All posts by Nir Boms

07May/08

The Lebanese Test

Lebanon, Middle East, , ,

By Nir Boms and Leon Saltiel
FrontPageMagazine.com | September 7, 2006

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan seemed particularly satisfied at the press conference in Brussels when the foreign ministers of the 25 European Union member states committed to contribute more that half of the 15,000 soldiers of the revamped UN force in Lebanon. Apart from the significance of this move for the stability of the region and the strengthening of the Lebanese government, the pledge of European soldiers signals an important shift in European Mideast policies: Europe is now willing to get involved militarily in the Arab-Israeli conflict. 

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07May/08

Out of Lebanon

Lebanon, Middle East, , ,

March 01, 2005, 7:45 a.m.
Ending Syrian control could change the Middle East – but it won’t be easy.

By Nir Boms and Aaron Mannes

The car bomb that assassinated former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri rocked Beirut, but the political aftershocks could shake the entire region. The assassination has galvanized Lebanese anger towards their Syrian occupiers. But Lebanon is the crutch propping up the weak Assad regime, so the Syrians will not give up easily. If Lebanon is to be free, its people will require strong outside support. If the United States is committed to building a democratic Middle East, it should take advantage of the opportunity created by the tragedy of Hariri’s assassination and assertively support Lebanon’s democrats.

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07May/08

Civil War on the Basketball Court

Lebanon, Middle East, ,

By Nir Boms
FrontPageMagazine.com | July 14, 2003

A few days ago, in the Fuad Shehab basketball stadium of suburban Beirut, the national basketball championship game was played between the two leading Lebanese teams: La Sagesse and Al Riyadi.  Unlike many other sports, basketball is of the few that has survived throughout the cruel and intense war history that tore this country Lebanon apart. At this event, the number of security personnel and their nervousness were mere indicators of the tension that was vibrating off the court and into the stands. Only a month before, the final game was cut short as violence broke out in the stadium. This time, security forces were preparing for the worst. In Lebanon, one must not take things at face value, a seemingly mundane event like a basketball game can actually highlight the fact that Lebanon is a barrel of explosives that can explode at any time. 

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06May/08

Intolerance in Egypt

Egypt, Middle East,

By Nir Boms
Published July 5, 2006

Last week, Egypt’s minister of culture, Farouk Hosni, announced the latest measure in the war against intolerance in Egypt: a total ban on “The Da Vinci Code” — both the best-selling book and the hit film currently showing in theaters worldwide. 

In a speech to the Egyptian parliament that drew applause from both Islamic Brotherhood and Coptic Christian representatives, Mr. Hosni passionately defended his decision to “ban any book that insults any religion” — and ordered police to confiscate all copies of “The Da Vinci Code,” which has been on Egypt’s top-selling lists since 2003. 

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