I’m going to be speaking at Princeton 2/11 and Yale (with Rob Malley) on 2/13, with my official NYC stop with the incomparable @jillianschwedler.bsky.social in the middle. If you’re in any of those places please please come out for the conversation!

Trump, during an "economic" speech today in Detroit, can't help but fixate on "wine mom gangs," saying they're "doing these fake riots." They go practice. They go to areas, they take hotel rooms, and they all practice together. It’s a whole scam. We’re finding out who’s funding all this stuff."

Yemen’s Continuing Crack-Up – Gregory D. Johnsen agsi.org/analysis/yem...

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Designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization is a bad idea because it isn’t one. As if little things like truth or reality still matter when there are rabid partisan extremists to feed and nurture. abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/the-muslim-b...

The Southern Transitional Council is betting that if the South can be united under its leadership it can cordon the South off from the Houthis in the North, utilize oil and gas revenue, and create a stable and functioning state. – Gregory D. Johnsen agsi.org/analysis/the...

This year’s memorials take on particular poignance as the Trump administration has restricted how trans people can live publicly and privately while also eliminating federal data collection about anti-trans hate crimes and ending funding for an LGBTQ suicide hotline. www.advocate.com/news/transge...

Former al-Qaeda leader invited to White House, Peaceful Muslim Mayor gets Cold Shoulder

An end to the fighting would mean the Houthis are left with only the territory they currently control, none of which holds the economic resources the group will need to survive into the next decade. – Gregory D. Johnsen

“The data, compiled by the Middle East Studies Association and the American Association of University Professors and relying on publicly available records, offers a detailed account of how landmark civil rights legislation…has become a primary tool to restrict speech on campus.”

Mamdani is attacked for not embracing Israel's Jewishness. But as I noted in 2021 what's unique is the US stance: "There is no case except Israel’s where the US actively advocates for a form of ethno-nationalist state that discounts large portion of its population" www.brookings.edu/articles/ame...

Jordan is really in a political vise — it’s dependent on Israel for power and water, but Israel’s war in Gaza has created a chasm between the regime and its people.

It is all about political priorities. And popular pressure becoming louder than special interests and self-serving deals.

While the US & Europe ramp up military spending, millions live in poverty. Today, we launch Transition Security Project, investigating how militarisation makes us poorer and less safe amid climate crisis — and what genuine security could look like. 🧵 transitionsecurity.org

This was a brilliant event with @lalehkhalili.bsky.social @iliasalami.bsky.social @triofrancos.bsky.social @stephensemler.bsky.social Podcast recording coming next week on @macrodosepod.bsky.social

EVENT: Honoring Joe Stork, Live in DC! Join MERIP on 11.22.25 at Busboys and Poets 450K Street for a special event honoring Joe Stork, our co-founder and longtime editor. Featured speakers include Aslı Bâli, Sarah Leah Whitson, Joel Beinin and more! Click for info and to RSVP

A new @rooseveltinstitute.org report by @rfunkfordham.bsky.social empirically assesses the antidemocratic effects of Citizens United 15 years after it was decided. The findings speak for themselves: there is no place for big money in our political system. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

BREAKING: WE WON!!! 💥 💥 💥 Federal Judge William G. Young ruled today in our lawsuit against the Trump administration that the policy of arresting, detaining, & deporting noncitizen students & faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the 1st Amendment. Full ruling here:

This essay, by an Egyptian-American former New Yorker staff fact-checker, is an incredible read And incredibly damning Huge recommendation

I don't think a lot of people realize or know people who were on the receiving end of death threats for over a decade because of Turning Point USA. They made a watch list of professors that made them targets for not only hate mail but death threats. That's Charlie Kirk's legacy.

The Dept of Education has officially cancelled funding for this year’s previously awarded FLAS grants for critical language study as “inconsistent with administration priorities.” What’s left to say?

Calling all early-career #polisky scholars in the MENA region! Join the APSA #MENA Methods Workshop, January 5–8, 2026, in Doha, Qatar. All costs covered for selected participants. Applications are due Sunday, September 14th! buff.ly/4fa3u4v

Settler colonialism and slavery are the twin sins on which this country is built If your history museums don't make grappling with them a core part of their programming, it's not history. It's propaganda.

