[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]
Regional and International Perspectives
Translation of a speech by Moaz Khatib directed to Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah“The alleged claim of the defence of Shia towns in Syria is unacceptable, for have they ever been under any threat in the past hundreds of years?”
Syria’s Assad Opens Palace to Lebanese Admirers Roula Ibrahim provides a glimpse of the encounter between Bashar and some Lebanese politicians at his palace last week.
Debunking the Myth of the “Syrian” Crime In Lebanon Maha Zaraket on the “knee-jerk racism” toward Syrians, especially at this time of great influx.
Jordan in the Eye of the Syrian Storm Nahed Hattar suggests that Jordan is becoming increasingly entangled in the conflict.
State of Syria’s Oil Industry in the Midst of Conflict and Sanctions The EU is allegedly easing its embargos, now that most of the oil fields are under rebel control.
War With Syria Just Got a Step Closer The Pentagon allegedly sent 200 troops to Jordan.
Why Hezbollah is Fighting in Syria Ali Hashem relays the words of sources, who claim that “Hezbollah decided to intervene militarily in the wake of three incidents.”
Hizbollah’s Strategy in Syria Will Accelerate Sectarian War Hassan Hassan’s take on the overt involvement of Hizbollah in Syria.
Qatar Faces Backlash Among Syrian Opposition Groups and Rebels for Outsized Role in Syria
Assad Guided By Russian Lessons from Chechnya Sarabiany says “one can find many similarities with how Russia crushed the independence aspirations of Chechnya over past twenty years and Assad’s action today.”
It’s Time to Act in Syria Ambassador Dennis Ross says solving the Syria crisis is in the US’ interest and more should be done by them.
Syrian Narratives
Syria: Amnesty is Issued but Where are the Prisoners? Marah Mashi is skeptical about the new government initiative that so far has not provided any visible results.
Syrians Can Be Reconciled - Through Negotiation, Not Violence Haytham Manna says the situation in Syria is the “gravest it has been since peaceful protests began in March 2011.”
How a Damascus Suburb Turned Into a Killing Zone Stephen Starr recalls living in Jdeidet Artouz, the scene of an alleged massacre this week.
Bashar’s War Sam Heller on how the regime depicted the events in Jdeidet al-Fadl on its state media.
Syria: Revolution or Civil War? Mohammad al-Attar and Odai al-Zoubi say that there is “an arrogant Orientalist set of views refuses to understand Syrians, or Arabs in general, In terms other than those of their sectarian identities.”
A Qui Livrer Des Armes en Syrie Vraie Question ou Faux Casse-Tete Ignace Leverrier on the indecision of the opposition over the next steps to take on Syria.
Two Kidnapped Syria Bishops Freed: Church Official Two Archbishops who were kidnapped in Aleppo last week were released.
Has the World Stopped Caring About Massacres in Syria? David Kenner says “The coverage of Jdeidet al-Fadl and Jdeidet al-Artouz has been limited to a few newspaper articles -- top U.S. officials have not felt compelled to respond, and the United Nations has not sprung into action.”
Syria Crisis: Live Q&A Ian Black on the difficulty of covering Syria, in his case when a journalist enters with a government visa.
The Opposition in Deraa Deploys Armoured Vehicles As the Aleppoisation of Southern Syria Continues claims Brown Moses.
Syria’s Christians, Threatened by Ideology, Geography Jean Aziz says beyond ideology, the violence against Christians can be explained by the fact that they happen to live in key geostrategic locations.
No Exit: Syria’s War Through the Eyes of a Fighter on Both Sides Aryn Baker meets with a fighter who is disillusioned by the developments he witnessed within the armed opposition.
Beware Wishful Thinking: Assad Isn’t Going Soon says Robert Fisk.
Is It Wrong to Care More About 4 Deaths in Boston Than 80 in Syria? Joshua Keating addresses a topic that many have expressed last week, regarding a “hierarchy of death” in media coverage.
