If you can get your hands on it "Perspectives on Western Sahara: Myths, Nationalisms, and Geopolitics" is a good collection edited by Anouar Boukhars. Otherwise I always recommend the use of MERIP's essays, @merip.bsky.social is also on Bluesky!

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I did not get much writing out this year that wasn’t related to @merip.bsky.social — something I’m dedicated to changing in 2026 — but my favorite newsletter I wrote this year was definitely this one. www.merip.org/2025/11/dick...

MERIP is a small nonprofit — our budget for 2026 is under $100k and our average donation is $120! — please consider donating before midnight to help us keep growing in 2026

Friends and Comrades — the absolute best thing about MERIP is that it is a reader supported organization. The large majority of our work is done by volunteers and part-time staff supported by small donations from loyal readers. We have done so much this year, help us keep it up in 2026!

We’ve accomplished a lot in 2025! Three great issues, launched a podcast and redesigned our website! We did it all with your support — please consider making a donation before the year is out! www.merip.org/donate/

"...many of the same companies at the forefront of digital humanitarianism are implicated in digitized warfare and other forms of surveillance and violence."

We've released two podcasts featuring authors from our latest issue, Material Politics of Normalization. The first with Raouf Farrah discusses his experience on the Global Sumud Convoy. buff.ly/S03C2uD

For "In the Archive" a special series focused on MERIP's history we interviewed noted Palestinian historian Beshara Doumani about his 1988 article about the First Intifada, "Abu Farid's House." buff.ly/UlFZ5fD

Our most-listened podcast so far this year is our interview with Yemen expert Helen Lackner on the role of the Houthis in the war in Gaza. buff.ly/jhqtnAW

MERIP relies on support from our readers, consider a one-time or recurring donation today! buff.ly/f0kChM5

Our first editors roundtable episode covered the growing recognition of Israel's genocide in Gaza in the popular press, and the advance of the movement to recognize Palestinian statehood. The conversation featured MERIP Edcomm members Lisa Hajjar, Sean Yom and Jacob Mundy.

This summer, we hosted a series of online conversations with our comrades @journalspectre.bsky.social on post-Asad Syria. You can listen to all of them in our podcast feed. The first included reflections from Leila Al-Shami, Djene Bajalan and Wafa Mustafa. buff.ly/vjAqAVw

The first episode of the MERIP podcast featured an interview with Iran expert Mona Tajali, recorded in the wake of the 12 day war and reflecting on her article "Women and Politics in Post-Jina Iran."

One of our major developments this year was the launch of our very first podcast! We've produced 13 episodes that feature interviews with past and present contributors, editor roundtables and event recordings. Check them out on our website or wherever you get your podcasts!

Enjoyed our Top-10 overview this weekend? Support our work during our year-end campaign! Make a one-time or monthly donation today! buff.ly/f0kChM5

In February 2024, a British flagged cargo ship was hit by two Houthi missiles & severed fiber optic cables that cut 25% of the internet traffic between Europe and Asia. Ned Leadbeater explains how the geography of normalization has impacted how the world connects itself. buff.ly/1ySlEi6

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.

The groundwork for Israel’s genocide in Gaza was laid in arms deals. As Tariq Dana shows, the trade in military technology and ballistics between Abraham Accords countries paved the way for the destruction we’ve witnessed in Gaza and the relative silence from so many Arab states.

Don’t just take our word for it. www.merip.org/issue-315-316/

The lead article in our Summer/Fall double issue, “Hardwiring Normalization” is Rafeef Ziadah’s thorough overview of the infrastructural underpinnings of normalization, and what it portends for eventual reconstruction efforts in Gaza.

The lead article in our Summer/Fall double issue, “Hardwiring Normalization” is Rafeef Ziadah’s thorough overview of the infrastructural underpinnings of normalization, and what it portends for eventual reconstruction efforts in Gaza.

SUPPORT MERIP: Help us out during our year-end campaign! Make a one-time or monthly donation here! buff.ly/f0kChM5

Sudan was the third Arab-majority country to sign the Abraham Accords. The 2021 coup halted normalization, but the process remains in development and part of "the wider web that connects authoritarian regimes across the region” as Bayan Abubakr explains in this essay.

A critical aspect of Israel’s siege on Gaza was to severely limit the flow of electricity. Israel’s ability to regulate electricity in Gaza has a long history that is tied to its colonial domination of Palestinian territory – as historian Zachary Cuyler details in this essay.

