DAWN

Foreign Combatants and Transitional Justice: The Expanding Case of Polisario Fighters Detained in Post-Assad Syria Time will tell whether that reasoning leads to their release or further detention in today’s new Syria after choosing to fight with a barbaric regime that killed hundreds of thousands to retain its gr...

"Newly surfaced evidence revealing the role of Polisario fighters in Syria's war, who once backed the former dictator Bashar al-Assad, complicates stalled transitional justice efforts and Syria’s return to the regional fold," reports @renanetjes.bsky.social.

Join us Thursday, December 11, 2 PM ET online for: “Politics in an Accidental Crucible:” A discussion of Sean Yom’s new book, “Jordan”

With @seanyom.bsky.social, @mattlac.bsky.social, Ben Schutze, Jamal al Tahat, Yara Bataineh and @sarahleah1.bsky.social

Register: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Learning Without Walls: Rebuilding Education in Gaza After Two Years of Devastation The international community must confront the full scale of devastation inflicted on Gaza’s education sector and act decisively to support its reconstruction, not only as a humanitarian necessity, but...

"In a world that has allowed so much to be destroyed, Palestinians in Gaza continue to teach us one unshakable truth: Even amid genocide, learning is a form of freedom," Ghada al-Rozzi writes from Gaza.

Jordan’s Strategic Outlook Brightens After Turbulence Amman faces considerable challenges. Unemployment remains over 20%, and the country’s national debt has spiked to over $63 billion. Yet, the Gaza ceasefire and improved ties with Damascus provide Abdu...

Jordan's geopolitical and strategic outlook headed into 2026 should be viewed with "more optimism than initially expected," writes Aaron Magid.

"Still, Amman faces considerable challenges," particularly with ongoing economic stagnation.

MBS’ Vanity Projects Are Bleeding Saudi Arabia Dry Saudi Arabia can’t even afford Mohammed bin Salman’s follies, let alone the investment into the U.S. he promised Donald Trump.

"For all their utopian dreams, the megaprojects championed by MBS don’t signal the future, but the trap represented by Saudi Arabia’s political economy."

My @wpr.bsky.social column on MBS and the staggering waste of his development "vision." Gift link: www.worldpoliticsreview.com/mbs-trump-sa...

Egypt: A New Museum Cannot Legitimize a Nation Without a People In essence, the regime has succeeded in manufacturing an imagined past that not only justifies its policies but effectively redefines what Egyptian history, the nation, the state and the military mean...

With the Grand Egyptian Museum's opening, Cairo continues to redefine the past to both "justify its policies [and] effectively redefine what Egyptian history, the nation, the state and the military mean today," writes @magedmandour.bsky.social.

The Crime Prevention Law Exposes the Crisis of the Jordanian Regime King Abdullah’s rhetoric regarding his “vision of political modernization” rings hollow when the system’s foundations rest on colonial-era instruments of control.

"Jordan’s continued reliance on the Mandate-era Crime Prevention Law exposes a deep crisis of governance," writes DAWN's Jamal al Tahat.

If unaddressed, Jordan could become another "Middle Eastern state undone by its refusal to adapt."

The Two-State Solution Has Long Been Dead. Here's How to Bring Peace to Israel-Palestine Instead In their new book, Dawn's Sarah Leah Whitson and Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man lay out a blueprint to end the occupation and transform an undemocratic one-state reality into a democratic one.

“The international community’s approach to Israel-Palestine has, for the most part, prioritized resolving national-political aspects of the conflict over steps to ensure an end to Israeli crimes,” say DAWN's @sarahleah1.bsky.social & Michael Omer-Man in their new book "From Apartheid to Democracy."

The Coming of the Obliteration Doctrine In the aftermath of the Gaza genocide, the term “obliteration” is very much in the air—for all the wrong reasons. Asked by CNN in early October about what would happen if Hamas refused to relinquish p...

