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A Week to Celebrate in the Middle East, as Israel and the World Look Forward
US President Donald Trump and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attend a signing ceremony in Doha, Qatar, May 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Mark Twain once said, “All generalizations are false, including this one.” Well, I wonder what Twain would have made of Raphael Patai’s 1973 book, The Arab Mind — an audacious attempt to anatomize the psychological DNA of an entire region by offering a sweeping, all-encompassing portrait of the Arab world.
Patai proposed a bold thesis: that Arabs — from Morocco to Iraq, from tribal sheikhs in the Gulf to Cairo technocrats — were shaped by a single cultural code: one that prized honor over truth, shame over guilt, and appearance over substance. It was, in short, a one-size-fits-all user’s manual for the Arab psyche.
Patai’s thesis was, in many ways, the alter ego of what Arabists like Edward Said and Arab leaders like Gamal Abdel Nasser were saying at the time. Although, where Patai saw dysfunction in a singular Arab psyche, they saw dignity. Where he pointed to tribalism and stagnation, they spoke of unity and resistance.
Nasser dreamed of a pan-Arab umma — a unified Arab nation stretching across borders and ideologies. Edward Said, for his part, accused Western scholars like Patai of reducing the Arab world to caricature, feeding a colonial narrative that portrayed Arabs as exotic, irrational, and eternally “other.”
And yet, even as they fought Patai’s conclusions, both sides shared the same assumption: that the Arab world was one thing — one mind, one heritage, one culture, one destiny.
For decades, The Arab Mind quietly but persistently shaped US military training manuals, diplomatic strategies, intelligence briefings, and Middle East policy assumptions. It became the go-to guide for Westerners trying to “understand” the Arab world.
But if Patai were writing today — this week, to be precise — he would have had to call his book The Arab Minds, in the plural. Because President Trump’s glitzy, headline-devouring state visit to Saudi Arabia — and other Gulf nations — has just buried the idea of a singular Arab “mind” for good.
This wasn’t a US-Arab summit from the history books. No fiery speeches about Zionist conspiracies. No somber declarations of Arab unity. Instead, it was a who’s who of the Fortune 500, flown in to celebrate hundreds of billions of dollars in investment deals between the US and its Arab allies. Artificial intelligence, military hardware, aerospace, healthcare, infrastructure — even a Saudi CubeSat hitching a ride on NASA’s Artemis II. This wasn’t pan-Arabism. It was pan-capitalism.
Although… Israel wasn’t invited. Cue the heartburn in Jerusalem. Why is Trump cozying up to the Saudis, the Qataris, even the Syrians — without us? Why is Israel being left out in the cold? But here’s the thing: it’s not a snub. It’s a setup. Because this trip — if you read between the lines — might just be the runway for some of the most unexpected Israeli breakthroughs since the Abraham Accords.
The winds are shifting. Trump’s announcement in Riyadh that US sanctions on Syria are being lifted wasn’t merely symbolic — it was seismic. Suddenly, Syria isn’t a regional pariah — it’s back on the guest list. Trump’s declaration that “peace in the region requires a new approach” may sound like typical political varnish, but it is more likely a nod toward Israeli-Syrian dialogue, which Trump requested from Syria’s new leader. A year ago, that would have sounded like science fiction.
Even more significant is the growing Arab consensus that Hamas and the Houthis are not cherished symbols of resistance — instead, they are a strategic liability. The Saudis and the Emiratis are done with them. Egypt’s stance has shifted. And Qatar, the lifeline for Islamists, is feeling real pressure: either keep backing terror, or keep your seat at the global investment table. You can’t do both anymore.
And here’s the real shocker: there’s serious talk that the Muslim Brotherhood, long hailed as the great hope of pan-Arabism, is on the verge of official disavowal. Arab leaders are beginning to say — openly — that the Brotherhood isn’t the engine of Arab renewal, but the architect of regional chaos. The entire pan-Arab narrative, once held together by slogans and shared grievance, is starting to unravel.
So where does that leave Israel? Exactly where it should be — at the center of the new story. Israel is proof that a small country in a tough neighborhood can thrive when it refuses to dissolve its identity, no matter how intense the pressure to conform or collapse. In a region finally swapping ideology for pragmatism, Israel is no longer the outlier — it’s the blueprint.
