IPS Fellow Phyllis Bennis directs the New Internationalism Project at IPS, focusing on the Middle East, U.S. militarism, and UN issues. She is also a fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam.

In 2001 she helped found the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights and more recently spent six years on the board of Jewish Voice for Peace, where she now serves as its International Adviser. She works with many anti-war and Palestinian rights organizations, writing and speaking widely across the U.S. and around the world. She has served as an informal adviser to several top UN officials on Middle East issues and was twice short-listed to become the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Phyllis has written and edited 11 books. Among her latest is the 7th updated edition of her popular Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, published in 2018. She is also the author of Before & After: U.S. Foreign Policy and the War on Terror and Challenging Empire.

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Latest

Trump, Syria, and Chemical Weapons: What We Know, What We Don’t, and the Dangers Ahead

Further military engagement by the U.S. is not the way to end the horrific carnage in Syria.

U.S. Anti-war, Climate Justice, Racial Justice, Women’s, Immigrant Rights, Economic Justice Movement Leaders All Oppose Trump’s $54 Billion Increase in Pentagon Budget

The broad-based #No$54BillionforWar Campaign includes city-based resolutions against increased military spending

Escalating Casualties in Mosul Cannot Be Blamed on the Fog of War

Civilians in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen won’t survive to cheer the removal of ISIS if they’re killed by the same bombs, IPS Middle East expert Phyllis Bennis told Rising Up with Sonali.

‘Muslim Ban 2.0’ Was a Vital Test of Judicial Strength

Local city-based movements have helped strengthen the backbone of judges standing up to these horrific policies.

To Pay For His Military Budget, Trump Will Have to Cut Services His Base Depends On

Trump’s promise at the latest CPAC conference to unite the GOP as a party for the American worker is in direct conflict with his promise to increase military funding, IPS foreign policy expert Phyllis Bennis told the Real News Network.

David Friedman Reflects Extreme Far Right Forces in Israeli Politics

Trump’s pick for U.S. Ambassador to Israel’s definition of “peace” means Palestinians accepting an apartheid state

Trump’s Israel Rhetoric Is All Over the Place

Trump’s statements on the Middle East reflect hardline views one day and more conventional ones the next.

 The Trump Administration Is Recklessly Escalating Tensions With Iran

The biggest danger—at least right now—is less a direct U.S. military assault on Iran than an escalation of a proxy war against Yemen.

The White House is Dangerously Ratcheting Up Pressures with Iran

Trump’s rhetoric points to a real possibility for escalation in Yemen, which could be viewed as a proxy attack on Iran, IPS’ Phyllis Bennis tells MSNBC.

Trump Is Carpet-Bombing U.S. Foreign Policy

Already Trump is super-charging U.S. militarism, gutting diplomacy, and punishing the victims of wars Washington started.

Trump’s Executive Order Will Amount to a Ban on Muslims from the U.S.

This policy bans refugees fleeing wars that we started.

Israeli Expansion of Settlements Has Everything to Do With the Election of Trump

Blatant U.S. approval of illegal Israeli settlements could further empower Israel’s right wing government, IPS Middle East expert Phyllis Bennis told Al Jazeera

Bombing to Eradicate Terrorism Produces the Opposite Effect

The U.S. dropped over 26,000 bombs last year, Phyllis Bennis told Radio Sputnik. And none of them made us safer.

Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem Would Be a Dangerous Provocation

If the U.S. goes ahead with the GOP plan, says Phyllis Bennis, “all bets are off.”

Remembering the Costs of the Iraq War in the Age of Trump

As the president-elect promises to increase military spending, we must reflect on what comes with war.

The Obama Administration Is Misreading Public Opinion on Israel

Beltway pundits are far more supportive of Israeli settlements than the American public.

America Must Choose Diplomacy Over War

 This is what a non-imperial, truly internationalist foreign policy would look like.

The Obama Administration’s Important Shift on Israeli Settlements

The U.S.’ decision to abstain from a UN resolution on Israel will have long term effects, Bennis tells Press TV.

A Deadly Day: Russian Ambassador Assassinated, 12 Dead in Berlin Truck Crash, Zürich Mosque Attacked

“What we’re seeing now is the reality that this global war on terror is indeed having global ramifications,” Phyllis Bennis tells Democracy Now!

Syria Needs An Arms Embargo, Not an Economic One

As long as major powers are delivering weapons to their allies in the region, diplomacy will be near impossible, Bennis told Kontext.

Program Director

New Internationalism

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anti-war movements, International Law, Iran, Iraq, ISIS, Israel-Palestine, Middle East, military budget, Refugees, sanctuary movement, Saudi Arabia, Syria, terrorism, Torture, U.S. foreign policy, U.S. wars, United Nations, War on Terror, Yemen

Talkies

KPFA | May 3, 2024

Phyllis Bennis joins Tavis Smiley

The Tavis Smiley Show | April 14, 2024

Gaza Ceasefire Resolution

CounterSpin, FAIR | March 29, 2024

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