The New Arab

The New Arab is an English-language news and current-affairs brand operated by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, a pan-Arab media organization headquartered in London and owned by the Qatar-based media investment company Fadaat Media. The organization began in March 2014 with the launch of an Arabic-language website, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, and expanded in September of the same year with an Arabic-language daily newspaper. Its English-language website operates under the name The New Arab, while the Arabic brand continues to be known as Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. The outlet was created during a period of political and media tension in the Arab world, particularly around Qatar's relationship with Al Jazeera, Egypt's post-2013 political environment, the Syrian conflict, and competing regional narratives. The project was associated with Azmi Bishara, a Palestinian intellectual and former member of the Israeli Knesset who became a prominent adviser and media figure in Qatar. Public descriptions of the organization have characterized it as seeking a relatively independent Arab voice, while outside analysts have also situated it within Qatar's broader media and political influence. The outlet has therefore occupied a position between independent journalism and state-adjacent regional media, a tension reflected in discussions of its editorial choices and ownership. The New Arab covers Arab and international politics, conflicts, diplomacy, society, culture, economics, and opinion. Its English-language service is aimed at readers seeking reporting and analysis on the Middle East from a perspective rooted in the region, while the Arabic-language operation serves a broader Arab readership. The organization has operated through a geographically distributed structure, with reporting and editorial activity associated with offices in London, Beirut, and Doha, and has been described as employing more than 150 staff at one point. In 2015, Fadaat Media launched Al Araby Television Network, a related television project intended to provide another pan-Arab broadcasting platform and to serve as a counterweight to established regional broadcasters. The television network is distinct from The New Arab's digital and newspaper operations, but its creation illustrates the wider media strategy surrounding the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed project. The outlet has also faced the security risks common to politically sensitive journalism in the Gulf and wider Middle East. Journalists associated with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, including Azmi Bishara, were reported to have been targeted by hackers linked to Project Raven, a United Arab Emirates-associated cyber-intelligence operation aimed at figures viewed as aligned with Qatar. Such incidents have contributed to the outlet's profile as a politically consequential regional media organization. The New Arab remains an active digital publication. Its identity is defined by English-language coverage of the Arab world, a London base, association with the wider Al-Araby Al-Jadeed operation, and ownership by Fadaat Media. Its editorial positioning is generally presented as Arab-focused and critical of authoritarian politics, although assessments of its independence vary because of its ownership, financing, and relationship to Qatar's wider media ecosystem.

The New Arab developed from Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, a pan-Arab media project established in 2014 with funding from Fadaat Media, a Qatar-based private media holding company. The first stage of the project was the launch of an Arabic-language website in March 2014. The organization then expanded into print journalism with an Arabic-language daily newspaper introduced in September 2014. The English-language digital service became known as The New Arab, creating a distinct international-facing identity alongside the Arabic Al-Araby Al-Jadeed brand. The project emerged amid intense competition among Arab media organizations and disagreements over the political direction and credibility of existing broadcasters. Contemporary accounts linked its creation to tensions involving Qatar's emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Al Jazeera, as well as broader concerns that Al Jazeera was closely associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and with particular positions on the Syrian uprising. The new organization was consequently viewed both as an attempt to establish a different regional voice and as part of Qatar's wider effort to develop a media platform separate from Al Jazeera. Azmi Bishara became the most prominent figure associated with the organization. A Palestinian Christian intellectual and former member of the Israeli Knesset, Bishara had become a senior adviser and influential public figure in Doha. He was described as running or directing Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. Bishara characterized the outlet as relatively independent in the context of Arab media, while acknowledging that an organization dependent on financiers must sometimes consider what it should avoid saying. Academic and media observers have likewise differed in their assessments: some emphasize its critical and Arab-centered journalism, while others regard it as a vehicle for Qatar's regional views. The organization established a transnational operating presence, with offices and staff associated with London, Beirut, and Doha. Its English service broadened its audience beyond Arabic-speaking readers and focused on politics, conflicts, diplomacy, society, culture, and international affairs connected to the Arab world. Its Arabic website and newspaper continued to serve the core regional audience. In 2015, Fadaat Media launched Al Araby Television Network. Although the television network was a separate medium, it formed part of the same wider media strategy and was described as a counterweight to Al Jazeera. The addition of television gave the broader Al-Araby project a presence across digital, print, and broadcast formats. The organization has operated in a difficult security and political environment. Journalists connected with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, including Bishara, were reportedly targeted by hackers affiliated with Project Raven, a UAE-associated cyber-intelligence effort directed at individuals believed to support Qatar. The incident highlighted the risks facing media figures involved in Gulf geopolitical disputes. The New Arab has also taken clear editorial positions on major regional events. During the controversy surrounding the 2023 explosion at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, its Arabic-language edition blamed the Israel Defense Forces and condemned Joe Biden for accepting the Israeli account that the explosion had been caused by a rocket fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The episode illustrated the outlet's willingness to adopt strongly critical positions on Israeli and Western policy, while also placing its editorial stance within wider disputes over evidence, attribution, and wartime reporting. Today, The New Arab is best understood as the English-language digital expression of a broader pan-Arab media organization. Its principal characteristics are its London headquarters, Arabic and English publishing operations, ownership by Fadaat Media, regional focus, and contested but distinctive position within the politically competitive Arab media landscape.