So yes, it may have stung to be left off this week’s summit stage. But it wasn’t sidelining — it was positioning. What we witnessed wasn’t exclusion. It was groundwork. This is the slow construction of something much bigger than a photo op or a flashy deal.
The Arab world is no longer a monolith. It’s a collection of countries with diverging interests and evolving priorities — finally ready to let go of the imposed identities of the past and embrace something far more honest, and far more promising.
Which brings us, unexpectedly but powerfully, to Parshat Emor. After a long stretch of laws about priestly purity and sacred times, the narrative suddenly shifts. A fight breaks out in the Israelite camp. One of the men involved is described not by name, but by lineage: “The son of an Israelite woman — who was the son of an Egyptian man — went out among the Israelites…” (Lev. 24:10).
This man ends up blaspheming the Divine Name and is ultimately put to death. It’s a grim episode, but what’s striking is how the Torah frames it. His identity — half Israelite, half Egyptian — isn’t incidental. It’s the whole point.
Here is someone who couldn’t let go of Egypt. Even physically standing among the Israelites, he remained spiritually tethered to a different world. And that wasn’t just a personal issue — it was a national warning.
This wasn’t the only time in the wilderness that Egypt reappeared. Again and again, the Israelites looked back: “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt!” “Let’s appoint a leader and return to Egypt!” But that longing wasn’t innocent nostalgia. It was sabotage. A refusal to embrace a new identity, a new mission, and a different kind of future.
Seen this way, the man’s sin may not have been blasphemy in the narrow sense — it was symbolic. Blasphemy as an expression of identity confusion. Of clinging to something toxic that had already been discarded. He couldn’t break free of Egypt — and in the end, it broke him.
And isn’t that exactly the drama playing out in the Middle East today? For decades, Arab leaders — some sincerely, some cynically — held tight to inherited identities: pan-Arab unity, perpetual resistance, and victimhood. The old slogans were seductive. But they were also paralyzing. And now, slowly, country by country, those slogans are being replaced. With individualism. With trade. With technology, education, and ambition. It’s not perfect — but it’s facing forward.
Israel figured this out a long time ago. That’s why it’s still here. And that’s why it thrives. For all the turbulence of Jewish history, Israel refused to ever be shackled to ghosts of the past. It chose to move forward — to build, to innovate, to surge ahead. And now the Arab world stands at that same crossroads.
Those who choose to let go of their ideological Egypts — who move past Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the tired illusions of The Arab Mind — just might discover what Israel already knows: that real strength begins the moment you stop looking backward.
The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.
The post A Week to Celebrate in the Middle East, as Israel and the World Look Forward first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Al Jazeera Hit With Defamation Lawsuit by Syrian Jewish Ex-Refugee
The Al Jazeera Media Network logo is seen on its headquarters building in Doha, Qatar, June 8, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon
A defamation lawsuit was filed against the Qatar-based Al Jazeera media network on Wednesday by Abraham Hamra, a Syrian pro-Israel advocate and lawyer.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Hamra “is a Jewish refugee from Syria, born in Damascus. He fled Syria with his parents and siblings in 1994 at the age of eight, following the partial lifting of restrictions on Jewish emigration by the Syrian regime under President Hafez al-Assad in 1992.”
The Algemeiner obtained a copy of the complaint, which explains that, on Aug. 25, Al Jazeera posted a video claiming that Hamra was paid by the Israeli government to visit an aid site of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israel- and US-backed program that delivers aid directly to Palestinians, operating independently from UN-backed mechanisms.
“This accusation is false in its entirety. Plaintiff has never received any payment, compensation, or financial incentive from the Israeli government or any affiliated entity for visiting aid sites in Gaza,” the lawsuit claims.
“The visit by Plaintiff related to Israel and Gaza was undertaken independently, in his personal capacity, on his own dime, as an advocate for his community and to bear witness against misinformation,” the suit continues.
The UN and critics of Israel have expressed concerns that the GHF’s approach forces civilians to risk their safety by traveling long distances across active conflict zones to reach one of its four food distribution points, at times creating chaotic scenes where Israeli forces have used gunfire to control the crowd.