Pulling excerpts from his new book, "The Obliteration Doctrine," Dan Steinbock describes Israel's military strategy in Gaza as one of "obliteration."

As he argues, "the result has been genocide."

Egypt: A New Museum Cannot Legitimize a Nation Without a People In essence, the regime has succeeded in manufacturing an imagined past that not only justifies its policies but effectively redefines what Egyptian history, the nation, the state and the military mean...

The Grand Egyptian Museum's opening in Egypt, paired with pro-regime propaganda, "serves to justify its foreign and domestic policies," writes @magedmandour.bsky.social.

That includes sidelining President El-Sisi's most pressing nuisance: the people.

Egypt: A New Museum Cannot Legitimize a Nation Without a People In essence, the regime has succeeded in manufacturing an imagined past that not only justifies its policies but effectively redefines what Egyptian history, the nation, the state and the military mean...

With the Grand Egyptian Museum's opening, Cairo continues to redefine the past to both "justify its policies [and] effectively redefine what Egyptian history, the nation, the state and the military mean today," writes @magedmandour.bsky.social.

Egypt: A New Museum Cannot Legitimize a Nation Without a People In essence, the regime has succeeded in manufacturing an imagined past that not only justifies its policies but effectively redefines what Egyptian history, the nation, the state and the military mean...

My latest for @dawnmenaorg.bsky.social

dawnmena.org/egypt-a-new-...

Silent Numbers: Achieving Accountability Amid Israel’s Genocide of Gaza If Israel’s intent is to continue the genocide, as recently reported, the international community remains many steps behind in preventing it. But if world leaders are complicit, where does accountabil...

Accountability in Gaza "starts with effective fact-finding efforts and access to sound data from within the Gaza Strip," writes @ramonawadi.bsky.social.

But Israel's deliberate attacks on the infrastructure reporting on deaths hampers efforts today.

DAWN Statement in Response to President Trump’s Defense of Mohammed bin Salman over Jamal Khashoggi’s Murder (Washington, D.C., November 18, 2025) — In response to President Trump's defense of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over Jamal Khashoggi's murder during today's White House meeting, DAWN issues the f...

The Trump administration is enabling and exploiting the Saudi regime's repression.

Following Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Washington, read the latest article from ALQST founder Yahya Assiri in @dawnmenaorg.bsky.social.

dawnmena.org/dawn-stateme...

Israel used widely banned cluster munitions in Lebanon, photos of remnants suggest Exclusive: Images are first indication that Israel has used cluster munitions in nearly 20 years

"Israel used widely banned cluster munitions in its recent 13-month war in Lebanon, photos of munition remnants in south Lebanon seen by the Guardian suggest ... Israel blanketed Lebanon with 4 million cluster bombs in the final days of the 2006 war."

Trump’s anti-press outburst hits differently with a Saudi prince by his side | CNN Business President Trump frequently demonstrates his disdain for journalists. He expresses his admiration for authoritarians almost as often. Tuesday showed how intertwined those two instincts really are.

"Trump was 'reflecting his belief that the press is there to be subservient to him, to shut up when he demands they shut up when he finds the question embarrassing,' said @sarahleah1.bsky.social, executive director of DAWN, a non-profit founded by Khashoggi in 2018."

The Trump Administration is Enabling and Exploiting the Saudi Regime’s Repression This visit embodies a deeply cynical alliance: MBS gains political and security protection while Trump profits politically and financially.

"MBS's return to Washington represents the normalization of repression, a turn to a world increasingly desensitized to violence and impunity, especially after Oct. 7 and the atrocities committed by Israel," writes Yahya Assiri.

Trump dismisses US intelligence that Saudi prince was likely aware of 2018 killing of journalist President Donald Trump is dismissing U.S. intelligence findings that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman likely had some culpability in the the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khas...

