Tag Archives: Asad

14Aug/25

Syria, the Druze, and the Crisis in Suwayda

Academic, Syria, , , , ,

In this latest edition of Tel Aviv Notes, Nir Boms and Karim Nassar examine the Suwayda crisis in Syria and how it has affected the delicate balance of relations between the new government in Syria and its Druze minority.

Bedouin families leaving the city of Suwayda, July 2025. Credit: Syrian Ministry of Interior, via Wikimedia commons 

In July 2025, violence erupted in Suwayda, a southern Syrian city and stronghold of the Druze minority in Syria. Disturbing images of death, mutilation, and militia clashes shocked Israel and much of the world. To grasp the crisis, one must understand the interplay of local rivalries, national politics, and the struggle for regional power shaping southern Syria today.

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27Jan/13

Everyday Arab Identity: The Daily Reproduction of the Arab World by Christopher Phillips

Academic, Syria, , , ,

Israel Journal of foreign Affairs VII : 1 (2013) Pp. 174 – 176

 Everyday Arab Identity: The Daily Reproduction of the Arab World

by Christopher Phillips

(London: Routledge, 2012), 224 pages

Reviewed by Nir Boms

Much has already been written about the “Arab Spring” that erupted some two years ago following the dramatic self-immolation of the unemployed Tunisian university graduate Mohammad Bouazizi. That action sparked a wave of protests throughout the region. Indeed, there is much to say about these protests and revolutions that have wrought significant political changes in the region and is expected to bring even more. The “Arab Spring,” a name coined at the beginning of these events, was accompanied by genuine hopes that this Middle Eastern wave would follow earlier “springs” such as the Spring of Nations in Europe, the Prague Spring of 1968, or the Seoul Spring of 1979. Continue reading →