“Israeli soldiers have described a free-for-all in Gaza and a breakdown in norms and legal constraints, with civilians killed at the whim of individual officers.” The stories will get worse over time as censorship erodes. But we knew and didn’t stop it. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

Iniciativa za kritickou akademii adresuje Petru Papouškovi, předsedovi Federace židovských obcí, otevřený dopis, v němž odmítá křivé nařčení z antisemitismu. denikreferendum.cz/clanek/23816...

Following instructions to "write like crazy" on a range of topics, I broadened my authorial horizons and wrote this long piece on medieval, religious and Czech history. Hardly out of character, I know. The piece isn't primarily about language, though, so that's growth. dannybate.com/2025/11/05/s...

Rdg the new issue of @thefunambulist.bsky.social on “bulldozer politics,” on bulldozers as key weapons — of demolition and clearing-for-colonization — in Gaza and elsewhere. Glad to see an interview w/ Francesca Ammon, author of Bulldozer: Demolition + Clearance of the Postwar Landscape, here

After more than three years of war, civilian resistance in Ukraine remains high. Researcher Morten Bøås of NUPI details what it means to conduct RE-ENGAGE fieldwork in a city at #war. Read the full commentary: re-engaging.eu/news/why-ukr... #EuropeanUnion #EU #Ukraine #democracy #Russia #Kyiv

Zlom nejen v Kataru. Co uvedl do pohybu izraelský útok? Arabské státy jednají o větší spolupráci na obraně. Mluví se o vzniku „arabského“, případně „islámského“ NATO. O změnách v obranné politice se bavila @jolanah.bsky.social s Janem Danielem @horalistani.bsky.social www.voxpot.cz/zlom-nejen-v...

🗳️ #Moldova parliamentary election this weekend is a barometer of regional #democracy. Its outcome could reshape #EUenlargement, Europe’s security, and the balance of power with #Russia. Read the latest commentary: tinyurl.com/y8atxsuf #MoldovaElections #AlegeriMoldova

Speciální fórum o české zahraniční politice vůči Palestině a Izraeli z Czech Journal of International Relations vzbudilo ohlas i ve Francii. 📰 Francouzský Deník Le Monde se odkazuje na naše fórum a analyzuje českou podporu izraelské politice. www.iir.cz/cjir-special...

Již zítra! Čtyři debaty, čtyři zapojené instituce - oligarchie, dezinformace o změně klimatu, etika a konflikty a finálně česká politika vůči Izraeli! Uvidíme se zítra na Štvanici!

New Study Indicates High Levels of Self-Censorship and Perceived Restrictions for Scholars Specialized in the Middle East since October 7, 2023. Official @freieuniversitaet.bsky.social press release: www.fu-berlin.de/en/presse/in...

Welcome to a world where a crude mix of military regimes, Russia, Taliban & Israel are pushing the „decolonization“ agenda forward…

"The fact that Israeli violence in Gaza is supported by a government that champions morality, democracy, and human rights contributes to a general nihilism and the relativization... Outrage over the killing of Ukrainian civilians while turning a blind eye to dead Palestinians seems hypocritical."

IDF sniper from Chicago who says he killed Gazan teenager just for trying to retrieve his brother's corpse: “They’re thinking, ‘Oh I don’t think [I’ll get shot] because I’m wearing civilian clothes and I am not carrying a weapon' and all that, but they were wrong. That’s what you have snipers for.”

Už za da týdny budeme ve Vile Štvanice rozebírat širší kontext české politiky vůči Izraeli a Palestině. Přijďte a podívejte se i na zbytek programu!

Dnes to bylo 10 let od smrti Alana Kurdi.

The World’s Shame in Gaza Statement from the International Crisis Group www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-...

The EU should draw up a policy to deal with Russian annexation actions in breakaway and occupied regions, and embed this in its evolving approach towards Russia, write Tefta Kelmendi and Sergi Kapanadzi. Read their latest policy brief here: https://bit.ly/4le7c8m

NEW: Famine has been officially confirmed in the Gaza City region and is projected to spread within weeks to two more population centers in the wider Gaza Strip, the global authority on hunger said Friday

Revealed: Israeli military’s own data indicates civilian death rate of 83% in Gaza war

Joseph Daher and The Policy Initiative's Sami Zoughaib and Sami Atallah on what "sovereignty" means, in the Lebanese context: www.thepolicyinitiative.org/article/deta...

In many respects, «artificial intelligence» is less a model of the human mind than a technical implementation of neoliberal market theory: a simulation of supposedly superhuman rationality optimized for efficient problem solving, which leads to mostly irrational and ultimately destructive results 1/

NEW PODCAST: The MERIP Roundtable "On Recognition" @jdryan08.bsky.social is joined by EdCommers @lisahajjar.bsky.social, @seanyom.bsky.social, and Jacob Mundy to discuss genocide recognition by Israeli figures and institutions, and UK/Canada recognition for a Palestinian state. buff.ly/IZuBpDI

Another summer, another procession of record-smashing heatwaves. After the heatwave of July 2022, I wrote this piece on dread, anger, and the duty to critique. Re-reading it for the page proofs, I was struck by some things I wrote that already seem out of date, but also some that seem timely. 🧵

Two broadly defined area studies academic #jobs at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University (Prague): "The ideal candidate will employ comparative methodologies and actively engage in disciplinary debates within area studies on critical current events from a comparative perspective" 1/3

Survivors of the pager attack are easily identifiable, with missing eyes, faces laced with scars, hands with missing fingers. The AP interviewed six of them — offering a rare glimpse into the human cost of the attack Powerful work by @bmroue.bsky.social @seldeeb.bsky.social @hassanammar.bsky.social

Down with Russian imperialism www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/...

