Middle East Monitor Conversations

Events in the MENA directly impact Italy which is just 35 miles away, but how are the changing political dynamics affecting Rome's Middle East policy?  Italy's fate is deeply entangled with the Middle East and North Africa, the Italian island of Pantelleria is just 35 miles off the Tunsian coast. Whenever tensions flare up in the Middle East and North Africa it triggers public debate in...

  Is the new Syrian administration reflective of society and is it able to build a country free of political authoritarianism? A member of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement joins us to discuss this and more. We are now three months on from the fall of the Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria ending 54-years of his family's rule. The ending of his dictatorship has left the Mediterranean country...

People in Lebanon are angry at the level of state corruption and dysfunction, and Salafist movements are offering them an alternative.  Nationalist populism has been sweeping the world in the last decade overturning traditional politics in countries ranging from the US, Hungary, India, Italy, Britain and others. But populism is not only something nationalists engage in, religious populism has also...

  Accusations of anti-Semitism have shaped the way governments and institutions respond to Israel’s actions over the past 15 months, but this not only limits open discussion, but also hurts the Jewish community, the journalist and author says. In this episode of MEMO in Conversation, Rachel Shabi joins us to discuss her latest book ' Off-White: The Truth About Antisemitism' . Shabi, a Br...

Joe Biden was said to be the most pro-Israel US president in decades, with Donald Trump taking over the White House, we ask what will Washington do next? Israel's 15-month genocidal assault on the besieged Gaza Strip was aided by the United States of America. While in his outgoing address, President Joe Biden cited obtaining a ceasefire as among his administration's crowning achievements...

How will the new year shape the ever changing Middle East? And will US President-elect Donald Trump give in to pressure from Israel and take military steps against Iran and widen the unrest in the region?  2025 is finally here and as ever Middle East Monitor is keeping an eye out on trends, developments and issues impacting the MENA region. The year opens with Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaz...

The 'international division of humanity' is central to imperialist logic and explains the reasons behind the treatment of Palestinians by the Global North, but this very concept is leading to the West's waning power on the world stage, journalist and historian Prashad tells MEMO. In this episode of MEMO in Conversations we sit down with Vijay Prashad, one of the world’s leading Marx...

In its recent report, War Child revealed that 96% of children in Gaza believe death is imminent, while 49% expressed a wish to die due to Israel's relentless bombing campaign, making Gaza 'the most horrifying places in the world to be a child'. King unpacks the report and speaks of his first hand experience after returning from Gaza.  Over the past 15 months, the world has witnessed...

Israel has deep historical ties with oppressive regimes, arming many that have been accused of genocide. But how is Tel Aviv using expertise it is gaining during its war on Gaza to make a profit?  Israel has transformed its occupation of Palestine into a lucrative global enterprise, exporting methods of control and surveillance worldwide. Joining MEMO in Conversation to discuss Israel’s role in th...

Pamphlets were the social media of their time, they helped spread dissent and were pivotal to the polarisation of politics during the Ottoman Empire, Nir Shafir guides us through the communications revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries.  The Ottoman Empire banned the printing press and stifled intellectual and economic development in the Middle East due to religious objections. At least this h...

The war on Gaza is raging on, with Israel looking set to impose a permanent security zone in the Strip. With less than one month before US President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House, what should Europe do to bring peace to the region and justice for the Palestinians? In this week’s MEMO in Conversation we examine a timely new report from the European Council on Foreign Relations that asse...

When Daesh was defeated in 2017, many thought their crimes would be forgotten and their victims would have the terrors they experienced swept under the carpet, but a new online museum has been launched to preserve and educate people about the group's atrocities. Over a decade ago, the world was fixated on the emergence of Daesh or so-called Islamic State, the terror group that took control of...

 Germany has repeatedly stressed its unwavering support for Israel and its actions in Gaza over the past 14 months, but what is underpinning this position and will it ever shift? Against the backdrop of Israel's devastating assault on Gaza, Germany has emerged alongside the US as one of Israel’s most ardent defenders. While US support has been crucial in allowing Israel to carry out its genoc...

