James Ryan
@jdryan08.bsky.social
Executive Director, Middle East Research and Information Project (www.merip.org | @merip.bsky.social). Adjuncting at Rowan University. Historian interested in Turkey, Prodigal Son of Philadelphia. Usual caveats.
Reposted by James Ryan
He has now been released
November 25, 2025 at 1:57 PM
He has now been released
Reposted by James Ryan
My colleague, Dr. Vahid Abedini, was illegally detained by ICE on Saturday. He is currently being held without a court date in sight, despite being in the country legally. Please spread the word! We must ensure his due process rights are upheld. www.oudaily.com/news/ou-prof...
OU College of International Studies professor reportedly arrested by ICE
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly arrested an OU professor at Will Rogers International Airport Saturday.
www.oudaily.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:05 PM
My colleague, Dr. Vahid Abedini, was illegally detained by ICE on Saturday. He is currently being held without a court date in sight, despite being in the country legally. Please spread the word! We must ensure his due process rights are upheld. www.oudaily.com/news/ou-prof...
Reposted by James Ryan
Rep. Jacob Rosecrants is in touch with State Rep. Jared Deck (Norman) and Rep. Tom Cole (Repub). The office of U.S. Sen. James Lankford (Repub) has been made aware.
They can't find Dr. Abedini's location. Important for several reasons including filing habeas corpus docs.
URL: x.com/jacobrosecra...
They can't find Dr. Abedini's location. Important for several reasons including filing habeas corpus docs.
URL: x.com/jacobrosecra...
![Rep. Jacob Rosecrants 🌩️
@jacobrosecrants
I’m aware of this awful situation, shared by my constituent Dr. Landis. Nobody seems to know where Dr. Abedini is being held, tho he has contacted family. Rep. Deck reached out to Rep. Cole & Sen. Lankford’s office is looped in. Here to be a squeaky wheel & help however I can.
[screenshot of Prof. Landis' tweet about Dr. Abedini being seized by ICE]
8:23 PM • Nov 24, 2025 • 1,351 Views](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2wyqv44lm72vasmddeqjgy72/bafkreiad7pgvpg5ds7s3rjys6u2psnfdiwhouicddgt5qdr2f4qhxax63y@jpeg)
November 25, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Rep. Jacob Rosecrants is in touch with State Rep. Jared Deck (Norman) and Rep. Tom Cole (Repub). The office of U.S. Sen. James Lankford (Repub) has been made aware.
They can't find Dr. Abedini's location. Important for several reasons including filing habeas corpus docs.
URL: x.com/jacobrosecra...
They can't find Dr. Abedini's location. Important for several reasons including filing habeas corpus docs.
URL: x.com/jacobrosecra...
Reposted by James Ryan
On Nov. 22, Vahid Abedini, an Iranian Studies professor at University of Oklahoma, was boarding a flight to attend the Middle East Studies Assn mtg in Washington, D.C. when he was detained by ICE.
OU Prof Joshua Landis says "he has been wrongfully detained because he has a valid H-1B visa."
OU Prof Joshua Landis says "he has been wrongfully detained because he has a valid H-1B visa."
November 24, 2025 at 10:33 PM
On Nov. 22, Vahid Abedini, an Iranian Studies professor at University of Oklahoma, was boarding a flight to attend the Middle East Studies Assn mtg in Washington, D.C. when he was detained by ICE.
OU Prof Joshua Landis says "he has been wrongfully detained because he has a valid H-1B visa."
OU Prof Joshua Landis says "he has been wrongfully detained because he has a valid H-1B visa."
Reposted by James Ryan
Reposted by James Ryan
REMINDER: We have a LIVE event in Washington DC on Saturday! Come join MERIP contributors Aslı Bâli, Joel Beinin, Lisa Hajjar, Zachary Lockman, Sarah Leah Whitson, Mouin Rabbani, Joan Mandell and Rick Reinhard, MC'd by Joost Hiltermann and w/ music from the Fast Flying Vestibule!
Honoring Joe Stork, Live in DC
November 22 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
buff.ly
November 20, 2025 at 5:01 PM
REMINDER: We have a LIVE event in Washington DC on Saturday! Come join MERIP contributors Aslı Bâli, Joel Beinin, Lisa Hajjar, Zachary Lockman, Sarah Leah Whitson, Mouin Rabbani, Joan Mandell and Rick Reinhard, MC'd by Joost Hiltermann and w/ music from the Fast Flying Vestibule!
Reposted by James Ryan
Trump in a room with a very charismatic person results in like half a day of Trump agreeing with everything that person said, so this has the potential to be very, very funny.
Trump says he’s meeting with “communist” Mamdani at the White House on Friday
November 20, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Trump in a room with a very charismatic person results in like half a day of Trump agreeing with everything that person said, so this has the potential to be very, very funny.
