Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then-US President Donald Trump, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed display their copies of signed agreements as they participate in the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and some of its Middle East neighbors, in a strategic realignment of Middle Eastern countries against Iran, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, US, September 15, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Tom Brenner/

President Donald Trump is planning a trip to the Gulf States in May. According to the White House, he will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In anticipation, others are shifting gears, raising the question. “Are we getting closer to, or farther from, a peaceful region?”

Jordan just banned the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). The country’s Interior Minister said all MB activities would be banned in the country, and anyone promoting the group’s ideology will be held accountable by law. He added that the ban includes publishing, and requires “closure and confiscation” of all MB offices and property.

This, along with the Kingdom’s ban on Al Jazeera, puts Jordan in line with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Israel and Bahrain also ban Al Jazeera, as does the Palestinian Authority (see below). All these entities understand that the Qatari government-owned media outlet magnifies and encourages radical MB ideology, promotes Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and attacks conservative Arab governments.

Jordan’s actions garnered praise from a prominent UAE entrepreneur posting on X: “The UAE was among the first to ban the Muslim Brotherhood and warn the world about its ideology … This is not Islamophobia! This is about national security, public safety, and peace.”

This is a step forward.

Lebanon

While Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun agrees that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) should be the only armed force in the country, he is hedging over what happens to the remaining Iran-supported Hezbollah forces and weapons. “Any divisive issue should not be approached through the media or social platforms, but rather through quiet and responsible communication with the concerned parties.”

Hezbollah wouldn’t agree “to give up its arms de facto out of principle,” Karim Safieddine, a Lebanese political writer and doctoral student in sociology at Pittsburgh University, told Al Jazeera. Instead, they could disarm “in exchange for big benefits.”

Now, that is a bit of bravado, as Saudi reports indicate that more than 200 of the remaining Hezbollah commanders have left Lebanon for South America, where the organization has a well-entrenched drug and arms smuggling network.

Apparently, the commanders fear they could be targeted if more of its infrastructure is dismantled — though whether it would be targeted by the IDF or by unhappy Lebanese citizens is unclear. In any case, there are still tens of thousands of Hezbollah supporters in the country, and Lebanon still permits the airing of Al Jazeera.

But, an Israeli military source told Ynet, “In large areas, the Lebanese army is taking action against Hezbollah to a much greater extent than we expected.” Israel’s decimation of Hezbollah offers Lebanon its best chance for stability and prosperity in decades. If they can take it. It is a maybe.

The Palestinian Authority

It almost sounded as if Mahmoud Abbas, the corrupt dictator of the Palestinian Authority (PA), in the 20 year of his single, elected 4-year term, had come to grips with the monstrosity of Hamas behavior. Abbas called on Hamas to “release the hostages.” And, indeed, he did call Hamas “sons of b****es,” a huge insult.

But this is not about peace. Abbas opposes the continued holding of hostages by Hamas because he, Abbas, is paying a price. And Israel is winning. He told an audience:

They don’t want to hand over the American hostage. You sons of b****es — hand over what you have and get us out of this. Don’t give Israel an excuse. Don’t give them an excuse. Hamas has given the criminal occupation excuses to commit its crimes in the Gaza Strip, the most prominent being the holding of hostages. Why have they taken them hostage? I am the one paying the price. Our people are paying the price, not Israel … My brother, just hand them over. [emphasis added]

The banning of Al Jazeera by Abbas should be seen in this context. Al Jazeera, and the Government of Qatar, support Hamas over the PA and incite violence against both the PA and Israel. While the latter is acceptable to him, the former is not.

And Abbas isn’t too keen on Americans, either. He told his audience: “They [the Americans] said: Normalize, or something like that. You know the Americans; the Americans are like this. May their father be cursed [Laughter and applause]. I am not a great Arab leader. I am a dwarf, this small. Thirty-three times I told them, ‘No!’”

This is not a man seeking a resolution of the conflict either with Israel or the United States. This one is a no.

Finding Peace

The Abraham Accords of 2020 split the region. There remain those like Lebanese Sunni Islamic scholar Aboubaker Zahabi, who, during a protest in Beirut, declared: “To the sons of Zion, our religion is the religion of jihad. We will come to you and slaughter you.”

But there is also Khalifa, who marked Holocaust Memorial Day: “Standing here today as an Emirati and a believer in tolerance, coexistence and peace, I honor the memory of Holocaust victims and pay tribute to their memory by working to create a world where dignity is upheld and diversity is cherished.”

And Mohamed Albahraini of Bahrain, who wrote: “#Holocaust Remembrance Day. Asking God for the victims of our #JEWISH brothers and sisters mercy and forgiveness. May their souls rest in peace forever.”

As the President prepares for his trip, more Khalifas and Mohameds — and fewer Aboubakers — means more possibility that the region’s upheaval will ultimately result in peace. Good luck, President Trump.

Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of The Jewish Policy Center and Editor of inFOCUS Quarterly magazine.

The post Finding Peace in the Middle East first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Schaeffer Hall, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. Photo: Flickr.

My mother always taught me to “be a leader, not a follower.” Throughout my life, I’ve watched people blindly follow senseless trends, and nowhere is this more apparent than on college campuses — where ideas, both good and bad, take root and spread.

Before college, my exposure to Jewish history and culture was limited to small but meaningful moments: studying and singing Oseh Shalom in choir, visiting the Holocaust Museum and hearing from a survivor, or staying up past my bedtime to read a biography of Anne Frank.

Despite these glimpses, I had never actually met a Jewish person until I arrived on campus.

Universities are one of the major front lines for the battleground of ideas and this became extremely apparent after the anti-Israel protests were started in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 atrocities.

 It was there that I saw firsthand how misinformation about Israel distorts history, fuels antisemitism, and turns ignorance into hostility.