The role of Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, in the war in Gaza and resistance to Israeli violence has been poorly understood. Analyst Helen Lackner provided us with this helpful overview of their history and positionality in the ongoing war early in 2025. buff.ly/Pmb4PDh

After more than a decade of exile, Rahaf Aldoughli returned to Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Asad. She provided her reflections to MERIP, including her observations on the changes and continuities in masculine politics between Asad and his successor, Ahmad Al Sharaa. buff.ly/17o8peU

In a special report for Resistance–The Axis and Beyond, Samer Abboud laid out how the collection of biometric data from refugees, first piloted in Jordan’s Za’atari refugee camp over a decade ago, completely reshaped the management of refugees in the region and across the world.

SUPPORT MERIP: Help us continue to bring MERIP to the world without paywalls in 2026!

For the weekend, we're featuring the top 10 articles on MERIP this year! Hala Shoman’s chronicle of reprocide in Gaza was our most viewed article of 2025. It's a powerful reminder that Israel’s campaign sought to make it impossible for new generations of Gazans to be conceived. buff.ly/pwSK5ny

SUPPORT MERIP—This holiday season help MERIP continue its work providing rigorous, critical coverage and analysis of the Middle East without paywalls!

In our last podcast of the year, we’re featuring an interview with Ned Leadbeater about fiber optic cables in the Red Sea, and what they reveal about the politics of normalization. The MERIP Podcast Episode 13: Ned Leadbeater

ICYMI — Adnan Khan’s harrowing report on how the illicit plastic waste trade is crushing refugee workers in Turkey. Dirty Work—The Hidden Machinery and Human Toll of Europe’s Broken Recycling Trade

We’ve been busy to close out the year. Check out some of our recent publications including Lori Allen’s review of Annemarie Jacir’s Academy Award nominated film, Palestine 36! “Palestine 36 and the Hard Facts of History”

SUPPORT MERIP: We are a reader-supported publication with no paywalls! Our entire archive going back to 1971 is free to read on our website! Please consider a one-time or monthly donation today!

NEW PODCAST: MERIP Executive Director James Ryan sat down with researcher Ned Leadbeater to discuss his recent article, "Fiber Optics and the Hidden Politics of Connectivity." Available wherever you get your podcasts, and at the link below! buff.ly/H0QTZuT

"Anyone who’s been paying attention will recognize the parallels between the methods and attitudes of the occupiers portrayed in the #film and more recent history. It is no surprise, since the British Empire laid the legal foundations on which Israeli repression was built..." #Palestine36 #cinema

SUPPORT MERIP: Pick up a poster of a recent issue or a tote bag to show off your support for MERIP! All merchandise is locally made in a union shop.

ICYMI: Last week we released a new reported essay from the journalist Adnan Khan on Europe's broken system for recycling plastic waste and how it's grinding refugee workers in Turkey to their deaths. Check it out!

" Palestine 36 and the Hard Facts of History Annemarie Jacir’s epic portrayal of the revolt that never ended. ... Palestine 36 is not a film that Zionists will like, not least because they barely feature ..." via @merip.bsky.social

SUPPORT MERIP: Make a one-time or monthly donation now to help us keep our site paywall-free!

NEW: Palestine 36 and the Hard Facts of History Lori Allen reviews Annemarie Jacir's latest film, a sweeping epic centered on the Arab Revolt of 1936-39. buff.ly/KZfKXKr

Dirty Work—The Hidden Machinery and Human Toll of Europe’s Broken Recycling Trade | @merip.bsky.social https://www.merip.org/2025/12/dirty-work-the-hidden-machinery-and-human-toll-of-europes-broken-recycling-trade/

Give the gift of MERIP! Support our mission and pick up a poster or tote bag for your friends and comrades!

ICYMI: We released highlights from our live event Honoring Joe Stork earlier this week on the podcast feed. Check it out, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

NEW: "Dirty Work--The Hidden Machinery and Human Toll of Europe's Broken Recycling Trade" Adnan Khan investigates the plastic waste trade and uncovers how companies skirt regulations. Turkey's most marginalized workers end up paying the price, sometimes with their lives. buff.ly/FazjzSv

NEW PODCAST: Listen to highlights from our Honoring Joe Stork event, taped live in DC! Featuring Sarah Leah Whitson, Lisa Hajjar, Mouin Rabbani, Joel Beinin, Zachary Lockman, Rick Reinhard, Joan Mandell and Joost Hiltermann!

We've made some amazing strides as an organization this year -- here are some of the new ways you can engage MERIP! In July, we launched The MERIP Podcast. You can listen to all the episodes on our website or your preferred platform! buff.ly/8Y46BBx

Our Summer/Fall Double Issue, Material Politics of Normalization, reassessed the Abraham Accords after five years to demonstrate how so much of the material support for the Accords paved the way for the genocide in Gaza. buff.ly/ZtmFjpW