2024 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 December 2024 Hayat Tahrir al-Sham : An ideological conversion under the microscope Patrick Haenni, Sarra Grira , Sylvain Cypel · December 2024 The jihadi background of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the faction behind the offensive which brought down Bashar al-Assad’s regime, has prompted many observers to regard it as little more than a reincarnation of al-Qaida. However the group’s governing experience since 2017 in Idlib has brought (…) Israel: Open season on “bad Jews” Sylvain Cypel · December 2024 Laws and ministerial decrees against Palestinians are being passed at top speed. As in any apartheid system it is absolutely official that there is one set of laws for them and another for Israelis. But now, such measures are also being extended to Israeli Jews. Men and women who oppose the (…) Middle-East: “These wars act as an accelerator of our own fascism” Peter Harling · December 2024 In addition to their repercussions for Gaza, the events of 7 October 2023 have caused an upheaval throughout the Middle East, with consequences most visible in Lebanon and Syria. But while geopolitical rhetoric is superabundant, Peter Harling, founder of “Synaps”, analyses these events in terms (…) Iraq. Much hangs on the census Héloïse Wiart · December 2024 In November 2024 Iraq held its first national census since 1987. It will determine the distribution of seats in parliament, the allocation of budgetary resources and the control of contested oil-rich areas, all of which are sources of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, capital of Iraqi (…) November 2024 Iraq. Karbala, safe haven for Lebanese refugees Héloïse Wiart · November 2024 Several thousand Lebanese Shi’i, fleeing Israeli bombing, have found refuge in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala, one of the most sacred places in Shi’i Islam and the site of Imam Hussein’s shrine. The population has gone out of its way to welcome them, with the backing of powerful Shi’i (…) Kamel Daoud’s fascination for the far right Faris Lounis · November 2024 Labelled once and for all a “progressive writer”, Kamel Daoud is sure to see his novel “Houris” occupy pride of place in the media this autumn, regardless of its literary merits. While it is important to combat the conservative and fundamentalist circles in Algeria where the author is called a (…) To keep Palestine and Lebanon in the headlines, support Orient XXI! · November 2024 Will Gaza disappear from the headlines again? With Israel extending the scope of its aggression to Lebanon, media interest in the situation in this 360 km² strip is waning, despite the fact that the official death toll of 43,000 has now been exceeded : in fact it is much higher. Barely worth (…) Multinationals in Europe Continue to Flout International Law in Israel’s Occupied Territories Daniel Brown, Emma Tatham · November 2024 Airbnb and other multinational companies normalize and profit from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, contributing to human rights violations and breaches of international law against Palestinians. October 2024 Israel versus the UN: an old story Sylvain Cypel · October 2024 Powerless though it may be, the United Nations is Netanyahu’s bête noire, for it represents international law. Its agencies, its peacekeeping troops in Lebanon are under attack, verbally and physically. Even Emmanuel Macron, timid though he is when it comes to the Gaza massacres, was taken to (…) The United Arab Emirates take a risky but winning gamble in the Middle East Fatiha Dazi-Héni · October 2024 The official visit to Washington by the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ), which took place between the 23rd and 26th of September 2024 amidst an explosive situation in the Middle East, enabled the Emirati ruler to position himself as a key strategic Arab partner (…) Egypt. Mostafa Madbouly, the man disfiguring Cairo Ibrahim Ezzeldin · October 2024 While the big construction sites and the new administrative capital (New Cairo) are the flagship projects of the Sissi era in Egypt, they are in fact the work of a self-effacing but determined man: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. An urbanist by profession, he managed to adapt enough to the (…) Gaza - Lebanon : The Western World’s War Alain Gresh, Sarra Grira · October 2024 How far will Tel Aviv go? Not content with having reduced Gaza to rubble, and perpetrating a genocide there, Israel is now extending its operations to neighbouring Lebanon with the same methods, the same massacres, the same destruction, secure in the unwavering support of its Western backers, (…) Elections in Jordan: The parties’ return to parliament Camille Abescat · October 2024 On 10 September 2024, Jordanians went to the polls to elect their MPs. Both the regional situation and the new electoral law influenced the results, and consequently the Muslim Brotherhood did very well. The Hashemite Monarchy is trying to find its way between people’s