On September 16, 2020, U.S. president Donald Trump hosted the signing ceremony for the tripartite diplomatic normalization agreement, known as the Abraham Accords, between the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Israel at the White House. The UAE is the third Arab country to declare normalization with Israel after Egypt …
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Mohammed Assaf’s victory five years on: Arab Idol and the Zionist colonization of Palestine
Abstract This essay, based on the author’s fieldwork on Palestinian music and oral history, examines the position of singer and Arab Idol winner Mohammed Assaf in relation to the contemporary Palestinian struggle and the wider play of power in the Arab world. The issues discussed gravitate towards three main themes: …
Read More »Shining New Light on the Palestinian Cause: The Unintended Consequences of Trump’s Jerusalem Declaration
A few days before U.S. President Donald Trump declared that America would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a number of Arab heads of state—including the leaders of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian Authority (not yet a state but one in the making since Oslo)—were informed that Trump …
Read More »The Arab Spring in Israeli Media and Emergent Conceptions of Citizenship
Abstract This article returns to 2011 and the beginning of the Arab Spring in order to ask how the Israeli middle class came to draw similarities between their conditions and those of the Arab citizens who had risen against authoritarian rule. This question is also about the movement of ideas …
Read More »The Politics of Representation on Social Media: The Case of Hamas during the 2014 Israel–Gaza Conflict
Abstract Alongside the military confrontation that took place in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in July and August 2014, a battle in the media sector was also underway. This study focuses on the agenda of Hamas during different stages of the psychological war between the two sides involved, namely itself and …
Read More »Travelogue of the Israeli Protest: A Dialogue with Contemporary Street Poetry
Abstract The article deciphers the symbolic deconstruction of the Israeli Indignant Protest (2011–2012) on behalf of the local cultural simulacrum—based on Zionist narratives of Judaism. It presents, through the subjective eye of a participant observer, the symbolic paradigm by which the protest opened its way through street poetry’s contemporary representation, …
Read More »BOOK EXCERPT | Sinai: Egypt’s Linchpin, Gaza’s Lifeline, Israel’s Nightmare
In his most recent book, Mohannad Sabry examines a region that remains a mystery to people around the world. His thorough research and extensive field experience yield profound insight into the complex claims in the territory that have influenced Sinai's history and its present.
Read More »BOOK EXCERPT | Media Power and Global Television News: The Role of Al Jazeera English
In her recent book, Seba Bebawi assesses the veracity of Al Jazeera English's self-proclaimed role as a radical "counter-balance" to mainstream global media. She demonstrates a nuanced understanding of modern media through direct narrative comparisons of the same events covered by Al Jazeera English and by other media outlets.
Read More »PODCAST | Steven Salaita on the Limits to Academic Freedom
Steven Salaita is the Edward Said Chair of American Studies at the American University of Beirut. He is a scholar of indigenous America and has written extensively and comparatively on the question of Palestine and anti-Arab racism. He speaks with Arab Media & Society about academic freedom, tenure, the special case of Palestine, and self-regulating suppression.
Read More »Palestine’s Occupied Fourth Estate: An Inside Look at the Work Lives of Palestinian Print Journalists
In a study of three Palestinian newspapers, Miriam Berger identifies both internal and external pressures that profoundly limit the autonomy and development of Palestinian print journalism. In-depth interviews with Palestinian journalists and a focus on their work conditions reveal untold stories about the obstacles and red lines faced on a daily basis.
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