Arabic Coffee shop

[Falcon29]

Saudi Arabia signaled clearly to the US that its skies and lands are not open to the US army to attack Iran..

True, but they will still make it so Iran will respond against Saudis and GCC. Because they will take out Iranian Medium-Long range capabilities rather easily.

Imo the US and Israel want to set back Saudi Arabia and GCC not destroy these nations but set them back because they won't budge when it comes to Abraham Accords and because their socio economic influence is getting bigger and bigger. And defense agreements between the Muslim nations means Saudi Arabia and them will shape the region in coming years

 

[Falcon29]

Arab leadership as well as people need to understand what is going on and confront the threats head on. To be frank with you, we are the dominant power in the region by far based on every metric that you can think of. Population, geographic size, economy, cultural and religious influence, history, home to the oldest recorded civilizations and cultures on the planet, imperial past (to this day Arabs remain the creators of the by far largest and most influential empires anywhere in the Muslim world in history) military power, potential etc. The only thing that is holding us back are purely internal dynamics that outsiders take advantage of. Aside from lack of unity. Every educated and informed Arab understands this fact. It is also a question of time before this gets fixed one way or another whether through political changes, popular will, conflict/wars etc.

Inevitably I predict that we will see unifications in the future rather than fragmentation based on something as simple as events on the ground and geopolitics forcing such a reality upon us.

In this regard (working against Arabs as a collective) I see no big difference between the Zionists and the Mullah regime. Both want a fragmented and weak Arab world and have worked towards that in practice and continue to do so. If some idiotic Arabs, mostly of a certain sect/cult, are this deluded and ignorant of history, to believe that the Mullah regime is "fighting their fight" or in any way, shape or form is a benefit for the Arabs as a collective, is extremely deluded and a waste of time.

For starters that entity is not part of our region and only borders 1 Arab country directly (Iraq). Even if it fragments etc. it will have very little barring on us.

Yeah the US is most certainly not going to protect Gulf nations in the way they're committed to defense of Israel

It looks like they want to hurt Gulf nations + China

Which is why they may strike long range systems in range of Israel, nuclear program targets but not much more than that

Chinese understand Iranians best, the Iranian regime isn't actually going to act out on red lines or match it's rhetoric. It will seek to negotiate after a limited US attack. And they'll make some kind of concession.

Saudi Arabia and others may be on edge and distracted for as long as US plays games in the region, particularly the 'we're about to go to war with Iran' one where they stunt the whole region and force others to shift their priorities. Comes at a time Saudis made a move in Yemen, and Saudis - Egyptians - Turks will focus on Somalia land and more.

The US going for a strategic shift in the region of status quo to regime change in Iran would mean they're going to empower Arabs in region by having them fill in the post - war power vacuum, and it doesn't seem make sense to me unless they abandoned Abraham Accords vision entirely.

Its indeed strange, may result in a quick agreement of some sort before they kick the can down the road again for another drama later in the summer

 

[Falcon29]

@The SC

Can you start a Gulf War - US/Iran/Israel thread in Arab defense section? For discussion of implications for Arab states ?

Or you think site admins /mods will consider it duplicate to Iran/US thread ?

 

[Eşbah]

Arab leadership as well as people need to understand what is going on and confront the threats head on. To be frank with you, we are the dominant power in the region by far based on every metric that you can think of. Population, geographic size, economy, cultural and religious influence, history, home to the oldest recorded civilizations and cultures on the planet, imperial past (to this day Arabs remain the creators of the by far largest and most influential empires anywhere in the Muslim world in history) military power, potential etc. The only thing that is holding us back are purely internal dynamics that outsiders take advantage of. Aside from lack of unity. Every educated and informed Arab understands this fact. It is also a question of time before this gets fixed one way or another whether through political changes, popular will, conflict/wars etc.

Inevitably I predict that we will see unifications in the future rather than fragmentation based on something as simple as events on the ground and geopolitics forcing such a reality upon us.

In this regard (working against Arabs as a collective) I see no big difference between the Zionists and the Mullah regime. Both want a fragmented and weak Arab world and have worked towards that in practice and continue to do so. If some idiotic Arabs, mostly of a certain sect/cult, are this deluded and ignorant of history, to believe that the Mullah regime is "fighting their fight" or in any way, shape or form is a benefit for the Arabs as a collective, is extremely deluded and a waste of time.

For starters that entity is not part of our region and only borders 1 Arab country directly (Iraq). Even if it fragments etc. it will have very little barring on us.

If Iran falls apart, Iraq will very likely disintegrate, too. This will have negative impacts on Saudi Arabia. You cannot escape the consequences, especially not with millions of Shia citizens. Your hatred for the Iranian leadership shouldn't cloud your judgement.

