A grimly fascinating tale in the New York Times about an enterprising Lebanese man who has opened a flash restaurant in Baghdad: Mr. Hage, 51, is the most updated version of an old Lebanese story, that of a diaspora known for its willingness to follow commerce where it leads. Simply put, for a decade, he…
Showing all posts tagged Lebanon
Hizbollah being part of the furniture
The new law of the Middle East; the harder you’re hit by Israel the more popular and resilient you’ll become: Hezbollah has opened its first permanent museum atop a wooded hill here that was strategic territory in a 2006 war with Israel, the latest step in the group’s evolution from a band of militants to…
Lebanon may soon treat Palestinians with respect
The Arab world has tolerated Palestinian refugees for decades but often treated them with contempt; this must change and soon. Here’s a possible shift: Despite some contentious rhetoric in Parliament on Tuesday, a turning point appears to have arrived in a decades-long battle to secure sufficient political backing to approve key civil rights for Palestinians…
Self-criticism must start at home
An intriguing piece, by an Israeli reservist major, that at least acknowledges the direction his country is heading. Is it too much to ask more in the Zionist Diaspora to speak out and demand the Israeli government change path? This hardening of the heart is not limited to our leaders. They, after all, merely reflect…
Give us something to love, please, pleads Zionists
One of the undoubted successes of the Gaza flotilla has been highlighting the humanitarian crisis inside the Strip. It’s real; I saw it with my own eyes last year. With news that Iran may escort further aid ships to Gaza – let’s not even think about how Tel Aviv would deal with that – it’s…
Blair suddenly shows some care for Gaza
Tony Blair, the man behind the Iraq war, Lebanon war and Gaza war, now calls for the lifting of the siege on Gaza. But these comments are simply delusional. Hope left Gaza many years ago: What is important is that we don’t end up with people [in Gaza] losing hope for the future, alienating young…
A writer loathed by the Zionist establishment
My following article appears in this week’s Green Left Weekly: American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein Directed by David Ridgen & Nicolas Rossier Baraka Productions Review by Antony Loewenstein Jewish critics of Israel are as old as the ideology itself. Zionism was regarded by most Jews in Europe as an idealistic delusion before the…
Washington and the Muslim world, a testy relationship
Views from across the Arab world: We are now approaching the first anniversary of President Barack Obama’s June 4, 2009 speech in Cairo, which offered Arabs and Muslims around the world a new “engagement” with the United States. A year later, how do Arab publics see the results of that effort–and how much do their…
Hizbollah must be quaking in their boots
The US empire contributes greatly to peace and security in the Middle East: U.S. gives some stylish new bikes to Lebanon
Daddy Zionist, tell me about the day we fought Tehran
What fun-loving Israelis do on the weekend, imagine war scenarios with a nuclear-armed Iran: A nuclear-armed Iran would blunt Israel’s military autonomy, a wargame involving former Israeli generals and diplomats has concluded, though some players predicted Tehran would also exercise restraint. Sunday’s event at a campus north of Tel Aviv followed other high-profile Iran simulations…