Middle East Monitor Conversations

 Has Iran's direct retaliatory strike on Israel been a major blow to Israel's deterrence capacity or a blow to Tehran on a world stage? MEMO speaks to leading experts on US-Iran relations Dr Trita Parsi.In this week’s MEMO in Conversation we speak to award winning author and expert on US-Iran relations, Dr Trita Parsi to discuss the latest escalation between Iran and Israel. Parsi offers his insights on the dangers of the current moment, drawing comparisons to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.US President Joe Biden is making moves to prevent an escalation in the region, but has he been effective? The conversation explores the reasons behind Iran's decision to retaliate this time, unlike in the past, and consider whether there was a major miscalculation on the part of Tel Aviv. Has Tehran's strike been a major blow to Israel's deterrence capacity?Don't miss this timely and thought-provoking conversation with one of the world's leading experts on US-Iranian relations and the geopolitics of the Middle East. Parsi is an award-winning author and the 2010 recipient of the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. He is an expert on US-Iranian relations, Iranian foreign policy and the geopolitics of the Middle East. He has authored three books on US foreign policy in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Iran and Israel. He was named by the Washingtonian magazine as one of the 25 most influential voices on foreign policy in Washington DC in both 2021 and 2022, and preeminent public intellectual Noam Chomsky calls Parsi 'one of the most distinguished scholars on Iran.'His first book, 'Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States', won the silver medal winner of the 2008 Arthur Ross Book Award from the Council on Foreign Relations. His second book, 'A Single Roll of the Dice – Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran' , was selected by Foreign Affairs as the Best Book of 2012 on the Middle East.Parsi’s latest book, 'Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy', reveals the behind the scenes story to the nuclear deal with Iran.

The Arab world of yesteryear had cities abuzz with sounds, schools, mosques and places to learn and improve. Now these cities have dropped in importance and become dirty and congested as Western ideas of metropolitan life took over, but is there a revival?  Urbanisation is deeply rooted in Arab history. The city has been the epicentre of Arab ideals and Islamic tradition. Muslim empires have long been noted for their emphasis on building great cities and encouraging urban dwelling. For the Mamluks, Cairo represented their vision for an Islamic city, with more mosques, religious schools, endowments and religious public spaces than any other metropolis of that time. Sound was a big feature of the Mamluk city, the call to prayer, Quranic recitations and the sounds of worship were audible throughout Cairo no matter the time or day. Other Arab cities implemented their own understanding of Islamic ethics by applying it to both function and aesthetics of the city. Hygiene played a big role, protecting the poor was important and creating spaces to enable spiritual wellbeing of residences, the pre-modern Arab city enabled life in its various forms. However, the 1800s would see all of this change and modernisation would see traditional attitudes towards architecture, function and purpose of cities uprooted and supplanted by newer and more Westerner ideas. Today, Arab cities are much more marginalised by ruling authorities, dirter, run down and poorly persevered. While major cities of the pre-modern period have fallen from importance from Baghdad to Cairo, cities in the Gulf are thriving and changing the face of the region. We ask what happened to the Arab city. Joining us to answer this question is Nasser Rabbat. Rabbat is the Aga Khan Professor and Director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT.  His interests include Islamic architecture, urban history, heritage studies, Arab history, contemporary Islamic art and post-colonial criticism.  He has published numerous articles and several books on topics ranging from Mamluk architecture to Antique Syria, 19th century Cairo, Orientalism, and urbicide.   His most recent books are 'Writing Egypt: Al-Maqrizi and His Historical Project'; 'Nasser Rabbat: Critical Encounters'; and ‘Imarat Al-Mudun Al-Mayyita' (The Architecture of the Dead Cities. His co-edited book, 'Reconstruction as Violence: The Case of Syria' will be published later thsi year.  He is currently editing a book on the cultural history of Syria, tentatively entitled, 'Syria: The Land Where Cultures Met', and writing a history of Mamluk Cairo.