expectations, its own (…) Palestine. The Right to be Like Any Other People Mostafa Barghouti · October 2024 In this text, Mostafa Barghouthi draws up the macabre balance sheet of the last year and clearly announces what awaits the Palestinians if nothing is done: the annexation of the rest of the occupied territories, the continuation of apartheid and the completion of ethnic cleansing. While (…) Anxiety-Depressive Disorders: Tunisians at The End of Their Tether Rihab Boukhayatia · October 2024 A steep rise in the number of consultations and hospitalisations for anxiety-depressive disorders, skyrocketing sales of psychotropics. Tunisians are clearly in a bad way. And as far as health care is concerned, they are not all in the same boat. Since the beginning of 2024, the Razi (…) September 2024 France, Pessac. A classic example of governmental Islamophobia Rayan Freschi · September 2024 On the pretext of making the country safe for the Olympic games, and of repressing anti-Semitism, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched a campaign of administrative controls, home detentions and deportations, upsetting the lives of hundreds of people, some of whom have never been found (…) Psychotherapy in Morocco: an arduous journey fraught with exploitation and extortion Mohammed Nejjari · September 2024 Faced with a health structure unable to care for them, many patients suffering from psychological disorders or mental illnesses in Morocco turn to “alternative” methods. Taking advantage of their desperation and superstitious beliefs, which are still widespread, con artists do not hesitate to (…) Jordan. The Easiest Solution: Why medication dominates psychotherapy? Abeer Juan · September 2024 In Jordan, doctors tend to treat anxiety and depression disorders with pills, rather than drawing on the arsenal of psychotherapy or psychoanalysis. The reasons for this all-medication approach? A whole range of causes, from a lack of public funding to a lack of conviction on the part of the (…) Kuwait. Parliament’s suspension jeopardizes an exception in the Gulf Claire Beaugrand · September 2024 Mechaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who became Emir in December 2023, dissolved a rebellious parliament and suspended several articles of the constitution last May. In a regional context of strengthening authoritarianism, the Emir intends to use the end of Kuwaiti parliamentarism to justify the (…) The Gaza War in comparative perspective Hicham Alaoui · September 2024 After an 11-month war against Gaza, Israel and its American ally are hesitating about what to do next. Meanwhile, the entire Middle East region is shaken, as each of the regional players seeks its place in an unstable context. The latest war in Gaza is unlike previous struggles between Israel (…) August 2024 Palestine: Europe’s Cold Feet Faced With Israel and the USA Isabelle Avran · August 2024 In May 2024 three members of the European Union – Spain, Ireland and Slovenia, plus non-members Armenia and Norway – recognised the State of Palestine. The other members remain despairingly apathetic. The EU has taken no initiative to obtain at least a lasting cease-fire in Gaza and end of the (…) Arab World: Mental Health, a Political Issue Léonard Sompairac · August 2024 According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one person in eight has a mental health problem, especially one of the anxious or depressive type. This situation has worsened since 2020 and the Covid 19 pandemic. But if the whole world is crazy, isn’t it normal that we ourselves should be (…) Gaza. Montreal Students Use Divestment to Sanction Israel Farah Mekki · August 2024 Though the student camp on the McGill University campus protesting the genocidal war in Gaza was dismantled early in July, its existence made it possible to expose the financial and academic ties between that institution and Israel. Ties which the students and many faculty members of both the (…) Mental Health Treatment in Algeria. The Talisman and the Couch Ghada Hamrouche, Ghania Khelifi · August 2024 Algeria’s mental health system is under strain and seems stuck in the past, lacking the impetus required to meet the needs of a society undergoing transformation and whose needs are immense. The mental health system is under stress and seems frozen in the past, lacking the impetus needed to (…) The Struggle for Mental Health Care in Lebanon’s Multiple Crisis Setting Layla Yammine · August 2024 The multiplication of crises experienced by Lebanon since the end of the year 2019 has not only economic and social consequences, but also — or even above all — psychological ones. Some awareness of this priority seems to be emerging, but the increase in poverty is making access to healthcare (…) Gaza. The Shifting Contours of the Lebanese Political Scene Sarra Grira · August 2024 Like many other Arab countries, Lebanon has not seen huge demonstrations in support of Palestine. But October 7 attack and the armed clashes that have taken place since then between Hezbollah and Israel on both sides