Notions

The Arab League has just cut of ties with Guatemala over the latter’s decision to hand over the strings to Washington and play good by moving its embassy to Jerusalem.  To add insult to injury, the move was made amid protests in the occupied Palestinian territories in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, and the subsequent shooting and killing of dozens of Palestinian protesting in the Gaza Strip.  To add further insult, Paraguay followed suit. The decision to enrage the international community at large and risk severing ties with Arab and Muslim nations is likely attributed to the art of cajolement. Praise Washington and Tel Aviv for their efforts to establish peace and justice, and support such rhetoric with tactless actions. In short, to stay in America’s good books, kiss up to Israel on diplomatic and economic levels.   Jimmy Morales, Guatemala’s President, said his country was sending a message of "love, peace and fraternity" to Is...

An article published in  Medium  on 14 May entitled '6 Things not to say to Circassians on  21 May' provokes a comeback answer to each of the 6 taboos. The author might as well have invited readers to dissect and critique each nationalism-drenched word included in the 6 bullet points. On the occasion of commemorating the Circassian genocide and exodus  - Circassian Day of Mourning  - on 21 May, a polite yet naïve request came in by a Circassian-history-revival activist in the form of do nots .  The author argued that the following statements not only infuriate fellow Circassians, but are also void of precision, morality, and empathy. I beg to differ. First, the 6 commandment -nots …the 6 not-to-say-phrases.    I think it’s time to get over it. 1763–1864? Isn’t that ages ago? There are other issues in the world. You should just be proud of your current citizenship/country of residence. Isn’t this too much na...

    The final results of Iraqi parliamentary elections are expected today. Again, the timing is perfect for reaching a consensual arrangement between political leaders over the governance of sectarian-torn Iraq. The current Prime Minister Haidar Al Abadi has received a substantial setback with his bloc´s trailing in third place after Muqtada Al Sader´s Saeroun list and Hadi Al Amiri´s Fatah list. Now, Iraq might see the formation of a government that is led by a Shiite force linked with an anti-US AND anti-Iran controversial figure. Al Sader might be positioned to rule from the back scenes and bring peace to a country that has been ruined by invented religious and ethnic divisions. Years of rebellion have led the young cleric to reach a stage of maturity and stability in his political and ideological discourses. Once a founder of a militia that fought off the US invasion, and a close ally to Tehran´s political elite, Al Sadr had metamorphosed into a nationalist leade...

A Saudi jpournalist published on his personal Twitter account last week an insanely provocative phrase that stated: 'If Israel attacked Iran and war erupted between the two countries, then I would support Israel mindfully and heart-fully, considering that our primary enemy is Iran and not Israel. Arabs of the north must know that'. Three interesting words were employed by the Saudi journalist in his insightful tweet: mental, emotional, and primary. Let us start with mental and emotional capacities first before moving to the equally astute observation regarding the prioritisation of enemies. Unlike social relations that are formed and broken upon the discretion and judgement of individuals who enjoy full liberty in managing their personal affairs, relations between nations are not. Whilst laws that regulate social relations could be manipulated to one´s own benefit based on his/her whims, laws that govern diplomatic relations are vigorously guarded to ensure t...

On 12 May, American President Donald Trump will decide whether the United States will pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA): the international deal with Iran over its nuclear programme. But the United States will leave.  Just Called Pour an Obvious Adieu. The timing of the awaited decision is no coincidence. First, it will come less than a week after the Lebanese elections would have been celebrated. As has been predicted, Iran´s proxy Shiite militia in Lebanon – dubbed Lebanese political organisation, won considerable votes at the May parliamentary elections. Indeed, Hezbollah political bloc’s gains came at the expense of the Saudi backed Future Movement, which lost one-third of its seats. Naturally there was finger pointing and conspiracy theories regarding schemes to eliminate the Future party from the political process. Most likely, Sunni forces in the region will take a free ride on the Shiite-danger-blame train.   Second, the I...

On 14 May, Israel will celebrate 70 years of independence. On that day, the United States is also expected to move its embassy to Jerusalem in the spirit of celebrations amongst Israelis, and mourning of Palestinians who are reminded of the Nakba: the day they lost their land 7 decades ago. To mark the upcoming occasion, an Israeli senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs official spoke to Al-Monitor regarding Israel’s historical narrative at 70 years of independence, indicating that Israel´s democratic existence in a region of autocratic regimes bestows further legitimacy to the imminent   festivities. Plus, Donald Trump has endorsed Israel’s right to be recognised by the Palestinians as the homeland of the Jewish people. Yes, Trump´s statement seals the deal and provides the missing and crucial conformation of the Jewishness of Israel and the Jerusalemness of its capital. It is interesting how the official´s enlightening proclamation came right after his/her reiteratio...

Inspite of seeing her making out passionately with another man at the staircase, he decided to ignore the issue, but confront – and prosecute – her for the affair she had 10 years ago. I was advised* to start off with a sexy tone to lure readers into skimming through…I hope that was sexy enough, albeilt the unappealing context of this article.   Now, the hot affair is a perfect analogy for what has happened between The Netherlands and Turkey following the famous Armenian genocide recognition vote. On 22 February, the lower house of the Dutch Parliament approved a motion that recognises the Armenian genocide of 1915 by the Ottoman Empire. According to Christin Union parliamentarian Joel Voordewind, The Netherlands ¨cannot deny history out of fear of sanctions. Our country houses the capital of international law after all, so we must not be afraid to do the right thing here too".  "We are acknowledging history", he said. Turkey obviously was li...