Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

Joel Beinin

Joel Beinin is Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History and professor of Middle East history at Stanford University and a contributing editor of Middle East Report.

Primers

Palestine-Israel Primer

Palestine, Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Joel Beinin, Lisa Hajjar • 64 min read

Current Analysis

The Manufactured Controversy About Ilhan Omar and the Israel Lobby

The firestorm that greeted newly elected Congresswoman (D-MN) Ilhan Omar’s tweets about the Israel lobby’s clout in Congress reveals as much about her critics as it does about the rising tide of progressive politicians who no longer show deference to establishment prohibitions on criticizing Israel.

Joel Beinin, Noura Erakat, Omar Baddar, Mouin Rabbani • 21 min read

Egypt's Left Opposition Party Holds Second Congress

Cairo, July 2. The National Progressive Unionist Party (Tagammu‘) held its second national congress in Cairo on June 27-28, 1985. The Tagammu‘, Egypt’s principal left opposition party, is a united front formation including members of illegal communist organizations, independent Marxists, Nasserists,

Joel Beinin • 4 min read

Current Analysis

From Gaza to Jerusalem to Iran

By forging a regional alliance aimed at confronting Iran and its allies, the new coalition of the US, Israel and allied Sunni Arab regimes intend to relegate the Palestinian issue to collateral damage in order to succeed.

Joel Beinin • 9 min read

Current Analysis

Recognizing Annexation

The White House announcement distinguishes between recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and establishing an embassy there and recognizing “the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem.” In other words, the Trump administration, like all those before it, seeks to avoid acknowledgi

Joel Beinin • 7 min read

Current Analysis

Fifty Years of Occupation

“Beautiful Israel” and the 1967 War Joel Beinin The 1967 Arab-Israeli war unleashed forces that reshaped Israeli politics and society. But much about the war is rooted in the military tactics, governance practices and political culture of “beautiful Israel,” as liberal Ashkenazi Zionists often nostalgically refer to the pre-1967 state.

Maha Nassar, Ilana Feldman, Zachary Lockman, Noura Erakat, Joel Beinin • 23 min read

Current Analysis

Letter to Bernie, II

Dear Sen. Sanders, I’m a contributor to your campaign and enthusiastically support your bold, relentless critique of the billionaire class that is undermining democracy and making a decent life impossible for millions of people. I’d like you to speak more about how big money has been a destructive

Joel Beinin • 4 min read

Current Analysis

Egyptian Workers After June 30

The independent labor movement that has flourished in Egypt since the ouster of former president Husni Mubarak enthusiastically supported the Tamarrud (Rebel) campaign for the huge June 30 demonstrations asserting a popular vote of no confidence in President Muhammad Mursi. The Center for Trade Unio

Joel Beinin • 9 min read

MER Article

Letters

How to Talk About Terrorism

Joel Beinin • 4 min read

Current Analysis

Workers, Trade Unions and Egypt's Political Future

During the week of December 15-22, 2012, between the two rounds of the referendum on Egypt’s newly adopted constitution, workers struck at three large, strategic industrial enterprises. At two, the strikers quickly achieved their main demands.

Joel Beinin • 16 min read

Current Analysis

The Left, the Jews and Defenders of Israel

When Menachem Begin first visited the United States in December 1948, a host of Jewish notables including Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt, Irma Lindheim (former president of Hadassah), Seymour Melman (former president of the Student Zionist Federation) and the biblical scholar Harry Orlinsky wrote to

Joel Beinin • 13 min read

Current Analysis

A Revolution Is Not a Marketing Campaign

A revolution is not a marketing campaign or a digital social network.

Joel Beinin • 2 min read