“President Trump has Jamal Khashoggi’s blood on his hands,” said Raed Jarrar, advocacy director for DAWN, which was founded by Khashoggi. "Trump has made himself complicit in every execution and imprisonment MBS has ordered since," Jarrar added, responding to Trump's defense of Mohammed bin Salman.

“The change in Saudi Arabia seems to be from killing journalists behind closed doors to executing them in plain sight.”
— Abdullah Alaoudh (@aalodah.bsky.social), Senior Director for Countering Authoritarianism at @mideastdc.org

As Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) visits the White House, DAWN joins rights advocates outside the Saudi Embassy in D.C. to remind the world that MBS ordered Saudi agents to kill DAWN's founder Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

“MBS’ visit mainly aims to refurbish his image in the U.S. ... both Trump and MBS will sit in the White House, in an embarrassing exchange of huge Saudi funds for more public popularity for both ... This will not serve the interests of the people of Saudi Arabia.”
— Hala Aldosari, DAWN Fellow.

Khamis Ayyad is one of 13 Americans killed by Israeli forces in Palestine since 2003. The Israeli government has not held anyone criminally accountable for these crimes.

DAWN is calling on Congress to demand that the State Department investigate these killings: dawnmena.org/u-s-congress...

Khamis Ayyad is one of 13 Americans killed by Israeli forces in Palestine since 2003. The Israeli government has not held anyone criminally accountable for these crimes.

DAWN is calling on Congress to demand that the State Department investigate these killings: dawnmena.org/u-s-congress...

“It's a tragic irony that while Saudi Arabia carries out a record number of executions — including prominent journalist Turki al-Jasser, just a few months ago — MBS comes to Washington for his first visit since his regime’s ruthless murder of Jamal Khashoggi.”
— @aalodah.bsky.social, @mideastdc.org

“The historian Tacitus wrote of the Roman conquest of Britain: ‘They created a desert, and called it peace.’ Who can be surprised that a lopsided ‘ceasefire’, with no Palestinian input and with the U.S. as the guarantor, allows Israel to fire at will?”
— Michael Lynk, Former UN Special Rapporteur.

The Perils and Pitfalls of a U.S.-Saudi Defense Pact U.S. troops would be obliged to defend Riyadh.

"What [a US-Saudi security pact] does is further normalize an American political economy in which state power defends capital rather than citizens and foreign policy becomes a tool for private advantage, subsidized by the American public," writes DAWN's @sarahleah1.bsky.social in @foreignpolicy.com.

His family say he was a fisherman. The Saudis say he smuggled drugs. He was one of hundreds executed this year | CNN Egyptian fisherman Mohamed Saad is one of hundreds of people executed this year in Saudi Arabia, most accused of non-lethal drug crimes. Campaigners worry US ties are giving the kingdom free rein.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "enjoys (a) complete lack of accountability,” says @sarahleah1.bsky.social, ahead of his White House visit.

“(The executions) are meant to instil fear and show that the consequences for behavior deemed unacceptable by the Saudi government are severe & harsh."

“It's a tragic irony that while Saudi Arabia carries out a record number of executions — including prominent journalist Turki al-Jasser, just a few months ago — MBS comes to Washington for his first visit since his regime’s ruthless murder of Jamal Khashoggi.”
— @aalodah.bsky.social, @mideastdc.org

Today, 1 PM ET: Don't miss this DAWN and @mideastdc.org online event: Rightsizing the U.S.-Saudi Arabia Relationship: What to Make of Mohammed bin Salman's Washington Visit

With @aalodah.bsky.social, Hala Aldosari, and @sarahleah1.bsky.social

Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Monday, Nov. 17, 9 AM ET/ 5 PM Istanbul, online book event: "From Apartheid to Democracy: A Blueprint for Peace in Israel-Palestine"

Co-authors Michael Omer-Man & @sarahleah1.bsky.social of DAWN, with Center for Islam and Global Affairs, Istanbul Zaim Universitesi

Watch: youtube.com/cigaistanbul