Pro-Palestine solidarity in the UAE: A view from Emirati activists
When the normalization agreement between the UAE and Israel was announced in August 2020, the response from the heavily policed and surveilled Emirati population was — understandably — muted. Social media accounts tied to government officials, or those thought to be close to the regime, were quickly vocal and aggressive online in support of the new policy, threatening retribution for anyone who might disagree. Opposition to the policy has come from within the Emirati exile community instead.
Federal court ruling demonstrates limits of anti-Palestinian “lawfare”
On Jan. 6, 2022, a U.S. district court judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) brought by the family of Ari Fuld, a dual U.S.-Israel citizen murdered in 2018 by a Palestinian teenager outside of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. The ruling demonstrates the strictly political nature of the lawsuit, whereby powerful interests with deep pockets use litigation and lobbying to target the PA’s finances, including foreign aid, in order to hasten its collapse, as well as the limits of this type of “lawfare” against the PA.
Eliza Campbell and Emerson T. Brooking discuss the Israeli government’s suppression of Palestinian online speech and activism, the surprising role that American social media companies play in the process, and their recent article for Foreign Policy, “How to End Israel’s DIgital Occupation.”
Recently, the Iranian regime’s anti-Israel campaign scored an own goal when various hard- line regime news outlets targeted former Iranian national soccer team captain Mehdi Mahdavikia with severe criticism and condemnation. Mahdavikia’s crime? Wearing a jersey at an international exhibition soccer match arranged by FIFA in Qatar that featured the flags of all 211 FIFA members, including Israel.
Desalination in Libya: Challenges and opportunities
For the MENA region, groundwater is a hidden but significant problem, as many countries extract more than is being recharged and most lack solid legal frameworks and national water policy regulations to determine use. As a result, there are questions and concerns about the current status of groundwater aquifers, especially with the increasing impact of climate change, as well as the type of sustainable alternative solutions that could assist in conserving them. Libya is no exception to this broader regional trend, and the country suffers from growing water scarcity.
Exploring the feasibility of the Jordan-Israel energy and water deal
On Nov. 22, the Dubai Expo hosted an event where the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Jordan, and Israel signed a cooperation agreement that would broker an exchange of renewable energy and water between Jordan and Israel. The signing of the agreement between the respective minsters of the three countries took place in the presence of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry, who played a role in getting the deal done.
The 4.8 million residents of the occupied Palestinian territories live in two simultaneous and vastly different realities. In the physical world, Palestinians are captives, crammed into Gaza or West Bank enclaves and blockaded by Israeli military checkpoints. But on the internet, the checkpoints disappear.
A personal vantage point on the gamble of the Abraham Accords: Dubai’s first international backgammon championship
Jason Pack on the 2021 Oasis Backgammon Championship, the first major international backgammon tournament to be hosted in the Arab World in recent memory, and how it reflects broader changes in the Middle East.