 

[_Arabia_]

Yeah the US is most certainly not going to protect Gulf nations in the way they're committed to defense of Israel

It looks like they want to hurt Gulf nations + China

Which is why they may strike long range systems in range of Israel, nuclear program targets but not much more than that

Chinese understand Iranians best, the Iranian regime isn't actually going to act out on red lines or match it's rhetoric. It will seek to negotiate after a limited US attack. And they'll make some kind of concession.

Saudi Arabia and others may be on edge and distracted for as long as US plays games in the region, particularly the 'we're about to go to war with Iran' one where they stunt the whole region and force others to shift their priorities. Comes at a time Saudis made a move in Yemen, and Saudis - Egyptians - Turks will focus on Somalia land and more.

The US going for a strategic shift in the region of status quo to regime change in Iran would mean they're going to empower Arabs in region by having them fill in the post - war power vacuum, and it doesn't seem make sense to me unless they abandoned Abraham Accords vision entirely.

Its indeed strange, may result in a quick agreement of some sort before they kick the can down the road again for another drama later in the summer

I am being a bit semantic here but I don't like this whole "Gulf countries" terminology. We are Arabian/Arab countries on the Arabian Peninsula. West Asia. Middle East. That is the GCC countries. Iraq is technically a Gulf country too by that logic, often included as well. Even most of Southern Iraq is geographically part of the Arabian Peninsula. By that logic Iran itself is an "Gulf country" too.

I never heard talk about an "Arabian Sea" or "Gulf of Oman" etc. country.

"Gulf countries" in Eastern Arabia (Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Oman) should be called Eastern Arabian countries.

The correct description is Eastern Arabian countries and this goes for South Iraq to Northern Oman only.

Eastern Arabia - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Basically from ancient Sumer (Southern Iraq and Kuwait/Northeastern KSA) to Magan (Northern Oman).

In particular KSA, which is the size of Western Europe and Greenland (12th largest country in the world and the largest in West Asia by some margin) and which really is not a "Gulf country" anymore than it is a "Red Sea" country, "South Arabia" country, "West Arabia" country, "East Arabia" country, "Central Arabia" country or "North Arabia" country etc.

Only a small part of KSA borders the Gulf and less than 5% of our population speaks a Khaliji Arabic dialect.

Gulf Arabic - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Most Saudi Arabians are far closer to the Levant, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq etc. than East Arabia in many ways. Or at least to a similar degree.

For instance Hijaz is far closer in every way to the Levant, Egypt and Yemen next door than East Arabia. Culturally, in terms of dialect, cuisine, geography, history etc.

I am not advocating for war with Iran or anybody, my premise is that they attack first without any reasons.

Obviously war is not good for the region but we have to defend ourselves in case of an attack.

All I know is that the Zionists and the Iranian Mullah regime (as well as their mostly nationalistic and secular opposition) are on the same page when it comes to Arabs and the Arab World. Meaning they wish to weaken us and fragment us. As history has demonstrated.

US would probably prefer a stable GCC (and region too) but obviously they are acting (in terms of Middle Eastern foreign policy) mostly on behalf of the Zionists.

The US probably wants a regime change in Iran and for Iran to become a more pro-Western country (in reality the Iranian Mullahs, if they could, would love to have great ties with the West - hence the many negotiations with them - the obstacle to that is mostly the Zionists and some internal hardliners), and that is probably what will occur down the road one way or another. Either by the regime collapsing internally or due to some war/conflict.

Any way, I am not too bothered about this as it does not relate to us, nor do I have any impact to start or prevent a conflict, but obviously we need to be vigilant given the close geographic proximity.

I don't feel the least sorry for the Mullah regime either, they have been an enormous source for instability themselves since 1979. Wish no harm for non-hostile Iranian civilians but that is about it.

I am sure that most Iranians would have similar sentiments towards KSA and the wider Arab World in the same situation so let us not pretend that my views are controversial.

Nor is this some grand fight for "Islam" or against the "West" or whatever some propagandists make it sound like. Just like some of those clowns made propaganda that Iran attacked Israel in "defense of Palestinians" while in reality they were the ones that were being carpet bombed first so they had to at least do something in return. Prior to that they did not lobby a single missile towards Israel during the Gaza genocide nor afterwards. So much for their "resistance" against the West and Zionists.

Of course this entire propaganda was long ago exposed when they themselves supported the US invasion of Iraq (the only reason why they have any influence in Iraq to this day) to overthrow their former archenemy Saddam Hussein and likewise the Taliban in Afghanistan.

 

[_Arabia_]

Nearly a million Jews were expelled from Arab lands, including my family​

Following my grandmother's injunction against anger, I pray for an end to radical Islam and for consummate normalcy between Arabs and Jews
Nov 30, 2025, 2:15 PM

Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them.


Author's father with his parents, Baghdad, 1951, before fleeing to Israel.

I light candles for the things my family never spoke about.