The groypers running the White House's social media accounts have posted yet another piece of fascist Trump AI slopaganda which I won't reproduce here in full. However, the Gladiator-esque backdrop of US soldiers in desert camouflage holding back the pseudo-Roman crowd is quite fascinating 1/

NOW in English Satimages show that in just 2months, Israeli Army has almost entirely destroyed Khan Yunis Governorate, including Gaza Strip's 2nd-largest city and its environs, an area encompassing 90 square km and thousands of homes Planet Labs PBC www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

‘We faced hunger before, but never like this’: skeletal children fill hospital wards as starvation grips Gaza

Doctors and health officials report wave of hunger deaths in Gaza https://on.ft.com/3IJ5jTB

It's the economy, stupid

According to Reuters' sources, Israel: 1️⃣ lobbies US to keep Syria weak and decentralised, 2️⃣ supports Russia's military presence in Syria 3️⃣ is concerned about Turkey's influence in Syria.

Několik komentářů pro @voxpot.bsky.social o íránské strategii "Osy odporu" na Blízkém východě, o její současné podobě, roli a výrazně proměněné síle jednotlivých skupin. Díky @jolanah.bsky.social za oslovení a sepsání www.voxpot.cz/kde-vsichni-...

Example of the below Haaretz piece in satellite imagery: Recent SkySat from @planet.com shows that almost 100% of Tal as-Sultan, a large part of Rafah in the northern part of the governorate, has been destroyed by the IDF. The neighboring Saudi Housing Project north of that is now being demolished.

Trigger warning here Palestinians in the Rafah concentration camp in southern Gaza being shot at by the Israeli army They’re waiting for ‘aid’. This is Israel’s favorite method of the past several weeks to trap civilians and then open fire www.instagram.com/reel/DMFankX...

"Describing the general rules of engagement in Gaza, Joel Carmel of Breaking the Silence,..., said: “If it’s a man of fighting age . . . if they get close or if they’re in an area where they’re not supposed to be, [the orders] are shoot to kill.”"

I woke up this morning to a BBC report about a deadly Israeli air strike against a water station in Gaza, where mostly women and children lined up for H2O. reut.rs/3UfTxSZ

A recent article challenged the hype around drones in Ukraine. The author joined us to expand on his argument and share more of his frontline experience. Listen here: warontherocks.com/ep...

BREAKING: Palestinian witnesses and hospitals say Israeli forces opened fire toward hundreds of people waiting for aid trucks in central Gaza, killing at least 25 people.

„To, o čem se málo mluví, je, že Írán a Rusko jsou spíše pragmatičtí než ideologičtí spojenci. Spojuje je odpor k roli USA a zájmům Západu.“ Říká výzkumník Ústavu mezinárodních vztahů @horalistani.bsky.social v rozhovoru pro @seznamzpravy.bsky.social seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/zahra...

Being gunned down at the GHF feeding points now appears to be the leding daily cause of death in Gaza, surpassing Israeli and Hamas military operations.

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

My sister had finally managed to get some gas (2 am local time) and was planning to leave Tehran tmr when I delivered the news of this development. She’s wondering which road to take as a tired, stressed out single woman at 2 am, while explosions can already be heard from both East and West Tehran.

The old parliament had 250 members, so this is smaller. Its practical function may well end up being similar: a controlled but somewhat socially representative body to coopt notables and other figures of influence, to debate, approve, and legitimize decisions originating mainly from the presidency.

Ukraine, Israel… in warfare today, a trend is developing: covertly smuggled, pre-positioned, drone fleets behind enemy lines. Could ambush drones already be undercover in EU/NATO territory? I do hope someone has their eyes and ears on this… www.axios.com/2025/06/13/i...

A bit of nuance on regional reactions: plenty of people in the Middle East are happy to see Iran hit. They are also deeply worried about what comes next. But Lebanese, Syrians, Yemenis etc. who suffered for years because of the Islamic republic are glad to see it bloodied. 🧵

"What follows now is probably a sustained campaign by Israel. Its airforce has around 300 manned fighter-jets and long-range attack drones, but only a limited number can attack simultaneously due to its small number of refuelling tankers." www.economist.com/middle-east-...

Check out this important CJIR forum on Czech foreign policy towards Israel, Gaza and Palestine. Edited by @horalistani.bsky.social and Jakub Zahora, with contributions by Marek Cejka, Tereza Plistilova, Zora Hesova, and others. Published by @iirprague.bsky.social www.iir.cz/cjir-special...