. Nearly 1 in 5 voted for third-party …

5 Arab recipes for Orthodox Easter

5 Arab recipes for Orthodox Easter

Published by skeptic

I have been engaged in a clandestine yearslong effort to steal Easter away from my mother, who has hosted the feast our entire lives. It’s not like she does a bad job. In fact, nobody can create a feast as good in as little time. But at some point we all have to let these matriarchs rest. Serve them for a change. And Easter comes with much lower stakes than Thanksgiving or Christmas. Before I go further, I know what you’re thinking: Easter was five weeks ago. Wrong! Due to centuries-old disagreements that are too ridiculous to get into (but you can read more about here), the Orthodox Church often celebrates the holiday on a different Sunday. Here’s my guide to the perfect Easter (or really any spring) feast. It’s all about lamb. That’s the centerpiece. This year, I’ll be cooking my lamb in yogurt with pine nuts and rice, plated over bread. It’s a traditional Jordanian dish called mansaf, and it’s perfect for holidays, big groups and special guests. If you want something similarly …

Arab states reticent as Blinken pushes postwar plan for Gaza

Arab states reticent as Blinken pushes postwar plan for Gaza

Published by Sam

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought to press ahead Monday with plans for securing and rebuilding Gaza once the Israel-Hamas war ends, but reticence among the Arab nations that U.S. officials envision will help oversee the devastated territory underscored the difficulty Washington faces in forging a “day after” blueprint. Source link

As Anger Grows Over Gaza, Arab Leaders Crack Down on Protests

As Anger Grows Over Gaza, Arab Leaders Crack Down on Protests

Published by Sam

Like other governments across the Middle East, Egypt has not been shy about its position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its denunciations of Israel over the war in Gaza are loud and constant. State media outlets broadcast images of long lines of aid trucks waiting to cross from Egypt into Gaza, spotlighting Egypt’s role as the main conduit for aid entering the besieged territory. Earlier this month, however, when hundreds of people gathered in downtown Cairo to demonstrate in solidarity with Gaza, Egyptian security officers swooped in, arresting 14 protesters, according to their lawyer. Back in October, the government had organized pro-Palestinian rallies of its own. Yet at those, too, it detained dozens of people after protesters chanted slogans critical of the government. More than 50 of them remain behind bars, their lawyers say. It was a pattern that has repeated itself around the region since Israel, responding to an attack by Hamas, began a six-month war in Gaza: Arab citizens’ grief and fury over Gaza’s plight running headlong into official repression when that outrage takes …

Arab club sues school over claims their pro-Palestinian views were censored

Arab club sues school over claims their pro-Palestinian views were censored

Published by skeptic

People flutter a Palestinian flag in Lisbon during a Dec. 8, 2023, demonstration in support of the Palestinian people and demanding a cease-fire in Gaza. Armando Franca/AP hide caption toggle caption Armando Franca/AP People flutter a Palestinian flag in Lisbon during a Dec. 8, 2023, demonstration in support of the Palestinian people and demanding a cease-fire in Gaza. Armando Franca/AP Students at a Washington, D.C., public school are suing their principal and the school district over the administration’s censorship of the Arab Student Union’s pro-Palestinian speech, according to the federal lawsuit filed by the the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia. The lawsuit argues that the Jackson-Reed High School students’ rights were violated “because the school does not want their viewpoint—which concerns the ongoing war in Gaza and its effects on the Palestinian people—to be heard.” This lawsuit comes as students at university and college campuses across the country protest for an end to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which erupted after a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 that …

Storm dumps heaviest rain ever recorded in the United Arab Emirates

Storm dumps heaviest rain ever recorded in the United Arab Emirates

Published by skeptic

A man tries to work on his stalled SUV in standing water in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday. Jon Gambrell/AP hide caption toggle caption Jon Gambrell/AP A man tries to work on his stalled SUV in standing water in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday. Jon Gambrell/AP DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Heavy thunderstorms lashed the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, dumping the heaviest rain ever recorded in the country in the span of hours as it flooded out portions of major highways and Dubai’s international airport. The state-run WAM news agency called the rain “a historic weather event” that surpassed “anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949.” That’s before the discovery of crude oil in this energy-rich nation then part of a British protectorate known as the Trucial States. The rains began late Monday, soaking the sands and roadways of Dubai with some 20 millimeters (0.79 inches) of rain, according to meteorological data collected at Dubai International Airport. The storms intensified around 9 a.m. local Tuesday and continued throughout the …

Arab nations express need for restraint following Iranian attack on Israel

Arab nations express need for restraint following Iranian attack on Israel

Published by skeptic

Governments across the Arab world called for de-escalation in tensions between Israel and Iran on Sunday, after Iran launched a large-scale missile barrage on Israel Saturday evening. Iran fired about 350 rockets toward Israel, raising concerns over a regional war after Israel attacked Iranian military leaders in Syria earlier this month. Nearly all the rockets were intercepted in a joint effort by Israel, Jordan and the U.S., with minimal damage inside Israel. The Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry called for the “highest levels of self-restraint” in a statement, while the United Arab Emirates government warned of growing “instability” in the region. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry made a similar warning, urging both Israeli and Iranian leaders “to exercise utmost self-restraint and refrain from provocations that would increase tension and instability in the region.” Shoukry said the conflict between Israel and Iran “has begun taking a dangerous turn as it coincides with the crisis in the Gaza Strip and adds tension to other hot spots in the region,” adding that he spoke to Secretary of State Antony …