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Juan Cole

@jricole.bsky.social

6.5K followers 1.6K following 4.2K posts

Historian, essayist: Middle East, South Asia, Islam, Social History, Foreign Policy, Environment, Culture, Progressive Politics; Signal: Juan Cole

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John Ricardo Irfan "Juan" Cole is an American academic and commentator on the modern Middle East and South Asia. He is Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan. Since 2002, he has written a weblog, Informed Comment (juancole.com). .. more

Political science 68%

Sociology 17%

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Juan Cole @jricole.bsky.social · Oct 26

Gaza Yet Stands: Juan Cole’s New E-Book

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Many observers have complained that our understanding of the current Mideast War too often begins with the horrendous Hamas attacks on Israelis on October 7, 2023. Historian, here, hand up. I’ve not only studied the history…

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Juan Cole @jricole.bsky.social · 2h

“From what once lovely Lip it springs unseen:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:19

With no. 19 in in the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, the theme turns away from the glory of kings as a flash-in-the-pan to the impermanence of life for everyone. One of the tropes common in the subsequent poems, already used in no. 18, is that we are clay and […]

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Juan Cole @jricole.bsky.social · 3h

Israeli Government Votes to Implement Trump Peace Plan for Gaza as Hamas Pledges to Uphold it

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – According to the Israeli newspaper Arab 48 , the Israeli government on Friday approved the ceasefire in Gaza and the hostage exchange, and agreed to begin withdrawing troops from the west of the Strip. The approval came after the arrival of President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoys Steve Witkoff and […]

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Juan Cole @jricole.bsky.social · 4h

Never in a Million Years: 10 Reasons why Trump should never be Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Who doesn’t know that President Donald Trump desperately wants a Nobel Peace Prize and said bitterly, “They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize. It’s too bad. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me”? And for once, he’s right. He won’t get one, but wrong, of […]

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Juan Cole @jricole.bsky.social · 4h

A short History of the Gaza Strip takes a long View of today’s Conflict

By Martin Kear, University of Sydney (The Conversation) – A Short History of the Gaza Strip, by historian Anne Irfan, is a timely addition to an important corpus of literature taking a historical and contextual view of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Review: A Short History of the Gaza Strip – Anne Irfan (W.W. Norton) By telling […]

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Reposted by Juan Cole, Samantha Brennan, Greg Linden

ACLU @aclu.org · 8h

BREAKING: A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Trump from deploying federalized National Guard troops into Chicago.

This ruling reinforces what we already knew: It is illegal for the president to use manufactured emergencies to send soldiers into our cities.

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Reposted by Juan Cole

Mitchell Plitnick @mjplitnick.bsky.social · 9h

Once again, The Onion nails it

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Reposted by Juan Cole

Stacy Fahrenthold @sfahrenthold.bsky.social · 9h

"Many fields now under attack...insist that truth-telling is political, that the solution to omission is not inclusion but decolonization and liberation. They are tools to remember what oppressive regimes want us to forget."

www.jadaliyya.com/Details/46921

They Cancelled My Lecture on Arab Americans. Here’s the Part That Matters.

A committee at a nation-wide organization made up of people of color asked me to give a lecture on Arab American identity. They let me know that this would be the first time their organization create...

www.jadaliyya.com

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Juan Cole @jricole.bsky.social · 9h

Martin Ricoy Ortega, "Venice," 1900, Everson Art Museum, Syracuse, NY http://dlvr.it/TNZwVk

Reposted by Juan Cole, David R. Miller, Bessma Momani , and 1 more Juan Cole, David R. Miller, Bessma Momani, Simon Lester

max tani @maxtani.bsky.social · 10h

New: Bari Weiss booked Hillary Clinton, Mike Pompeo, and Antony Blinken for a roundtable on Gaza, her first major move at CBS.

Notably on a CBS call today in which the panel was floated, one producer also repeatedly emphasized the need to hear from Palestinians in Gaza (Weiss did not respond).

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Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Lyn Robinson, Juan Cole , and 2 more Scott L. Greer, Lyn Robinson, Juan Cole, Sarah Roberts, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Matthew Noe @noethematt.bsky.social · 11h

Hey, this sucks. Like... a lot. 📚

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UNC schools of data science and information science to merge, forming unnamed ‘School of AI’

www.dailytarheel.com/article/univ...

UNC schools of data science and information science to merge, forming unnamed ‘School of AI’

SDSS Dean Stanley Ahalt will be made dean of the new school while SILS Dean Jeffrey Bardzell will stand as the University’s Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer and Vice Provost for AI.

www.dailytarheel.com

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Reposted by Juan Cole

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 11h

Hearing from a lot of folks in and around CBS / Paramount. Thank you! But there's more I'd love your help with. If you work there, might you be able to text me? You can reach me on Signal @ premthakker.35

Your anonymity will be protected

No info? That's ok, just boost this so others see it too :)

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Juan Cole @jricole.bsky.social · 11h

In the 1910s Jewish colonists in Ottoman Palestine often called themselves Palestinians and spoke of how nice it was to be back among the Semites instead of the hostile Aryans

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 12h

Has anyone ever asked this man to explain what the is wrong with being Palestinian? Seems like a simple follow up question. bsky.app/profile/atru...

