Fred’s Spirit
Michel Touma 26/07 10:02 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
The inception of Ici Beyrouth, along with the unique concept of this young media outlet, are inextricably linked to the lasting impact of Frédéric Domont. From its very beginning, he infused his vision into this venture, which started from scratch and swiftly became a prominent presence in the media landscape in less than three ...
Editorial – Middle East Escalation: Foolishness Reigns
Michel Touma 22/07 11:52 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
The foolishness strategy is in full swing in the region—more than ever. On the night of July 17, the Israeli Knesset quietly passed a resolution rejecting the creation of a Palestinian State… This insidious move undermines the Biden administration just as it prepares to host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week. American leaders are ...
Editorial – A World Adrift
Michel Touma 15/07 12:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
“The world is (really) going to the dogs.” This brief, laconic reflection, expressed in an online post, is likely to become a common refrain on social networks. It alludes to a series of serious, historically significant events that are unfolding at an alarming pace in a feverish and deadly atmosphere all around the globe. The assassination ...
Editorial – Pezeshkian's Election: A Mere Facade?
Michel Touma 07/07 12:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
The election of the so-called “moderate” candidate Massoud Pezeshkian to the presidency of Iran on Friday is not a major surprise. The fact that his candidacy was approved this time by the central authorities, after being rejected in the 2021 presidential election, suggested that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali ...
Editorial- Iranian Presidency: Telling Indicators
Michel Touma 30/06 14:12 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
An election with little strategic significance, but undeniable symbolic importance... The presidential election held in Iran on Friday to choose a successor to Ebrahim Raisi, who died on May 19 in a helicopter crash while returning from Azerbaijan, has led to a runoff between the moderate reformist candidate, Massoud Pezeshkian, and the ...
Editorial – Threats Against Cyprus Impair Euro-Mediterranean Partnership
Michel Touma 26/06 14:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
European Union Foreign Ministers and ten Mediterranean countries convened in Barcelona in November 1995 to launch a vast and ambitious geostrategic initiative with a vital socio-economic dimension, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The objective was to establish a zone of stability, prosperity, cooperation and peace encompassing the EU and ten ...
Editorial-The Arte Documentary: A Sin of Omission
Michel Touma 19/06 16:38 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
The documentary titled “Casse du siècle au Liban,” or Heist of the Century in Lebanon, aired on Tuesday night on the Arte channel, is riddled with omissions and frequently neglects the imperative of intellectual honesty that should guide a journalist. It was truly a textbook case of information withholding, reality deformation, and blatant ...
Editorial - Scorn and Jungle Law‘s Reign
Michel Touma 12/06 10:14 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Advocating for the establishment of the rule of law in Lebanon may seem utopian, even somewhat naïve, given the current circumstances and the sweeping changes in the Middle East. However, is it too much to ask that the Lebanese at least aspire to be free from the jungle law and the laughable, grotesque reign of scorn and absurdity? In short, is ...
Macron’s Hazardous Move
Michel Touma 10/06 14:58 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
A shockwave, a perilous and risky bet, set against the backdrop of the looming 2027 presidential election... Last night, to widespread astonishment, President Emmanuel Macron announced the dissolution of the French National Assembly following the far-right's fulgurant victory in the European elections. Macron’s extremely daring move, aimed at ...
Editorial: Unraveling Mechanisms and Causes Obstructing Presidential Poll
Michel Touma 05/06 11:59 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Was the recent conciliation mission in Beirut on May 28 and 29 by Jean-Yves Le Drian, President Emmanuel Macron's special envoy to Lebanon, a complete failure? Most local political commentators quickly concluded that it was. However, they may have been too hasty, as the answer to this question largely depends on the expectations set for ...
Editorial—Irrationality and Reckless Escalation in the Gaza Conflict
Michel Touma 29/05 11:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
The Israeli-Arab conflict has endured for more than three-quarters of a century. Throughout these 75 years, certain Arab regimes and Palestinian organizations have tried to advance on the path of “liberating Palestine.” Or so they pretended to do, yet their endeavors were limited to theatrics and eloquent speeches, failing to materialize into ...
Editorial – Syrian Migrants: UNHCR's Double-Standards
Michel Touma 22/05 13:09 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
At the end of October 2023, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland decided to strengthen their cooperation to deport migrants residing illegally in their respective countries. French daily newspaper Le Figaro then quoted Danish Minister of Migration Kaare Dybvad Bek as stressing the collective interest of the Nordic countries in ...
Editorial – Raisi’s Disappearance: The Potential Shockwave in Lebanon
Michel Touma 20/05 14:44 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
“The butterfly effect” refers to a phenomenon where an event occurring in one place can trigger significant consequences in a distant area. The Lebanese people have experienced this effect for decades. Now, they face it once again with the deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hussein Amir-Abdullahian, ...
Editorial—Hezbollah's Disregard of South Lebanon's Populace
Michel Touma 15/05 12:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
“Children in southern Lebanon are in dire need of an immediate ceasefire…” This is the real alarm voiced by UNICEF – Lebanon on social media channels earlier this week. The international organization bolstered its call with statistics that are alarming to say the least, regarding the repercussions of the armed conflict sparked on October ...
Editorial – 'Selective Outrage'
Michel Touma 08/05 13:07 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Hundreds of young people have recently occupied numerous campuses in the United States and some European countries, pitching tents in a similar scenario. This is a reminder of the 2006 occupation of downtown Beirut by Hezbollah and its local cohorts. Therefore, these young people are unwittingly the tree that hides the forest. On the surface, the ...