However, supporters of the GHF argue that it bypasses the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which often steals humanitarian supplies for its own purposes and sells the rest at inflated prices. The GHF has called on the UN to publicly condemn the killing of aid workers in Gaza and to collaborate in order to provide relief to the enclave’s population, accusing the UN of perpetuating a “vast disinformation campaign” aimed at tarnishing the foundation’s image.
The lawsuit notes that the social media post from Al Jazeera, which included the image of Hamra, “cites no sources for the ‘reportedly paid’ claim, and publicly available information about Plaintiff, including his professional bio, social media posts, and known activities, demonstrates he is an independent US attorney with no financial ties to foreign governments.”
Al Jazeera also “failed to conduct even basic fact-checking, such as contacting Plaintiff for comment or verifying the allegation, despite their status as a major media network with resources to do so,” according to the lawsuit.
Al Jazeera did not respond to a request for comment from The Algemeiner.
The lawsuit argues why the allegedly false claim rises to the level of libel, saying it “constitutes libel per se under New York law because it accuses Plaintiff of committing a serious crime, namely, violating FARA [the Foreign Agents Registration Act] by acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Israel, and tends to injure him in his profession as a lawyer.”
“FARA requires individuals acting as agents of foreign principals to register with the US Department of Justice, and failure to do so is a federal offense punishable by fines and imprisonment,” the suit says. “By falsely alleging Plaintiff was paid by a foreign government to promote its interests, the statement implies criminal conduct and undermines his professional integrity.”
Consequently, Hamra is seeking payment for damages of at least $1,00,000 and requesting a trial by jury.
Read the lawsuit here: Hamra v Al Jazeera ECF No. 1 Complaint
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US Lawmakers Launch Investigation Into Wikipedia Over Claims of Systemic Anti-Israel Bias
US Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC). Photo: Reuters
The US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has opened an investigation into the nonprofit that operates the Wikipedia website, demanding answers over concerns that hostile foreign actors are exploiting the popular online encyclopedia to spread anti-Israel propaganda and antisemitic narratives.
Republican Reps James Comer (KY), who chairs the committee, and Nancy Mace (SC), who chairs the panel’s subcommittee on cybersecurity, information technology, and government innovation, on Wednesday sent a letter to Maryana Iskander, chief executive of the Wikimedia Foundation, asking the nonprofit to turn over records showing how the platform polices disinformation campaigns that target articles related to Israel and the Middle East.
The lawmakers cited studies showing that pro-Russia networks and other state-backed operations have sought to manipulate Wikipedia entries on conflicts involving Israel, often by inserting anti-Israel or antisemitic framing designed to sway Western audiences. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), for example, published a report earlier this year arguing that “malicious” Wikipedia editors have inserted anti-Israel bias onto the site, oftentimes violating the organization’s neutrality policies in the process.
Meanwhile, a report from the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab found evidence of Russian-linked attempts to shape narratives used to train AI chatbots by twisting information about Israel.
“The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating the efforts of foreign operations and individuals at academic institutions subsidized by US taxpayer dollars to influence US public opinion,” Comer and Mace wrote. They emphasized the importance of stopping organized attempts to “inject bias into important and sensitive topics.”
Specifically, the committee is demanding records on possible coordination by nation-states or academic institutions to influence Wikipedia pages, internal arbitration files documenting how the site has handled editor misconduct, identifying data for accounts flagged for suspicious activity, and any analysis showing patterns of manipulation tied to antisemitism or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The letter also requests details of Wikipedia’s editorial policies to ensure neutrality and prevent the spread of bias.
Although the committee acknowledged that most online platforms face disinformation threats, the letter stressed that Wikipedia’s outsized influence as one of the most visited websites in the world and a key training source for artificial intelligence systems makes it especially important to prevent anti-Israel narratives from taking root unchecked.
The Wikimedia Foundation has previously stated that it takes action against volunteer editors who violate neutrality rules, but lawmakers say further transparency is needed to guarantee accountability.
