The Gaza-bound aid ship Conscience was attacked by Israeli drones in international waters last week, injuring several people and damaging the vessel. As part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the ship was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. 

For the latest on the attack, MEMO's Nasim Ahmed speaks with Ann Wright, a former US Army colonel and diplomat who is a key organiser with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.

Ann Wright is a retired US Army colonel and former diplomat who resigned in protest over the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Since then, she has been a vocal peace activist and human rights advocate, playing a leading role in numerous anti-war and pro-justice movements. Wright is a key organiser with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.

After a new age spirituality movement sprung up in the West in the late 19th century, the wisdom of Egyptian holy men, the healers of Palestine and the fakirs of the Ottomans were highly sought after from clubs in New York to Paris. Joining us to discuss how things changed in the West and the Middle East is the author of a book on the Middle East's own new age moment.

A new book 'Holy men of the Electromagnetic Age' aims to shake up how we see the history of new age spirituality. While we tend to associate seances, mind-reading, healing crystals, magic and spiritual sciences with a new age movement that sprang up in the West and which took some inspiration from India and the East in the 1960s, an entire global movement towards new age spirituality took off in the late 19th century and by the 1920s had reached a new height. A forgotten part of the new occult movement is the men of the Middle East that helped shape it. The wisdom of Egyptian holy men, the healers of Palestine and the fakirs of the Ottomans were highly sought after from clubs in New York to Paris. Eager young men and refugees sought to make their fortune in the West from performances that included mind reading and communing with the dead. They were seen as spiritual healers, who brought with them esoteric knowledge of the unseen world known to eastern wisdom, but forgotten by Western materialism. While the West was gripped by theosophy, the Middle East too experienced its own new age moment, where old assumptions were turned on their head. Joining us is the book's author Raphael Cormack. 

Cormack is Assistant Professor of Arabic at Durham University. He is a writer, editor and translator. His first book, 'Midnight in Cairo', is a history of Cairo's early 20th century entertainment industry told from the perspective of its female stars. 'Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age' is his second book.

Special announcement: It has been quite a ride, MEMO Conversations was founded five-years ago and has been a core production for Middle East Monitor. Great guests, conversations and wonderful hosts have created a truly engaging product. Producer and host Usman Butt has been at the heart of running the show, however, the time has come for Usman to move on and we wish him the best of luck. 

Join us as we explore why Britain repeatedly deceived the Palestinian leadership and assess Britain’s direct role in displacing Palestinians ahead of the creation of the occupation state of Israel. Was there ever a real chance that London might have abandoned the Balfour Declaration? Or was the Palestinian resistance doomed from the outset?

During this week's MEMO in Conversation we are joined by historian and researcher Blake Alcott, author of the monumental 1,500-page book 'The Rape of Palestine: A Mandate Chronology'. This meticulously compiled work traces, through original documents, the calculated betrayal of Palestine by the British colonial administration from 1917 to 1948. With nearly 500 letters, reports and official records, Alcott lays bare how Britain systematically enabled Zionist colonisation while suppressing Palestinian resistance. This conversation is not just of important historical value, it’s an urgent exploration of how the roots of today’s crisis can be found in the Mandate-era decisions that reshaped the Middle East. 

Alcott takes us through some of the book’s most explosive revelations, including early Palestinian warnings that were ignored, the King-Crane Commission’s damning but buried report, and the desperate lobbying efforts that ensured Britain remained firmly in support of Zionist settlement. We explore why Britain repeatedly deceived the Palestinian leadership, shutting them out of decision-making while empowering Zionist institutions like the Jewish Agency. As we discuss Britain’s direct role in displacing Palestinians, Alcott examines whether there was ever a real chance that London might have abandoned the Balfour Declaration — or if Palestinian resistance was doomed from the outset. 

Blake Alcott was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1945, received a BA in philosophy in 1968 from Wesleyan U. in Connecticut, moved to Zurich and became a Swiss citizen, was a self-employed cabinetmaker until 2000. He obtained an MPhil in environmental policy in 2006 from University of Cambridge and a PhD in sustainability strategies in 2013 from the University of East Anglia. He went on to live in Turkiye and returned to Zurich, where he now lives, writes and plays tennis.

With Donald Trump back in the White House vowing to tighten sanctions against Iran, the Gulf's ties with the Islamic Republic are in new unchartered waters, how will the US president's actions alter relations in the Middle East?

Iran and the GCC countries have a long history of suspicion, co-operation, competition, conflict and dialogue. During the fallout of the Arab Spring in 2011, we saw an intense rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which saw both nations sponsoring different sides in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. We also see close cooperation between them, despite sanctions on Tehran, the United Arab Emirates is a key trading partner and a place for Iranians to do business. However, the Israeli war on Gaza and Lebanon, the fall of Assad in Syria and the new Trump administration in the US, means the GCC and Tehran are in choppy new waters. What are the implications of these changes and how will leaders across the Gulf respond to one another? Helping us to understand all of this is Mehran Kamrava. 