Editorial - The Martyrs of the Press: Lessons and Reflections
Michel Touma 06/05 12:31 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
The annual commemoration of the Lebanese Press Martyrs' Day, on May 6th, serves as a solemn tribute to our fallen colleagues who courageously defended the principles of freedom of expression and the duty to inform. Beyond its symbolic significance, this occasion presents a chance to engage the public and media circles in a meaningful dialogue ...
The Editorial - US University Protests: Inconsistencies and Ignorance
Michel Touma 01/05 11:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
"The dress does not make the monk.” This French idiom, which implies that appearances can be deceiving, certainly applies to the field of political maneuvering, and it is equally pertinent when dealing with mass manipulation. As such, political stances howled amidst the media frenzy often serve as a dense smoke cloud, inadequately veiling the ...
The Editorial—Pluralism and Lebanity
Michel Touma 24/04 11:16 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
The members of Lebanon's Armenian community observe this April 24, as they do each year, the commemoration of the genocide perpetrated against their ancestors in the early 20th century, in steadfast adherence to their collective memory which stands firm against the passage of time. These atrocities perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire began in 1915 ...
Editorial — The Unspoken War
Michel Touma 20/04 13:36 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
The prevailing impression from the unfolding “vicissitudes” in Isfahan at the break of dawn on Friday was that Israelis and Iranians were almost ashamed of engaging in direct, face-to-face warfare… In their quest for moral justification, they deploy startling theatrics or unusual military-media acrobatics. Their objective: to minimize ...
Editorial—Saturday Night’s Attack: What's at Stake for the Pasdaran?
Michel Touma 17/04 11:29 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
It started with a small-scale war of attrition through its proxies and ended with a direct confrontation... The massive attack, using drones and missiles, launched Saturday night by the Pasdaran from Iranian territory against Israel has unmistakably plunged the Middle East into a new phase. It is still too early to gauge the full ...
Jordan, a Component of the Win-Win Scenario
Michel Touma 14/04 18:51 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Listen to the article [audio mp3="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/We-are-currently-witnessing-a-new-kind-of-warfare-in-the-Middle-East.-Alongside-meticulously.mp3"][/audio] We are currently witnessing a new kind of warfare in the Middle East. Alongside meticulously targeted aerial strikes, broader belligerent intentions ...
Editorial – April 13, 1975: A Tipping Point
Michel Touma 13/04 14:34 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
April 13, 1975, will be forever ingrained in the collective memory of the Lebanese people (at least those of a ‘certain age,’) as the outbreak of the never-ending Lebanese war. However, this perception is somewhat biased, as April 13 was more accurately a tipping point (rather than the onset) of a profound and chronic existential crisis. ...
Editorial – The Need for a Second Cedar Revolution
Michel Touma 10/04 11:47 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Sketchy scenarios… The endless series of political assassinations that have been plaguing and destabilizing the country for many years are often coupled by far-fetched narratives, stemming from a woefully barren imagination. These narratives usually serve to divert attention for some unavowable purpose, or to conceal the true masterminds of the ...
Fouad El-Saad’s Journey: A Strong Commitment to Fundamental Principles
Michel Touma 08/04 08:54 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
His name has frequently been linked to the iconic oak tree of Ain Treiz, located in the Aley district. Fouad el-Saad, a former MP and minister who passed away on March 27 after a long illness, embodied throughout his political journey a particular facet of Lebanon — one defined by a commitment to the fundamental principles that have long shaped ...
Editorial – Israel-Iran: The Strategy of Patience
Michel Touma 03/04 13:57 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
One episode follows another... In recent days, speculation has been rampant within various media and political circles regarding the tensions, and even significant divergences, that have surfaced between the United States and Israel regarding the management and long-term geopolitical implications of the Gaza conflict. These speculations stemmed ...
Editorial – Killing the Golden Goose
Michel Touma 27/03 12:17 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
In the midst of a persistent chronic and existential crisis, some political factions occasionally resort to subtly propagating truncated or even baseless information. Their aim? Either test public reactions on specific topics or artificially sustain the attention of a partisan public by crafting tailored "information" capable of sparking debate ...
Editorial - Makram Rabah: Upholding Freedom of Expression
Michel Touma 25/03 16:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
During the disastrous days of Syrian occupation, a French journalist in Beirut rightly noted that the Assad regime couldn't bring the Lebanese press to kneel or shake its unwavering commitment to freedom of expression. After the deployment of Syrian forces in June 1976 and following the election of late Elias Sarkis as president, the ...
Editorial – Israel’s Right and Hamas: 'Endangered by Peace'
Michel Touma 20/03 13:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Since antiquity, a myth has existed in physics, entirely chimerical and unattainable, known as "perpetual motion," which would entail motion lasting indefinitely without external input. If we transpose this purely theoretical notion to our present-day reality, it becomes evident that certain political players influencing the geopolitics of the ...
Editorial – March 14 Anniversary: A Catalyst for Sovereigntist Momentum
Michel Touma 13/03 12:02 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
A pivotal moment in history... Such is the characterization one could give to the monumental gathering that took place at Martyrs' Square and its surrounding streets in downtown Beirut on March 14, 2005. This date will forever be etched in Lebanon's annals, as several hundred thousand individuals (over a million, as per various sources) converged ...
Editorial – The 1701 Resolution Through the Lens of the Pasdaran
Michel Touma 06/03 12:31 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
The brief visit to Beirut earlier this week by US envoy Amos Hochstein did not yield the anticipated announcement of tangible decisions aimed at Hezbollah's withdrawal towards the Litani River, as mandated by UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Efforts to negotiate the withdrawal of the pro-Iranian militia have been ongoing for several weeks, ...