The 30th of November is Yom HaPlitim, the Day of Refugees, marking the expulsion of nearly one million Jews from Arab lands. My Iraqi father and all my grandparents are counted in that number. Yet, growing up in Sydney, I never knew they were refugees. I never knew they lived in tent camps when they arrived in Israel — the only country they were allowed to flee to in 1951, and the only country that would take them.

When I once asked my father about arriving at the ma’abarah (the refugee absorption tent camp) at age 5 with a single suitcase, he insisted he had never been in one. Almost angry at me for asking.

As a child, I watched my grandmother light seven tea lights on a foil-lined plate. They were a form of protection. I didn’t know what she was guarding against. Only now, as I light my own candles in times of darkness, do I understand.

My family was part of a 2,600-year-old Babylonian Jewish community. In the 1920s, Baghdad was a cosmopolitan center revived after Ottoman neglect. Even San Francisco was once called “Baghdad-by-the-Bay,” a nod to the shimmering, mythic city my grandparents knew. Jews were at its heart.

In 1917, a third of Baghdad was Jewish. Musicians and singers like Salima Pasha and the Al-Kuwaity brothers shaped the Iraqi maqam. One in six writers were Jewish. Muslims, Christians, Assyrians, Mandeans, and Jews drank tchai and kahwa by the Tigris River, swapping news over moving tawli pieces — all under King Faisal I’s proclamation, “There is only one country called Iraq… and there is no difference between a Muslim, Christian, or Jew.”

In this Iraq, my grandmother lit homespun wicks in a qerāyee, a glass bowl filled with water and sesame oil, hanging from the ceiling on delicate silver chains. With a wistful smile, she would describe Iraq as her Garden of Eden — the place where she swapped bread with her Muslim neighbor.

Qerāyee Bowl in which candles were traditionally lit in Iraq. (Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center, Or Yehuda, Israel)

So why did they leave?

Shadows surround her light.

In the 1930s, German propaganda seeped into Iraq. German teachers taught at Iraqi public schools. Dr. Fritz Grobba, the German ambassador, cultivated Arab nationalism and anti-Jewish sentiment: Mein Kampf was translated into Arabic, Radio Berlin propaganda was pumped over the Iraqi air waves. Teaching Hebrew was forbidden except for Bible and prayer. In 1941, Grobba secretly returned to support the pro-Nazi coup of Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, joined by the mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini.

The pro-Nazi coup sent Jews hiding behind their shutters. My grandfather recalled to me the relief when the British pushed the rebels back. But on the day the regent deposed by the coup, Abdul al-Ilah, returned to take his rightful place, and the British troops were lined up across the Tigris, it was June 1, 1941, and the festival of Shavuot. As Jews strolled the city dressed in white, the calls began: “Idhbah al-Yahud!” — Murder the Jews!

The Farhud — a two-day pogrom on Shavuot. One hundred and eighty identified Jews were killed. Many more unnamed were buried in a mass grave, and hundreds were raped and injured. Homes and businesses were destroyed. My grandfather never told me that his cousin played dead beside his murdered mother in order to survive; I found it later in his memoir.

* * *

“It was like October 7,” my sister’s Baghdadi grandmother-in-law told me. The comparison is unbearable — and undeniable.

On October 7, my neighbor’s daughter-in-law was among the 1,200 murdered. A friend’s son was one of the 251 hostages taken into Gaza. Rockets fell — some 3,000 in the first hours. I lit candles for the dead, the missing, the terrified.

After October 7, I heard the calls shouted in Paris, Sydney, and New York — echoes of what my grandparents once heard in Baghdad. Since that day, I have lost count the number of ear-splitting sirens, as more than 30,000 rockets and projectiles were launched from Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, and other Iranian-backed fronts into Israel.

And then Iran itself unleashed more than 300 missiles and drones in a single night in April 2024. The largest attempted destruction of Jews since the Holocaust (and then Iran did it again in October).

“But nothing happened,” an Austrian friend says to me.
I grit my teeth and light another candle, with everything I cannot say.

Where is Jewish anger?

When I was an angsty teen, my grandmother taught me that anger was forbidden. “Be happy,” she commanded me, adding an extra spoon of sugar to my cardamom tea. My father insisted I never look back, never complain. But under anger is grief. Under grief is memory.

* * *

By the late 1940s, Jewish life in Iraq was untenable. Jews were fired from civil jobs, barred from universities, harassed, arrested — the charge always: “Zionist spy.” No one was immune. In 1948, Shafiq Ades, one of Iraq’s wealthiest men, was hanged outside his home in Basra after a show trial accusing him of being a Zionist spy. He was hanged twice for the cheering crowds, my grandfather said. His real crime? Being a Jew.

Shafiq Ades at his trial, being led to his execution by hanging in front of his villa in Basra in 1948. (Picture Archive of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center, Or Yehuda, Israel)

Thousands, like my great-aunt and uncle fled across the desert to Israel through Iran. If they were caught, they were flung in jail.

