In the midst of the darkest times, there will always be those who resist. May we know them, may we support them, may we be among them. ✊🏼❤️

📣 Allies in Ohio, South Carolina, West Virginia! Free DC is running a campaign asking residents of each to contact the governor and ask that the National Guard deployed to DC be recalled. OH freedcproject.org/news/for-all... SC freedcproject.org/news/for-all... WV freedcproject.org/west-virginia

📢 After 2.5 whirlwind, relentless, and rewarding years at @open-society.bsky.social, I’ll be stepping down as Director of MENA Programs & moving on to a new adventure at the end of the month. Grateful to @nowrojeeosf.bsky.social, @alexsoros.bsky.social, et al. Stay tuned for more on what’s cooking🫡🖖

Viktor Orban tried to ban the Budapest Pride parade. He got the biggest one yet. Steve Hendrix reports from the Hungarian capital www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

This was not a full-page ad I was expecting to see in the Sunday NYTimes today

Holding Syrian Christians and Syrians in my heart as news trickles in of a harrowing attack on Mar Elias Church in the Dwel'a area of Damascus. According to eyewitness reports, a man entered the church, began shooting, and then carried out a suicide bombing.

Suicide bomber kills at least 20 in Greek Orthodox church in #Syria during Divine Liturgy apnews.com/article/syri...

"Only the dead have seen the end of war." George Santayana

They ripped him apart from his pregnant wife in her last trimester. They stole from him the birth of his baby boy Dean, his graduation ceremony, his first Father's Day. They detained him illegally for 104 days. But today, Mahmoud Khalil is FINALLY FREE. 🤍✊🏼

🚨NEW REPORT: exposing clever new hacking tactic. 🇷🇺Russian state-backed hackers used an App-Specific Password attack against prominent Russia expert @keirgiles.bsky.social It's like they knew what we all expect from 🇷🇺...and then did the opposite 1/ By us @citizenlab.ca & Google's GTIG

🇱🇧 Lebanon recently held municipal elections for the first time in nearly 10 years. What do the results tell us? And what may this mean for the much-awaited 2026 parliamentary elections? Don't miss @timep.bsky.social's event ft @alaasayeg.bsky.social, Soha Mneimneh, Ali Mourad, and Jean Kassir.

In exile, I've met some of the most incredible advocates, the most talented journalists, the most unrelenting lawyers. But all too often, the space for them to continue their work from abroad is not present. Humbled that we play a small part in creating that space at @timep.bsky.social.

📢 Must watch: An AI produced video by the German based Dor Brothers. While exaggerated, honestly, it issome of the strongest artistic political commentary I have seen on domestic US politics these days. 🔊 Sound on 🔛 🎥: youtu.be/V4zwIhS2iZk?...

This is credible reporting ⤵️

Regional update from MENA

And justice for all . . .

As Sanaa Seif, sister of detained British-Egyptian citizen Alaa Abdel Fattah, provides a deeply worrying update on their mother's hunger strike, we at TIMEP reiterate our call on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to act urgently and immediately to #FreeAlaa: fairsq.org/parliament-n...

In Washington, DC? Drop by Dupont Circle tomorrow at 6 pm to stand in solidarity with hunger-striking mother Dr. Laila Soueif who is protesting the continued unjust detention of her son British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah. Details here: www.facebook.com/share/1C7wVt... #FreeAlaa

The legendary James Hatfield at the Metallica #M72 concert in DC - May 28, 2025

🎉 An exciting day here at @timep.bsky.social, where we are welcoming 11 brilliant advocates and experts who are the frontlines of the movement to reimagine a more just, more equitable, and more peaceful MENA region. Humbled at the trust our fellows have in us to embark on this journey together. 🙏

🫡

Breaking news: The US has been stripped of its top-notch triple-a credit rating by Moody’s on concerns about rising levels of government debt www.ft.com/content/e456...

Are there any good "Chicago" bars in DC? 🤔

This thread ⤵️

🎉 We’re thrilled to share that @washingtonian.com has named our ED @maitelsadany.bsky.social as one of the 500 Most Influential People Shaping Policy in Washington, a recognition that celebrates TIMEP's commitment to centering MENA voices in MENA policy: www.washingtonian.com/2025/05/07/w...

We proudly celebrate TIMEP's founder, @ramyyaacoub.bsky.social, who is also featured in this year's @washingtonian.com list. His belief that "policy is people" shaped TIMEP at its birth and continues to guide everything we do. We are deeply grateful for his leadership and compass over the years.

Alf mabrouk, @maitelsadany.bsky.social!

