#middleeaststudies — Public Fediverse posts

Board of Peace: One Fascist Dog-and-Pony Show After Another.

Article republished by Jerry Alatalo | August 14, 2026

[Editor’s note: Here is my very brief comment at MiddleEastMonitor.com:

The title for a Hollywood film depicting the so-called “Board of Peace”, produced along the lines of recent (excellent and deserving) winner of the Oscar for Best Picture “One Battle After Another”:

“One Fascist Dog-and-Pony Show After Another”…

MEMO reader ken_lov wrote:

The so-called “Board of Peace” is of a piece with Trump’s “20 point Gaza peace plan”, his “memorandum of understanding” with Iran, his “summit” with Putin in Alaska, his plans to “denuclearise” the Korean peninsula and countless other farcical projects he’s dabbled in, like a child playing grown-ups. It’s an enduring mystery that so many government officials in other countries keep taking him seriously, when surely they should know better by now.

Over time, the term Dog and Pony Show has evolved to describe any event that is seen as overly elaborate or insincere, often in a business or political setting. This term encapsulates the idea of superficiality in presentations, where the focus is on style rather than meaningful content.]

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The Board of Peace: The same old prejudice and injustice of the US administration

August 13, 2026 at 4:29 pm

by Ahmed Asmar

World leaders and founding members of the Board of Peace gather for the inaugural meeting at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, United States, on February 19, 2026. [The White House’s X Account – Anadolu Agency]

The recent statement by Nikolay Mladenov, the High Representative of the so-called “Board of Peace,” should not go unquestioned or unnoticed. In an interview with an Israeli news outlet, Mladenov declared that destroying Gaza’s tunnels, which form part of the Palestinian resistance’s military infrastructure, could take up to ten years. Brazenly, and without a hint of irony, he handed the Israeli occupation army a green-light to remain in Gaza for an entire decade. If this is not entrenchment of the occupation, if this is not active complicity with the Israeli vision of indefinite military control over Gaza, then what is it?

This statement, covered in the neutral language of “technical assessment,” is nothing less than a political endorsement of Israel’s expansionist agenda. It signals to the world—and more importantly, to the Palestinian people—that the Board of Peace under the US administration control is not a neutral entity. It is, in reality, a continuation of the infamous legacy of US administrations that have long shielded Israel from accountability while imposing their own terms on the Palestinians. The Board of Peace is not here to deliver justice; it is here to manage the occupation, to lend it an air of legitimacy, and to ensure that Israeli parameters and arrangements are adopted as the baseline for any future “settlement.”

The Board of Peace: A one-sided arbiter

The Board of Peace is not an arbiter; it is a pressure cooker aimed solely at the Palestinians. Since the ceasefire agreement was signed, Israel has killed over 1,200 Palestinians in Gaza. Not a single word of condemnation has been directed at Israel by such Board. Not a single resolution has been passed to hold it accountable. The Board of Peace, eager to maintain its “balanced” image, has instead focused its efforts on extracting concessions from the Palestinians who are enduring an Israeli genocide, demanding that they accept Israeli conditions, while understanding deceivious Israeli security concerns.

Consider the recent episode when Hamas agreed to a roadmap proposed by the Board of Peace for implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement. Israel rejected it outright. And what was the Board’s response? A careful, diplomatic recognition of Israel’s “security concerns.” Statements following Israel’s rejection were framed entirely within the scope of the Israeli position, including the 10-year period for the Israeli army to remain in Gaza. No pressure. No consequences. No demand for compliance. Once again, the Board demonstrated that its role is not to uphold international law or impose a fair settlement between two warring parties, but to accommodate Israeli intransigence.

Is this a Board of Peace? Or is it an entity that continues the long and shameful path of US prejudice and injustice? The answer is clear. This Board is not a solution; it becomes part of the problem and a vehicle for legitimizing Israeli demands while dismissing Palestinian rights affirmed by international law and UN resolutions.

READ: The Gaza peace Trump announced, and the rejection Netanyahu delivered

A dangerous precedent: Bypassing the UN system

The Board of Peace cannot—and should not—replace the United Nations system. Yet that is precisely what the current US Trump administration is attempting to do. By creating this parallel entity, the US seeks to bypass the international-law-based system that has, for decades, been the bedrock of global governance. The Board is not subject to Security Council vetoes, not bound by the Geneva Conventions, and not accountable to the General Assembly. It answers only to its founders—and their interests.

This is a dangerous precedent, not just for the Palestinians, but for the entire world. It sets the stage for imposing solutions that address one party’s position while ignoring or subduing the other. It signals to every oppressive regime that international law can be circumvented, that the UN can be sidelined or be replaced. If the Board of Peace succeeds in imposing its vision on the Palestinians, what is to stop it from doing the same elsewhere? What is to stop other powers from creating their own “boards” to override the UN system in their spheres of influence?

