[This is a monthly roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Resistance, Subversion and Social Mobilization in the Arab world and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the DARS Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each monthly roundup to DARS@jadaliyya.com.]
News & Commentaries
From Nadia Murad to Suad Al-Ali: Iraqi Women Fight for Political Inclusion, by Lina Khatib
Lina Khatib argues that “the challenges faced by women’s groups in Iraq align with the concerns of wider society that are driving the current protests, centred on a lack of transparency and accountability. Equally, the successes of women’s rights campaigners in countering misogynistic practices, and the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Murad, constitute an important asset for Iraqi reformists with political influence.”
Dozens of Basra Activists Arrested, by Adnan Abu Zeed
Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) arrested approximately one hundred activists, after the Iranian Mehr News Agency accused Iraqi activists linked to the US Consulate in Basra of rioting, vandalizing property and setting fire to the Iranian Consulate in Basra on 8 September.
Jamal Khashoggi’s Disappearance Fits A Brutal New Pattern, by Lina Khatib
Lina Khatib, the head of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House, argues that Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance fits the repression pattern that we have been witnessing over the past year with the ascension of Mohammed bin Salman to the position of crown prince and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. She writes that that the country has become “a state with zero tolerance of even measured dissent.”
Thousands Rally Against Looming Offensive on Northwest Syria, by Mariya Petkova
“Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Syria's last remaining stronghold to protest against a potential full-fledged offensive by government forces and their allies. Activists told Al Jazeera that demonstrations took place in more than two dozen towns and villages in Idlib, a northwest province that is home to more than three million people.”
Houthis Suppress Poverty Protest in Yemen’s Sanaa, Arresting Several Women, by Middle East Eye
“Anti-Houthi activists recently announced via social media that 6 October would be the first day of "the revolution of hungry people" protests in the capital Sanaa. However, Houthis then said that they planned armed demonstrations in several of the same areas, a clear message to the protesters not to take to the streets. Only a few of Sanaa University's women students attempted to protest,” and nine of them were arrested.
Jailed Moroccan Human Rights Activist Among Sakharov Prize Finalists, by Middle East Eye
Nasser Zefzafi, a jailed Moroccan human rights activist, is among three finalists for this year’s Sakharov Prize. Zefzafi is a leader of the Hirak protest movement, and he was sentenced to twenty years in prison in June after a nine-month trial on charges of “plotting to undermine the security of the state.”
Who Is Afraid of Free Media, by Angie Omar
Angie Omar suggest a new analytical framework–the concept of “digging and filling”–to make sense of political and traditional media discourses in Egypt and beyond. She argues that while the “state’s attempts to limit access to information” are ongoing, they are unlikely to persist in the long term.
Google Map’s Endangering Palestinian Human Rights, by 7amlet
7amleh–The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media released a new report entitled, “Mapping Segregation – Google Maps and the Human Rights of Palestinians”. The report reveals new insights about how Google Maps’ mapping process in the occupied Palestinian territories serves the interests of the Israeli government and contradicts Google’s commitment to international human rights frameworks.
The Audacity of Unchecked Power in Khan al-Ahmar, by Hagai El-Ad
Hagai El-Ad, the executive director of B’Tselem, highlights with evidence all the lies and distortions in a recent op-ed by Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman regarding the destruction of an entire Palestinian community in the village of Khan al-Ahmar.
Khan al-Ahmar: Scores of Arrests and Injuries in Protest Against Demolition, by Middle East Eye
The Israeli army arrested Palestinian demonstrators and a French-American activist during a protest in Khan al-Ahmar, a village in the occupied West Bank that is expected to be demolished, despite an international outcry.
Twenty-Five Fridays of Protest in Gaza, by Alan Taylor
A collection of powerful photos from the protests in Gaza.
تونس: اتحادالشغل .. قوةنقابيةبتأثيرسياسي
أعلنالاتحادالعامالتونسيللشغلإضرابافيالقطاعالحكوميفينهايههذاالشهر. نمتالتوتراتبينالحكومةالتونسيةوالنقابةالتيتضم كبرىالنقاباتعلىمدىالسنواتالماضية. وتتحدثهذهالمقالةعنالتاريخالحديثللاتحاد.
احتجاجاتفيالأردناليومرفضاًلقانونضريبةالدخل
حدثتاحتجاجاتفيالأردنعلىقانونضريبةالدخلالجديدالذيتناقشهالحكومةحاليًا. قامتعدةأحزابسياسيةبتنظيمالاحتجاجات. فيحينكانالتركيزالرئيسيعلىالضرائب،ولكندعاالمنظمونأيضاإلىتغييراتفيقوانينالانتخابات.
#خليها_تحمض.. ضجيجالطبقةالوسطىعلىمواقعالتواصلضد «جشع» التجار
يكتبمحمدحمامةعنحملةتويترالأخيرة #خليهاـتحمض. معارتفاعأسعارالفاكهةعلىمدىالأشهرالماضية،دعاالمستهلكيناليمقاطعةفيشراءالفاكهةوأظهردعماًللمقاطعةمنخلالاستخدامهذاالهاشتاج. يناقشحمامةزيادةالضغوطالماليةعلىالطبقةالوسطىمنذتحريرالجنيهالمصري.
عنالتحرشفيالمغرب: "أعيشفيمدينة،نادراماأمشيفيشوارعها"
اصدرالمغربمؤخراقانوناجديدابعنوان "محاربةالعنفضدالمرأة". هذاالقانونهوالأولمننوعهفيالبلدالذييحاسبالمتحرشينعلىأفعالهم. هذهالمقالةعبارةعنمجموعةقصصمننساءمغاربةحولتجاربهنفيالتحرش.
Art
Why Did an Israeli Publisher Release a Book of Translated Arabic Essays Without Consent? by Hakim Bishara
A new book titled Huriya (Arabic word for freedom), released by the Israeli publisher Resling Books is under fire for publishing a collection of stories by leading Arab women writers without their permission. While the editor, Alon Fragman, writes that the purpose of the book is to give voice to the writers “whose voices have been siled for years,” critics argue that this is a colonial, orientalist, and misogynistic approach.
Exiled Syrian Artist Draws Torture to “Continue the Revolution,” by Celia Mebroukine
Najah al-Bukai is an exiled Syrian artist who has been imprisoned and tortured in Syrian government jails. His ball-pen drawings are inspired by what he witnessed during his imprisonment. For him, his art is a form of resistance.
Events & Conferences
Panel | Ground Truth: Testimonies of Destruction and Return in Al-Araqib, 11 October 2018, Columbia University, New York, USA.
Palestinian Universities Under Occupation & Academic Freedom, 17 October 2018, London, UK.
Black-Palestinian Solidarity 1968/2018, 18 October 2018, Columbia University, New York, USA.
The Biannual Conference of the Middle East Studies Forum: Trump and the Middle East, 29-31 October 2018, Deakin University Burwood, Victoria, Australia.
Contemporary Amman and the Right to the City, 3-4 November 2018, Institut français du Proche-Orient, Columbia Global Centers | Amman, and Studio X-Amman, Amman, Jordan.
London Palestine Film Festival, 16-28 November 2018, London, UK.
Book Talk: Palestinian Cinema in the Days of Revolution with Nadia Yaqub, 22 November 2018, SOAS, London, UK.
Rethinking Crisis, Resistance, and Strategy, 2-5 May 2019, Panteion University, Athens, Greece. (Deadline for submissions: 30 November 2018)