Middle East Forum

12/15/2025

The Bondi Beach terror attack did not come without warning — and the record makes that clear.

In a forceful essay, Gregg Roman argues that Australia’s leadership spent more than two years treating an escalating terrorist threat as a social-cohesion issue rather than a national-security crisis.

The question now is whether Canberra will respond with the resolve once shown after past national traumas — or allow political paralysis to define what comes next.

Read more:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/after-australias-bondi-attack-will-albanese-match-howards-courage

If Investigation Confirms Iranian Involvement in the Bondi Massacre, Canberra Must Sever Diplomatic Relations with Tehran

12/15/2025

A Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach became the target of terror — and it didn’t happen in isolation.

In a sharp analysis, Danielle Pletka explains how years of political signaling and indifference toward Jewish concerns created an environment where antisemitism could escalate openly and violently in Australia.

From chants of hatred to firebombed synagogues, the warning signs were visible long before the attack. The failure, she argues, was not surprise — but sustained alienation and avoidance of accountability.

Read more:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/hanukkah-terror-has-roots-in-australias-alienation-of-jews

Canberra Once Aligned with the United States on Middle East Issues, Including Israel, but Prime Minister Albanese Has Hewn a Different Path

12/12/2025

Palestinian independence is collapsing under the weight of internal fragmentation and failed governance.

A model of localized Arab autonomy under Israeli external control may be the only framework with any stability, argues Aaron Shuster in his analysis.

It’s a provocative rethink of what comes after the two-state idea.

Read more:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/palestinian-independence-is-a-fantasy-external-control-is-essential

Arab Communities in the West Bank and Gaza Need to Be Decentralized Arab Emirates with Internal Autonomy, Under Overarching Israeli Control

12/09/2025

Information warfare isn’t supposed to make your opponent stronger. But that’s exactly what happened here.

A bot-driven, AI-enhanced influence operation targeting Iran collapsed so quickly — and so publicly — that Tehran used it as proof of foreign manipulation. Instead of undermining the regime, the campaign gave it ammunition.

Gregg Roman’s latest analysis shows how amateur digital warfare becomes a liability, why Iran was able to expose the network in weeks, and what real influence operations actually require.

This one is blunt, detailed, and worth your time.

Read the full piece:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/when-information-warfare-actually-works

Israel’s Persian Bot Fiasco Shows Exactly What Not to Do—and Reveals the Path to Cognitive Victory

12/08/2025

The live discussion is over — but the most important insights came after the cameras stopped rolling for many viewers.

In our latest podcast episode, Gaza-born analyst Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib explains why Hamas has already re-established control, how international plans have collapsed, and why, in his words, “the return of war is a matter of time.”

If you missed the event, this is the moment to catch up. The stakes—and the timeline—are shifting fast.

Watch the full episode:

https://youtu.be/c3j6cf9J0x4

In this week’s Middle East Forum podcast, Lauri Regan hosts Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib for an unflinching look at whether Gaza’s ceasefire can last – or if war is ...

12/08/2025

LIVE @ 1:00 PM ET — REGISTER NOW AT LINK BELOW

Gaza-born analyst , the driving force behind , joins the MEF podcast to assess Gaza’s future.

He explains why the old international-force model has collapsed and why Israel now faces a strategic dilemma over half of Gaza’s population.

Don’t miss this timely conversation.

https://www.meforum.org/podcasts/december-8-2025-will-war-return-to-gaza-with-ahmed-fouad-alkhatib

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a native Gazan, will offer a stark, forward-looking assessment of the Israeli–Palestinian landscape. He will contend that the long-touted ISF (International Stabilization Force) concept is no longer viable in its traditional form. Alkhatib will discuss the real strategic ques...

12/05/2025

The Winter 2026 issue of the Middle East Quarterly is here.

A wide-ranging set of essays explores Turkish drone power, the reshaping of U.S. evangelical attitudes toward Israel, Churchill’s early Zionism, Islamic history debates, and new book reviews.

From cutting-edge geopolitics to historical analysis, this edition offers essential weekend reading on the ideas shaping the Middle East today.

Read more:
https://www.meforum.org/meq

12/05/2025

A political party created to unite leftists and Muslim voters is now breaking apart.

Infighting over gender and sexual-morality issues has driven Muslim MPs to resign.

As Jules Gomes reports, Your Party’s contradictions have erupted in public.

Read more:
https://www.meforum.org/fwi/fwi-news/u-k-islamo-leftist-coalition-fractures-over-muslim-sexual-morality

Critics Ridicule Unstable Alliance of Socialists and Islamists in Britain’s New Political Party

12/04/2025

A new IFOP survey has set off a national debate in France by documenting rising support for Islamist movements among young French Muslims.

The report shows major generational shifts in religious rigor and political identification, with one in three Muslims aligning with at least one Islamist movement.

Religious leaders, politicians, and scholars are fiercely divided over the poll’s methodology and meaning, leading to legal complaints and counter-complaints.

Full story:

https://www.meforum.org/fwi/fwi-news/as-frances-muslim-population-grows-so-does-its-support-for-islamism

Muslim Groups Suing Researchers for Documenting Growing Radicalism

12/04/2025

Key remarks from the Knesset debate on Turkey’s growing threat to Israel and the West. Check out our previous post for the full MEF press release

12/04/2025

PRESS RELEASE:

MEF has issued a new press release on the Knesset’s historic floor debate examining the growing threat from Turkey.

Lawmakers raised concerns about Hamas sanctuary, blocked corridor projects, and pressure on Israel’s energy routes.

The release highlights how MEF’s long-standing warnings about Ankara are now being recognized publicly.

Read more:

https://www.meforum.org/press-releases/israeli-knesset-debates-turkish-threat-in-historic-cross-party-session

Years of Middle East Forum Warnings Validated as Israel's Parliament Takes Action

12/04/2025

Inside Sudan’s War: Exclusive Interview with a Pro-RSF Faction

MEF's Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi interviews a pro-RSF faction to understand why they aligned with the Rapid Support Forces and how they see Sudan’s political future.

The group outlines its goals, position on the UAE’s role, views on foreign intervention, and its vision for a democratic civil state.

This rare on-the-ground perspective provides insight into Sudan’s fragmented conflict and the motivations driving its factions.

Read more:

https://www.meforum.org/mef-online/the-war-in-sudan-interview-with-a-pro-rapid-support-forces-faction

An Interview with a Representative of the Democratic Revolutionary Awakening Council