Subhead: Will the UN reactivate the Special Committee Against Apartheid to end Israel's years-long abuse of Palestinians? And will the World Court try the occupation state and bring an end to its abuses? Join us as we discuss what measures are being taken on a world stage to tackle Israel's aggressions.In an unprecedented move, allegations of Israel practising apartheid are being examined by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Join us for this week's MEMO in Conversation with Dr Victor Kattan as we discuss the groundbreaking developments surrounding the allegations of Israeli apartheid made before the ICJ and the potential impact of an authoritative apartheid finding by the World Court.An Assistant Professor of Public International Law at the University of Nottingham, Kattan highlights the possibility of the reactivation of UN mechanisms such as the Special Committee Against Apartheid, and the lessons learned from the international community's response to apartheid in South Africa during the Cold War.Kattan provided insight into the distinction between proving the crimes of apartheid and genocide, as well as the role of ad hoc institutions in enforcing international law, while discussing the recent decision by the Appeals Court of The Hague in the Netherlands, which suspended F-35 parts shipments to Israel, as a potential precedent for restricting arms transfers. Kattan offered valuable perspectives on the critical steps needed to address the allegations of Israeli apartheid and ensure the protection of Palestinian rights under international law.Victor is the author of one monograph, four edited books, and more than 30 single authored articles that have been published in peer reviewed journals. He has also published widely on social media, including scholarly blogs, and his scholarship has been cited by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), states in advisory proceedings before the ICJ, Special Rapporteurs to the UN Human Rights Council, the Congressional Research Service, and leading academics.His recent publications include an edited book with Brian Cuddy, titled 'Making Endless War: The Vietnam and Arab-Israeli Conflicts in the History of International Law' and 'The Breakup of India and Palestine: The Causes and Legacies of Partition' which he edited with Amit Ranjan.

This Palestinian Children's Day Israel is blocking the entry of lifesaving humanitarian aid into Gaza and starving minors to death. Charities are unable to access aid that is waiting on the other side of the border and parts of Gaza remain completely off limits to them because of the occupation forces' siege. Thousands face death, scores may have already died of malnutrition but we just don't know about them, Save the Children's tells MEMO. As Israel's war on Gaza enters its seventh month, conditions in the besieged Strip have worsened. Palestinian children now face hunger and severe malnutrition as Israel deliberately prevents humanitarian access to Gaza, which means aid organisations are unable to reach those most in need. Tel Aviv's attacks on hospitals, homes, neighbourhoods and refugee camps means people are unable to reach health facilities to get the care they need. Most people are living below the radar and so the scale of the crisis is not being captured in officially released statistics. MEMO in Conversation is joined by Alexandra Saieh, head of Save the Children's humanitarian policy and advocacy, to discuss the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding and how the charity is trying to respond to it. 

Ever wondered about the origins of some of your favourite Middle Eastern dishes? Many recipes date back to medieval times but have been tweaked and amended to create the modern take and flavours we now know. Join us as Daniel Newman takes us on a journey of food through the ages. During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, where believers abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk, food takes on a whole new significance and despite people not eating during the day, for Muslims across the world, the holy month is associated with all sorts of culinary delights. MEMO has decided to deep dive into the history of food in the Arab World. Along the way, we learn of interesting recipes, we hear of connections between food and home, we understand how health concerns influenced the way people used to eat. Did you know Arabs and Europeans used to eat similar dishes in medieval times? Did you know Arab food used to be renowned for being spicy, but went on became less and less spicy? Helping us to make sense of all of this is Daniel Newman of Durham University. Newman holds the Chair of Arabic Studies at the University of Durham (UK). His research interests include Arabic travel literature, 19th-century Arab reform movements, Islamic medicine and medieval Arab culinary history. He is the author of the best-selling 'An Imam in Paris; Account of a stay in France by an Egyptian cleric (1826-1831)' and was the co-recipient of the World Award of the President of the Republic of Tunisia for Islamic Studies for the book entitled 'Muslim Women in Law and Society'. His book 'The Sultan’s Feast. A Fifteenth-century Cookbook' was longlisted for the Peter Mackenzie Smith Book Prize 2021 and received the Gourmand World Cookbook Award 2021. His most recent book is 'The Exile's Cookbook: Medieval Gastronomic Treasures from Al-Andalus and North Africa'. His research was showcased in a six-part Al Jazeera series on the history of medieval Arab food. He maintains a blog and Instagram account where he shares his passion for bringing medieval Arab dishes to life by recreating recipes.

