Maxwell School News and Commentary
Filtered by: Middle East & North Africa
Khalil Quoted in PolitiFact Article on President Trump’s Speech in Israel
Osamah Khalil, professor of history and expert on the modern Middle East, says it’s untrue that Obama or Biden “held a personal animus toward Israel, especially Biden. Indeed, both administrations oversaw expansions in U.S. military assistance and coordination with Israel.”
Belief, Behavior, and Health: Religion as a Social Determinant of Health
Sandra D. Lane, professor emerita of public health, has written Belief, Behavior, and Health: Religion as a Social Determinant of Health (Routledge, 2025). The book details how religious beliefs across cultures impact health outcomes. It draws from research from the United States as well as Africa and the Middle East.
See related: Africa (Sub-Saharan), Gender and Sex, Middle East & North Africa, Religion, United States
Sidi Moumen Community Case Study
“Using a Community-Based Cultural Approach to Promote Life Skills and Leadership for Social Determinants of Health in Adolescents From Disadvantaged Communities in Casablanca, Morocco: A Sidi Moumen Community Case Study,” co-authored by Maxwell professors Robert Rubinstein and Sandra Lane, was published in BMC Public Health.
See related: Children, Adolescents, Income, Middle East & North Africa
Khalil Quoted in HuffPost Article on World Leaders Recognizing a Palestinian State
“Unless the decision is followed by a renewed and robust peace negotiations that bring an end to Israel’s war in Gaza as well as the settlement and annexation policies in the occupied West Bank, recognition will be too little and far too late,” says Osamah Khalil, chair of the International Relations Undergraduate Program.
How Commerce Became Legal: Merchants and Market Governance in Nineteenth-Century Egypt
Omar Cheta, assistant professor of history, has written How Commerce Became Legal: Merchants and Market Governance in Nineteenth-Century Egypt (Stanford University Press, 2025). The book explores Egypt’s adoption of a new infrastructure of commercial laws and institutions following the country’s opening to private capital in the 1840s.
See related: Economic Policy, Labor, Middle East & North Africa, Trade
Khalil Discusses Israel’s Plans for the Future of Gaza With CBS News
“This is not post-war planning. This is a continuation of Netanyahu's war,” says Osamah Khalil, chair of the International Relations Undergraduate Program. “This is what experts like I and many others have warned about for 22 months All of this was about expanding, annexing Gaza and the West Bank and expelling Palestinians.”
See related: Conflict, Government, International Affairs, Middle East & North Africa
Williams Quoted in Los Angeles Times Article on the Challenges Trumps Faces in Gaza and Ukraine
Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, says that Trump has advocated for a ceasefire in Ukraine “at the expense of other strategic priorities such as stability in Europe and punishment of Russia through increased aid to Ukraine.”
See related: Conflict, Federal, International Affairs, International Agreements, Middle East & North Africa, Russia, Ukraine
Haq Article on US Airstrikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites Published on MSNBC
“The president is wagering that sending in the U.S. Air Force will once and for all end Iran’s nuclear threat,” says Nayyera Haq, assistant dean for Maxwell's Washington programs.
Khalil Discusses the Israel-Iran Conflict and US Airstrikes With KTVU and LocalSYR
The situation is escalating in ways we have not seen before, says Professor of History Osamah Khalil. With Israeli airstrikes, rising tensions in Gaza, and now a strong U.S. military response, the risks are higher than ever. He warns Iran may try to disrupt global oil supply chains, which could have a domino effect. “If that’s the case, we could very rapidly see the global economy collapse.”