Reposted by James Ryan
Images of the first amputee football tournament in Gaza by photojournalist Rizek Abdel Jawad.
nbmediacoop.org/2025/11/21/p...
nbmediacoop.org/2025/11/21/p...
November 21, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Images of the first amputee football tournament in Gaza by photojournalist Rizek Abdel Jawad.
nbmediacoop.org/2025/11/21/p...
nbmediacoop.org/2025/11/21/p...
Reposted by James Ryan
It seems to break people's minds (both left and liberal, but more often liberal) that Israel and the GCC make up two constituent parts of an overarching US led political system in the Middle East and that support for the states committing genocide in Gaza and Sudan is complementary to each other.
November 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
It seems to break people's minds (both left and liberal, but more often liberal) that Israel and the GCC make up two constituent parts of an overarching US led political system in the Middle East and that support for the states committing genocide in Gaza and Sudan is complementary to each other.
Join us in DC! We got a great lineup!!
REMINDER: We have a LIVE event in Washington DC on Saturday! Come join MERIP contributors Aslı Bâli, Joel Beinin, Lisa Hajjar, Zachary Lockman, Sarah Leah Whitson, Mouin Rabbani, Joan Mandell and Rick Reinhard, MC'd by Joost Hiltermann and w/ music from the Fast Flying Vestibule!
Honoring Joe Stork, Live in DC
November 22 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
buff.ly
November 20, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Join us in DC! We got a great lineup!!
Manufacturing consent 101.
Elliott Abrams says regime change is the only way forward in Venezuela and nothing could go wrong. Just like with Iraq. Do we really have to do this again?
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
How to Topple Maduro
And why regime change is the only way forward in Venezuela.
www.foreignaffairs.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Manufacturing consent 101.
Reposted by James Ryan
Costs (the money needed to provide an education) have risen. Prices (what students pay) have been at or below inflation for the past decade. That doesn't get nearly enough attention.
NPR folks, you know where to find me.
NPR folks, you know where to find me.
November 20, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Costs (the money needed to provide an education) have risen. Prices (what students pay) have been at or below inflation for the past decade. That doesn't get nearly enough attention.
NPR folks, you know where to find me.
NPR folks, you know where to find me.
The two that I’ve read recently that fit this bill are: Sam Anderson, /Boom Town/ and Bird & Sherwin’s /American Prometheus/. The first is one of the most inventive histories I’ve ever read, the second among the most sure handed. Both were enthralling.
Ok BlueSky: what are your favorite history books in terms of sheer page-turning, narrative propulsion? Thinking along the line of Killers of the Flower Moon, etc. Nonfiction chronicles that read like novels or movies.
November 20, 2025 at 1:08 AM
The two that I’ve read recently that fit this bill are: Sam Anderson, /Boom Town/ and Bird & Sherwin’s /American Prometheus/. The first is one of the most inventive histories I’ve ever read, the second among the most sure handed. Both were enthralling.
When I moved back to Philly, I hoped to get to eat at as many of the nice places I could before they got a star and became stupid expensive. Lucky to have dined at 2/3 awarded in the first round, and have more time to get around to the rest!
For the first time ever, Philadelphia has a Michelin star. ⭐️
Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp won the prestigious Michelin star for Her Place Supper Club. She started in the biz by cooking for friends at her Penn campus apartment.
🔴 Live updates: www.inquirer.com/food/live/mi...
Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp won the prestigious Michelin star for Her Place Supper Club. She started in the biz by cooking for friends at her Penn campus apartment.
🔴 Live updates: www.inquirer.com/food/live/mi...
November 19, 2025 at 1:50 AM
When I moved back to Philly, I hoped to get to eat at as many of the nice places I could before they got a star and became stupid expensive. Lucky to have dined at 2/3 awarded in the first round, and have more time to get around to the rest!
“But he knew nothing about it.”
November 18, 2025 at 6:45 PM
“But he knew nothing about it.”
Reposted by James Ryan
“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”
November 15, 2025 at 6:15 AM
“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”
The passive voice, not just for dead Palestinians anymore!
A teenager in Florida with a homeless parent wanted money for braces and ended up having sex for money with powerful men, setting off a chain of events that would have a dramatic impact on her life and help upend the political career of Representative Matt Gaetz. nyti.ms/49PSkL9
November 14, 2025 at 1:57 AM
The passive voice, not just for dead Palestinians anymore!
Reposted by James Ryan
If Dershowitz was the most informed advisor to Obama on this issue before John Kerry came along to fix things for him then it's not a surprise that Obama only ever saw a map of the settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank for the first time in the winter of 2015.
Obama used to know Rashid Khalidi and Edward Said personally, and he still sought out Dershowitz concerning Palestine lol
November 14, 2025 at 12:35 AM
If Dershowitz was the most informed advisor to Obama on this issue before John Kerry came along to fix things for him then it's not a surprise that Obama only ever saw a map of the settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank for the first time in the winter of 2015.