* * *

May 21, 2025, two young Jews are mowed down outside the Jewish Museum, Washington DC, by a gunman who shouts, “Free, free Palestine!” I light for the engaged couple’s extinguished future. The match burns my fingertips.

Where are Jews safe?

* * *

In 1950, Iraq passed the Denaturalization Law: Jews could leave the country only if they renounced citizenship and the right to return. Soon after, their property could be seized. My grandparents left with five children, one suitcase, and 50 dinars. Their glass qerāyee bowl did not fit.

My grandparents in Baghdad in 1951, before fleeing to Israel. My grandmother is pregnant here, and arrived in Israel with a new baby. (Family Archive)

“Would you ever return to Baghdad?” I asked my grandfather as we watched bomb smoke spiral over his city on TV during the Gulf War. He shook his head. “No.”

When I light my candles, I often pray for miracles. After all, my grandmother believed in angels.

October 10, 2025 — a ceasefire. My heart overflows with bittersweet relief — the hostages return, including the body of Daniel Perez, our dear friends’ son. We are breathing better now, and yet, still, two hostage bodies remain — Ran Gvili, 24, an elite counterterrorism police officer, who, despite a broken shoulder from a motorcycle accident, went to fight on October 7, and Sudthisak Rinthalak, 43 — a Thai agricultural worker, who was among the foreign nationals taken captive. I pray for them to be returned to their families for the dignified burials they deserve.

And I light my candles. The flick of the match sparks something I cannot express. I don’t know how to stop.

Today, when I post my seven candles online, Iraqis and others from across the Middle East write to me privately. They tell me they consider me Iraqi. They miss their Jews. They long not to be an Iranian proxy. They dream of joining the Abraham Accords. Their messages are courageous — in Iraq, contact with Israelis can be punishable by death. They fill me with hope.

One of my slides from a presentation on Mizrahi Jews and the Middle East today. (courtesy)

Perhaps one is the grandson of my grandfather’s barber — a Muslim man who did not care if he was accused of associating with Zionists and insisted on giving my grandfather a final haircut before he fled. An act my grandfather carefully recorded in his memoir. My grandfather did not write in anger, but from deep hurt, recording his life. Trying to understand: how did such Jew-hatred happen in his beloved Iraq?

Today, three Jews live in Iraq. The ancient community of Babylonian Jews has vanished.

Today, more than half of Israel are descendants of Jews who fled Arab lands, including myself and my children.

This Yom HaPlitim, I light my candles not only for the Jewish refugees from Arab lands, but for the silenced across the Middle East. For the Iraqi neighbors who saved Jews during the Farhud. For the Israeli Arabs and Bedouins who saved Jews on October 7. I light for the future — the end of radical Islam. I light for humanity, normalization, and prosperity between Arabs and Jews. A new Middle East.

For me, this day is not to dwell on Jewish anger; rather, I celebrate Jewish resilience and hope — my grandmother’s light.

Candles – Be the Light. (courtesy)
—

This post first appeared on Sarah’s Substack, Picking Lemons – Subscribe here.
Follow Sarah and her work on Middle Eastern Jews on Instagram – here.

About the Author
Sarah is an Australian born, Iraqi Jewish writer, poet, and educator. She is the author of the award winning picture book, Shoham’s Bangle and This is Not a Cholent. Her poetry micro chapbook, This is Why We Don’t Look Back was awarded the Harbor Review Jewish Women’s Poetry prize. Her poetry and personal essays have been published in Consequence Forum, Hadassah Magazine, Michigan Quarterly and elsewhere. She is an editorial advisor for Distinctions: A Sephardi and Mizrahi Journal. She is also the joint author of the The In-Between a literary dialogue about identity and belonging. She received her MA in English Literature and Creative Writing from Bar Ilan University. Sarah is currently an Elson Israel Fellow with the Jewish Federation of Tulsa. She lives in Jerusalem with her husband and four boys. Visit www.sarahsassoon.com

The truth behind Israeli propaganda on the 'expulsion' of Arab Jews

Israel's outrageous fabrications about the immigration of Arab Jews to Israel in the 1940s and 50s are an attempt to mask the injustices meted out to Palestinians

www.middleeasteye.net

Nonsense propaganda. To this day the majority of Israelis (almost 2/3's) are Arab Jews or partial Arab Jews.

Those Arab Jews were local Arabs who at one point in time converted to Judaism, a fellow Abrahamic and Semitic religion. Which modern-day DNA tests also confirm. With some descendants of the actual first Hebrews/Israelites that scattered across the Arab World and elsewhere being part of the mix.

Mind you, the historical Israelites and Hebrews were almost indistinguishable from local Arabs next door (during that era) and other Semitic-speaking peoples of the Arab World and Middle East.

Unlike the Ashkenazi and European Jews who are only around 40-50% genetically tied to the wider Middle East and the Levant on average and that too mostly due to their high inbreeding/intermarriages for centuries.