Kamrava is Professor of Government at Georgetown University in Qatar. He also directs the Iranian Studies Unit at the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies. Kamrava is the author of a number of journal articles and books, including, most recently, 'How Islam Rules in Iran: Theology and Theocracy in the Islamic Republic' ; 'Righteous Politics: Power and Resilience in Iran'; 'A Dynastic History of Iran: From the Qajars to the Pahlavis' and 'Triumph and Despair: In Search of Iran’s Islamic Republic'.

The genocide in Gaza has raised an important matter, Jews are not facing an existential crisis concerning the state of Israel, but a moral one — one that could reshape Jewish tradition more profoundly than any crisis in centuries, Beinart says.

Cast as a Cassandra figure within the Jewish community, Peter Beinart has been both celebrated and excommunicated for his outspoken criticism of Zionism and Israel’s policies. In the wake of the Gaza genocide, he argues that Jews are not facing an existential crisis concerning the state of Israel, but a moral one — one that could reshape Jewish tradition more profoundly than any crisis in centuries. In this MEMO in Conversation, we explore what it means to grapple with this moral reckoning and whether mainstream Jewish discourse is prepared to face it.

Together, we dismantle deeply ingrained narratives — like the idea that Jewish history is a perpetual cycle of persecution and survival, encapsulated in the phrase, “They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat.” Beinart challenges us to reconsider Purim, not just as a tale of Jewish resilience but as a warning about the dangers of unchecked power. We also discuss the paradox of Israeli victimhood: How does a regional superpower backed by the world’s most powerful nation continue to centre its identity around historical trauma? And how has this currency of victimhood been weaponised by right-wing populist movements both in Israel and beyond?

The conversation delves into the language of evasion — how euphemisms like “transfer” and “security measures” have been used to obscure the brutal realities of ethnic cleansing. We also confront one of the most controversial questions: Was a Jewish state in Palestine ever possible without the Gaza genocide? Finally, we tackle the uncomfortable but urgent issue of anti-Semitism: How has it been used as a shield against legitimate criticism of Israel, and what are the dangers of this
misuse for Jews worldwide? Has Israel become a false idol, where rejecting a Jewish state is now seen as a greater heresy than rejecting Judaism itself?

Beinart is Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York. He is also a contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an MSNBC Political Commentator, Editor-at-Large of Jewish Currents and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He writes the Beinart Notebook newsletter on Substack.Com

Western media has often distorted the image of the Palestinian resistance, shaping narratives in a way that harms the fate of Palestinians, but truly understanding Hamas is the only way to have a meaningful conversation on events in the Middle East, the co-author of a book on the movement says.

At a time when Western governments refuse to engage with Hamas politically, Helena Cobban's book 'Understanding Hamas: And Why That Matters' challenges dominant narratives and offers a nuanced exploration of the Palestinian movement, its origins, ideological evolution, and its role within Palestinian society. Drawing on decades of research and expertise, she unpacks why truly understanding Hamas is essential to any meaningful conversation on Israel, Palestine and the prospects for peace.

We explore key arguments from the book, including the shifting nature of Hamas’ charter and how its relationship with the West has shaped its political strategy. We also dive into the misrepresentation of the book in corporate media, particularly in the UK, and discuss the broader patterns in how Western media frames discussions about Hamas and Palestinian resistance. Cobban sheds light on the consequences of media distortion, the chilling effect it has on public discourse, and how these narratives shape policymaking in Washington, London and beyond.

Cobban unravels the book's larger purpose and where she and her co-editor, Rami G.Khouri, hope readers take away from it. Far from being a work of advocacy for Hamas, 'Understanding Hamas' is a rigorous, research-driven analysis of the group and its motivations.

Cobban is a British-American writer and researcher on international relations, with special interests in the Middle East, the international system and transitional justice. She is a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Washington DC–based Centre for International Policy. She is the founder and CEO of the book-publishing company, Just World Books, and the Executive President of the small educational non-profit organisation, Just World Educational. 

The Arabs of Khuzestan and the Iranians of Iraq were at the forefront of suspicion, anxiety and whose loyalty was questioned by the national building projects in Iran and Iraq in the 20th century. 

People who inhabit the border regions of any country often find themselves being treated with a mixture of suspicion and opportunity by the metropoles of these countries. Khuzestan, Iran’s border province with Iraq, is no different. Famed for its Arab population, the Arabs of Khuzestan have been at the centre of 20th century modernising projects, tensions between neighbours and the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. But one does not need to live in close proximity to a physical border to be seen as a border person within the modern nation state project, running parallel to the Arabs of Iran are the Iranians of Iraq, who were a cause of anxiety for nationalist regimes in Baghdad. What can we learn about history and politics through the prism of people who inhabit the boundaries of the Middle East’s nation state project? Joining us to help answer this question is Shaherzad Ahmadi. 




