Nir T. Boms

Dr. Boms is a writer, researcher and commentator on Middle East Affairs. 

Dr. Boms is  research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University,  where he manages the Program for Regional Cooperation  and the  Gulf Israel Policy Forum. He is also the coordinator of the TAU Workshop on Israel and the Middle East and the Hiwar Forum for Intra-Regional Dialogue.

Dr. Boms received his doctorate from the University of Haifa. His dissertation analyzed the Influence of Information Technology on the Creation of Civic Society in Syria and Iran. He holds MA degrees in the fields of Political Science and Judaic Studies from the University of Maryland. He currently teaches at the Rothberg School of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (Israel in a Changing Middle East) , in addition to Tel Aviv University . His 2016 book, Expat-ing Democracy (Peter Lang, 2016) deals with the influence of Expat communities on democracy discourse in the Middle East. His recent book,  “The Syrian War: Between Justice and Political Reality” (Cambridge university Press, 2020) is an edited volume on the Syrian War (2011 – 2019).

Amongst additional affiliations he is a fellow at the International Institute for Counter Terrorism at the Reichman University,  Herzliya; a member of the board of the Israeli Council on Foreign Relations and the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education. He Co – Founded of CyberDissidents.org (now Movements.org) , a network of bloggers from the Middle East that focuses on freedom of expression and the promotion of dialogue in the region. Under the framework of his educational and peace endeavors, he co-founded the Tiyul-Rihla project, in 2012 , an initiative bringing Israelis and Palestinians together to travel and learn the history and identity of each other.

Prior to his return to Israel in 2004, he served as the Vice President of the Washington based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD).

Prior to his tenure at FDD, Dr. Boms was the Academic Affairs Liaison at  Israel’s Embassy in Washington, DC.

Dr. Boms’s journalists work have appeared  in Ynet , Ha’aretz, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde diplomatique,  Die Welt (Germany) , The Washington Times, Iran Times International,  Today Zaman (Turkey), The Jerusalem Post, The National Review, The Asia Times, The National Interest,  and Israeli Journal of Foreign Affairs and Baghdad Times among others. He also participated in the writing of “Copts in Egypt, A Christian Minority Under Siege” (G2W-Verlag, 2006) and “The Long March to the West” (Valentine Mitchell, 2007).

Dr. Boms has extensive educational and outreach experience working in Israel, the United States and Europe. During the course of his career, he has taught and lectured in Australia, Bulgaria, England, Hong Kong, Hungary, Poland, Turkey, South Africa, Brazil,  Morocco, the United States, the United Nations and its Human Rights Council, on issues relating to the Middle East, Terrorism and Democratization. He is fluent in Hebrew, English and Arabic.

Dr. Boms served in the Israeli Defense  Forces as a communications officer and holds the rank of Major (Res).

PUBLICATIONS

Boms, Nir and Ahmed al Kuzhae (2022) “Warm Peace in the Making  – Examining P2P Relations, Two Years to the Abraham Accords” in  Trans Atlantic Policy (Vol 21, No. 3), November 2022

Boms, Nir and Hussein Aboubakr ( 2022), “ Pan Arabism 2.0? The Struggle for a New Paradigm in the Middle East” in  Religions

13: 28,  https://doi.org/ 10.3390/rel13010028

Boms, Nir (2021), “The Egyptian TikTok Girls” in Beehive, Vol. 9, No. 8, August 2021.

Cohen S. & Boms  N. (2021), “Israel and Lebanon: A Bridge Over Troubled Waters?” in Tau Notes, Volume 15, Number 1, February 28th, 2021.

Boms, Nir (2021), “Imperial Strom Tropers and the Return of the Mahdi – A Historical Perspective  of the Israeli-Iranian struggle” in Political Faultlines in the Middle East (Kingshuk Chatterjee, editor), Center for Studies in International Relations and Development, KW Publishers, India, ISBN: 978-93-89137-77-4

Boms, Nir, Moodrik Hilly & Ashraph, Sareta (2020) “The Syrian War – Between Justice and Political Reality,” Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9781108487801

Boms,Nir & Zielińska Karolina (2019)” Changing borders in a changing region: the civilian dimension and security predicament

along the Syrian-Israeli border” in  Israel Affairs, DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2019.1626090

Boms, Nir (2018) “Israel und Syrien: Zwischen humanitärem Engagement und Sicherheitsüberlegungen” (Israel and Syria: between Humanitarian Engagement and Political considerations)   in Die Politische Meinung,,  Nr. 553,ISSN 0032-3466, November 2018, (Pp 69-78)

Boms, Nir & Swibel, Danny & Nir Boms (2018) “The Internet Hate Paradox,”  Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, DOI: 10.1080/23739770.2018.1492202

Boms Nir & Zielinska, Karolina   (2018) “Israel and the Southern De-escalation Zone: A Closer Look at the Israeli-Syrian Borderin Tel Aviv Notes, Volume 14, Number 12,  July 12, 2018

Boms, Nir (2018) “Israel’s Policy on the Syrian Civil War: Risks and Opportunities” in Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, (Vol. 11 , No, 3,  Pp 323-336).  