Not only that actual/real Jews lived and flourished the most under the rule of Arabs and other Muslims in the Arab World and had it far, far better than they had it in Europe.

Outside of outright Zionist propaganda sources, such as yours, it is better to listen to actual Arab Israeli Jews (professors included) and their personal experiences and historical facts.

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One of the comments below the last video:

@אושרמשעל
4 years ago
"I have to say it hurts a bit to see this. I am an Arab Jew. My father's family came from Iraq and my mother's family came from Egypt. I eat Arabian food at home, listen to Arabian music and celebrate with my family and other "mizrahim" just like Arabs. We even call it by a specific name "Hafla" (party) ... My parents speak Arabic at home sometimes, a lot with my grandmother and my grandfather. My grandfather lived until the age of 16 in Egypt, almost all of his friends were Muslims. When he immigrated to Israel, he quickly connected with the local Palestinians. They lived together in the neighborhood for years. My house fits in with its character to an Arab house and when I bring home friends whose parents came from European countries, you can very quickly see how different our cultures are. How much my family is more like an Arab family than a European Jewish one."

I have said this time and time again and it remains the reality in many ways, but outside of the minority Ashkenazi Jews and their foreign ideology (Zionism), the Israeli/Palestine/Arab conflict is largely another internal Arab-Arab conflict. More Arabs should speak about this openly. If somehow the Arab Jewish element within Israel can be swayed and take the course of future Israeli society, this conflict could honestly have a chance of ending in a satisfactory manner for both parties.

Take the example of this guy and his turnaround.

https://x.com/alon_mizrahi

Very vocal with a large and increasing following. He must be one among, many, many, Arab Jews within Israel. I think that peer pressure is what makes such sentiments less common within Israel. That and brainwashing and ignorance of their own war crimes and the history of Israel itself since WW1 and after 1948.

It might seem like a utopia nowadays but it is not completely unrealistic for Arabs and Jews to burry the hatchet and cooperate or at least live together in largely peace like throughout much of history previously.

That is obviously only possible if the Zionists/Israelis accept their true size in the region and stop creating constant mischief and war crimes within Palestine and the larger region, as well as trying to prevent the rise of the Arab World and countries. I am not ignorant of their agenda, write about it openly, however there is a possibility of some rapprochement in the future based on past history and actual people to people ties. It would also be for the best for both parties and the wider region if peace occurred and Israel/Zionists need to change their behavior first, not the Palestinians or Arabs.

 

[The SC]

A former CIA analyst reveals what they don't want you to know

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[_Arabia_]

A former CIA analyst reveals what they don't want you to know

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Well, Arabs in the US have to increase their influence in all spheres in order to counter the Jewish/Zionist influence in the US. It is that simple.

We need more Steve Jobs (Jandali) within the Arab community in the US which numbers around 3 million people.

Arab Americans - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

A lot of very successful people out there:

List of Arab Americans - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Same story in Europe.

Arabs in Europe - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

We are starting to gain more and more power and influence in every sphere. It is a slow process but there is annual progress in all fields.

If the Arab community could develop as close-knit a community like the Jews in the US, there is no stopping us.

For instance the Arab community in Latin America numbers between 20-30 million people and is one of the most successful communities in Latin America. Even called the "Jews of Latin America" due to our relatively small numbers but huge economic, political, cultural, scientific etc. influence in those societies.

Look how an half-Palestinian (Bukele) transformed El Salvador from being a literal crime hellhole to one of the safest countries in Latin America.

The Jews are not influential just for being Jews but due to their accomplishments in the US and West in many spheres. This is what has given them influence.

So in short, we need to act more rather than talk and gain similar or more influence and that is only accomplished by unity and hard work, as well as the usual "dark arts" that every successful (almost) person has done as well in business and other walks of life to gain a foothold or advantage. it is a jungle out there.

There is approximately an 50 million big Arab diaspora from Indonesia to the US and in almost every country of the world. Literally.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_diaspora

There are really no excuses out there if you are a second or third generation Arab in the West. We don't demand it from Syrians, Yemenis and other war-torn Arab people today but the same will apply to them once peace and stability emerges.

 

[_Arabia_]

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That has always been the case and will always remain to be the case. Not sure what is wrong with such statements? How can any sane Muslim be against this?

Notice the increased Zionist/Israeli media/Jewish aligned media in the US attacks on KSA. It is not a coincidence.

The Zionists probably don't want a strong bloc of KSA, Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye, Pakistan etc. to emerge in the Muslim world that would put an end to their mischief or at least reduce it substantially.

I don't know on which planet this guy lives in and his ilks.

@Falcon29 can you tell me a bit more about the Arab community in the US? What is your experience with it? Is it close knit? What is done to increase its influence in US politics etc.? Would love to hear some local Arab perspectives. As you know I have been based in the US as well for a few years due to studies and albeit I engaged with the Arab American community as well, it was mostly fellow Arab expat students aside from locals and other foreign students.

