When children and grandchildren of Latino immigrants find language induces an identity crisis
By Amelia Tseng, Assistant Professor in Spanish and Linguistics, American University A young Latina mother I was interviewing once laughed uncomfortably as she described her sons’ embarrassment when put on the spot by older Latinos. They would speak to her sons in...
Kristallnacht: The point when emotional antisemitism became systematic government violence 85 years ago
By Michael Scott Bryant, Professor of History and Legal Studies, Bryant University Late in 1938, Nazis across Germany attacked Jews and their homes, businesses and places of worship and arrested about 30,000 Jewish men. The attacks became known as Kristallnacht, the...
A fascist commitment: How Trump’s violent rhetoric echoes a destructive and bloody shift of society
By Mark R. Reiff, Research Affiliate in Legal and Political Philosophy, University of California, Davis Former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric has regularly bordered on the incitement of violence. Lately, however, it has become even more violent. Yet both the press...
Israel’s identity: How intergenerational trauma shapes Jewish responses to Hamas war criticism
By Dov Waxman, Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Professor of Israel Studies, University of California, Los Angeles In the wake of the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7, and the Israeli military response, Jewish people in Israel and around the world...
Humanitarian dependence: An already weak health system in Gaza has been overwhelmed by a siege
By Yara M. Asi, Assistant Professor of Global Health Management and Informatics, University of Central Florida For the wounded, injured and sick in Gaza, there is seemingly no escape. On October 17, 2023, news broke that at least 500 patients, staff, and people...
The invasion of Ukraine is a war crime and calling it a “tragedy” shelters Russia from its responsibility
By Mariana Budjeryn, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom, Harvard Kennedy School Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to cause unspeakable, unimaginable suffering. By now, the word “tragedy” is firmly installed in the lexicon of the war and has become...
Russia admits it has no plans to rebuild Ukrainian cities it destroyed in order to illegally annex land
Ukrainians living in parts of Donbas illegally seized by the Russians in 2022 are facing another hellish winter with the aggressor state openly saying “there’s no point” in rebuilding many of the cities it destroyed. Russian minister of construction Irek...
Gaza relief operations: The difficulty of navigating logistics and politics to deliver vital aid during war
By Topher L. McDougal, Professor of Economic Development & Peacebuilding, University of San Diego The 2.2 million people who live in Gaza are facing economic isolation and experiencing incessant bombardment. Their supplies of essential resources, including food...
Weaponized Oil: Lessons from the traumatic energy crises of 1973 for the U.S. economy today
By Jim Krane, Fellow in Energy Studies, Baker Institute for Public Policy; Lecturer, Rice University; and Mark Finley, Fellow in Energy and Global Oil, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University Fifty years ago, a secret deal among Arab governments triggered...
“Killers of the Flower Moon” details just one story of how the U.S. was built on stolen lands and wealth
By Torivio Fodder, Indigenous Governance Program Manager and Professor of Practice, University of Arizona Director Martin Scorsese’s new movie, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” tells the true story of a string of murders on the Osage Nation’s land in Oklahoma in the...
President Biden’s trip to the Middle East had messages for both global and domestic audiences
By Allison M. Prasch, Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Politics and Culture, University of Wisconsin-Madison U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to travel to an active war zone and the scene of an unfolding humanitarian crisis spoke volumes, even before his arrival....
War of weak results: Why a reflexive act of military revenge could burden Israel like it did the U.S.
By Peter Mansoor, Professor of History, General Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair in Military History, The Ohio State University In the wake of the shocking invasion of southern Israel by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to...
