Imagine taking a vacation abroad & being disappeared to a jail for 40+ days for no reason. That’s what this Admin is doing to foreign tourists. It's outrageous & hurting our businesses.  When will other nations start holding the Admin accountable for mistreating their citizens?

It was such a privilege to write this. The act of building solidarities across borders is never easy, and not always successful, but has always been deeply necessary.

A British grandmother with a valid visa detained by ICE for 6 weeks. "So why did ICE detain her, and keep her locked up for so long? ICE officers are paid a bonus every time they detain someone. 'Individual ICE agents get money per head that they detain – the guards told me that,' Karen says."

"The liberal peace-building model that privileges armed actors and elite bargains has already failed Sudan. It treats generals and militia leaders as indispensable stakeholders and relegates civilians to observers." New approaches are required indeed. #Sudan www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Follow link below to attend this year's Rosemary Hollis Memorial Lecture at City St George’s, University of London. Professor Rosemary Hollis was genuinely dedicated to the people of the Middle East, and a friend who is much-missed by many. www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/news-and-eve...

As we await the outcomes of the first meeting of Trump's Board of Peace today, I'm reposting my comment on the need to implement Phase 1 elements fully & empower the Palestinian administrative committee All or nothing in Gaza open.substack.com/pub/sayighye...

A really interesting sharp critique by Cynthia Gharios of “greening the desert” narratives in the Gulf, that are replicated on a large scale in Egypt and elsewhere in MENA: aub.edu.lb/critical-dev...

I have been writing critically about Palestinian politics and armed struggle from a position of what Fred Halliday called "'complex solidarity" for nearly 50 years. So my latest Substack post means a lot to me: The third death of Palestinian politics open.substack.com/pub/sayighye...

My latest Substack post takes a hard, critical look at the historical roots of the current deep crisis of Palestinian politics: The third death of Palestinian politics open.substack.com/pub/sayighye...

As discussion of the Saudi-Emirati rift continues, I'm reposting my Substack post as a reminder that local actors around the Red Sea have their own agendas that affect outcomes: Mischief in Arabia—and its ripple effects open.substack.com/pub/sayighye...

In my new Substack post, I ask: What are the limitations and challenges facing Saudi Arabia's counterattack on the UAE's regional strategy? The limits and challenges of Saudi foreign policy open.substack.com/pub/sayighye...

Netanyahu on top form, manages to cover all bases 😂. Anyone looking for a great summary of his 1984-style political prattle should read this TOI article: Netanyahu: No Gaza rebuild before Hamas disarms, Israel will keep ‘security control’ over Gaza www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-no...

If Jeff Bezos could afford to spend $75 million on the Melania movie & $500 million for a yacht to sail off to his $55 million wedding to give his wife a $5 million ring, please don't tell me he needed to fire one-third of the Washington Post staff. Democracy dies in oligarchy.

I paused my weekly political analysis to write a far more personal reflection for my Substack, weaving a tapestry of family, social, and political history: We buried my aunt Mary last Friday open.substack.com/pub/sayighye...

More confirmation of the argument I made in a post a few weeks ago titled "When the United States leaves the United Nations" - link follows The U.S. and Argentina Quit the World Health Organization: What Happens Next? open.substack.com/pub/simplela...

A core feature of the far-right is its penchant for rupture, whipping up emotions it can harness for transgressive violence. So in my latest Substack post I argue that comfortable certainties must be set aside, so as to ask: How far might Israel’s far-right go? open.substack.com/pub/sayighye...

Fascinating insight from @lisang.bsky.social into the intersecting socio-economic, security, & political conditions shaping labour & ownership among diverse Palestinian communities living under various forms of Israeli control newlinesmag.com/reportage/wh...

“Authorities in Jordan appear to be using an Israeli digital tool to extract information from the mobile phones of activists and protesters who have been critical of Israel and spoken out in support of Gaza, according to a new report by the Citizen Lab.” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Check out Adnan Khan’s conversation with Turkey Book Talk and read his reporting with us 👇

My latest post tackles a tough question: how to confront Trump's approach to Gaza and his Board of Peace, while leaning into his 20-point plan to extricate the people of Gaza from their daily tragedy as quickly as possible? All or nothing in Gaza open.substack.com/pub/sayighye...

An excellent, devastating critique of a field of policy practice & academic study that became an industry of liberal institutionalism all about procedure rather than substance, by @wlacher.bsky.social & @yguichaoua.bsky.social: The Demise of Conflict Studies dissentmagazine.org/article/the-...

Link to my interview yesterday with Nadia Massih of France 24, to discuss Phase 2 of Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza: youtube.com/watch?v=1ACdOpOXSlc

Sober analysis from @cinziabianco.bsky.social: the UAE-Saudi rupture has destroyed momentum to develop a “Gulf vision” across the wider region - their strategic alliance has collapsed. From partners to rivals: What the Saudi-UAE rupture means for Europeans : ecfr.eu/article/from...

My latest Substack post is live! We are already witnessing the manifestations of U.S. withdrawal from the UN, even if its formal departure has not yet been announced—and may not be When the United States leaves the United Nations open.substack.com/pub/sayighye...