• 2015

  Al Araby Television Network launches

  [1]The New Araben.wikipedia.org

  Fadaat Media launched a related television network as an additional pan-Arab broadcasting platform.

• 2014

  Arabic-language website launches

  [1]The New Araben.wikipedia.org

  Al-Araby Al-Jadeed launched its Arabic-language website in March, establishing the media organization from which The New Arab developed.

• 2014

  Arabic daily newspaper begins publication

  [1]The New Araben.wikipedia.org

  The organization expanded into print with an Arabic-language daily newspaper in September.

A London-based, pan-Arab digital news outlet offering English-language reporting and analysis on the Middle East, with an editorial identity presented as regionally grounded and relatively independent but shaped by ownership by Qatar-based Fadaat Media.

• English-language digital news · 2014

  The New Arab

  The New Arab is the organization's English-language website and international-facing news brand. It publishes reporting, analysis, opinion, and feature material focused on the Middle East and its relationship with international politics. Its coverage extends across conflicts, diplomacy, society, culture, economics, and regional affairs.

• Arabic-language digital news · 2014

  Al-Araby Al-Jadeed website

  The Arabic-language website is the original digital publication of the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed project. It serves Arabic-speaking audiences with regional news, political reporting, commentary, and coverage of Arab and international affairs.

• Arabic-language newspaper · 2014

  Al-Araby Al-Jadeed daily newspaper

  The Arabic-language daily newspaper extended the organization beyond online publishing and provided a print platform for its regional reporting and editorial perspective. It was launched several months after the original website.

• Pan-Arab television · 2015

  Al Araby Television Network

  Launched by Fadaat Media in 2015, Al Araby Television Network is a related broadcast project rather than the same digital product as The New Arab. Its creation expanded the broader media group's presence into television and was intended to provide an alternative voice in pan-Arab broadcasting.

• Project Raven cyber-targeting allegations

  Journalists associated with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, including Azmi Bishara, were reportedly targeted by hackers affiliated with Project Raven, a UAE-associated initiative directed at media and political figures perceived as supportive of Qatar.

  Source

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• 2015

  Expand into pan-Arab televisionStrategy

  Background

  Fadaat Media sought to build a broader regional media presence and provide a television alternative to established broadcasters.

  Action taken

  Fadaat launched Al Araby Television Network as a related broadcast platform.

  Aftermath

  The wider media group expanded across digital, print, and television formats.

  Source

• 2014

  Launch a bilingual, multi-format Arab media projectProduct launch

  Background

  The organization was created amid regional media competition and dissatisfaction with the perceived political alignment of established broadcasters.

  Action taken

  Fadaat Media funded an Arabic website, followed by an Arabic daily newspaper, while the English-language digital service adopted the name The New Arab.

  Aftermath

  The project established a London-based English-language news identity alongside its Arabic publishing operation.

  Source

1. 1The New Araben.wikipedia.org