Bio: Shaherzad Ahmadi earned her BA from UC Davis in History. After graduation, she studied Persian and Arabic in Tehran before moving to Austin, Texas for her PhD at UT Austin's Department of History. Her research, on Arab Iranians in the Iran-Iraq borderland, animates both her scholarly articles, in top journals of her field, as well as her book, published by UT Austin Press, Bordering on War. Book review can be found here https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250213-bordering-on-war-a-social-and-political-history-of-khuzestan/

Events in the MENA directly impact Italy which is just 35 miles away, but how are the changing political dynamics affecting Rome's Middle East policy? 

Italy's fate is deeply entangled with the Middle East and North Africa, the Italian island of Pantelleria is just 35 miles off the Tunsian coast. Whenever tensions flare up in the Middle East and North Africa it triggers public debate in Italy, getting the MENA right is a key national interest for Rome. When Giorgia Meloni became leader of Italy, many wondered how the far-right government would tackle the MENA region differently. Meloni actively cultivated close ties with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the Gulf. Italian diplomacy managed to quickly secure the release of detained Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was arrested in Iran in December 2024. Rome also sought to change the European Union's position on engaging with the regime of Bashar Al-Assad in Syria. But, with the collapse of Al-Assad, the lack of Italian diplomatic activity to bring to an end Israel's war on Gaza and a new Donald Trump administration in the White House, what is Rome's place with regards MENA policy? Joining us to make sense of all of this is Maria Luisa Fantappiè. 

Fantappiè is head of the Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa Programme at Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). She served as Special Adviser at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva (2020-2023) and at the International Crisis Group (2012-2020), engaging at the highest level of policy in Europe, the United States and across MENA (Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, Oman and United Arab Emirates). In 2018, she was seconded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the European advisory mission for security sector reform in Iraq (EUAM). Her research interests include the MENA region, EU foreign policy and great powers competition in this area, conflict prevention and mediation as well as cultural diplomacy.

 Is the new Syrian administration reflective of society and is it able to build a country free of political authoritarianism? A member of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement joins us to discuss this and more.

We are now three months on from the fall of the Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria ending 54-years of his family's rule. The ending of his dictatorship has left the Mediterranean country facing a new reality and taking on new tasks; how to build a new country free of political authoritarianism and injustice. The Levetine nation lies in ruins after a 13-year civil war and now so much of the responsibility falls onto the shoulders of Syrian society and its new rulers. The new interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and members of the now disbanded Hay'at Tharir Al-Sham (HTS) now find themselves in government, while Al-Sharaa promises to rebuild a new Syria that in reflective of the society, concerns about his Islamist background and appointments to the interim government have been raised. Does the new administration have what it takes to build a new Syria? Helping us make sense of all of this is Sarah Hunaidi. 

Hunaidi is a Syrian writer and member of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement. She writes in English and Arabic, and her work has been published by Foreign Policy, the Independent, Chatham House, Buzzfeed, the New Arab among other publications. She provides political analysis and expert commentary on refugee and gender issues and has appeared regularly on channels like NPR, BBC and Al Jazeera. She holds a Master's degree in Near and Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University, and a Bachelor’s in International Studies at DePaul University. After her exile from Syria in 2014 due to her opposition to the Syrian regime, she started working on her first book project about the missing activist Samira Al-Khalil, exploring exile, siege and survival.

People in Lebanon are angry at the level of state corruption and dysfunction, and Salafist movements are offering them an alternative. 

Nationalist populism has been sweeping the world in the last decade overturning traditional politics in countries ranging from the US, Hungary, India, Italy, Britain and others. But populism is not only something nationalists engage in, religious populism has also seen a rise in popularity in Lebanon. The decline in political and economic power of the Sunni community in the country, the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Harari and the withdrawal of Syrian troops in 2005 unleashed a new political Salafism, especially in the Mediterranean country's northern city of Tripoli. People are angry, very angry, Lebanon's general corruption and state dysfunction means the Levantine nation moves from crisis to crisis. Salafi movements are channeling people's frustration and embody anti-elite and anti-establishment politics that we see elsewhere. Israel's war on Gaza, Lebanon and the fall of the regime of Bashar Al-Assad in Syria has created a new opening for these movements - but who are they and what do they want? Joining us to discuss this is Giulia Gozzini. 

Gozzini is a PhD Candidate in Islamic Studies at Lund University. She holds a Master’s degree in Middle East and North Africa Politics from the University of Turin and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Florence. As part of her Master’s program, Giulia completed an Erasmus exchange at Université Saint Joseph in Beirut. She has also worked as a Junior Research Fellow in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Africa and Italian Foreign Policy programs at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and is a member of the editorial board of Maydan. Her research investigates the concept of Islamic populism and focuses on the study of Sunni Islamist movements in Lebanon, with a specific emphasis on the ideological and political evolution of contemporary Salafism, particularly in the context of the city of Tripoli. In her work, she proposes to adopt the concept of populism, considering the overlooked nexus between populism and religion, to investigate how religio-political populism relates to the ideological and social formation of Salafism.
Her current research builds on her Master’s thesis where she explored the multiple crises affecting Lebanese Sunnism and the subsequent appeal of Sunni populism and Salafism within the context of Lebanese sectarian politics.