Ethnic/Religious Minorities

Members of People's Defense Units (YPG) stand guard as Syrian government internal security personnel enter the northeastern city of Hasakeh, a Kurdish stronghold, on Feb. 2, 2026.

Feature

After SDF-Damascus truce, is Kurdish haven still safe for Syria's Alawites?

Thousands of Alawites who fled violence in western Syria now face uncertainty as the Syrian government and Kurdish forces reach a tentative truce.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Arab-Israeli parliament member Ahmad Tibi poses for a picture during an interview with AFP at his office at the Knesset (Israeli parliament) building in Jerusalem on June 25, 2024. The 65-year-old leader of an Arab-majority party told AFP that after October 7, "hundreds of Arab citizens were hunted down, chased by the Israeli police for writing a post or a story empathising with the children of Gaza or saying no to the war." (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Interview

Treated as 'enemies’: Ahmad Tibi accuses Netanyahu government of indifference to Arab Israeli lives

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Arab Israeli leader Ahmad Tibi said that Israeli police are failing to address the uptick of violent crimes in Arab towns, attributing this to the current government's lack of willingness and prejudice.

Ahmad Tibi

Ahmad Tibi

Knesset member and Ta'al Party leader

Roj Camp

Feature

ISIS brides face uncertain future as Damascus clashes with Syria’s Kurds

With Syrian government forces taking over nearby al-Hol and security breaking down, families of ISIS fighters at Roj Camp live in fear and uncertainty.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Four Arab Israeli parties join forces ahead of Israel's next elections.

Analysis

Can newly unified Arab Israeli bloc bridge gaps to block Netanyahu next election?

The move signals to their constituents that the four leaders can set aside differences to try to strengthen Arab representation in the Knesset.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Latest News

What Israel stands to lose in Syria-SDF agreement

Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images

Syria’s Kurds accept sweetened ceasefire deal as US envoy Barrack declares SDF obsolete

Soldiers walk past a parked car as Syrian government forces make their way to the city of Hasakeh in northeastern Syria on Jan. 20, 2026.

US military negotiates handover of Syria's ISIS prisons as Kurds withdraw

Members of the Syrian Kurdish Asayish security forces gather at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on April 18, 2025, as the Syrian Democratic Forces mount a security campaign against IS "sleeper cells" in the camp.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Analysis

Why Iran regime’s potential collapse spells more risk than benefit for Turkey

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (R) shakes hands with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during press conference in Tehran on Nov. 30, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women work on computers in the central city of Holon on April 17, 2016.

Record number of ultra-Orthodox women join Israeli workforce

More and more Israeli ultra-Orthodox women turn to computer programming, accounting, entrepreneurship and other jobs instead of traditional positions in the education system.

SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images

Israel promises support for Ukrainian Jews

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has made it clear that if Jews in Ukraine find themselves in need of rescue, Israel will be there for them.

BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey probes concert at Black Sea monastery after Greek protest

Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism is investigating a concert at Sumela Monastery after Athens and the Orthodox Patriarchate complained of disrespect to the venue.

An Israeli nurse prepares a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine, with Arabic writing in the background showing the last word of the slogan, "Hope without limit," at the Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Dec. 27, 2021.

Learning Arabic becomes political act in Israel

All the initiatives and events presented on Arabic language Day in the Knesset cannot hide the fact that the Nationality Law has stripped it from its status as an official language in Israel.

An ultra-Orthodox Jew carries his infant child through the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum, Jerusale, May 4, 2005.

Israeli ultra-Orthodox learn about Holocaust over phone

Since ultra-Orthodox schools do not include history classes in their curricula, Israel Goldwasser and his friends came up with the idea of recorded Holocaust-history classes over the phone.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Rivalry between Arab parties threatens Arab, ultra-Orthodox Knesset alliance

Ultra-Orthodox Knesset parties are furious over the Muslim Ra’am party voting with the coalition on the Enlistment Law, with the ultra-Orthodox political alliance becoming collateral damage of the rivalry between the two Arab parties.

This picture shows a general view of the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm, Israel, Dec. 3, 2021.

Arab-Israeli city takes battle against violence into its own hands

Tired of rising violence and police helplessness, the municipality of Umm al-Fahm presents its own plan to combat crime and decrease social tensions.

Syria church

Last Christian in Idlib recalls his community

The last Christian in Idlib is 90 years old. Despite the war and the challenges, he stayed in Idlib even as all Christians left as a result of the war and restrictions imposed by extremist Islamic factions.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli entrepreneurs to set up first medical center in Arab city

Entrepreneurs from the Arab city of Sakhnin are done waiting on the government and working with Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital to establishment a local medical facility.

In the Netflix period drama "The Club," Rasel (played by Turkish actress Asude Kalabek) finds herself at the heart of the September pogroms that destroyed thousands of non-Muslim premises in Istanbul.

Turkish Netflix series turns cameras on pogroms, hidden Greeks

"The Club," whose first season woke the ghosts of Turkey’s Jewish community, turns its lens on Turkey’s Greek Orthodox Community and the pogroms of 1955.

Nubian women sell souvenirs in the village of Gharb Seheyl, near Aswan, Upper Egypt, Feb. 5, 2020.

Nubians demand repatriation during Sisi visit

Nubians in Upper Egypt still seek return to the land of their ancestors, after years of forced displacement, amid complaints of political and cultural marginalization.

Volunteers check IDs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Nov. 17, 2021. There are fears emergency measures are leading to the profiling of ethnic Tigrayans.

Ethiopia detaining Tigrayans deported from Saudi Arabia, rights group says

Human Rights Watch urged Ethiopia to release the arbitrarily detained Tigrayans and called on Saudi Arabia to stop its deportations.