of the border have partially modified the national political scene, the (…) Iraq. Mental Health Between Wars, Drugs and Unemployment Mizar Kemal · August 2024 Over the last forty years, Iraq has suffered four major conflicts, a 13-year embargo and several civil wars. The psychological consequences of this instability are ravaging Iraqi society, but people suffering from mental illness remain highly stigmatised. And the health response is neither (…) July 2024 For the Syrian Regime, ‘Everything Must Go, the People and All They Own’ Nina Chastel · July 2024 Not content with arresting, torturing and killing its people on a grand scale, the Bashar Al-Assad regime also seized its people’s possessions. With three goals in mind: filling the coffers of the State, making high-ranking members of the power structure even richer and preventing the return of (…) The Silent Malaise: Facing Alcoholism in Iran Alireza Ghandriz, Mahmoud Sadri, Phillip Pierce · July 2024 The production of both fermented and distilled alcohol flourished in Iran before the Islamic Republic imposed a strict prohibition in 1979. But repression failed to fully stop alcohol consumption. Smuggling rapidly proliferated, as did the local production of adulterated alcohol, so much so that (…) British Elections and the Gaza War Helen Lackner · July 2024 By contrast with the surprise parliamentary elections in France, those in the UK planned on July 4th were due this year. In the context of mass mobilisations in solidarity with Gaza since October 2023, the political field is recomposed. The Labour Party and its leader Keir Starmer, likely to (…) June 2024 Saudi Silence in the Face of Houthi Adventurism Jo Montagne · June 2024 After leading a particularly deadly military campaign in Yemen since 2015, and getting bogged down in it, Saudi leaders have changed their tone. For the past six months, faced with operations in support of Gaza by their Houthi enemies in the Red Sea, the Saudis seem petrified. They are careful (…) Presidential Elections in Algeria: Full Speed Ahead … to Nowhere Jean-Pierre Sereni · June 2024 Of the seven chiefs of State who have ruled Algeria since the country’s independence 62 years ago, the present and future president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, 79, will indisputably have been the most insignificant and least active. More reason for him to covet a second term of office on 7 September! (…) Israel’s Impunity, France’s Complicity Alain Gresh, Sarra Grira · June 2024 Too little, too late. How else to describe the wariness of Emmanuel Macron’s declarations dealing with the ongoing genocidal war in the Gaza Strip He began by mouthing a pious wish which rang only too false: ‘Israel’s operations in Rafah must cease.’ But contrary to what the French president (…) May 2024 The Shadow of the International Criminal Court Hangs Over Israel’s Rulers Rafaëlle Maison · May 2024 Updated. On Monday, May 20 the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor issued requests for international arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant for their penal responsibility in committing war crimes and crimes against (…) She’s a correspondent in Palestine. ‘Their goal is to keep us out of the picture’ Clothilde Mraffko · May 2024 One hundred and three Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza: Israel is far from being a paradise for critical voices, as shown by the country’s recent downgrading in Reporters without Borders’ press freedom ranking. As for the dominant rhetoric in the European media, it often excludes (…) Tunisia: Media Under Pressure Lilia Blaise · May 2024 Since 25 July 2021, freedom of the press is dwindling in Tunisia. Pressure is brought to bear on journalists critical of the government, new laws are passed with an eye to criminalising their reporting activities, it has become impossible to communicate with the authorities… These are some of (…) From Tel Aviv to Haifa: ‘Do you believe this is the end of Israel?’ Jean Stern · May 2024 After six months of war in Gaza, Israeli opinion is wracked with fear, wondering about what comes next in a country where the messianic far right is agitating in favour of ethnic cleansing. As for the left, it is hard-pressed to find its way, while the public freedoms of Israeli Palestinians are (…) April 2024 Egypt: The Shawarma Dispute Dalia Chams · April 2024 They can be seen everywhere those thin slices of meat, grilled on a rotating vertical spit. A globalised and fascinating dish, the shawarma is an object of exchange but also one of discord. In Cairo, it has become the symbol of an identitarian rejection of immigrants, particularly those from (…) In Palestine, Rebellious Nablus Refuses to Bow Down Jean Stern · April 2024 Cut off from the world by the occupation, hemmed in by the many colonies, this big city in the northern West Bank looks on sorrowfully while Gazan society is demolished by the Israeli army. Nablus embodies a certain art of living but also the spirit of Palestinian resistance, and its population (…) The