America is Israel's closest ally today. Every US administration since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War has closely embraced Tel Aviv. Washington's political elite's support for Israel goes beyond strategic interest and is treated as a fundamental moral issue. US President Joe Biden's reaction to 7 October 2023 and the subsequent war on Gaza by Israel follows the moral script set out by both previous US administrations and DC elites. Despite this, Israel's war on Gaza is not in America's strategic interests and is harmful to US foreign policy. We are joined by former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chas Freeman who believes support for Israel's current war has wrecked American credibility, isolated the United States and will destabilise the Middle East. In this MEMO conversation, we delve into why Freeman believes Israel does not share American values and how Tel Aviv's racism has led to a genocidal war. We also speak to Freeman about his diplomatic career including working for US President Richard Nixon, going to China, dealing with King Fahd and his observations of Saudi society. Freeman is the author of five books and numerous articles on statecraft and the editor of the Encyclopedia Britannica article on “diplomacy”. He is a former US assistant secretary of defence, ambassador to Saudi Arabia, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, chargé d’affaires a.i. at Bangkok and Beijing, acting US commissioner for refugee affairs, and director of programme coordination and development at the US Information Agency. He was the principal American interpreter during the late President Nixon’s 1972 opening of US relations with China.

Mahmood Mamdani, a distinguished historian and the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government at Columbia University, discusses the genocidal nature of nation-state building, particularly in Gaza. He explores the historical roots of the Gaza crisis, linking it to colonial practices and the implications of Zionism. Mamdani critiques the relationship between nation-building and ethnic cleansing, advocating for 'de-Zionisation' as a path to peace. He also highlights the need for more inclusive governance models that embrace diverse identities across Palestine and beyond.

The 13th century saw the Middle East invaded and occupied by both the Crusaders and the Mongols, but both invaders quickly built their own political systems and transformed the Middle East. The 13th century ushered in a violent transformation of the Middle East. Crusader armies burst into the Levant and took large swaths of territory. Towards the east the Mongols crossed into the heartlands of Islam. While the initial sentiment to the invaders was one of terror, both the Crusaders and the Mongols came to be seen as part of the landscape, and societies under their rule came to see them as people they could do business with. The region was forever changed, but what were these changes and what was the legacy of this period? Dr Nicholas Morton joins MEMO to help answer these questions.Dr Morton is the course leader for History at Nottingham Trent University and the author or editor of several books. His most recent publication is The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East (2022) which offers a multi-perspective account of the Mongol invasions into the Middle East during the 13th century. 

In this week’s MEMO conversation we speak to Professor Haim Bresheeth-Zabner, author of the acclaimed book An Army Like No Other, to discuss the outsized role of the military in Israeli nationhood. Professor Haim's research chronicles how the Israeli army has ascended beyond a military body to become the most revered institution in Israel - with profound implications on politics, society, national psychology and on the prospect of peace.Professor Haim traces the roots of the primacy of the Israeli army within the apartheid state and explains how a deep-rooted sense of military dominance and mythic invincibility inculcated over decades has been shaken by the 7 October attack. We explore how the special status of the Israeli army makes peace based on justice and international law an impossibility and what that might mean for the future.Professor Haim Bresheeth is a filmmaker, photographer and a film studies scholar, retired from the University of East London where he worked since early 2002. He now teaches at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). His books include the best-selling Introduction to the Holocaust, which he co-authored, and An Army Like No Other: How the IDF Made a Nation (2020).

Canadian Professor of Law Mohammad Fadel joins us for a conversation on the ongoing crisis in Gaza, including Israel's military operations and blockade. With Professor Fadel's legal expertise, we analyse the implications of the International Court of Justice case alleging Israeli genocide against Palestinians. We also address the campaign against academic freedom unfolding in Canada, where pro-Israel groups seek to censor university lectures and events about Gaza. Professor Fadel outlines the threat this poses to free speech and peaceful opposition to state policies.Mohammad Fadel is a professor at the faculty of law at the University of Toronto. He is the former Canada Research Chair for the Law and Economics of Islamic Law. His research areas include business corporations, economic analysis of law, Islamic law, and political philosophy and theory. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago and his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law.