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Arab Idol Syndrome
Once the “King of Emotion,” the Lebanese singer Fadel Chaker’s career was derailed by his association with a radical cleric and alleged involvement in violent clashes. Yet despite his arrest this weekend, he’s topping charts again and is defended by legions of fans.
A Rehearsal for Democracy
In a country long accustomed to stage-managed politics, Syria’s first elections after the fall of Bashar al-Assad offered both the trappings of democracy, and a revealing look at a process of improvisation.
The Settlers Bursting Tel Aviv’s Bubble
For years, Tel Aviv was considered an island of liberal secularism in a sea of militant messianism. But a centrally organized program to settle religious-nationalist ideologues in the city is causing increasing unease.
Rashid Khalidi on One of the Worst Periods in Palestinian History
Rashid Khalidi joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss two years of war on Gaza and its place in the greater war on Palestine.
The Burden of Metaphor in Gaza
The ecosystem of imagery and protest, in which an alienated Gaza petitions a world powerless to help it, is a familiar one for Palestinians. But even if it is well-intentioned, what worth does this solidarity have if it only gains purchase for itself?
A Plane Crashed in the Desert. Thirty-Five Years Later, It Would Help Take Down Nicolas Sarkozy
The families of the victims of a 1989 bombing never imagined they would see the name of the Libyan intelligence chief who was convicted for it resurface decades later — not as a fugitive brought to trial, but as a bargaining chip in the political rise of a French presidential hopeful.
Beijing’s Military Parade May Not Be the Show of Unity That It Seems
Last month’s military parade in Beijing brought the leaders of Russia, China and North Korea together in a show of unity. But the history of such meetings reminds us of the hidden dynamics beneath the diplomatic veneer.