beirut

Soldiers from the IDF's Egoz Reconnaissance Unit, which specializes in guerrilla warfare in southern Lebanon. (Illustrative photo: IDF Spokesperson/Flickr)

Another unnecessary war

The following is a prediction best left unfulfilled. Faced with the drums of war, one must remain resolute, even if there is no certainty that war will break out. Too much is at stake. And if war does not break out now, it will at a later time. It will materialize one way or another. By…

By +972 Magazine February 7, 2018

Palestinian worshipers hold a mass prayer in the streets of East Jerusalem as an act of civil disobedience after Israel implemented new entry arrangements for Al-Aqsa Mosque, Wadi Joz, East Jerusalem, July 21, 2017. (Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

+972 Magazine’s 20 most-read posts of 2017

From the Palestinian director shattering taboos in her own society, to a journey away from Zionism, to Richard Gere likening Hebron to Jim Crow, here are the most popular articles we published this past year. By +972 Magazine Staff 20. Looted from Beirut 35 years ago, now on display in Tel Aviv Read the full article here. 19. Two…

By +972 Magazine December 29, 2017

Sadiq Jalal al-Azm seen during a lecture series at University of California, Los Angeles's Department of Near Eastern Studies in 2006. (Bgadsby)

Goodbye to the Syrian intellectual who sought to liberate his homeland

Sadiq Jalal al-Azm, who passed away last week, was a Syrian intellectual of the highest order. He placed a mirror in front of both the Arab world and its tendency to blame the West for all its ills. By Dror Ze’evi The Arab states are in trouble. Their citizens are unable to break through the…

By +972 Magazine December 18, 2016

Latest

Heinz-Christian Strache, Chairman of the Freedom Party of Austria. (photo: (Franz Johann Morgenbesser CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Israeli Right’s historic ties to European fascism

The ruling Likud party welcomed to Israel members of the far-right Austrian Freedom Party, whose founders were high-ranking officials in the Third Reich. But the Israeli Right’s ties to fascist movements stretch back as far as the 1920s. By Noam Rotem The heads of the Freedom Party of Austria, an extremist, far-right political party, are…

By +972 Magazine April 14, 2016

The Beirut skyline. (Shutterstock.com)

From Haifa to Beirut: ’48 Palestinians challenge regional isolation

It is difficult to comprehend what it means for Palestinians who have only an Israeli passport to live in the Middle East, isolated from the region around them. An interview with one of a handful of activists challenging that reality by crossing seemingly forbidden borders.

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man February 20, 2016

A woman lays flowers at an impromptu memorial a day after the Paris terror attacks, Le Petit Cambodge / Carillon, November 14, 2015. (Maya-Anaïs Yataghène/CC)

Paris attacks show the interconnectedness of our troubles

If the attacks on Paris are viewed as ‘an attack on us all,’ then so too should the wars in Syria and Iraq. Like millions of others last night, I stayed up for hours following the news of the horrifying attacks in Paris. At the same time that I dreaded the rising body count and…

By Amjad Iraqi November 14, 2015

Yazan Halwani, joined by local students, working on the mural of Fares in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Alex Volkel)

The Syrian child who became a symbol in Beirut — and Germany

Twelve-year-old Fares al-Khodor sold roses in West Beirut for five years until he was killed in an airstrike during a visit to his hometown in Syria. Touched by the massive outpouring from people who knew him in Lebanon, artist Yazan Halwani brought his memory all the way to Germany. By Avi Blecherman Yazan Halwani, a…

By +972 Magazine October 1, 2015

Protests in Lebanon demanding that the government resume trash collection in Beirut, August 29, 2015. (Joelle Hatem /CC 2.0) Demonstrators have also begun to demand an end to the sectarian nature of their government.

Five years on: Why the Arab Spring is here to stay — and win

Despite highly destructive counter-revolutionary forces like a-Sisi in Egypt and ISIL in Iraq and Syria, there are grassroots movements across the region demanding governments that serve the people — all of the people. By Yoav Haifawi* On Friday, August 28, 2015, demonstrators in southern and central Iraq (those parts of the country not under “Islamic…

By +972 Magazine September 16, 2015

Jaffa Port (Lisa Goldman)

From Jaffa to Beirut: Re-imagining a borderless Middle East

On a day trip through Israel, one truly understands how close the country is to the great cities of the Middle East. Unfortunately, distances here aren’t measured by kilometers, but rather by border crossings. By Leehee Rothschild Sometimes I think that the greatest tragedy of this place is not what it has become, but what…

By +972 Magazine June 11, 2014

PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat being interviewed by Uri Avnery in west Beirut. (Photo by Anat Saragusti, courtesy of Uri Avnery)

How three Israeli journalists brought Arafat into Israeli homes

Fifty years after the founding of the PLO, journalist Anat Saragusti talks about the first interview Yasser Arafat gave to an Israeli media outlet, looking for the real story in Beirut under siege, and the importance of pushing the limits of society’s comfort zone. By Anat Saragusti This story can go in a number of directions.…

By +972 Magazine June 7, 2014

Palestinian citizens of Israel demonstrate against the Prawer-Begin Plan, BeerSheva, May 12, 2013 (Photo by Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

Unafraid: The new generation of Palestinian activists in Israel

For decades, Palestinian citizens of Israel lived in fear of the internal security services. But the new generation of political activists are simply not that impressed by Shin Bet intimidation anymore. By Ala Hlehel / ‘The Hottest Place in Hell‘ (Translated from Hebrew by Dimi Reider) When I was in my second year of university…

By +972 Magazine April 23, 2014

Majd Kayyal at his home in Haifa days after he was released from Shin Bet custody. (Photo by Shiraz Grinbaum/Activestills.org)

‘The Shin Bet was very nice, and therein lies their racism’

Majd Kayyal, the Palestinian journalist from Haifa who Israel detained incommunicado when he returned from Lebanon, speaks to +972 about what it’s like visiting Beirut as a Palestinian, his Shin Bet interrogation and why Israel wants to deter Palestinian citizens of Israel from visiting the Arab world. Text by Rami Younis Photos by Shiraz Grinbaum/Activestills.org…

By +972 Magazine April 23, 2014

How one Palestinian citizen challenged Israel’s ‘enemy state’ policy

Majd Kayyal’s right to travel and participate in a conference in Beirut is far more important than his right to fulfill his role as a journalist. That right belongs to him as a human being, an Arab and a Palestinian who has absorbed the cultural richness of Lebanon’s capital. By Salah Mohsen The release of…

By Haokets April 19, 2014