 

[Falcon29]

I am being a bit semantic here but I don't like this whole "Gulf countries" terminology. We are Arabian/Arab countries on the Arabian Peninsula. West Asia. Middle East. That is the GCC countries. Iraq is technically a Gulf country too by that logic, often included as well. Even most of Southern Iraq is geographically part of the Arabian Peninsula. By that logic Iran itself is an "Gulf country" too.

I never heard talk about an "Arabian Sea" or "Gulf of Oman" etc. country.

"Gulf countries" in Eastern Arabia (Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Oman) should be called Eastern Arabian countries.

The correct description is Eastern Arabian countries and this goes for South Iraq to Northern Oman only.

Eastern Arabia - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Basically from ancient Sumer (Southern Iraq and Kuwait/Northeastern KSA) to Magan (Northern Oman).

In particular KSA, which is the size of Western Europe and Greenland (12th largest country in the world and the largest in West Asia by some margin) and which really is not a "Gulf country" anymore than it is a "Red Sea" country, "South Arabia" country, "West Arabia" country, "East Arabia" country, "Central Arabia" country or "North Arabia" country etc.

Only a small part of KSA borders the Gulf and less than 5% of our population speaks a Khaliji Arabic dialect.

Gulf Arabic - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Most Saudi Arabians are far closer to the Levant, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq etc. than East Arabia in many ways. Or at least to a similar degree.

For instance Hijaz is far closer in every way to the Levant, Egypt and Yemen next door than East Arabia. Culturally, in terms of dialect, cuisine, geography, history etc.

I am not advocating for war with Iran or anybody, my premise is that they attack first without any reasons.

Obviously war is not good for the region but we have to defend ourselves in case of an attack.

All I know is that the Zionists and the Iranian Mullah regime (as well as their mostly nationalistic and secular opposition) are on the same page when it comes to Arabs and the Arab World. Meaning they wish to weaken us and fragment us. As history has demonstrated.

US would probably prefer a stable GCC (and region too) but obviously they are acting (in terms of Middle Eastern foreign policy) mostly on behalf of the Zionists.

The US probably wants a regime change in Iran and for Iran to become a more pro-Western country (in reality the Iranian Mullahs, if they could, would love to have great ties with the West - hence the many negotiations with them - the obstacle to that is mostly the Zionists and some internal hardliners), and that is probably what will occur down the road one way or another. Either by the regime collapsing internally or due to some war/conflict.

Any way, I am not too bothered about this as it does not relate to us, nor do I have any impact to start or prevent a conflict, but obviously we need to be vigilant given the close geographic proximity.

I don't feel the least sorry for the Mullah regime either, they have been an enormous source for instability themselves since 1979. Wish no harm for non-hostile Iranian civilians but that is about it.

I am sure that most Iranians would have similar sentiments towards KSA and the wider Arab World in the same situation so let us not pretend that my views are controversial.

Nor is this some grand fight for "Islam" or against the "West" or whatever some propagandists make it sound like. Just like some of those clowns made propaganda that Iran attacked Israel in "defense of Palestinians" while in reality they were the ones that were being carpet bombed first so they had to at least do something in return. Prior to that they did not lobby a single missile towards Israel during the Gaza genocide nor afterwards. So much for their "resistance" against the West and Zionists.

Of course this entire propaganda was long ago exposed when they themselves supported the US invasion of Iraq (the only reason why they have any influence in Iraq to this day) to overthrow their former archenemy Saddam Hussein and likewise the Taliban in Afghanistan.

It's Arabian Peninsula whether people like it or not. Always has been Arabian Peninsula.

I agree their conflict with the West is mostly overrated and non-existent. It's more like attempting to assert themselves as brains behind Palestinian cause and front line. This is why I said Hamas in Gaza after this experience needs to move away from Iran and rethink its strategy. They can still acquire some weapons from anywhere to maintain the army they have in Gaza.

The future of Gaza is still uncertain but we will see Hamas evolve if Gaza actually stabilizes and Israel really does withdraw.

Looking at it from purely factual basis, there is no loss to Arabs if regime change occurred in Iran. Maybe unless it became net oil exporter or something. But from a political standpoint the current regime is mostly out for Arabs and engaged in a decades old ideological propaganda campaign against Arabs. Regime change in Iran won't be this super successful thing like Venezuela. Where it can be flipped overnight.

Another angle is Shia followers of Iranian revolution will basically crash out and have their confidence in the Twelver belief system shattered. This is very big because it would mean Arab Shias are returning to Arab fold. There would not be an alternative. And they'd also return to seeing Sunnis as natural leaders.

Imo this is why the US and Israel will never topple the regime in Iran. It gives Shia proxies in region life support and confidence. And I believe they like this Twelver belief system due to parallels to Christianity (Saints) and Judaism (end times savior ) that we don't have in Sunni Islam. And for them the more deviant ideologies there are from orthodox Islam (Sunni imo) the better.