Boms, Nir (2017)  “Virtual Reality: New Media, the Arab Spring and the Democratic Revolution,” in  Lost in Translation: New

Paradigms for the Arab Spring,  Uzi Rabi and Abdelilah Bouasria (editors)

Boms , Nir, Dekel Udi, Winter Ofir (2016), “Syria’s New Map and New Actors: Challenges and Opportunities for Israel,” The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).

Boms, Nir (2016) “Expat-ing Democracy: Dissidents, Technology, and Democratic Discourse in the Middle East”,Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, ISBN-10: 3631654693

Boms, Nir & Hazani Asaf (2014)  “Choosing Not To Choose” in Middle East Online, 2014-05-07 (http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=65795)

Boms, Nir & Hazani, Asaf (2014)  “Israël déconcerté par la guerre en Syrie,”  in Le Monde diplomatique, (pp, 10 – 11).

Boms, Nir & Arya, Shayan (2012). “Iranian Chess Games of Terror and War.” In Dante )Vol. 3, Pp 70 – 77).

Boms, Nir (2011).  “About the Virtual and Real: Old Media, New Media and the Making of a Freedom Revolution in the Middle East.” in Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs (Vol. 2, No, 1,  Pp 51-71).

Boms, Nir (2009). “The End of Innocence,” in Rhapsody, Vol 7, April – June 2009.

Boms, Nir & Chiche, Fabrice (2009). “ Une autre guerre á Gaza,” in Outre-Terre, Vol 22, pp. 106-112.

Boms, Nir & Chiche, Fabrice (2009). ”The Other Gaza War: Hamas Media Strategy during Operation Cast Lead and Beyond,” in Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, (Vol. 3,  No,2, Pp 37 – 43).

Boms, Nir (2007). “Immigration, Radicalization and Islamic Discourse in Europe: An examination and a Sufi Response,” in Deadalos Journal of Geopolitical Affairs (Vol. 1).

Boms, Nir & Arya, Shayan (2007). “State-Sponsored Child Abuse in Iran: Iran’s violations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,” The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education”, http://www.impact-se.org/research/articles.html.

Boms, Nir & Chodoff, Elliot (2007). “Virtual Double Edged Sword: Communications Technology in the Service of Terror and Democracy,” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 99-110.

Boms, Nir (2006). “Religious Freedom in Terrorism,” in  Martyn Thomas & Adly Youssef, Eds, Copts in Egypt, A Christian Minority Under Siege, Zurich, G2W-Verlag, pp. 52-60.

בומס ניר (2016) “שכנות טובה בגבול הצפון?”, צומת המזרח התיכון, כרך 6, גליון 11, נובמבר 2016.

בומס ניר (2015) , דקל אודי ווינטר אופיר “סוריה – מפה חדשה, שחקנים חדשיםף אתגרים והזדמנויות לישראל , מזכר מס’ 151, המכון למחקרי ביטחון לאומי .

בומס ניר (2013), “סוריה בוחשת ברשת: האינטרנט ותנועת המחאה הסורית” בתוך: העם הסורי יודע את דרכו, מרכז משה דיין ללימודי המזרח התיכון ואפריקה, אוניברסיטת תל אביב.

בומס ניר (2012), “האופוזיציה הסורית האופוזיציה הסורית בהתקרב שעת ההכרעה”, צומת המזרח התיכון,  כרך 2 גיליון מס’ 6,יוני 2012

Published over 300 newspaper articles in the Wall Street Journal, National Interest, Jerusalem Post, Muslim World Today, Washington Times, Israeli Journal of Foreign Affairs, Ha’aretz, Globes, Yediot Achronot et al. 

SELECTED INVITED TALKS

The Syrian War: Legal and Political Aspects – Israeli Humanitarian Intervention 2013-2018 (MESA Conference, 2020)

Critical Skills for the Fake News Age: Active Pedagogies in  Middle East Studies (MESA Conference, 2020)

Israel in a Changing Middle East – Invited talk at Sorbonne University (Paris, November 17th 2019)

Israel Turkey Relations – from Strategic Partnership to Political Rivalry – International Seminar Middle East and Maghreb: 100 years of the end of the Ottoman Empire, (Bello Horizonte, Brazil, September 14th, 2019)

“Tolerance or Fundamentalism? How can religions help reconciliation?”  – Black sea and Balkan Security Forum, (Romania, June 13th, 2019)