However, a detailed investigation by Pirate Wires in October 2024 revealed that a powerful group of roughly 40 Wikipedia editors coordinated to “delegitimize Israel, present radical Islamist groups in a favorable light, and reshape the narrative around Israel with alarming influence,” particularly after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel. Notably, one editor removed mention of Hamas’s 1988 charter, which calls for the killing of Jews and the destruction of Israel, from the Hamas article just six weeks after the attack. The group also reportedly sought to suppress documented human-rights abuses by Iran, and a related effort by a Discord-based collective known as “Tech For Palestine” coordinated mass editing of articles related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
According to a report by the Jewish Journal, Wikipedia’s arbitration committee (ArbCom) permanently banned two editors outright for engaging in off-platform coordination tied to the “Tech for Palestine” Discord campaign, citing violations of policies. Additionally, the committee imposed indefinite topic bans on eight editors in the Israeli-Palestinian area for disruptive behavior such as non-neutral editing, personal insults, and misrepresentation of sources. In December 2024, ArbCom permanently banned two anti-Israel editors and placed restrictions on three others for violation of site policies in the Israeli-Palestinian topic area.
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Tunisian Brothers to Face Trial for Cutting Down Olive Tree Honoring Murdered Jew Ilan Halimi in France
A crowd gathers at the Jardin Ilan Halimi in Paris on Feb. 14, 2021, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of Halimi’s kidnapping and murder. Photo: Reuters/Xose Bouzas/Hans Lucas
Two Tunisian twin brothers have been arrested in France after allegedly cutting down an olive tree that had been planted to honor Ilan Halimi, a young French Jewish man tortured to death nearly a decade ago.
According to the Bobigny prosecutor’s office, two 19-year-old undocumented men with prior convictions for theft and violence were arrested for vandalizing Halimi’s memorial in the northern Paris suburb of Épinay-sur-Seine.
Both brothers appeared in criminal court on Wednesday and were remanded in custody pending their trial, scheduled for Oct. 22.
They will face trial on charges of “aggravated destruction of property” and “desecration of a monument dedicated to the memory of the dead on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion,” offenses that, according to prosecutors, carry a sentence of up to two years in prison.
Both suspects were taken into custody around noon on Monday while returning to the crime scene, French media reported.
Investigators tracked them down after discovering two slices of watermelon left by the perpetrators at the base of the olive tree, which contained their DNA.
Halimi was abducted, held captive, and tortured in January 2006 by a gang of about 20 people in a low-income housing estate in the Paris suburb of Bagneux.
Three weeks later, Halimi was found in Essonne, south of Paris, naked, gagged, and handcuffed, with clear signs of torture and burns. The 23-year-old died on the way to the hospital.
In 2011, an olive tree was planted in Halimi’s memory. Earlier this month, the memorial was found felled — probably with a chainsaw — in the northern Paris suburb of Epinay-sur-Seine.
Halimi’s memory has faced attacks before, with two other trees planted in his honor vandalized in 2019 in Essonne, where he was found dying near a railway track.
Hervé Chevreau, the mayor of Épinay, announced that a new memorial tree will be planted in the second half of September.
After the attack, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the incident, vowing that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
“Felling the tree in honor of Ilan Halimi is a second attempt on his life,” the French leader said in a post on X.
Halimi’s sister, Anne-Laure Abitbol, also condemned the incident, warning that public denunciations are no longer enough and calling for concrete action.
“In France, we are no longer safe, neither alive nor dead,” Abitbol told RTL in an interview.
“I feel less safe in France,” she said. “By recognizing a Palestinian state, Macron is encouraging antisemitism and failing to take action against antisemitic attacks in the country.”
Last month, Macron announced that France will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September as part of its “commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.”
Israeli officials have criticized the move, which was followed by several other Western countries, calling it a “reward for terrorism.”
France’s Jewish community has faced a troubling surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel sentiment since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Jewish leaders have consistently called on authorities to take swift action against the rising wave of targeted attacks and anti-Jewish hate crimes they continue to face.
According to the French Interior Ministry, 646 antisemitic incidents were recorded from January to June this year — a drop from the previous year’s first-half record high but a 112.5 percent increase compared with the same period in 2023, when 304 incidents were reported.