Ethnic/Religious Minorities

Police vehicles are seen on a road after a shooting incident at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Dec. 14, 2025.

What we know about Ahmed al-Ahmed, bystander who wrestled attacker in Sydney shooting

The 43-year-old man, a father of two and the owner of a fruit shop in a Sydney suburb, was shot twice.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Iranian soldiers keep watch at a patrol post in Zabol, southeastern Iran, near the Afghan border, on Oct. 10, 2012.

Analysis

Militant merger in Iran’s Baluchistan signals new threat to Tehran

The group’s outreach to broader ethnic communities reflects a strategic bid for wider legitimacy and a role in the wider struggle against the Islamic Republic.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Head of Israel's Raam, Mansour Abbas, speaks at his campaign headquarters in the northern Israeli city of Tamra before national election polls close, on Nov. 1, 2022

Analysis

Stunt or recalibration? Israel's Raam to break with Muslim Brotherhood

Raam leader Mansour Abbas took a huge political risk this week, announcing the party will sever its ties with the Islamic Movement.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

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Culture

In first, Syria approves restoration of Jewish property, synagogues

The new organization is the latest sign of Damascus’ outreach to Syria's dwindled Jewish community.

Latest News

As Syria marks one year since Assad fall, some minorities skip celebrations

TOPSHOT - This aerial view shows people gathering to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the uprising against Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad for the first time since he was toppled in the Umayyad Square in the centre of Damascus on March 15, 2025. The rally in Damascus was the capital's first after years of repression under Assad, during which the square was the sole preserve of the ousted president's supporters. Activists called on people to hold similar demonstrations in the major cities of Homs

Pope Leo gets rock star's reception in Lebanon, drawing cheers, celebrations

Pope Leo XIV waves to a crowd of youths upon his arrival at the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkerke, north of the capital Beirut, on December 1, 2025. Leo prayed for peace in Lebanon and the region on December 1 on day two of his trip to the multi-confessional country, with joyful Lebanese welcoming the pontiff at two famous pilgrimage sites. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon celebrates Pope Leo’s visit as Israel escalates attacks

A giant billboard of Pope Leo XIV along the highway leading to Beirut's international airport, Nov. 20, 2025.

In first foreign visit, Pope Leo meets Erdogan, urges Turkey to uphold pluralism

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets Pope Leo XIV during a welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace, Ankara, Nov. 27, 2025.

Demonstrators wave Turkish and Iraqi Turkmen (blue) flags during a protest against the independence referendum in northern Iraq, in Istanbul, Turkey, September 17, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1F65EFDC90

Ankara backs some Turkmens in Iraqi politics, shuns others

By ostracizing Turkmen politicians who supported the 2017 independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkey could be shooting itself in the foot.

Ultra-Orthodox set sights on Housing, Welfare portfolios

The ultra-Orthodox population is poor and faces a housing crisis, which has led their elected representatives to demand welfare and housing portfolios as conditions for joining the next government.

Tunisia's indigenous Amazighs launch their first political party

The Akal civil movement, which defends the rights of Amazighs in Tunisia, is entering the political arena.

Israeli-Arabs key to returning the center-left to power

Comparing Israel’s demographic profile with the results of the recent election show that large numbers of Israeli Arabs not voting, some due to intimidation, had a dramatic impact on the political map.

Turkey polishes Iraqi relations, champions Turkmen in politics

The Turkish foreign minister's recent visit to Baghdad and Erbil included a push for appointing Turkmens to Cabinet positions in Iraq.

Is the Palestinian social fabric at risk of tearing?

A recent local incident on the West Bank required the attention of the national leadership to tamp it down, leading some to wonder it if portends trouble ahead for the Palestinian social fabric, which has to this point been distinguished by its unity.

An Iraqi family listen to questions asked them by government officials conducting the country's official census, October 16. Iraqis stayed at home on Thursday as the country conducted its first census for 10 years, the first since the imposition of sanctions by the United Nations following Iraq's invasion of -Kuwait and the subsequent Gulf-War. - PBEAHUMQHCP

Iraq's plans to take census raise controversy

The central government's plans to undertake a census late next year have raised the concerns of groups in multicultural Iraqi cities such as Kirkuk.

More Druze risk prison to reject military service in Israel

A campaign launched years ago continues to have an impact as more Arab Druze in Israel are refusing to join the army despite the risk of imprisonment.

An undated picture taken in 2016 shows a man walking past images of executed Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr on a wall in the Awamiya area in Saudi Arabia's Eastern province.

In a Sunni-majority kingdom where banners of King Salman, his crown prince and deputy crown prince are widely displayed, the homage paid to Nimr is unusual and provocative.

/ AFP / STRINGER (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump pressed to punish Saudi Arabia over religious intolerance

A federal commission on religious freedom wants the president to end a decadelong pass for Riyadh.

A priest blesses worshippers during an Orthodox Easter service at the Church of Saint Jacob in the Kurdish-controlled city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 28, 2019. (Photo by Delil souleiman / AFP) (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Christians in northeastern Syria seek to revive Easter spirit following IS ouster

After the fall of IS, Easter celebrations were held in only in some northeastern Syrian areas.

Will Netanyahu re-create Arab Affairs Ministry?

Consideration linked to coalition talks and to the importance of the Arab constituency might persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to re-create the Ministry for Minorities Affairs.

Likud's election day dirty tricks

The day after Knesset elections, a public relations firm that worked for the Likud revealed the party's “secret plan” to deter Israeli Arabs from voting.