From Equator Watching Turkish TV this past week has been a strange experience. Since 28 February, pro- and anti-Erdoğan channels have largely suspended their political
Tag: SWANA
Southwest Asia and North Africa
A Left politics that instructs the Iranian feminist to defer her liberation to the requirements of the anti-Western imperial struggle is not offering her solidarity.
From Equator Before the bombs fell, I had started an archive of debates taking place inside Iran in the aftermath of the January protests and
From Boston Review Alex Shams: You have written extensively on sociopolitical transformations in the Middle East in recent decades, including the Arab Spring revolutions that
Let’s be blunt. Kidnapping, arresting, or killing a political figure of one country by another state is defined as illegal in international law, not because
The killing of Ali Khamenei, alongside a number of senior figures from the IRGC and the ruling apparatus, is an exceptional development in Iran’s current
The company in question still operates in Estonia and Jordan The internet shutdown during Iran’s protests of December 2025 into January 2026, the longest in
February 21, 2026, saw Iranian universities once again turn into arenas of protest, chanting, and confrontation. The first day of in-person classes after weeks of
Deconstructing the Myth of the Man Who Cannot Be Raped We were wrong when we confined the discourse of victimhood to women and children, and
From +972 Magazine Saudi accusations that Abu Dhabi acts as Israel’s proxy have ignited a media firestorm. But similar anti-Israel sentiments circulate within the UAE
Sudan’s war is far from a binary struggle; it is a conflict where a web of local, regional, and global interests and tensions has converged
The Marxist historian Mohammed Harbi spent a lifetime dismantling the myths of Algeria’s national movement and warning that anticolonial victories could harden into bureaucratic rule.
How do we move from mobilization to actually winning this fight for our future? In the season finale, Sally and Jess reflect on the moment
The agreement between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on January 30 brings about the integration of the SDF and the
From OffBeat Research Much of the world’s attention on the Middle East has been focused on the man-made famine in Gaza, the collapse of the
A New Age of Protest in Iran. Interview with Chowra Makaremi and Amir Ahmadi Arian – 28 January 2026
The protests that began in Iran last month have been suppressed with a level of state violence not seen since the 1980s, when the Islamic
Recent discussions explain the visibility of pro-monarchy slogans through external forces such as Israel’s misinformation campaigns, satellite television, and foreign-funded media. By locating the explanation
Let us look at the claim of “foreign interference” by Mossad and the CIA in Iran’s protests not through simple denial, but through political and
I have been reading left analyses of Iran recently and there is this pattern that keeps appearing in many. Religion disappears. The theocratic structure of
With the protests that have broken out in Iran, one has seen all-too-typical reactions from those often referred to as tankies or campists. With the
After troops of Syria’s transitional government had captured the Kurdish neighborhoods of Aleppo, events in northeastern Syria escalated rapidly. On Saturday, the leadership of the
Since 28 December 2025, millions of Iranians have been fighting the Islamic dictatorship across the country. Protest actions have unfolded in hundreds of locations, spanning
From +972 Magazine From Jerusalem to Haifa, bus drivers and ticket inspectors are facing an unprecedented surge in attacks — be it from ultra-Orthodox youth
From +972 Magazine By projecting power into the Horn of Africa, Israel aims to increase pressure on rivals, undermine regional stability, and narrow the space
The unrest is growing and now includes a Kurdish general strike and participation by the Baluch and Azeri ethnic minorities The latest wave of protests
From New Lines Magazine Long forced to suppress its culture and history, the minority group is embracing its traumatic past while maintaining its allegiance to
From +972 Magazine Over 150,000 citizens have left the country in the past two years alone — many of them with a one-way ticket and
Host Adam Lucente interviews a number of Al-Monitor journalists on the US removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as they dive into how the action
Interview by Gabriel Fonten with members of Anarchist Front, a collective spreading information about events in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan The uprising in Iran has been ongoing for
A laboratory for a Left of resistance and solidarity against status-quo pacifism. The collective Sinistra per l’Ucraina (“Left for Ukraine”) was formed in Italy in
Welcome to our Israel/Palestine Podcast – a project by graduating high school students from Berlin-Neukölln. Home to Germany’s largest Palestinian diaspora and a second home to
From +972 Magazine The Jewish-Arab movement is celebrating its 10th anniversary after a period of rapid expansion. But as it grows, so do questions about
At the UN’s annual Western Sahara debate, everyone gets heard except the Sahrawis themselves. From Africa is a Country Every year in October, sweater weather
What does it mean to be a Palestinian citizen of Israel in 2025? As Israel gears up for elections in the coming year, Sally and
Investigative journalist Yuval Abraham takes us inside his reporting on the systems driving Israel’s mass killing in Gaza over the past two years. He discusses
A little over a month into the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian response is in a state of chaotic flux amid intense international
In this episode, Sally and Jess sit down with Standing Together co-directors Rula Daood and Alon-Lee Green. They dive into how it felt to see
For over two years, the world has watched Israel carry out daily atrocities in Gaza and wondered: how did Israeli society allow this to happen?