For many, the civil war in Syria has been a distant memory, but that all changed when in a sudden turn of events, rebel groups captured the country's second largest city, Aleppo, and began to move towards other northern cities. But why is all this happening now? Syrian journalist Hussam Hammoud joins us to explain. What a difference a few days make. Up until the end of November 2024, Syria&ap...

Many have wondered how states have allowed the massacres in Gaza to continue for over a year and what can be gained from them. Investigative journalist Kennard exposes corporate power and state intervention to highlight why the genocide in Gaza has been allowed to continue. In this episode, MEMO is in Conversation with investigative journalist and author Matt Kennard who joins us to delve into Wes...

From raising a family to a nation, how debates around modernisation, democracy and capitalism gave birth to a new Arab woman.  In the 1850s the Arab world underwent a gendered revolution brought about by western missionaries, integration into the global capitalist economy, the print press and reform efforts. Life in the eastern Mediterranean within a few decades after the 1850s was unrecognisable...

The 16 and 17 centuries saw an eruption in espionage, spying and covert operations, with a growing network of Christian clergymen, traders, slaves, travellers, nobles and others who were also intelligence operatives for Istanbul. We speak to the author of the book 'Spies for the Sultan' to find out more. The Bishop of Heraclea, an Orthodox clergyman, approached the Habsburg royal family...

As an anti-apartheid activist, Stavit Sinai has repeatedly taken action against the occupation state of Israel, but she made headlines when, in 2022, she was one of two Israelis arrested for storming the site of Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems in the UK, she speaks to MEMO about why it's important not to stay silent. Elbit Systems is Israel's premier arms and military technology...

CAPTION: On Nakba Day in 2022, 7 activists stormed the site of Israel's largest weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems in an effort to disrupt its operations and highlight the atrocities its 'field tested' weapons have caused against Palestinians. Two of the activists were Israeli and they spoke to MEMO to discuss why they continue to protest.  Elbit Systems is Israel's premier arm...

The anti-Zionist Jewish movement has led numerous anti-war protests calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza, but what’s the history of Jewish opposition to Zionism? Israel claims to be working to protect world Jewry, but as it continues its bombing of Gaza and expands its military operation into southern Lebanon, the anti-Zionist Jewish movement continues to declare the state’s actions are ‘not...

Algeria won its War on Independence because it won a media war against the French following help from Yugoslavia. But what did the images coming out of Algiers show and how did they frame its battle for a new beginning? France lost the Algerian War (1954-1962) diplomatically because it lost the media war and this forced it to end its 132-year rule of the North African country. The fight for indepe...

Looking back at Israel's conduct over the past year, Baroud highlights Tel Aviv's use of African mercenaries in the execution of its onslaught on Gaza and how the West is enabling the continuation of this aggression. In this week’s MEMO in Conversation prominent Palestinian journalist and author Dr Ramzy Baroud shares his unique perspective on the events leading up to 7 October 2023 and...

Craig Mokhiber resigned from the UN over its inaction with regards the 'textbook case of genocide' taking place in Gaza. One year on, little has changed. He joins MEMO in Conversation to discuss the events of the past 12 months. It has been almost a year since Craig Mokhiber resigned from the UN over the world body's inaction with regards the genocide unfolding in Gaza. The former s...

Palestinians aren't suffering post traumatic stress disorder, there's been no 'post' for them as they continue to live under occupation and colonialism. 'Ongoing stress disorder' is what they experience daily, says the executive producer of Where the Olive Trees Weep. In this week's MEMO in Conversation we speak to Ashira Darwish, one of the producers of ' W...

The occupation's reliance on swift, decisive wars have left it unprepared for the current genocide it is carrying out in Gaza. Military, economic and political spheres are showing signs of decline as a result. Can Israel survive after the war on Gaza? Is Israel in a death spiral? That’s the question we will be discussing with our guest, Sharmine Narwani, a Beirut- and UK-based geopolitical an...