Huge news. I am so happy that Elizabeth Tsurkov is free at last!

Most news agencies are wrongly reporting that Turkey severed economic ties with Israel today. Turkey's FM in parliament spoke of things already done; cutting economic ties, blocking Israeli ships at its harbors...perhaps the only thing new: it is closing its airspace to Israeli planes.

The absolute worst case scenario.

It is a sad day when Rashid Khalidi cancels his class due to the simple fact that he can no longer teach it at Columbia under the current conditions. For me, this is a bitter moment; he trained and taught me as a historian, my mentor. Read below and see the link in the next post. #Palestine #Israel

A fun distraction from my work, scanning newspapers from the 1920s: A British paper reported a girl started to chant Hebrew-a language she didn't know, when she fell into a state of "delirium." Turns out she was a servant for a Rabbi and had heard his sermons. Sounds like she was a great student!

The Integration Trap: Erasing Kurdish Autonomy In Syria's Reconstruction #MEMRI www.memri.org/reports/inte...

The avalanche of terrible news keeps flowing in. This cannot go unnoticed, this represents the everyday life of Palestinians in the West Bank: settlers rampage and pillage as the Israeli government not only turns its face, its own ministers encourage it. Pogroms and murder with absolute impunity.

During the 12-day war between Israel/Iran some media outlets claimed Israel was working to expand its borders from the Nile to the Euphrates, calling it "Greater Israel." With this in mind, I wrote the following piece for Al Majalla, placing it in a historical context. en.majalla.com/node/326639/...

There’s also something like 300-400k South Asians in New York City

"Israel is committing genocide." Israel's main human rights organization, B’Tselem, releases its most damning report ever: We never thought we'd write this report, but we also never believed this would be our reality. www.btselem.org/publications...

In my latest for Al Majalla, I provide a historical review of the term "Greater Israel," tracing its origins and antisemitic conspiracy theories from late Ottoman times to the present day. On that note, it's my pleasure to be writing for Al Majalla for the first time! en.majalla.com/node/326639/...

Breaking: Canada is in line to recognize Palestine, within a two-state solution, alongside Israel. Come on, Europe, keep the recognitions rolling in. Who will be next?

Such a shame. The French gov's recognition comes within the context of a well-worded statement that recognizes a two-state solution. It in no way emboldens extremists, but undermines extremists on both sides.

Along the same lines, the release of Abdullah Ocalan in this process is more likely than the release of Selahattin Demirtas because the former legitimizes the authoritarian status-quo while the latter challenges it.

Sad to hear about the passing of Ziad Rahbani. A revolutionary not just in his music's words but his whole style. This really came out in the music he did with his mother, the legendary Fairuz. This album was part of my own university years, when we dreamed of another world.

One of my favorite singers. Ziad, you were a legend. Revolutionary music both in words and style.

Breaking: France to recognize Palestine. One can only hope that Israel will be forced into recognizing there are 2 peoples on the land, and the time for an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel is the option at hand. Good for France for taking this important step. apnews.com/article/fran...

One of Israel's most staunch liberal Zionists, Fania Oz-Salzberger, daughter of the renowned author Amos Oz, pleads with Israeli soldiers not to serve in Gaza, reaching out to their families as well. She cites war crimes, mass starvation, and the betraying of the hostage families by the government.

I took a few-day break from working on my upcoming book to write an article; today, after some time, I delved into social media. Sadly, worst-case scenarios are occurring with every passing day, providing me with the confirmation to stay on track and to bury myself back into books and writing.

As reports of Palestinians starving now seep into the mainstream Israeli media, and when its TV presenters clearly state that the Israeli government is responsible for this, then you have point-blank recognition of crimes committed, even if they do not profess this, stuttering over their complicity.

In what many called a “historic speech,” Erdogan urged full support for the Kurdish disarmament process, marked by the PKK’s symbolic handover of weapons — a move he claimed turned a new page for Turkey. He declared the AKP, nationalist MHP, and pro-Kurdish DEM party as partners in this effort.++

In first AI crackdown, Turkey blocks access to some Grok content, @ezgiakin.bsky.social reports www.al-monitor.com/originals/20...

"Hope is a political choice." This saying by the Israeli Knesset member @karivgilad.bsky.social might quickly become my own personal slogan. In a podcast, he shared that he heard this from a "wise woman in one of his political assemblies," and thus adopted it. Really, it is brilliant.

As I mentioned regarding the 2023 earthquake in Turkey, this is not a natural disaster per se, but rather a man-made one, and people should be held accountable. Unfortunately, most news sites are not asking questions about who should be held responsible.