Campaign Against TikTok or the Rivalry of Hypocrites Martine Bulard · April 2024 Armed conflicts are also conflicts between narratives. The social networks play an active role and they are all controlled by US groups, with a single exception: China’s TikTok. For years now Democrats and Republicans have been trying to bring it into the US fold or ban it. The latest pretext is (…) March 2024 Egypt Stalls for Time and Refuses to Reconsider its Relations with Israel Chérif Ayman · March 2024 Since 7 October 2023, Egypt has been spectacularly silent about events in Gaza. Not only have the public turnout and the media coverage been feeble, but Cairo seems to bow down to Israel’s dictates concerning the entries and exits to Gaza of persons and humanitarian aid via Rafah. Although a (…) Turkey and Israel: The Endurance of an Ambiguous Relationship Jean Marcou · March 2024 While the war on Gaza led to a verbal escalation between Ankara and Tel Aviv, relations between Israel and Turkey have survived, given the strong links and similarities between the two countries. Turkey’s first reaction to the unleashing of Israel’s war on Gaza surprised observers by its (…) The Hushed Ordeal of Palestinian Women Meriem Laribi · March 2024 On March 4, the UN released a report on the rapes and sexual aggression on Israeli women perpetrated on October 7. While this text encountered a vast echo in the media, another UN report was not so fortunate. It dealt with the treatment of Palestinian women, in particular the rapes and sexual (…) Egypt 1906: Denshawai or the Peasants’ Forgotten Resistance Didier Inowlocki · March 2024 For today’s Egyptians, the incident that occurred at Denshawai in the British Egypt of 1906 is still a symbol of national resistance to colonial brutality. But the narrative of the event, constructed mainly by colonial and national elites, neglects the long history of Egyptian peasants’ (…) The Twists and Turns of China’s Strategy Martine Bulard · March 2024 A few days after the attacks of 7 October 2023, a delegation from the Arab countries landed in Beijing at the same time as the latter’s special envoy for the Middle East began a grand tour of the region. All eyes were turned towards China which had recognised the State of Palestine since 1988. (…) February 2024 In Marseille, the Gaza Tragedy Calls to Mind the History of Anti-Arab Racism Sophie Boutière-Damahi · February 2024 In the 1970s, immigrant workers in Marseille turned out in large numbers to demonstrate their support for Palestine. In 1973 the city was also the focus of an unprecedented wave of racist crimes. Today, when the left-wing city government maintains its contribution to UNRWA, various initiatives (…) Gaza: Serious Static on the Line in the French communist Party Jean Stern · February 2024 Many French Communists are worried about what they see as the squeamishness of their party’s riposte since 7 October. And they also say that if a part of their leadership is adopting a low profile on solidarity with Gaza, it is mostly to prepare the membership for a change of line in the (…) A Slap in the Face for Israel at the International Court of Justice Rafaëlle Maison · February 2024 Although the order handed down on 26 January 2024 by the International Court of Justice in the case opposing South Africa and Israel does not call for a cease-fire, it does consider the possibility that the Gaza offensive is genocidal. This constitutes a setback for the Tel Aviv authorities who (…) January 2024 ‘Telk Qadeya’, anthem of divorce from the Western world Sarra Grira · January 2024 The song ‘Telk Qadeya’(‘This is an issue’) by the Egyptian rock group Cairokee has been a big hit ever since the single was issued at the end of November 2023. By denouncing the selective indignation of a Western rhetoric which claims to laud all progressive struggles but disregards the ongoing (…) The Houthis in Yemen Gain the World’s Attention Helen Lackner · January 2024 By bombing Yemen and risking an extension of the conflict, the United States and its allies claim that they want to stop the attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea by the Houthists. The Houthis, who set themselves up as the sole defenders of the Palestinian cause, have solid assets at home and (…) Gaza: The Media Accompaniment to a Genocide Alain Gresh, Sarra Grira · January 2024 ‘For 90 days now, I’ve failed to understand. Thousands of people are killed or mutilated, overwhelmed by a storm of violence that can scarcely be called a war, except for a lazy mind.’ In his letter of resignation after twelve years of good and faithful service, in protest against the way his (…) Anti-Semitism: the Far Right Whitewashed by its Support for Israel Alain Gresh, Sarra Grira · January 2024 The episode would have been unthinkable not so long ago: MPs and fans of the far right, some of them fellow travellers of the Groupe Union Défense (GUD) demonstrating side by side with Jewish extremist groups like the Jewish Defence League (JDL) or the Betar in the “march against anti-semitism” (…)