Even if the Palestinian negotiators were forced to deal with such entity under the crushing weight of the Israeli genocide, this doesn’t mean that the world countries should endorse it or accept it as a de facto imposed entity. For the world community, doing so would amount to entrenching a unipolar system that the entire world wants to dismantle and get rid of its injustices and unfairness in favor of an equitable, multilateral global order.

The Board is not a peace initiative; it is an imperial project. Its goal is not to resolve the Palestinian cause, but to manage it in a way that serves Israeli expansionist ambitions while preserving US regional interests. It is a tool of control, dressed in the language of peace.

A one-man party with no foundation

The Board of Peace is, in reality, a one-man party. Its existence depends entirely on the will of a single imperial leader—one who doesn’t believe in international-law-based world order and seeks to dictate his vision of resolution without understanding the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. It has no strong foundations. It is not rooted in international law, in consensus, or in justice. It is a temporary creation, a tool of convenience for an administration that wants to claim credit for “peace” without paying the price.

If the current administration were to leave office, the Board would likely collapse. It has no institutional memory, no democratic mandate, and no legitimacy beyond the whims of its founders. And yet, while it exists, it continues to cause immense harm. It perpetuates the occupation, delays justice, and deepens the suffering of the Palestinian people.

The world community must recognize the Board for what it is: a tool in the hand of the Trump administration to implement its vision. It must not be allowed to replace the United Nations. It must not be allowed to impose its vision on the Palestinians.

Conclusion

The Board of Peace is yet another sad and dangerous chapter in the long history of US prejudice in dealing with the Palestinian cause. It has proven, time and again, that it is not committed to justice, but to the perpetuation of occupation. It is a body that pressures only the Palestinians, understands only Israel, and bypasses the only system that can deliver justice – the UN.

Even if the Palestinian negotiators were forced to deal with it under the pressure of the Israeli genocide, the world community must not accept it. The world community must remain steadfast in upholding the international-based-order and the UN system that preserves the minimum level of justice for the Palestinians, and must stand in front the US imperialist project that only seeks to perpetuate the world under its hegemony.

Ahmed Asmar

Ahmed Asmar is a journalist and a PhD candidate in International Relations at the Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Turkey.

(Source/credit: MiddleEastMonitor.com)

#AmericanPrestige pod welcomes back historian #RashidKhalidi to talk about #ColumbiaUniversity's entente with the #Trump Administration, #Columbia's measures to bring in "outside monitors," and how powerful donors and neoliberal management models are affecting humanities departments and #MiddleEastStudies.

https://americanprestige.supportingcast.fm/listen/american-prestige-1/e223-columbia-trump-and-the-palestine-exception-w-rashid-khalidi

#studentProtests #ColumbiaU #academicFreedom #campusActivism #stateRepression #GazaSolidarity #PalestineSolidarity #USpolitics #UShigherEd @palestine @israel

American Association of University Professors [#AAUP] v. #Rubio

A case challenging the #Trump administration’s policy of ideological deportation.

"On March 25, 2025, the Knight Institute filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen students and faculty who participate in pro-Palestinian activism. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), AAUP’s #Harvard, #NYU, and #Rutgers campus chapters, and the #MiddleEastStudies Association, argues that the policy chills noncitizens from speaking and, by extension, robs these organizations and their U.S. citizen members of noncitizens’ perspectives on a matter of significant public debate.

"The lawsuit responds to a climate of repression and fear on university campuses. Federal agencies are attempting to deport multiple individuals for their #ProPalestinian advocacy, including #MahmoudKhalil, a leader of protests at Columbia University. These actions have sent chills through the community of noncitizen students and faculty on campuses around the country, causing some to pull out of academic conferences, stay home from #protests, and withdraw from other forms of public advocacy and engagement.

"The lawsuit alleges that the administration’s policy of ideological deportation violates the First Amendment right of the plaintiffs to hear from and associate with noncitizen students and faculty, that it is unconstitutionally vague, and that it violates the Administrative Procedure Act. The suit seeks a court order declaring that the policy is unlawful and enjoining the federal government from enforcing it."

Status: Complaint filed on March 25, 2025.

Case Information: American Association of University Professors v. Rubio, No. 1:25-cv-10685 (D.Mass).

https://knightcolumbia.org/cases/aaup-v-rubio
#YunseoChung #RightToProtest #SilencingDissent #USPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism #law
#immigration #FreeSpeech #MarcoRubio #Trump #FreedomOfAssembly #Authoritarianism #Palestine #CriminalizingDissent #HigherEducation

Looks like the American Association of University Professors agrees with me!