Finally, back in the office with 7 weeks of writing ahead of me. Hopefully, I will complete two more chapters. Since March, I've been working non-stop, and the accidental trip to Greece gave me some space away from my office to change the writing atmosphere!

Three opposition mayors have been detained in corruption investigations targeting municipalities. A total of eight CHP mayors are now either in custody or in pretrial detention, following the party’s success in the 2024 local elections where it surpassed Erdoğan’s AKP. bianet.org/haber/three-...

Just finished a writing “workation” in Thessaloniki and Athens after my trip to Israel was cancelled due to the war. I got to do some research in Thessaloniki/Selanik while Athens was a cool place to explore in the evenings. Used the chance to also enjoy some photography.

In Turkey right now, there is a shocking increase in political repression. The mainstream opposition party, the party of the country’s founding father but which now constitutes the greatest political threat to the President, is the target.

The attack on the trans community is brutal.

The breadth and intensity of legal actions targeting the CHP, the İstanbul Municipality, İmamoğlu, and Özel serve three strategic objectives.

Türkiye’den istihdam edilen TikTok moderatörlerinin çalışma koşullarını ve Telus Digital emekçilerinin sendikalaşma mücadelelerini @restofworld.org için araştırdım: restofworld.org/2025/tiktok-...

Gülümsetti. 🙂 (İlk gruba giriyorum ben de.)

Zohran is the best thing that can happen to NYC, enough with recycled politicians. There is no contradiction between supporting a just peace in Israel/Palestine with being a good mayor. The claim he is antisemitic is absurd even if I agree some chants he used are hurtful to some.

I'm working in a coffeshop and with my years of experience in public and private spaces-in all cultures-I've come to the conclusion that the world is divided into two groups: the ones who push their chair in when they get up, and the ones who do not. I belong to the first group.

And then, Pride next week. For years Pride took place, and then Trans Pride set out on its own march. Now a decade that the two meet heavy bans, even closing metro stops in Taksim—all similar to May 1st protests. Absolute ban.

Waking up to this war not ending: 20-30 missiles hit Israel from Iran; Israel says it assassinated Iran's new army chief of staff (who replaced the first one Israel killed) In Gaza: health ministry says 45 people killed by IDF fire waiting for aid in Khan Younis www.haaretz.co.il/news/politic...

Urgent need to stop this effort to sell off public lands - 120M ACRES of America's cherished natural beauty - vital for wildlife, heritage and tourism. 🌳🌲🫎🦌🦝🌳🌲🌳🐿️🌳🌲🦅🦌🌲🌳🌲🫎🦅🦉🌳🦦🦫🌳🌳

This is hardly news to any renter who lives in Istanbul, but the average rent in the city has gone up a whopping 606% since 2021 while the number of landlords opening legal cases to evict their tenants increased by 349% from 2020 to 2024.

Still, compared to many societies worldwide, this is just a drop in the bucket. It seems Trumps strategy overall has worked, dividing many on various topics not allowing, at least for now, a major moment of protest.

İran'da 8 general daha hayatını kaybetti www.birgun.net/haber/iran-d...

"An #Iranian drone was shot down by #Israeli aircraft and crashed in the middle of residential homes in the city of Al-Sanamayn in northern #Daraa countryside of #Syria"

Hi everyone I was denied entry, detained, and deported from the USA over the last 48 hours because of my reporting on the Columbia student protests I arrived back in Melbourne hours ago and had my phone handed back to me upon landing

In the ‘Mediterranean’ themed Summer 2025 issue of Frieze, I had the good fortune to write the magazine’s beloved ‘1,500 words’ column. The essay, ‘Against Despair,’ features some of my favorite people, spaces, curators & artists & initiatives in Istanbul’s art scene: www.frieze.com/article/kaya...

From the FT today: "The killings on Sunday will deepen doubts about GHF’s ability to replace the UN, which previously delivered aid to families at local distribution sites. MSF International on Saturday described the new system as “disastrous. Ineffective. Dangerous. Reckless. Dehumanising”."

I don't want to see a single person saying this was warranted by the carnage in Gaza, that this was for Palestinians. I am a Palestinian person and I do not want senseless acts of terror committed in my name. I don't want Jewish organizations to need extra security because of fear of violence.

Some wise words by @etannechin.bsky.social in @haaretzcom.bsky.social: "Words like "Zionist," "Palestinian," "antisemitism," "intifada," and "genocide" are weaponized and emptied of meaning, manipulated to serve political agendas and deepen division." www.haaretz.com/opinion/2025...