Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem
Painful Refugee Day, Feverish Year for Ankara By Abdennour Toumi Ankara, Turkey — The Syrian conflict has produced the most compelling humanitarian challenge of the last fifty years. According to the UNHCR (U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees) office, there re 12.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance including 3.9 million who fled Syria and 7.6 million…
When an American Arab was celebrated as contributing to the professional hockey Stanley Cup championship of the Chicago Blackhawks, you would think American Arabs would have recognized it as an opportunity to showcase their contributions to America. Other communities would be celebrating Saad, who happens to be a proud Syrian American of immigrant parents. Yet…
Read More “Arabs miss boat on Brandon Saad Blackhawks win” »
American Arab player Brandon Saad made a critical goal for the Chicago Blackhawks in the 4th game of the Stanley Cup Play-offs against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The goal helped the Blackhawks gain momentum to tie up the series and then go on to win two more games taking the championship Monday night By Ray…
Read More “American Arab Saad helps Blackhawks win Stanley Cup” »
Three-day International Symposium held in Ankara, Turkey explores the challenges facing Syria, its history, politics, and foreign policy, hosted by the SDE Institute of Strategic Thinking in collaboration with Yildirim Beyazit University. Also explored, the Armenian Massacre, the Western divisions of the Arab World, and the Kurdish movement for statehood By Abdennour Toumi Ankara, Turkey —…
When the West created the Arab States after their colonization and occupation of the Middle East region after World War I, did they abandon their promises of implementing Democracies? Today’s Arab countries are not Democratic and have never been in a large part because of the failures of the Democratic West. By Abdennour Toumi Ankara, Turkey…
Amine Gemayel, Lebanon’s former president, raised the “specter of genocide” in speaking of atrocities against Christians and other minorities in the Middle East. Gemayel says Middle East Christians have never been in more extreme danger By Managing Editor “I have never in my life witnessed Middle East Christians in such extreme danger,” Amine Gemayel warned on…
Read More “Middle East Christians in extreme danger Gemayel warns” »
Volunteer doctors with the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) have protested the use of chemical weapons targeting civilians in Syria. At least five bombings using chemical weapons have taken place over several Syrian cities during the past two weeks, SAMS officials report. By Ray Hanania Medical doctors and volunteers working with the Syrian American Medical Society…
Read More “Doctors protest 5 recent chemical attacks in Syria” »
By Ali Rizk The latest developments in the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel leave little room for doubt that a full scale war between the two enemies is highly unlikely. As we move ahead the issue to keep an eye on will be the intelligence/assassination war and how recent events may alter Israeli assassination…
By Abdennour Toumi On Monday, according to local sources of Kurdish media, fighters of the YPG entered the city of Kobani, united with the forces of the Kurdish Alliance, and now together they control 90% of the town and its environs. The city of Kobani has been seen as a major testing-ground for the Kurdish…
Read More “Kurds celebrate Kobani victory with musicfest in Seruç, Turkey” »
By Ali Rizk In August 2013 Israeli defense minister Moshe Yaalon said the following to visiting US joint chief of staff Martin Dempsey: “We must also be prepared for a long conflict and instability in Syria. We cannot let the Tehran-Damascus-Beirut axis of evil to win this fight”. Over a year has passed since then,…
Read More “Watch for growing Israeli-Iranian & hezbollah tension in Syria” »
By Ray Hanania At no time has it been clearer that Israel does not want genuine peace with the Arab World. What Israel wants is for Palestine to disappear and eventually, for the Arab World to go away, too. Israel’s government has repeatedly rejected peace based on Two-States — Palestine and Israel. In Israel’s current…
Read More “Time for Arab moderates to step up to the peace plate” »
Severe weather may take lives among displaced in the Middle East. Storms, snow and freezing cold are threatening lives among exhausted Syrian refugees in the Middle East. Norwegian Refugee Council fears that the insufficient assistance may have fatal consequences for refugees and internally displaced from Lebanon to Northern Iraq. “Similar weather conditions two years ago led…
Q&A with Dr. Veysel Ayhan, President of International Middle East Peace Research (IMPR), a think-tank center based in Ankara, Turkey By Abdennour Toumi, Ankara-Turkey Profile: Dr. Veysel Ayhan is Associate Professor and President of International Middle East Peace Research Center. He is also Associate Professor at the Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey. In May 2012,…
Read More “Exclusive interview with Turkish analyst Veysel Ayhan” »
Jordanian Special Forces are secretly fighting ISIS in Iraq, Syria, sources say By Ali Younes Sources in Jordan have told the Arab Daily News in Amman that Jordan has dispatched 4000 of its special forces to fight the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. According to the sources who spoke to this publication…
Read More “Jordanian Special Forces are secretly fighting ISIS in Iraq, Syria, sources say” »
A Day at the Syrian-Turkish Border, refugees and relief By Abdennour Toumi Nusaybin-Turkey — The Nusaybin gate stands in Qamishli, a city controlled by the PYD, in a self-proclaimed administrative territory in northeastern Syria. At this border gate the Assad regime still controls the administrative process (paper work). A giant smiling portrait of President Assad hangs on a…
Read More “A Day at the Syrian-Turkish Border, refugees and relief” »
Podcast: Who’s Who in Iraq, Syria conflicts Discussion with Ali Younes, Ray Hanania Sept. 9, 2014 (09-26-14) The Editors of The Arab Daily News discuss the various factions and political forces involved in the wars and violence taking place in Iraq and Syria. Who’s who in the conflict? Younes and Hanania discuss the regime of…
King Abdullah of Jordan offers the US to send Jordanian ground forces to attack ISIS in Syria By Ali Younes The Times of London reported last week that King Abdullah II of Jordan had offered western leaders to send Jordanian Special Forces to Syria to fight ISIS. The report stated that the King had made…
New Dilemmas for Turkey’s Syrian-Iraqi Kurds By Abdennour Toumi, Mardin, Turkey As the civil war in Syria continues, the ethnic factor is just one of many paradoxes plaguing this dynamic conflict/crisis. Along Turkey’s southern long borders, it has become clear that with the regime change the Syrian opposition demands have caused Turkey and its regional policy…