I Spent Five Days in Israel’s Desert Prison
I joined a flotilla to deliver aid to Gaza. After Israeli forces seized our ship, I spent five days inside al-Naqab prison, witnessing the cruelty of Israel’s detention regime.
20322 Article(s) by: Opal Lee
Opal Lee is a writer.
Lea Ypi’s Reckoning With Family and the Legacy of Revolution
In her new book, Indignity, Albanian political scientist Lea Ypi discovers that online trolls are accusing her grandmother of having been a communist spy during World War II. To find the truth, she digs deep into her family and country’s archives.
Hollywood Could Use Another Robert Altman Right Now
The Criterion Channel’s retrospective on Robert Altman, the auteur behind masterpieces like Nashville, M*A*S*H, and The Long Goodbye, is a reminder that, not long ago, Hollywood backed maverick filmmakers ready to shake up the medium and the culture at large.
Ultraleftism Can’t Free Palestine
Two years into Israel’s genocide, the US movement in solidarity with Palestinians is far weaker than it should be. To cut off American arms to Israel, we need to build a powerful movement oriented to ordinary Americans beyond activist circles.
Herbert Matthews Was a Role Model for Engaged Journalism
Herbert Matthews of the New York Times was one of the great reporters of his time. US conservatives still haven’t forgiven him for his 1957 interview with Fidel Castro and even blamed him for the success of the Cuban Revolution.
Two Years After October 7, the Horrors Are Indescribable
After October 7, Israeli society went into a vengeful genocidal tailspin, carrying out some of the most heinous crimes of this century again and again and again. Two years on, its leaders are unrepentant and baying for more blood.
October 7, Two Years On
Two years into its war on Gaza, Israel faces global condemnation and a growing Palestinian solidarity movement. Yet, as analyst Mouin Rabbani explains, US support remains unwavering, and Israel shows little concern for the world’s outrage.
Organizing Amazon Should Be a Priority for Labor Globally
Whether workers can organize Amazon will be pivotal for the fate of the labor movement worldwide. Initial victories in Coventry, England, and elsewhere show that when unions put serious resources into organizing, they can win.
Peter Thiel, Would-Be Philosopher King, Takes on Democracy
Billionaire Peter Thiel insists that freedom and democracy are incompatible, and his portfolio of data mining and political bets puts that belief into practice. His is a program of authoritarian control disguised as innovation.
Italy’s Tide of Solidarity With Gaza
Friday’s general strike in Italy was the biggest pro-Palestinian mobilization in any Western country yet. It expressed moral indignation but also resulted from years of movement building.
The Left Needs to Rethink How It Understands Inequality
The 21st-century left has often argued that the solution to rampant inequality is income redistribution. But this may not be a silver bullet. What workers need is power over employers and the market.
Report: Economic Populism Has Broad Appeal in the Rust Belt
An exhaustive new survey from the Center for Working-Class Politics and its partners finds that strong economic populism resonates across Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania — and that independent candidates outperform Democrats delivering the same message.
The Clash of Civilizations, 30 Years Later
At a time of neoliberal triumphalism and the so-called end of history, Samuel Huntington predicted ongoing conflict.
Toward an Anti-Capitalist Drug Policy
The war on drugs has utterly failed to reduce drug consumption. But it has served to maintain US military and intelligence apparatuses in Latin America.
The Left Can’t Abandon Nostalgia to the Right
The global right today excels at leveraging nostalgia for reactionary ends. Yet memories of periods of revolutionary hope and collective victories can provide the materials for a form of nostalgia that the Left can use.
Football Shouldn’t Be a Billboard for the World’s Dictators
From Rwanda’s Paul Kagame to the Emirati monarchy, some of the world’s most brutal regimes have chosen to use soccer as a promotional tool.
Britain’s Tories Are Radicalizing — and Losing Hope
Since becoming leader in 2024, Kemi Badenoch has taken Britain’s Tories onto hard-right territory — and dismal polling. Her call this week to abandon climate targets shows how Britain’s once dominant party has radicalized.
The US Media Ignores Palestinian Deaths in Israeli Captivity
While the fates of Israelis held captive by Hamas regularly make front-page news, US corporate media almost never reports on the Palestinians who die in Israeli captivity.
Everything Is Becoming a Bank
Most major corporations — from airlines to social media platforms — now aspire to become unregulated banks. Bankification today accounts for the highest profit margins in the US economy, crippling productive capacity and setting the stage for the next crash.
Elites Always Say We Can’t Have Nice Things. They’re Wrong.
All throughout American history, political and economic elites have insisted that better policies — ending child labor, establishing a weekend — were impossible to achieve. They were lying then, and they’re lying now.