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Latest Mideast Dispatches

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* Latest dispatch: “Soft coup” in Riyadh / (1) Women’s rights and ties with Israel likely to improve (2) Saudi shake-up has one goal: Drag the country into modern era (3) NY Times: Trump’s preferred candidate wins again, this time in Saudi (4) El Al to fly over Saudi airspace?

Hamas’ “moderate rebranding” fools some media, while on the ground it becomes more militant

* Latest dispatch: Why attack London, Paris & Brussels? / Neither ‘losers,’ ‘nihilists,’ nor ‘sick cowards’ – but rather believers and idealists;
* London dispatch 2 / London’s Muslim mayor to consult Israel on fighting terror

* Latest dispatch: Six Days War 1 / Revealed: “Last Secret” of 1967 War: Israel’s doomsday plan for nuclear weapons display * Six Days War dispatch 2 / “For the crime of self-preservation, Israel remains a nation unforgiven”

A selection of TV interviews

America & the Mideast

Britain under attack

Brexit

Israel & BDS

The future

* Are we today close to the reality of the novel “1984”?

A selection of articles

Media criticism

The New York Times

* The New York Times: All the news that’s fit to print?

The BBC

UK media's global reach

News or Fake news?

Terrorism and radicalism

Palestinian issues

Israeli issues

The Arab world, Iran & Turkey

Syria

Iran

Turkey & The Gulf

U.S. politics

Human Rights

The Holocaust

Provocative cartoons

Photos essays

Videos: fun and serious

“Tom Gross is probably Europe’s leading observer of the Middle East” -- Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin

“Tom Gross’s dynamic dispatches bring to light stories that matter. He’s a one-man news agency of the most impressive kind” -- Former Arab Affairs editor for the BBC Magdi Abdelhadi, Cairo

“I read dozens of websites about the Middle East but I find new and important information at Tom Gross’s. You can’t skip his dispatches” -- Former U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Elliot Abrams

“Tom Gross does an important job in bringing to our attention some of the most interesting articles published in various media outlets. His comments and analysis are very informative” -- Khaled Abu Toameh, Palestinian affairs correspondent, Jerusalem Post

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Iranian women post photos free of hijab – but only for a few seconds

Hundreds of Iranian women defied strict rules requiring them to cover their heads in public, by sending photos without headscarves to a special Facebook page. They face arrest if they can be identified. They quickly put their hijabs back on after taking the photos.

Interviews with human rights heroes

The wife of Saudi Arabia’s best known political prisoner, liberal blogger Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to 1000 lashes, speaks out.

A schoolgirl who escaped Boko Haram in Nigeria describes her ordeal. Michelle Obama is among those campaigning to #BringBackOurGirls. Most remain in captivity.

An interview with a former French Islamic State hostage in Syria, who was held with the U.S. and British hostages who were then beheaded (including Jim Foley and Steve Sotloff).

This is the impassioned plea which the first female Yazidi MP in Iraq’s parliament, Vian Dakhi, made to draw the world’s attention to the plight of Yazidi girls forced into sex slavery.

Egyptian liberal dissident and former political prisoner Maikel Nabil is one of the moderate centrists that Egypt needs.

North Korean defector and freedom campaigner Hyeonseo Lee has risked her life by criticizing one of the world’s most oppressive regimes.

At the grave of Yasser Arafat in Ramallah. Arafat was not a human rights hero, rejecting a Palestinian state, setting back peace efforts, and keeping some unpleasant company.

Meanwhile on campus…

Incitement to kill Jews made by masked Palestinian students at a “moderate” American-partnered university: A series of photos exclusive to this website from Al-Quds campus.

And on a happier note…

News from the Middle East can be depressing. Here is something more upbeat: people across the region record themselves singing along to the Pharrell Williams’ hit “Happy”.

Happy in Tel Aviv

Happy in Jerusalem

Happy in Beirut

Happy in Gaza

Happy in Tehran

The Iranians who created this “Happy” video were arrested and subjected to harsh detention. Police chief Hossein Sajedinia told the official ISNA news agency that the “vulgar clip” had “harmed public chastity”. Iran’s state-run TV broadcast a program showing the men and women in the video (which had become a hit on Iranian social media sites) confessing to their “crime” on camera. In response, Pharrell Williams wrote on his Facebook page that “It is beyond sad that these kids were arrested for trying to spread happiness”.