Once a "TIMEPer," always a TIMEPer, I would not be where I am in my career without TIMEP's past and current team members. 🙏❤️

I'm deeply humbled to see "Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy" on the cover of one of DC's most-read magazines, to have the story of the Arab Spring preserved in its pages, and to be recognized by @washingtonian.com again, this time alongside our founder @ramyyaacoub.bsky.social.

So meaningful @ramyyaacoub.bsky.social is on @washingtonian.com's most influential list this year. Without his vision +12 yrs ago, we wouldn't have @timep.bsky.social. There aren't enough words to explain how grateful I am for his trust in me and for everything he continues to do for our ecosystem.

When @timep.bsky.social was founded in 2013, the naysayers were taking bets on how quickly the institute would shutter and how the folks behind it were delusional in thinking they'd be able to change how policymaking is done in a place like DC. Fast forward twelve years later.

BREAKING: we won! A federal judge has enjoined the administration's shut down of Voice of America Another success for the Constitution and for us @sddaction.bsky.social & our many wonderful partners & clients More details to follow--stay tuned!

I shall never forget his visit to my Iraq. For three days it felt like things were OK! I keep remembering his visit and the time it snowed in Baghdad at random times as a therapy practice😭💔

My heart is heavy as the day passes and I continue to reflect on the incredible vacuum Pope Francis leaves behind. 🤍 Who will advocate for those displaced in his absence? Who will comfort those seeking sanctuary amid bombing? Who will insist on inclusivity in our sacred spaces?

Can’t recall ever weeping over the death of a world leader—not out of indifference, just distance. But waking up to the news of Pope Francis passing, I wept. He left this world when his moral clarity & courage are needed most. Thank your holiness for renewing my faith. You'll be sorely missed.🕊️

There are plenty of questions to ask about "Houthi PC small group," but the one that's gonna keep me up at night is why Jeffrey Goldberg left the chat.

The Trump administration's erasure of federal data has put the Internet Archive in the spotlight. The organization, with its small but mighty team, is working to help save the world's digital history.

"It should go without saying—but I’ll say it anyway—that I've never been invited to a White House principals-committee meeting, and that, in my many years of reporting on NatSec matters, I'd never heard of one being convened over a commercial messaging app" www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

There was nothing inevitable about the collapse of the Gaza ceasefire. This is a choice.

We historians (and others) need to start mass downloading archives from places like this before they go. Regardless of your subfield, download! I'm focusing on the CIA's FOIA site, but Wilson, the National Archives, Presidential libraries etc all have to be downloaded to be preserved.

Highly recommend this review, which gets at many of the big questions facing the human rights movement. But I read the book differently: not that Roth stayed out of politics, but that he saw naming + shaming as a very deliberate political strategy. Note how little attention he pays to courts + law

📢 Read of the day! What an epic article, on why it is a really bad idea for the US 🇺🇸 to attempt invading its nice, yet dormantly-ferocious, neighbor to the north, Canada 🇨🇦 By @eliotacohen.bsky.social via @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Kudos to @jpalfrey.bsky.social and the MacArthur Foundation for stepping up at this critical moment. Increasing foundation giving to fill the gap left by the broken promises and breached contracts of federal funding shows true leadership and compassion. #belovedcommunity apnews.com/article/maca...

The leadership that @maitelsadany.bsky.social is displaying in daily basis at @timep.bsky.social makes me both proud and humbled. May you and TIMEP flourish together, and may you pave the way for other generations to lead in the many years to come.

🎉 Happy 12th birthday @timep.bsky.social! Here's to the cheerleaders, fellows, staff, interns, and partners across the years who've truly made TIMEP a home for alternate policies for and from the region. Thank you @ramyyaacoub.bsky.social for founding this haven and for entrusting us with it.

Happy birthday TIMEP! 🎂 Thank you to each person who helped build us up and make us who we are over the past 12 years and thank you to @ramyyaacoub.bsky.social for founding us. I can't wait to see what the future brings. I'm so grateful that TIMEP exists and so fortunate to be a part of it.

Having worked at the Pentagon on climate change, most of the programming is intended to make US bases resilient to climate impacts. Many of them are quite vulnerable! The combatant commands' work on climate was about how to prepare for the destabilizing impacts of climate in their regions.

Tulsi Gabbard confirmed as Director of National Intelligence. My team 1st encountered her while studying conspiracy theories denying chemical weapons attacks and other war crimes in Syria (~2017). She repeatly spread those false claims, echoing Russian disinfo. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

So far in the last 24 hours, Russia's gotten: - a sympathetic ear/voice installed as DNI - the release of a crime boss - Hegseth ceding Crimea to them - Trump offering a WH visit - The US acting as middleman rather than Ukraine ally