You know Twlevers if Iranian regime fell a ton would flip atheist overnight and that will be a testament to Sunni Islam. Arabs would grow stronger.

So my feeling is that don't want to shatter the Twelver Shia's faith by toppling Iranian regime. Instead they would hurt Iranian regime but also make it so it attacks Arab states and weakens them as well. Putting them in a weaker state ahead of pressing issues like Gaza ceasefire Phase 2 , Syria , Libya , Sudan and Somalia

 

[Falcon29]

Well, Arabs in the US have to increase their influence in all spheres in order to counter the Jewish/Zionist influence in the US. It is that simple.

We need more Steve Jobs (Jandali) within the Arab community in the US which numbers around 3 million people.

Arab Americans - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

A lot of very successful people out there:

List of Arab Americans - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Same story in Europe.

Arabs in Europe - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

We are starting to gain more and more power and influence in every sphere. It is a slow process but there is annual progress in all fields.

If the Arab community could develop as close-knit a community like the Jews in the US, there is no stopping us.

For instance the Arab community in Latin America numbers between 20-30 million people and is one of the most successful communities in Latin America. Even called the "Jews of Latin America" due to our relatively small numbers but huge economic, political, cultural, scientific etc. influence in those societies.

Look how an half-Palestinian (Bukele) transformed El Salvador from being a literal crime hellhole to one of the safest countries in Latin America.

The Jews are not influential just for being Jews but due to their accomplishments in the US and West in many spheres. This is what has given them influence.

So in short, we need to act more rather than talk and gain similar or more influence and that is only accomplished by unity and hard work, as well as the usual "dark arts" that every successful (almost) person has done as well in business and other walks of life to gain a foothold or advantage. it is a jungle out there.

There is approximately an 50 million big Arab diaspora from Indonesia to the US and in almost every country of the world. Literally.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_diaspora

There are really no excuses out there if you are a second or third generation Arab in the West. We don't demand it from Syrians, Yemenis and other war-torn Arab people today but the same will apply to them once peace and stability emerges.

We have the same problem as Jews. You know the saying :

"Put 2 Jews in a room get 3 opinions ".

Well it's actually 2 Jews 3 opinions. But you get the point.

And consider some people are trying to bring religion into activism a bit too much while others trying to zone it out entirely. So you sort of Islamist like activist groups then full on liberal ones. We need the in between.

Then you some people simply afraid, deadly paranoid of local authorities, more so in Europe than the US. In the US we aren't afraid and you can see many Arabs in government now.

One of the things is where you choose to settle. Michigan is not it. But this is where many US Arabs settle. There and Chicago. Michigan is like a influential state that at same time feels like it has no impact on the future of the US. It's know for the Big 3, which are the US auto manufacturers and it's lakes (lots of fresh water reserves ).

It would help if younger Arabs moved about within the USA like getting involved in Finance (NYC) or Silicon Valley(Tech, AI) , or DC (politics).

Which some are to be fair. I see examples irl.

Arab Christians and Muslims could benefit from getting closer to each other. Arab Christians are very successful in business and their female counterparts are heavily in the medical field. There is some tension at the time of the whole ISIS fiasco and Iraq war stuff , and a particular Arab Christian community identifying itself as not Arab. But the younger generations are closer and by next generation (the current kids of second Gen Arab immigrants , so 3rd gen) you will see lots of promising things

 

[_Arabia_]

It's Arabian Peninsula whether people like it or not. Always has been Arabian Peninsula.

I agree their conflict with the West is mostly overrated and non-existent. It's more like attempting to assert themselves as brains behind Palestinian cause and front line. This is why I said Hamas in Gaza after this experience needs to move away from Iran and rethink its strategy. They can still acquire some weapons from anywhere to maintain the army they have in Gaza.

The future of Gaza is still uncertain but we will see Hamas evolve if Gaza actually stabilizes and Israel really does withdraw.

Looking at it from purely factual basis, there is no loss to Arabs if regime change occurred in Iran. Maybe unless it became net oil exporter or something. But from a political standpoint the current regime is mostly out for Arabs and engaged in a decades old ideological propaganda campaign against Arabs. Regime change in Iran won't be this super successful thing like Venezuela. Where it can be flipped overnight.

Another angle is Shia followers of Iranian revolution will basically crash out and have their confidence in the Twelver belief system shattered. This is very big because it would mean Arab Shias are returning to Arab fold. There would not be an alternative. And they'd also return to seeing Sunnis as natural leaders.

Imo this is why the US and Israel will never topple the regime in Iran. It gives Shia proxies in region life support and confidence. And I believe they like this Twelver belief system due to parallels to Christianity (Saints) and Judaism (end times savior ) that we don't have in Sunni Islam. And for them the more deviant ideologies there are from orthodox Islam (Sunni imo) the better.