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15h

JD Vance describes Chuck Schumer as "one of the most famous Palestinians in the world"

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Juan Cole @jricole.bsky.social · 11h

I feel as though this story has been implemented in US politics, making me less eager to see the fictional version

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 12h

First images emerge from new BBC adaptation of Lord of the Flies

Adolescence writer/producer Jack Thorne is behind the first TV adaptation of William Golding’s beloved novel Images have been released from the first ever TV adaptation of the 1954 novel Lord of the Flies, the latest project from the writer/producer of the hit Netfix series Adolescence. Jack Thorne helped Adolescence’s teenage star Owen Cooper become the youngest male to win a primetime Emmy. Now the writer will be hoping to repeat the success for another child actor, turning his attention to a BBC adaptation of William Golding’s novel. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Joe R. Feagin, Brendan Nyhan , and 29 more Anne Applebaum, Joe R. Feagin, Brendan Nyhan, Jesse H. Kroll, Patrick A. Jansen, Daniel L. Millimet, David Feldman, Eric Goldman, Fabián Muniesa, Jacob Montgomery, Juan Cole, Erwin Dekker, Sanford F. Schram, Devon Greyson, Scott A. Imberman, Caroline Fohlin, Florian Keller, Michael D. McDonald, Jason Lyall, Kate Starbird, Victor Pickard, Nelson Flores, Richard M. Carpiano, Klaus Oschema, Meredith Farkas, Brandon Whitcher, Daxton R. Stewart, Albin Wagener, Aviel Roshwald, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Bruce Buchan

The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 11h

The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.

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Juan Cole @jricole.bsky.social · 11h

calling Jake Tapper

Dean Obeidallah @deanobeidallah.bsky.social · 16h

Jim Acosta: Corporate media is paralyzed with fear to report on Trump’s cognitive decline. My interview of Jim about how the corporate is failing to cover Trump's cognitive and physical decline. deanobeidallah.substack.com/p/jim-acosta...

Jim Acosta: Corporate media is paralyzed with fear to report on Trump’s cognitive decline

We need independent media more than ever!

deanobeidallah.substack.com

Reposted by Juan Cole, Nazita Lajevardi

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 12h

Real estate investors now own about 20% of single-family homes in the country.

A big reason why home prices have skyrocketed in recent years is a lack of supply — and investors sinking their teeth into whatever is left on the market is making the problem even worse.

How Wall Street Priced You Out of a Home | Robert Reich

Robert Reich

youtu.be

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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 12h

but ALSO: China is shifting its soybean purchases from the U.S. to Argentina because of a pointless trade war that's devastating U.S. farmers

extremely innovative

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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 12h

First images emerge from new BBC adaptation of Lord of the Flies

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Juan Cole

Center for Biological Diversity @biologicaldiversity.org · 12h

Pots set to catch blue crabs kill tens of thousands of imperiled diamondback terrapins every year, but a simple excluder device could pretty much solve the problem.

“It’s cheap, it’s simple, and it could save thousands of turtles,” said the Center’s Tara Zuardo.

Get the rest ➡️ bit.ly/436AEGX

A diamondback terrapin seen on the beach while conducting shorebird surveys for the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The markings on its face and legs are very striking.

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 12h

Has anyone ever asked this man to explain what the is wrong with being Palestinian? Seems like a simple follow up question. bsky.app/profile/atru...

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15h

JD Vance describes Chuck Schumer as "one of the most famous Palestinians in the world"

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Reposted by Timon McPhearson, Gavin A. Schmidt, Christopher Wright , and 1 more Timon McPhearson, Gavin A. Schmidt, Christopher Wright, Juan Cole

John Fasullo @jfasullo.bsky.social · 12h

"By most metrics, 2025 has been the worst year for the American scientific enterprise in modern history". The result - we are "essentially ending America’s longstanding role as the world leader in science and innovation,” www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/s...

Trump Seeks to Cut Basic Scientific Research by Roughly One-Third, Report Shows

www.nytimes.com

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Juan Cole @jricole.bsky.social · 13h

BYD & Tesla are nevertheless the giants and their competition is good for planet

Juan Cole @jricole.bsky.social · 13h

in monarchies people attack the first minister and praise the king

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Lisa W. Fazio, Tom Clark , and 7 more Anna O. Law, Lisa W. Fazio, Tom Clark, Juan Cole, Daniel W. Drezner, Michael H. Whitworth, David Rosnick, Henry Jones, Magda Teter, Dunlap

CollinCountyDems @collincountydems.bsky.social · 13h

This is terrifying!

ICE breaks into this woman’s car in the pick-up line at West Loop Elementary school in Chicago and detains her before she can pick her kids up from school. (They were eventually let go after showing their documents)

This is Trump’s America.

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Reposted by Juan Cole, Karen O’Leary

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 13h

An artificial heart for children with congenital heart defects was almost finished. Families had waited for years it.

Then, Trump canceled billions in grants for universities — including the grant for this device.

The cruelty is endless. www.npr.org/2025/10/09/n...