A really excellent interview with economist Ishac Diwan by my colleague Michael Young that cuts thru the noise to assess the pros and cons of Lebanon's draft "gap law" to resolve the banking crisis admirably succinctly: carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/...

Kuwait: "Sixty-nine citizens and their dependents were stripped of their passports in the first week of the year .. adding to at least 50,000 others since 2024" www.semafor.com/newsletter/0...

Today @empirepoduk.bsky.social we launch our first mega series of 2026 1857- The Greatest Anti-Colonial Revolt in History Our epic eight part history of the Great Uprising/Indian Mutiny/First Indian War of Independence...

In my latest post, I argue that the agendas of the rival governments & proxies supported by Saudi Arabia & the UAE around the Red Sea will complicate, if not derail, attempts to repair the two countries’ relationship Mischief in Arabia—and its ripple effects open.substack.com/pub/sayighye...

A new discovery for me that I'm happy to share: critical analysis on Egypt's political economy, society, and politics from Ahmed Abdelhalim: ahmedabdelhalim1.substack.com?r=6srq8a&utm...

UofT students: I'm offering a Black Radical Theory from the Global South class, JAA 377H on Tuesdays. We'll be reading folks like Neville Alexander, Keguro Macharia, Beatriz Nascimento, Grace Musila, Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Wangui Kimari etc...

ISR PM Netanyahu is driving a new form of militarization of Israeli politics and society is underway that is most reminiscent of how dictator Hafez al-Assad built authoritarian rule in Syria. From my recent post: "Netanyahu takes a leaf from Hafez Assad’s playbook"

These haunting words could have been written today in the US but, in fact, this excerpt is from Anne Frank’s diary, written on January 13, 1943, now plastered on a wall in Pittsburgh and shared by @/@pittsburghgraffiti

Just as speaking the truth about the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, speaking up against ICE disappearing people in the US is an act of moral obligation. May we strengthen our resolve to defend life, dignity, and freedom wherever they are threatened.

Rabbi Heschel wrote on the holy necessity of speaking the truth at any cost: “Above all, the prophets remind us of the moral state of a people: Few are guilty, but all are responsible.”

More on Mustafa's legacy www.jerusalemstory.com/en/bio/musta...

Palestine Solidarity Campaign have done an impressive job over the past two years in mobilizing for Gaza and for the basic right of Palestinians to freedom. Please join me in helping to sustain this work by donating: donate.palestinecampaign.org/donate_winte... and follow @pscupdates.bsky.social

‘Netanyahu could talk himself out of any fix. Not for nothing has hasbara or good-news publicity on behalf of Israel been seen as his special, perhaps only, political gift.’ Jacqueline Rose on meeting Benjamin Netanyahu: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Annemarie Jacir’s sweeping epic of the 1936 Arab Revolt is an Oscar hopeful in 2026. Lori Allen’s review highlights how the film makes visceral the personal and political impact of colonialism.

‘Perhaps one in ten West Papuans has been a refugee in the last five years. By clearing Indigenous people from their land, the TNI both eases the extraction process and seeds future conflict: displacement allows extraction which leads to further displacement.’ www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/de...

Qatari adviser Majed al-Ansari: “We are living in an age of disgusting impunity that is taking us back hundreds of years." www.theguardian.com/law/ng-inter... Into the void: how Trump killed international law

‘The value of the world’s top ten companies is $25.6 trillion. Of that, $15.1 trillion has accumulated since 30 November 2022 and is directly linked to the AI boom.’ John Lanchester on the AI bubble. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Read thus whole thread. Vital for the defence of democracy, citizens rights, and basic human decency

Jordan medics gave baby's family 12 cans of hypoallergenic Neocate formula for their return to Gaza. Israeli officials confiscated 9 cans and stripped them of their clothes down to one outfit for "security considerations." This is the banality of evil www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Support today! friendsofpalunis.org

It's finally here! Remember that weird group of Emirati influencers you keep seeing online. Well I've done a VERY deep dive, & the story is even weirder than you can imagine! "Amjad Taha, Muslim Brotherhood Maxxing & the Emirati #Dysinfluencer Factory" open.substack.com/pub/marcowen...

Sisi threatens military intervention in Sudan if Egypt's "red lines" are breached. But can he follow through, since this means opposing the UAE, which is his main financial linchpin? Sisi’s impossible choices in Sudan open.substack.com/pub/sayighye...

Help keep Palestinian network al-Shabaka continue as a critical voice and platform for debate:

UN’s IPC: Gaza out of Famine for Now, but Severe Malnutrition Continues, as Newborn dies of Hypthermia

A lovely review by @loriall.bsky.social of the well-judged and wholly viewable portrayal of the beginnings of the Great Revolt of 1936-1939 in Palestine, by film director Anne-Marie Jacir. NEW: Palestine 36 and the Hard Facts of History www.merip.org/p/d587439f-a...

"However accidental its historical genesis, Jordan has become a crucible of knowledge about how power and geopolitics operate in the region." @seanyom.bsky.social in Hidden Cities on how tiny Jordan helps explain the entire Middle East: www.hidden-cities.com/p/why-tiny-j...