Seventy years later, has the world learned the lessons?”  – The Importance of History Teaching in Education: The Case of the Holocaust and Great Tragedies of History, (Marrakesh, Dec 12th,  2018)

“Israel Strategy of Humanitarian Aid,” (SWP, Siftung Wissenschaft Politik,  German Institute for International and Security Affairs, August 28th, 2018)

International Security in a Turbulent World: Israeli and Polish Perspectives (Polish-Israeli Foreign Policy Conference Pism, Warsaw, Nov 30th 2-17)

The Middle Eastern Maze – Israel and Syria, the Institute for Counter Terrorism Policy (Hertzeliya, September 16th, 2017)

Conflict and Hope in the Middle East, Our Generation Speaks Out Conference (Oxford, August 3rd, 2017)

Syrian-Israeli Relations in Crisis: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, Middle East Center/Center for Israel Studies, St. Anthony, Oxford (February 28th, 2017) 

Six Years On – The Syrian Revolution, Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum. Cambridge (February 27th, 2017) 

הגבול כגורם מחבר: הפעילות ההומניטרית בגבול ישראל-סוריה, כנס האגודה הגיאוגרפית הישראלית ה-57 (17 דצמבר, 2017) .פ

Middle East Quo Vadis? Syria and Iraq, International Institute for Counter Terrorism , Hertzeliya (September 14th, 2016)

Israeli Humanitarian Diplomacy in Syria, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Washington D.C. (March 25th, 2016)

Freedom and Freedom of Speech: Lessons  from the Middle East, Beyond the Obvious, Guttenberg, Sweden (October 16-17, 2015)

Forbidden Aid, IsraeliHumanitarian Efforts to Syria, Tzipri Center, Jerusalem, (August 23rd, 2015)

Israel in a Changing Middle East, University of New South Wales, Australia (June 8th, 2015)

What Do Arab Want? – A Review of Middle East Polling Data, Hong Kong JCC (June 2nd, 2015)

Reponses to Item 7 and discussion on Human Rights in the Israeli Golan Heights, The UN Human Rights Council, Geneva (March 23rd, 2015)

Track II, the Case of Israel and Syria in Bridging Theory and Practice of Creative Conflict Engagement Conference, Bar Ilan University (January 14th, 2015).

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a Strategic Instrument of Promoting Civic Society and Democratization in the Middle East by Expatriate Opposition Groups , University of Haifa, National Security College (Nov 4th, 2013)

Media and the Arab Spring: 21st Century Dissidents, Catholic-Jewish Dialogue Committee, Boston, MA (October 1st, 2013)

Old News, New Media and the Making of the Arab Spring, The Martin Institute for Law and Policy, Stonehill College, Boston (September 30th , 2013)

Forbidden Aid: the “Case of Israel, Syria and Humanitarian Diplomacy , Common Bond Institute , Engaging the Other, Dearborn, Michigan (May 5th, 2013).

Old News, Social Media, and New revolutions: the role of Technology in the Arab Spring,Truman Institute, Hebrew University, Jerusalem (June 4th, 2012).

New Media and the Arab SpringAmadeu  Antonio Stiftung, Berlin (October 26th, 2011).

Middle East and the Rationality of Irrationality, Monash University, (June 2nd , 2008).

 Book Reviews

Everyday Arab Identity—The Daily Reproduction of the Arab World by Christopher Phillips (London: Routledge, 2012). Published in the Israel Journal of foreign Affairs VII : 3 (2013), Pp. 174 – 176.

The Making of Lebanese Foreign Policy: Understanding the 2006 Hezbollah–Israeli War

by Henrietta Wilkins (London: Routledge, 2013). Published in Israel Journal of foreign Affairs VI : 3 (2013), Pp. 153 – 157.

Beware of Small States: Lebanon, Battleground of the Middle East by David Hirst ((New York: Nation Books, 2010), Published in  Israel Journal of foreign Affairs VI : 1 (2012), Pp. 141 – 143.

To Make the Earth Whole: The Art of Citizen Diplomacy in an Age of Religious Militancy by Marc Gopin(Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009), Published in Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs IV : 3 (2010), Pp. 157 – 160.

Innocent or not?  Indyk’s lessons to a new American Administration, a review of Innocent Abroad :An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East, by Martin Indyk (Simon & Schuster, 2009 . Published in Rhapsody Journal, Vol. 7, 2009

Academic Teaching Experiences

“Israel & the Post-Arab Spring: An Interactive View of the New Middle East,” Rothberg School, Hebrew University, Jerusalem

Coordinator, TAU workshop on Israel and the Middle East, international faculty  Tel Aviv University

Chairman, Syria Forum, Tel Aviv University

Coordinator, Gulf Israel Policy Forum