After observing the ambivalence — if not outright hostility — that many people on my campus showed towards the Israeli victims, I decided to host a Vigil for Israel on October 17, 2023. It featured prayers, a candlelit moment of silence, and chalk messages across campus advocating for fellow Hawkeyes to stand with Israel.

Within 24 hours, our vigil was defaced. Individuals crossed out our Israel flags, replaced the word Israel with “Palestine,” and washed away our messages.

Since then, whenever I’ve attended so-called pro-Palestinian “peace” rallies, I’ve been confronted by individuals who told me I wasn’t welcome and singled me out simply for being there.

Recently, in March I saw a student wearing a hoodie that said in Arabic, “If you come back, we will crush it and blow up your entire army.”

The previous summer, while covering a rally, I captured video of a woman denying the rape of Israeli women and openly declaring her support for Hamas.

While she was free to do so, it’s hard not to see a connection between this level of discourse and hearing stories about Jewish students being followed and harassed by would-be thugs sporting pro-Jihad sweatshirts.

These incidents aren’t isolated. I was asked to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Free Speech and Antisemitism on November 8, 2023, after continuing to witness how free speech was only protected for some students and not others on college campuses.

During this testimony and the national news interviews that followed, I heard firsthand from students at Cornell and other universities who have faced blatant antisemitic harassment, enabled by misinformation that has justified Hamas and demonized Israel.

Last December, I shared how the situations on campus aren’t getting better when I testified at Congressman Greg Murphy (R-NC)’s Annual Free Speech Roundtable,

My experience, and the experiences of my peers seems to be the norm. I was the president of the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) student group at the University of Iowa, and chapter members from across the country have faced similar situations.

At Saint Louis University, in September 2024, two YAF students were disciplined for including a pre-approved banner in a 9/11 memorial that expressed solidarity between the US and Israel against radical Islamic terrorism after an anti-Israel student complained that part of the banner was leaning up against a building.

An activism initiative that Young Americans for Freedom has begun is the Stand for Israel Memorial each October. To remember the one year anniversary of October 7, chapters at the following schools attempted to participate in the project which, involves displaying Israeli flags to remember the hostages, but were met with challenges on campus:

At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, administrators prohibited a YAF chapter from displaying Israeli flags to commemorate victims of Hamas’ October 7 attack. This has led to a Civil Rights complaint being filed by Young America’s Foundation in February 2025.

At the University of Georgia, officials delayed approval for a memorial display and later used bike racks to shield Israeli flags from extremist student backlash.

At Michigan’s Waterford Kettering High School, administrators refused to recognize a YAF chapter and barred students from displaying Israeli flags in remembrance.

At my school, the University of Iowa, in October 2024, pro-Hamas students vandalized a banner for our pro-Israel speaker, shouting slogans calling for the destruction of Israel.

Fighting unrestrained anti-Israel lies and bullying is important — not just for Jewish students, but to anyone who values free expression, academic freedom, and genuine inclusion on campus.

As someone who believes in diversity of thought, speaking out against this unfair abuse of free speech  is essential to protecting those values. This fight will only be won when people of all backgrounds — especially the non-Jewish majority — step up, take ownership, and demand not just support for Israel, which is both justified and necessary, but also the fundamental right of every student to feel safe and free to speak their mind.

Jasmyn Jordan is a 2024-2025 CAMERA Fellow and senior honors presidential scholar at the University of Iowa, double majoring in Political Science and International Relations, with a minor in Journalism.

The post I’m Not Jewish, But Supporting Israel Matters to Me first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas holds a leadership meeting in Ramallah, in the West Bank, April 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman

As Israel commemorates Yom HaShoah — Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day — Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) is sending out a six-point outline of its recent warning that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has adopted basic components of Hitler’s Nazi ideology.

The PA describes the Jews as a subhuman, dangerous threat to humanity that must be exterminated.

PMW first published this warning in an op-ed, and here are the key components of the Palestinian Authority’s ideology:

1. Jews endanger humanity — they ruin every society in which they live:

• Official PA daily: “From all corners of the globe, I see and understand the harm they [Jews] have caused … They want to subjugate the entire world.”

2. Judaism itself endangers humanity

• Israeli affairs expert on PA TV: “The Israeli culture of murder and destruction … is based on the Torah.”

3. Jews are subhuman:

• Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “[Jews are] grazing herds of humanoids — people or creatures that Allah created in the form of humans … apes and pigs.”

4. Accordingly, Jews are hated and deserve to be hated:

• Mahmoud Abbas: “Europe hates the Jews … because of their social role… . Hitler … fought the Jews because they worked based on usury and money. In other words, they caused ruin.”

• PA TV: “Their [Jewish] thinking is based on racism that caused them to be hated everywhere.”

5. Finally, the colonial states created Zionism/Israel to get rid of their Jews:

• Official PA TV: “The Europeans hated them and wanted to get rid of them, so the European countries … had the idea of establishing a Jewish state’”
• Official PA TV: “They — Europe and America — succeeded in getting rid of the Jews, whom they view as human waste, and they threw them out into Palestine.”

6. Humanity will be saved through the extermination of the Jews

• Repeatedly on official PA TV: “Allah, strike the thieving Jews … count them and kill them one by one, do not leave even one.”

The world cannot make the same mistake of ignoring genocidal hate that it made in 1939, or that Israel made in October 2023, for that matter. When people say they want to kill you and back it up as God’s directive, they must be taken seriously.

This article must be read as a warning, and you can read the text of PMW’s full article.

The author is the founder and director of Palestinian Media Watch. 

The post Yom HaShoah 2025: How the Palestinian Authority Replicates Nazi Ideology first appeared on Algemeiner.com.