Portrait of a Chechen Jihadist Nicholas Clayton speaks with a Chechen who fought in Syria and gets a sense for how transnational terrorism networks emerge and operate.
The Most Brutal of Them All The Economist provides statistics to show the extent of the crisis and its impact on Syrians.
Inside Syria
In Kobani, Volunteers Cobble a Police Force Mohammed Sergie on the “Asayish, a volunteer security force of roughly 50 men who patrol the streets and maintain checkpoints in Ras Ayn al-Arab, the Kurdish-majority town northeast of Aleppo.”
The Christian-Syrian-Armenian Activist Rebuilding Raqqa Alison Tahmizian Meuse profiles Jimmy Shahinian, whose ethnic and religious identity apparently do matter in the new context of Syria.
In Qamishli, Tensions Rise Between PKK and Syrian Army
Revolution Leadership Council of Damascus Meeting notes from the Local Coordination Committee in Damascus.
Syria: National Defense Forces at Forefront of Qusayr Fighting Marah Mashi on the new government offensive in this town held by opposition fighters early on in the crisis.
Arts and Social Media
Inside the Assi River Bassin Villages A photo gallery by Haytham al-Moussawi.
Inside the Assi River Bassin Villages II by Haytham al-Moussawi
Lebanon: Preparing the Ground for Total War Ibrahim al-Amin’s predictions on developments in Syria following the announcement of overt support of Hezbollah to the regime.
Excerpt from a Hip-Hop show in Raqqa
Social Media Buzz: “This is the Fate of All Traitors” Mohammed Sergie’s weekly entry on pieces widely shared and viewed on social media.
Syria Introduces Two New Satellite Channels Wissam Kanaan on the state of Syrian media these days.
Arts + Culture: The Destruction of Al-Agha Restaurant Karen Leigh on a restaurant that “symbolized the middle class in Syria.”
Minaret of Aleppo’s Umayyad Mosque Falls Amid Battles in Syria Images attest to the destruction of this 1000-year old minaret.
Town of Kafr Nabl Offers Boston Its Sympathy A video widely shared on social media this week, in which Syrians from Kafranbel express their sympathy to the people in Boston.
Policy and Reports
Blocking Syrian Refugees Isn’t the Way Bill Frelick writes: “But as international actors provide cross-border aid or even consider more robust engagement inside Syria in the name of civilian assistance or protection, this should not be used as a pretext for containing the flight of people who feel threatened.”
Lebanon/Syria: End Indiscriminate Cross-Border Attacks Human Rights Watch asks fighters to stop firing across the border, which has killed many civilians in recent months.
‘The Criticisms of the International Response to Syria Have Been Warranted’ says Chief executive of the Red Cross Nick Young.
Arabic
Abdel Bari Atwan writes on the recent developments in Jordan's alleged role in the Syrian struggle.
النازحون السوريون: رحلة الأمن المفقود
Tarek Al-Abed on Syrian refugees.
ضيف المشرق - صالح مسلم رئيس حزب الإتحاد الديمقراطي
Interview on Orient News' Dayf Al-Mashreq with Saleh Muslim, the leader of the the Democratic Union Party (the PYD).
Abdel Bari Atwan on the regional and international developments concerning Syria.
هيثم مناع في أوسع حوار معه منذ بدء الثورة السورية
A dialogue with Haytham Mannaa.
Naya Hasan of the National Coordination Committee for the Forces of Democratic Change in Syria on the situation in Syria's second largest city, Aleppo.
المنازلات الروسية الأمريكية… و الشعرة التي لا تنقطع
Hamza Abbas Jammoul on U.S - Russian relations.
ثورة و ثورة مضادة و نظام مستبد
Mohammad Dibo on the three sides on the Syrian struggle: the revolution, the counterrevolution and the tyrannical regime.
Michel Kilo presents a somewhat problematic argument about the use of the principle of secularism by some on the "left" in order to justify killing.
Fayez Sarrah on the developments of the events in Syria since the beginning of the non-violent revolution to the complex image that is unraveling today.