The Middle East’s media has gone gaga over Gaza - and rightfully so - but there’s hellish happenings elsewhere in the region that demand their share of world awareness. The brutal tactics against both civilians and military enemies of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are providing some of the internet’s most horrifying images ranging from stonings, suicide bombings, crucifixions and beheadings. So, what is the backstory to the growing unrest that threatens to knock the region back to a pre-Arab Uprising era? Since 9/11, the Western benchmark ...
Arab and Jewish journalists are often suspected of bias when reporting on the Middle East. The Gaza/Israel conflict has thrown a piercing spotlight on this - every word matters, especially when amplified by social media. Reporters are meant to be dispassionate, neutral broadcasters of fact. No cultural allegiances allowed. Park messy emotion and personal point of view; that’s for the intelligent viewer to extract, right? Who are we kidding! Every newspaper, network and blog has its trademark slant. And each attracts writers (and audiences) who echo that perspective. But what ...
Eid Mubarak! This week is Eid al-Fitr - or Little Eid - an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to mark the end of Ramadan. This annual occasion is a multiple-day affair when people are encouraged to forgive and forget any differences, hurts and misunderstandings that may have occurred during the year. It’s a time for communal unity; what’s not to love about that? But is open-heartedness on a grand scale possible given the horrific headlines of the past few weeks? Consider the general escalation in terrorism sponsored by ...
We’ve all had boyfriends who were emotional manipulators; they either turn around situations, where him cheating on you somehow ends up being your fault, or they fight dirty so if you have a headache, they will have a brain tumor, and on top of that they’re excellent guilt mongers. Well, Israel is THAT boyfriend. In its on and off destructive relationship with Palestine, Israel seems to fit the bill for an emotional manipulator. It plays dirty and overplays certain cards to justify its actions against the Palestinians. You're not fooling ...
When celebs take a political stance, the entire world stops and listens - unless you’re Kim Kardashian, they just stop and laugh! Since the beginning of the latest Gaza war some two weeks ago, many A-List celebrities have turned to social media to voice support for either side, whether that be #FreePalestine or a more generic #FreePalestineAndIsrael. Famous people’s opinions matter and can sometimes be entertaining as Israeli model Bar Refaeli demonstrated when she tweeted a quote from President Abraham Lincoln about peace, which turned out to be a line ...