Lebanon’s Leaders Build an Ark

A fierce storm has been lashing Lebanon since Saturday. The storm has led to severe flooding and near-paralysis of the entire country. The country has not seen a storm like this for decades, some say millennia. Someone remembered a storm like this from a long, long time ago. A man from across the southern border had bought Lebanon’s entire store of cedar trees and used it to build a big boat. There were conspiracy theories, and some muttered that somehow the Jews seem to know about disasters before they ...

New BDS Strategy: Sucky Bands Encouraged to Not Boycott Israel

Heeb Magazine recently asked the question: “Is Israel’s Air Supply Boast Proof of Cultural Boycott’s Strength?” As YNET reports, “Veteran Australian soft rock duo Air Supply will arrive in Israel in September for a series of concerts, following the success of its previous visit to the Holy Land three years ago.” Heeb’s Bernard Mendelbaum suggests that the fact that Israeli officials have been “reduced to bragging that the 80s shlock band is coming to visit” represents “one of the sadder examples of how ...

NPR: Israeli Chef Invents Baba Ghannouj

In news that stunned millions of listeners, NPR confirmed that the dish once known as "Baba ghannouj" (or "Spoiled Papa") is actually the recent creation of the inventive Israeli chef Yoram Ottolenghi who, in his new book, prefers to call it "Burnt Eggplant with Tahini." In an exclusive interview with NPR's Senior Levantine Food Correspondent Susan Stamberg, Ottolenghi also admitted to using pomegranate and even cilantro in his unique culinary creations, a choice that he ...

Top Ten Reasons Why Osama Bin Ladin's Death Is Consequential

What Really Bothered Qaddafi (Speech Excerpt with Translation)

On February 22nd, Qaddafi delivered a televised speech in which he appeared troubled and angry. Most observers assumed he was such because of his imminent dethroning. But that was not what was bothering him. Taking a break from superficial analysis at Jadaliyya, we put our minds to the task and excavated the phonetic meaning of his angry speech, captured by its finale.

New word added to Oxford Dictionary: Mubarak (v.): To stick something, or to glue something

[Circulating in the Egyptian Public Space] New word added to Oxford Dictionary:  Mubarak (v.): To stick something, or to glue something.  Example: “I will punch you and mubarak you to the wall”; or “You can mubarak the pieces to hold them together”.     لوحات طريفة يحملها المعتصمون في ميدان التحرير  إمشي بقى إيدي وجعتني! إمشي بقى مراتي وحشتني! إمشي بقى عايز أروح أحلق! إمشي بقى عايز أدخل الحمام!   أحد المعتصمين وقف وقد خلع قميصه وكتب على ظهره: "يسقط ...

Boutros Harb For President

In my capacity as a founding editor of Jadaliyya, I hereby endorse Boutros Harb, current Lebanese Minister of Labor, for the office of President of the republic. If Lebanon were a country where presidential candidates actually stood for elections and citizens actually voted to choose who would occupy the office of the President[1], I would certainly vote for him. I would even campaign for him. Throughout a long career of public service to his country, Mr. Harb has demonstrated an uncanny understanding ...

Things To Do On Lebanese Independance Day + Arabic Translation

Drive from Saifi Village to Hayy al Sullum or Naba`a, marvel at the miracles of capitalism and Lebanon’s constitutionally protected free market economy. Watch a few pilots from the Lebanese Air Force put on a show in the sky, feel safer knowing that if the IDF is also watching, they are sure to be too afraid to continue violating Lebanese airspace on an almost daily basis. Take a walk in casual clothes through what used to be a bustling souk but is now luxurious downtown Beirut. Count how many ...

Top Ten List: What to Expect From Ahmadinejad’s Visit to Lebanon (+ Arabic Translation)

[Update: See Arabic translation below . . . by popular demand!] 10- Upon hearing Ahmadinejad’s footsteps in Lebanon, Ariel “Arik” Sharon rises from his coma long enough to learn that Iran is still on the road to becoming the second country in the Middle East to have a nuclear weapon after Israel. He has another stroke. Round two for Ahmadinejad. 9-Upon meeting Ahmadinejad at a fundraiser for Hezbollah, Lebanese-American Miss USA 2010 Rima Faqih assassinates him, flies back to Iran and stages a coup ...

When Fareed Zakaria Made Me Cry

When Fareed Zakaria, the Newsweek writer and CNN host, God bless his merciful soul, gave back “the award he received in 2005 from the Anti-Defamation League over the Jewish group's opposition towards the Ground Zero mosque,” he made me cry.

Octavia Nasr Crucifies Herself, Switches to T-Mobile

On the morning of July 14, France’s independence day (the irony of it all), Octavia Nasr was found dead in her home after her self-inflicted crucifixion.* After twenty years of service to CNN, Nasr had been fired in July 2010 after tweeting that she had respect for the late Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah (who was a really, really bad man. bad, bad, bad Fadlallah, very bad, very very bad. Bad. So bad. Billy Jean bad). Shortly after the tweet, Nasr apologized and said she was misunderstood, that she did not ...