I saw Ezra Klein is talking about “when is it genocide???” on his podcast today… maybe you’re better off listening to the MERIP gang on this topic…

We knew at the time that a deeply deeply horrific assault had occurred, but just absolutely shaken by this report detailing the massacre at Zamzam in April 2025. Genocide. Utterly shaken. “They slaughtered us like animals” www.theguardian.com/global-devel... ‘

The climate of fear caused by torrents of abuse, death threats, and doxxing that David French identifies here as affecting judges (even if he pretends it isn’t mostly from MAGA) have long been the normal experience for Middle East studies faculty, and no one cared. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/o...

I wrote a piece for @jodemocracy.bsky.social on a little-noticed court decision last week to effectively permanently outlaw Jordan’s teacher’s union www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclu...

An aerial view of what the Gaza City area looked like this week. Taken from a Jordanian military aircraft, by our colleague Heidi Levine.

With continuing challenges to stability in #Syria, are there any opportunities for optimism? Listen to our recent seminar on the future of #Israel, Syria, & the Levant with Crown scholars Shai Feldman, Daniel Neep, @jillianschwedler.bsky.social, & @peterkrause.bsky.social: youtu.be/YUBhGr2P1XM

POMEPS is pleased to call for proposals for the POMEPS Junior Scholar Book Development Workshops to be held in a virtual format throughout the academic year 2025-2026. The deadline to apply is Sept. 15. More info: pomeps.org/pomeps-junio...

You will find me here next Friday!! All my queerios, join us!!!

US Veterans peacefully protesting Trump’s military birthday parade arrested at Capitol Hill. This is the moment a 80+ year old US veteran is taken away in handcuffs for practicing his 1st Amendment right. #3E #NoKings #NoKingsProtests (🎥 @gregjstoker.bsky.social )

My team and I at the Crowd Counting Consortium (@[email protected], Soha Hammam, & Chris Shay) have a new piece out: wagingnonviolence.org/2025/06/amer.... In it, we show that through May 2025, the size and scale of anti-Trump protests have dwarfed those in 2017. 🧵

These missile attacks on Tehran do not seem to actually target the nuclear program. I can only assume that Israel thinks it is weakening the regime itself. If so, this is naive and risky for everyone in Iran and the region.

My thoughts: Jordan Bans the Muslim Brotherhood Amid Increasing Regional Strife — @arabcenterdc.org arabcenterdc.org/resource/jor...

@abuaardvark.bsky.social has some thoughts about Yemen, puts @apsa.bsky.social on notice for its "utter failure to meet this moment" in higher education, challenges the rest of us to do the same, and links to @separkinson.bsky.social's good advice on information security. It's a lot, friends.

Check out this article from inside higher ed yesterday that gives a little more information on whats going on www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Every time you see a headline that says "Trump does x" please translate it to "Trump tries to do x" or "claims power to do x" because that is way more accurate. E.g., he didn't fire somebody he has no authority to fire, he is *trying to* fire them and they are taking legal action to prevent it.

Wow.

Hard to overstate the gall of Trump asking Jordan to absorb more refugees. The monarchy is already contending with a strong nativist nationalist movement declaring Jordanian citizens of Palestinian origin as outsiders—Jordan's own "MAJA" movement 1/

Israel to massively increase spending on propaganda with a special focus on US campuses. www.timesofisrael.com/foreign-mini...

“My friends, you don’t have to be a PhD in political science to understand that this is not democracy," he said. "This is not one person, one vote. This is not all of us coming together to decide our future. This is oligarchy."

Several MERIP contributors' hot takes on events in Syria and implications--domestic and geopolitical--of the end of the Assad regime. mailchi.mp/89d5cbffb4d1...

Israel kills 36 Palestinians in Gaza, targets volatile aid route flip.it/FL2TWl

It is crazy that the world has moved on while Israel kills dozens of Palestinians every day; every night

Can’t make this stuff up! 🙄

Can’t even imagine how it feels for these people to be freed after decades

In other “shocking” news…

This

Be cautious of those predicting how #Syria will turn out, many are rushing to predict terrible outcomes (which are possible tbs) but there is a lot here that's different. Many of us who study protests and revolutions are fascinated and optimistic for Syrians... /1