#AAUP, Allies Sue over #Trump Policy of Arresting and Threatening to Deport #Students and #Faculty for #LawfulSpeech

"The national AAUP; chapters at #Harvard, #Rutgers, and #NYU; and the #MiddleEastStudies Association today filed a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration from carrying out large-scale arrests, detentions, and deportations of noncitizen students and faculty members who participate in #ProPalestinian #protests and other protected #FirstAmendment activities.

"We believe that the administration’s ideological-deportation policy violates the First Amendment by targeting constitutionally protected speech that Americans have a right to hear and engage with. The policy has created a climate of fear and repression on campuses around the country. We are represented in the case by the #KnightFirstAmendmentInstitute at #ColumbiaUniversity, #AhilanArulanantham, and Zimmer, Citron & Clarke LLP.

"Following executive orders issued by President Trump in January, the federal agencies that enforce immigration laws have arrested and detained several people associated with U.S. colleges and universities, including a legal permanent resident, on the basis of constitutionally protected speech and association.

"Today’s filing argues that the ideological-deportation policy has created a climate of #repression and intense fear on university #campuses, 'terrorizing students and faculty for their exercise of First Amendment rights in the past, intimidating them from exercising those rights now, and silencing political viewpoints that the government disfavors.'

"'The Trump administration is going after international #scholars and students who speak their minds about #Palestine, but make no mistake: they won't stop there. They'll come next for those who teach the history of #slavery or who provide #GenderAffirming health care or who research #ClimateChange or who counsel students about their reproductive choices. We all have to draw a line together—as the old labor movement slogan says: an injury to one is an injury to all,' says AAUP President Todd Wolfson.

"'The First Amendment means the government can’t arrest, detain, or deport people for lawful political expression—it’s as simple as that. This practice is one we’d ordinarily associate with the most repressive political regimes, and it should have no place in our democracy,' says #JameelJaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute."

Source:
https://www.aaup.org/news/aaup-allies-sue-over-trump-policy-arresting-and-threatening-deport-students-and-faculty-lawful
#RightToProtest #SilencingDissent #USPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism #law
#immigration #FreeSpeech #MarcoRubio #Trump #FreedomOfAssembly #Authoritarianism #Palestine #CriminalizingDissent #HigherEducation

#Thawra

The complete feed of #DanielDenvir's 40-hr pod series w/ historian of the #MiddleEast #AbdelRazzaqTakriti about nationalist and revolutionary movements in the region over the 20th century

https://thedigradio.com/Thawra/

#ArabNationalism #ArabStudies #MiddleEastStudies #MiddleEastHistory #DecolonialStudies #Palestine #Lebanon #Iraq #Egypt #Iran #Israel #Syria #Nakba #Nasserism #PLO #Levant #imperialism #colonialism #ArabLeft #ArabPolitics @palestine @egypt @syria @iraq @iran @israel @lebanon

#JewishCurrents fellow #JonathanShamir attended a retreat for #ArabJews where participants reflected on the fraught promise of Arab-Jewish identity and Mizrahi perceptions of Zionism. He interviews 3 of the participants: Hana Morgenstern, Yaël Mizrahi-Arnaud and Moshe Behar.

https://jewishcurrents.org/the-fraught-promise-of-arab-jewish-identity
#MizrahiJews #Mizrahim #IsraelPalestine #Palestine #Israel #PalestineQuestion #MiddleEast #MiddleEastStudies @palestine

#Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in #MiddleEastStudies, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

Researchers with training in Environmental Studies, anthropology, political economy, urban studies, and geography are particularly encouraged to apply. This fellowship is renewable for a second year contingent upon administrative approval.

Information: https://usccareers.usc.edu/job/los-angeles/postdoctoral-scholar-teaching-fellow-in-the- department-of-middle-east-studies/1209/59788957920

It’s here!!! I haven’t been this happy to hold a book in my hands since my own #book arrived. I’m so, so happy for you @jennykellyedu !!! ❤️❤️❤️ I hope you can soak in this moment of accomplishment, because this is a huge contribution!! Invited to Witness: Solidarity Tourism Across Occupied #Palestine is out now! I’m dropping what I’m doing to read it! 💗💗 #books #academic #CriticalEthnicStudies #FeministStudies #MiddleEastStudies

@stephanie_seul I taught a course on the history of mass media in the Eastern Mediterranean from the printing press to social media. The course website, including the readings is online at https://www.sitzextase.de/57-523-massenmedien/ #MediaHistory #MiddleEastStudies