Reposted by James Ryan
"Bourguiba’s prediction proved eerily accurate. Gabes did become unrecognizable, though not in the way he had promised."
@merip.bsky.social
www.merip.org/2025/11/we-w...
@merip.bsky.social
www.merip.org/2025/11/we-w...
'We Want to Breathe'—Dispatch from Gabes, Tunisia
A few weeks into the 2025 school year, in a middle school in Chott Essalem, Tunisia, students began to feel dizzy and light-headed and their throats tightened. Within minutes, they began collapsing, o...
www.merip.org
November 13, 2025 at 9:58 PM
"Bourguiba’s prediction proved eerily accurate. Gabes did become unrecognizable, though not in the way he had promised."
@merip.bsky.social
www.merip.org/2025/11/we-w...
@merip.bsky.social
www.merip.org/2025/11/we-w...
World leaders are gathering in Brazil for COP30, but in the once lush oasis of Gabes, Tunisia, ordinary people are protesting pollution that’s so bad hundreds of children fainted or suffered light headedness during the first week of school.
A new dispatch out in MERIP today 👇
A new dispatch out in MERIP today 👇
NEW: 'We Want to Breathe' -- Dispatch from Gabes, Tunisia
Dhouha Djerbi reports from the frontlines of protests over environmental pollution in Tunisia's Gabes province that is blamed for rising rates of cancer and respiratory illness.
READ NOW
Dhouha Djerbi reports from the frontlines of protests over environmental pollution in Tunisia's Gabes province that is blamed for rising rates of cancer and respiratory illness.
READ NOW
'We Want to Breathe'—Dispatch from Gabes, Tunisia
A few weeks into the 2025 school year, in a middle school in Chott Essalem, Tunisia, students began to feel dizzy and light-headed and their throats tightened. Within minutes, they began collapsing,…
buff.ly
November 13, 2025 at 7:22 PM
World leaders are gathering in Brazil for COP30, but in the once lush oasis of Gabes, Tunisia, ordinary people are protesting pollution that’s so bad hundreds of children fainted or suffered light headedness during the first week of school.
A new dispatch out in MERIP today 👇
A new dispatch out in MERIP today 👇
Reposted by James Ryan
SUPPORT MERIP: Show your support for MERIP by picking up a poster or a tote bag today!
Merchandise
MERIP is pleased to offer a limited quantity of merchandise items. New items will be added to this page as items become available, and announcements of newly available items will be made on our…
buff.ly
November 11, 2025 at 10:18 PM
SUPPORT MERIP: Show your support for MERIP by picking up a poster or a tote bag today!
Reposted by James Ryan
REMINDER: Join us in DC on 11/22 with a great lineup of speakers to reflect on MERIP's history and the legacy of our co-founder Joe Stork!
Honoring Joe Stork, Live in DC
November 22 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
buff.ly
November 11, 2025 at 8:00 PM
REMINDER: Join us in DC on 11/22 with a great lineup of speakers to reflect on MERIP's history and the legacy of our co-founder Joe Stork!
Reposted by James Ryan
For our latest issue, Tariq Dana laid out the scheme of arms deals that undergird the Abraham Accords and paved the way for genocide in Gaza.
READ NOW
READ NOW
The Military-Industrial Backbone of Normalization
In February 2025, as international condemnation of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza reached new heights, Abu Dhabi hosted the International Defence Exhibition and Conference. Over five days a record 34…
buff.ly
November 11, 2025 at 5:00 PM
For our latest issue, Tariq Dana laid out the scheme of arms deals that undergird the Abraham Accords and paved the way for genocide in Gaza.
READ NOW
READ NOW
Utterly horrifying, and only part of a pattern. Abu Ghraib on steroids.
🚨The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights says it has collected new testimonies from recently released captives and documented systematic sexual torture of Palestinian detainees, including rape, forced stripping, and filming, describing it as part of Israel’s broader campaign to destroy human....
November 10, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Utterly horrifying, and only part of a pattern. Abu Ghraib on steroids.
Talked at length with Beshara Doumani about how olive harvest season has turned from a celebratory time to a time of strife and bloodshed because the attacks by settlers in the West Bank.
As he put it, they want to create “a million little Gazas.”
www.merip.org/2025/11/the-...
As he put it, they want to create “a million little Gazas.”
www.merip.org/2025/11/the-...
November 9, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Talked at length with Beshara Doumani about how olive harvest season has turned from a celebratory time to a time of strife and bloodshed because the attacks by settlers in the West Bank.
As he put it, they want to create “a million little Gazas.”
www.merip.org/2025/11/the-...
As he put it, they want to create “a million little Gazas.”
www.merip.org/2025/11/the-...