You know Twlevers if Iranian regime fell a ton would flip atheist overnight and that will be a testament to Sunni Islam. Arabs would grow stronger.

So my feeling is that don't want to shatter the Twelver Shia's faith by toppling Iranian regime. Instead they would hurt Iranian regime but also make it so it attacks Arab states and weakens them as well. Putting them in a weaker state ahead of pressing issues like Gaza ceasefire Phase 2 , Syria , Libya , Sudan and Somalia

Completely agree and well written thoughts.

Honestly speaking the current regime in Iran barely has any influence within the Arab world among the Shias. They have merely been supporting internal Arab Shia Arab movements. They have zero cultural, linguistic, religious, people to people influence. In fact for the past 1400 years it has been the other way around. Arab influence within Iran is deeply ingrained in almost every single sphere. Religion (Islam), language (Farsi is heavily influenced by Arabic, their entire alphabet is a copy of our Arabic alphabet with just 4 additional letters), culture, ancestry (confirmed by DNA). Even the Arab community within Iran is several millions strong and much larger than the official numbers. Most of their pre-Islamic culture and civilization is a copy of ancient Semitic cultures native to the Arab world as well. Our influence on them has been 100 times larger than the other way around.

Even the current system of theirs (Wilayat al-Faqih) was invented and created by the Shia Arab clerics and Mullahs that the Safavids imported from modern-day Lebanon, Iraq and Eastern KSA/Bahrain (Eastern Arabia). Even their leadership proudly claim Arab ancestry (Black Turbans).

Of course they do not want a regime change, their entire regime was created by the West itself. Khomeini, after he lived in exile in Kuwait and Iraq, was kicked out and sought refugee in France. He was an Western implant that was put in power in order to weaken the real anti-Shah opposition (communists, socialists and liberals) who the West feared (Cold War era, remember) would turn pro-USSR which they (Iran) neighbored directly (Turkmenistan today).

Ruhollah Khomeini's life in exile - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Afterwards the Iran-Contra Affair.

Iran–Contra affair - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Then open support for the US during its illegal invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, publicly admitted by Mullah leadership.

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As for the Shia sect, I honestly refuse to believe that any sane and educated Muslim, would be foolish enough to believe in it given how easy it is to pick apart their false ideology and beliefs.

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[_Arabia_]

We have the same problem as Jews. You know the saying :

"Put 2 Jews in a room get 3 opinions ".

Well it's actually 2 Jews 3 opinions. But you get the point.

And consider some people are trying to bring religion into activism a bit too much while others trying to zone it out entirely. So you sort of Islamist like activist groups then full on liberal ones. We need the in between.

Then you some people simply afraid, deadly paranoid of local authorities, more so in Europe than the US. In the US we aren't afraid and you can see many Arabs in government now.

One of the things is where you choose to settle. Michigan is not it. But this is where many US Arabs settle. There and Chicago. Michigan is like a influential state that at same time feels like it has no impact on the future of the US. It's know for the Big 3, which are the US auto manufacturers and it's lakes (lots of fresh water reserves ).

It would help if younger Arabs moved about within the USA like getting involved in Finance (NYC) or Silicon Valley(Tech, AI) , or DC (politics).

Which some are to be fair. I see examples irl.

Arab Christians and Muslims could benefit from getting closer to each other. Arab Christians are very successful in business and their female counterparts are heavily in the medical field. There is some tension at the time of the whole ISIS fiasco and Iraq war stuff , and a particular Arab Christian community identifying itself as not Arab. But the younger generations are closer and by next generation (the current kids of second Gen Arab immigrants , so 3rd gen) you will see lots of promising things

Yes, a balance has to be found and honestly I believe that KSA is moving in the right direction towards that, albeit not perfect and not without flaws. In general, I believe that Arabs overall have a very good understanding of Islam. The flaws that we can see are often based on old cultural concepts and family flaws.

That is why I am such a big proponent of greater Arab unity as it would solve almost all of the challenges.

I think that we as Arabs do not understand how blessed we have been historically speaking (the Arab world being home to the world's oldest civilizations and cultures for millennia - hence being one of the most developed and flourishing areas of the world for much of recorded history), how many natural, mineral and human resources and wealth we have, the huge and deeply strategic geography that we inhabit, our religious, cultural and linguistic influence that few civilizations and peoples can compete with etc.

The current mess, in large parts of the Arab world, is therefore unnatural looking at a historical perspective and mostly is due to outside meddling, the Western implant (Israel) and its constant plots as well as lack of Arab unity which is tied to bad/subpar leadership.

Any way we need to make good use of this. It is an enormous asset on paper. This has to be somehow managed in a way that would help the collective Arab world and our people home and abroad.

Arab Americans - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

List of Arab Americans - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Arabs in Europe - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Arab diaspora - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[The SC]

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[The SC]

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