How do “stupidity” and “vulgarity” turn into political action? This isn’t abstract. I still remember a moment in 2004, during a friendly football match between
From Al-Jumhuriya Syrian social media was abuzz in June when Ahmad al-Sharaa, the country’s transitional president, chaired an Eid al-Adha event for prominent Syrian women.
From +972 Magazine By attaching a military goal to each act of killing, Israelis of all stripes could partake in the slaughter without questioning the
Everyone everywhere is talking about what they want the future in Israel-Palestine to look like, but what do we want it to look like? Sally
From New Lines Magazine The religious-nationalist right has targeted Israel’s most secular, liberal city The sound of male voices chanting the Sabbath liturgy was not
As we reach two years since October 7th and Israel’s assault on Gaza, Sally Abed and Jess Bricker reflect on the power and pitfalls of
From identity and belonging to responsibility and organizing, Sally Abed and Jess Bricker unpack why they’re here and why they’re part of a joint Jewish-Palestinian
Solidarity with Standing Together: A Response to Calls for a Boycott, by UK FoST – 17 September 2025
UK Friends of Standing Together responds to renewed calls from some in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement to boycott and no-platform Standing Together
How the Left Misread Syria The Syrian Revolution began in the context of the Arab Spring. While there were many reasons for protest, people took
About a decade ago, I was invited to a small private gathering of Jewish studies scholars to talk about the future of Zionism. One of
On 6 March, a unit of the Syrian state police conducted a ‘combing operation’ in a village near the coastal city of Jableh. They were
Through the paradigmatic case of post-revolutionary Iran, this article argues critiques of power-laden human rights politics epitomised by Makau Mutua’s 2001 ‘Savages, Victims, and Saviors
An interview with Saladdin Ahmed Bahozde from the forthcoming issue of Historical Expertise. Interviewer: Yurii Latysh. Historical Expertise [HE]: Your book Fascism in the Middle
From +972 Magazine In the aftermath of bombings, the Israeli army routinely fires on Palestinian rescue workers, paramedics, and other civilians to prevent them from
From Atar: Sudan in Perspective The Haftar-Hemedti nexus rests on a shared ideology that scorns centralised state authority in favour of personal loyalty networks and
This interview is based on Mohamed Salhi‘s article Reinventing the Right in Morocco: Right-Wing Populist Discourses and Sentiments in Moroccan Online Spaces. It was conducted
From New Lines Magazine Sweida, in southern Syria, a province once spared the worst of the country’s civil war, has become one of its most
From New Lines Magazine What began as intercommunal clashes in Sweida has mutated into a major security operation and Israeli intervention For months, Sweida in
From Himal Southasian Nearly a million Afghan refugees have been deported from Iran in 2025 – many after brutal detention and abuse – to face
From New Lines Magazine They serve in the army, pay their taxes and obey the laws of the land, but have never been granted equality
From +972 Magazine Abu Dhabi seeks to present itself to the West as a stable alternative to an increasingly rogue Israel, where defense cooperation and
1) When I set out to write this report, even the title gave me pause. „Fleeing“—it wasn’t a word I wanted to use. But it’s
On this page we document some dissident and alternative views on the conflict from social movements in Iran and its region.
