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

As Strikes on Syria Loom, Is U.S. Ignoring a Diplomatic Track That Could Prevent More Violence?

Amy Goodman interviews Phyllis on the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria and looming U.S. military action against the Assad regime.

Moral Obscenities in Syria

The threat of a reckless, dangerous, and illegal US or US-led assault on Syria is looking closer than ever.

Egypt’s Deadly Crackdown on Protesters Signals Military Authoritarianism

Egypt today remains horrifically divided, with the recent bloodbath certain to make things worse.

Why CIA Michael Morell is Concerned over Syria

CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell says the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime would have “disastrous consequences,” suggesting his opposition to sending more weapons to Syria.

Peace Talks Resume Between Israel and the Palestinians, But Little Hope of Imminent Breakthrough

Phyllis Bennis and Shir Hever discuss the timing of the talks, U.S and European interests in resuming them, and the imbalanced power between the negotiating sides

Iraq has deadliest month

July was the deadliest month since 2008 in Iraq.

John Kerry’s Doomed Peace Process is Deja Vu All Over Again

Secretary of State John Kerry’s Middle East negotiations are doomed to the same failure as the 22 years of failed diplomacy that precedes them.

The Wars, Coups, Crises and Occasional Good News from the Middle East

The pace of events exploding across the Middle East continues to quicken – and while it appears the Obama administration has no clear strategy for some of it, the fall-back position of the U.S. continues to make those developments even more dangerous.

Celebrations and Dangers for Egypt’s Revolutions

The removal from office of President Mohammed Morsi portends great excitement but even greater threats to democracy.

Syria: We need to stop a new war in the Middle East

The Syrian civil war is spreading — but U.S. military action is the last thing the country needs.

Video: Phyllis Bennis on RT’s “Crosstalk: Eternal War”

Phyllis Bennis debates war-by-proxy in Syria, neocolonialism in the Middle East, and the global war on terror.

Syrian War Moving Outward, Obama Looks Inward

The civil war in Syria is already expanding beyond the borders, with regional and potentially global consequences.

Video: Did McCain Go to Syria to Sabotage US Russia Negotiations?

McCain’s trip to Syria, his calls for US air strikes, and arming rebels with heavy weapons seem designed to counter Obama plan to negotiate with Russia.

Syria: The Threats, the Claims, the Costs, the Lives

What the civil war in Syria and the Arab Spring have exposed is that the massive political and social transformation and real regime change underway is led by the people themselves, largely without military force and certainly with no role for the United States. U.S. military involvement serves only to escalate the destruction.

Video: Syria Crisis Becoming Increasingly Sectarian

Violent video showing Syrian rebels executing soldiers will make it harder for the U.S. to consider direct military engagement.

Video: Drums Beat for U.S. Military Intervention in Syria, but Israel Finds a Weakened Assad “Convenient”

The humanitarian disaster in Syria is mostly ignored as external powers vie for position to control the outcome of civil war.

Video: Stephen Hawking Confirms Support of Israel Boycott

Hawking’s boycott of Israel will shake Israeli public the way sports boycott affected South Africa.

Syria’s Chemical Weapons…Iraq Redux?

Phyllis Bennis discusses Guantanamo, Syria, Afghanistan, and her thoughts on the renewed Palestine-Israel talks.

Video: Phyllis Bennis discusses chemical weapons Syria

The UN should have a broad mandate to investigate any use of chemical weapons on either side.

Iraq: Sectarian tensions or wider discontent?

Phyllis Bennis discusses civil society movements in Iraq challenging the U.S.-backed sectarian government system.

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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

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