Ghassan Michel Rubeiz

For many decades, I have been advocating for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. (Justice and the Intifada: Palestinians and Israelis Speak about Peace, Friendship Press, 1991; Unified in Hope: Arabs and […]

When I left Lebanon in 1975 I never thought I would stay abroad for the rest of my life. I simply could not imagine that this country would ever reach such a stage of largely self-inflicted decline. The […]

The expanding US military presence in the Mideast reveals a number of central problems. The threats of ISIS lie dormant. The new discoveries of vast fields of natural gas and oil in the Mediterranean Levant basin […]

A popular uprising forced the resignation of the Lebanese prime minister and his cabinet last October. But a strong self-serving government and a very unpopular parliament are still operating with full force. The […]

On December 19, Lebanese President Michel Aoun named Hassan Diab, the vice president of the American University of Beirut (AUB), to form the next cabinet. Saad Hariri resigned on October 29, twelve days after […]

The sociopolitical situation in Lebanon deteriorates. A sign of hope is the resilience of the October 17 uprising.  Public protest against the government’s corruption is unprecedented. Led by women and young […]

The uprising is not about Hezbollah’s dominant role in Lebanon, and it should not be; it is largely about corrupt domestic politics. But the attitude of Hezbollah- locally known as The Resistance- toward real r […]

Americans are divided into many basic issues and President Trump has reinforced this tension. Trump is both a contributing factor to America’s pain and a symptom of its dysfunction. The fact that our commander in […]

As a Middle Eastern Christian, I am alarmed observing TV preachers systematically reminding Americans every hour to abandon Palestine. In legitimizing Israel’s occupation of Arab land, Christian Zionists (the […]

US religious charities are privileged but not held accountable. Are the televangelicals taking advantage of gaps in US law?

With a few words, John Burnett captures televangelists (or televangelicals) in an […]

There is a world of difference between peacemaking and pacification. The former is a participatory process and the latter is an act of imposition.

To facilitate peace, Jared Kushner, President Trump’s advisor […]

Christians United for Israel (CUFI) is a political advocacy network based on an extreme version of Christian Zionism. This network calls on all Christians to offer total support for the State of Israel. As an […]

Prime Minister Netanyahu considers President Trump’s time in office a golden opportunity. He figures that Israel has done very well in the current administration’s first two-and-a-half years. Washington has […]

Arab citizens learn to live in, adapt to and cope with five different controlling, self-serving, adversarial realities: the government, the military, the religious establishment, the militia and the outside […]

On May 9, Algeria’s authorities arrested Louisa Hanoune and charged her with “conspiracy against the state” and “undermining the military.” Hanoune is not involved in the ongoing uprising, but she consistently […]

The leaders of the protests in Sudan and Algeria are aware that ending their old regimes does not mean the end of political Islam. But they are not at all clear about the necessity of inclusiveness in state […]

State building takes decades not years. It is easier to topple dictators than regimes, and it is faster to change regimes than ideas. Protestors need to agree and organize to make a good transition to democracy. […]

The recently sparked public unrest in Sudan and Algeria are not receiving the media attention they deserve.

An earlier round of public protest in the Arab world has discouraged many sympathizers of reform.   […]

After a nine-month deadlock, the Lebanese have a new but predictable cabinet of ministers. Rotation of leadership is rare in the Middle East. Both Prime Minister Saad Hariri (a pro-Saudi Sunnite leader) and Gebran […]

The situation in Lebanon is worrisome. Since May, political impasse persists as the prime minister-designate fails to form a cabinet. The economy worsens; national debt soars: over 150 % of GDP; badly needed […]