From Prospect Often, my first reaction to news coming out of Israel and Palestine is a narcissistic one—making it all about me. When I hear
Reports from the past week on workers’ struggles and other protest movements. Produced and edited by: Hayat Almasi and Evin Rezaei, Workers Communist Party of
This is reposted from Libcom, published there as “Iranian feminists speak out”, and originally published in English by the Anarchist Communist Group. Editorial comments below
We are publishing this translation as part of a series documenting some dissident and alternative views on the conflict from social movements in Iran and
Nearly a year after the eruption of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests across Iran in September 2022, Sedigheh Vasmaghi, a renowned theologian, former politician and
We, Iranians and Israelis, share grave concerns for the future of our countries and the region. Israel and Iran have been engaged in indirect conflict
It’s hard to write about something like this. Events are moving very quickly, and it’s difficult for us mere mortals to stay on top of
From Journal Farsi, affiliated with the Worker-Communist Party of Iran, of which Hamid Takvaee is the leader. We are publishing this translation as part of a
From +972 Magazine Israel is conditioning aid delivery to force Gazans south into ‘concentration zones.’ This plan has begun to stall, but that only portends
Following the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, the Islamic Republic has initiated a new wave of widespread repression. Under the guise of “national security”
From The New Arab Building a free and just Syria after five decades of totalitarian rule, in a region rife with instability and foreign meddling,
Yemeni women have taken to the streets in their thousands in recent weeks. They have demanded water, electricity, a better standard of living, the payment
Owen Flood (Solidarity): What is the Black Flag Action Group? How did it come into being? How do you relate to other anti-war groups in
This statement was published with over 1,200 signatures of academics based in Israel. For the online version of the letter in Hebrew, Arabic, and English
From ANF Melis Tantan says that Turkey’s energy strategy is based on colonialism and that energy has become a tool of domination for many states.
The move reflects a broader strategic vision embracing gender liberation, pluralism, and local democracy The formal announcement of the PKK’s dissolution has sparked mixed reactions among Turkey’s Kurds and international
Omdim be’Yachad-Naqef Ma’an, or Standing Together, is a Jewish-Arab social movement in Israel that organises against racism and occupation, and for equality and social justice.
From +972 Magazine Genocidal rhetoric is not new to Israeli politics. But Gaza’s destruction mirrors the apocalyptic language pouring out of the Knesset — where
Growing up in Saudi Arabia, we were taught that the kings gave us everything we needed. That oil was a blessing from God. That obedience
Last November, Kamel Daoud, an Algerian-French author and conservative columnist, received the esteemed Goncourt Prize in Paris for his novel “Houris.” This work, published by
As the world marks the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on 24 April 2025, the enduring power of denialism continues to shape how the
From New Lines Magazine. A recently foiled Muslim Brotherhood plot symbolizes the challenge of growing popular discontent over the war in Gaza, in the Hashemite
From +972 Magazine Despite mounting evidence of the army’s gender-based crimes, Israeli women’s groups have largely ignored or denied the UN’s damning new report. Last
From Sidecar The 15 April marked the two-year anniversary of a civil war in Sudan that has left tens of thousands dead and millions displaced.
Many people have taken note of recent poll data regarding American attitudes towards Israel, which are (to summarize) cratering. Among Democrats, 69% now view Israel
From New Lines Magazine. How settlers took over the country’s press and transformed it into a vehicle for their movement In early August of last
From Vox. The MAGA movement loves Israel — but is increasingly hostile to Jews. Over and over again, the Trump administration has claimed to be
In this period of escalating outrage, and proving right the old adage ‘birds of a feather flock together’, we have learned that Amichai Shikli, Israeli
From New Lines Magazine. Why one Syrian woman says her recent visit to her hometown, after more than a decade away, may be her last
Century International: On Thursday, March 6, Syria’s new rulers began a military crackdown on what they described as a nascent insurgency by supporters of the
Öcalan calls for PKK dissolution, but Turkey may refuse to release him In a historic declaration, the imprisoned founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),
Abdullah Öcalan has called for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party to put down their weapons. What will this mean for Iraq? In the rugged mountains of
Shovrot Kirot aimed to bring together marginalized communities in Israel to build a new political force. But facing funding shortfalls and internal divisions after Oct.
Minutes after the hostage agreement was signed between Hamas and Israel, the streets of the West Bank, several Arab capitals, and even some European cities
From Ill Will Traversing a century of revolution, counter-revolution, and regime change in Iran, Arya Zahedi traces out the social, political, and ideological tensions that
Life in Iran is not lived, it is performed. Every movement, every word, every breath is dictated by an invisible force, an unyielding presence that
Democratic region faces an impossible choice if it loses NATO support On Saturday 15 February, Turkish-backed forces in northeastern Syria killed journalist Egîd Roj. This
Settler colonialism is very much alive in the state of Israel today. Open a newspaper anywhere in the world and you are likely to see
The United Arab Emirates has become a sub-imperial power in Africa, investing in ports, airports and infrastructure projects to extract resources and increase its global