Arts & Culture
You Can’t Keep a Good Jew Down: Rebuilding Beirut, One Shul at a Time
By Isaac / November 11, 2009
The dilapidated Magen Avraham synagogue, Beirut (from al-Mashriq)
The narrative of Jewish history is one of a long line of painful defeats. And these are not defeats in the sense of the Italian army being defeated by Ethiopia or the Ottoman Empire losing at Lepanto. The Jews were defeated not in combat, for they fought few fights, but in unprovoked massacres, expulsions and dispossession. This painful history has left thousands of Jewish graves, marked and unmarked, scattered throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
In recent decades we have had two major victories, as qualified or problematic as they may be. One is the dramatic and remarkable creation of the State of Israel in 1948, symbolizing the rejection of diasporic history and diasporic defeat. The second is the surprising security and prosperity achieved by Jews in the United States and a few other Anglophone countries. The success of Jews in America is often taken as an unusual, perhaps fleeting, exception to the global rule of Jewish diasporic suffering. Others argue America is different and somehow immune, or at least less prone, to turning against the Jews. This debate over whether America can provide an adequate home for the Jews outside of Israel treats all other nations as intrinsically inhospitable to the Jews. On the whole, this view may not be unjustified, but it is clearly simplistic.
The fact is that millions of Jews continue to live in countries other than the US and Israel. Most intend to continue living relatively comfortable lives where they are, though they do face significant challenges at times. There has been much debate about the future of Jewish cultural life in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands, Sweden, and France. Some of these communities are in decline and citizens there may be in actual physical danger. In these, and other countries, Jews face the serious and weighty decision of whether to stay or leave. I do not think we as a people should be overly zealous in pressuring our co-ethnics to abandon their homes. We cannot simply retreat into our own small corner of the globe and hope the world will pass us by in peace. We must exercise all reasonable caution. But this need not prevent us from seeking to bolster the vitality and security of Jewish communities around the world. Jewish institutions persist and are re-emerging in places like Poland, Germany, Lithuania, and even Lebanon.
In this entry I would like to share with you the remarkable renovation of the historic Magen Avraham synagogue in Beirut. It reflects the unique history of Lebanon and the Lebanese Jews. It is a history of tragedy more than one of cruelty or defeat. It is a rare instance in which the pain of Jewish history is shared in the broader tragic narrative of an entire nation. It is a well-known fact that the Mizrahi and Sefardi Jews of Arab lands were nearly universally expelled in the wake of the Israeli-Arab wars of 1948 and 1967 (or Algeria’s 1962 independence from France). Large Jewish communities in Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Iraq, Yemen and Syria were violently uprooted. Approximately 1 million Jewish refugees fled Arab lands in the course of about two decades. By the 1970’s very few Jews remained in any Arab country. However, Lebanese Jews remained largely undisturbed through these decades, despite Lebanon’s 1958 civil unrest and American intervention.
In fact, Lebanon’s 24,000-member Jewish community in 1948 actually grew as it absorbed Jews fleeing other Arab countries. This growth continued until the start of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975, when a general sectarian unrest precipitated the flight of thousands of Lebanese citizens. As the war drew on, more and more Lebanese of all faiths fled overseas. With the Israeli invasion of 1982 various Lebanese sectarian militias began to target Jewish Lebanese civilians as alleged traitors, spies and enemies. Most of the Jewish community was by this point already gone or on their way out of the country. They joined the 14 million-strong (mostly Christian) Lebanese Diaspora, concentrating in France, the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, Argentina and Brazil. Today only a few hundred Jews remain in Beirut, where they keep a low profile for their own safety. Lebanese synagogues are present and in active use in Montreal and New York City, while other Lebanese Jewish communities are strong in Paris and Sao Paolo.
The Montreal-based Lebanese Jews have been actively involved, along with Jews and non-Jews inside Lebanon, in a recent project to renovate their historic grand synagogue in Beirut. It was built in the early 20th century through the cooperation of Sefardi and Mizrahi merchants and the local Beiruti Jewish community, and served as the central Jewish institution for Beirut’s Jews until the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War. Its use as cover by PLO fighters led the Israeli military to bombard and ultimately damage the synagogue. It has remained to this day a disheveled building in the shadow of the Grand Serail (Prime Minister’s headquarters), in disrepair and disuse. The renovation marks an effort to revive the now-dormant Jewish communal life in Beirut. The project funds are coming principally from the Lebanese Jewish diaspora, including support from Lebanese Jewish-Brazilian Safra banking family and undisclosed Swiss banks founded by Lebanese Jews. The SociĂ©tĂ© libanaise pour le dĂ©veloppement et la reconstruction de Beyrouth (Solidere s.a.l.), a large Beirut-based urban redevelopment company founded by the former and late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, is providing ten percent of the project’s funding as part of an effort to help rebuild damaged places of worship throughout the country. Additionally, the Conseil Communal IsraĂ©lite du Liban is collecting donations to fund the project. The renovations are expected to be complete in about a year’s time.
It is perhaps only a small step for a very small and endangered Jewish community. It will in all likelihood be a long time yet before there is a visible or at all comfortable Jewish community once again in Lebanon. It would be a miracle if it were ever to regain even a mere half of its numbers from just a generation ago. Lebanese history does not spark the greatest optimism for the future. However, in the grim book which is the history of the Jews, Lebanon gives us reason to hope. The courageous work being done to revive the Jewish community in Lebanon is not just a story of triumph for the few hundred Jews who remain in Lebanon or their scattered diaspora. For me it is a story which speaks to the ability of Jewish culture to survive in many corners of the world, connecting the Jewish people to the many nations of the earth. Perhaps some day, with an elusive comprehensive regional peace in the Middle East, Jewish life in Lebanon may once again flourish. Lebanon as a whole may once again return to its old glory as the cosmopolitan capital of the Levant. Israel and the Jews may for once have neighbors (both spatially and culturally) with whom they can hope for more than simply a mutual peaceful separatism. This may be too idealistic. This future is tenuous and far off at best. But in all the 5,770 pages of Jewish history, this is a very rare page that is written in ink and not soaked through with blood.
Images (all from the website al-Mashriq, Levant, Cultural Riches from the Countries of the Eastern Mediterranean):
Magen Avraham with the Grand Serail (Prime Minister’s headquarters) in the background, I think
Magen Avraham location in downtown Beirut
Further reading on Magen Avraham’s renovation: In The Jerusalem Post Or from Bloomberg.com
POST A COMMENT
Thansk for this post. First of all there is a lot of sceptism about the building of the syangogue left by many commenters.Â
For me, however. When I first moved back to Lebanon a year ago, the building was in great ruin with graffitti, left like this for over 25 years.  Now, I pass by the synagogue every day on my way to work and there is a new roof and the new building looks majestic in Downtown Beirut and it is moving. I do not know the reasons behind the new building. I do know that there were efforts to destroy it but I am glad that the synagogue was saved. I also know that Lebanon cannot change if its people choose to remain expatriates, whether Christians, Jewish or Muslim/
It is true there is a lot of hatred for Jews in Lebanon, but there is also enromous compassion.Â
"It is your fantasy that the Jews of Lebanon were victims of the civil war like every body else. In fact very few remained after 1967."
Talk about changing the topic, bataween. I’m sorry but you are becoming too negative for this topic, especially to those who do not fully understand their own history; "It is your fantasy" sounds a lot like a personal insult to the guy, or lady. Opposite of what you said later on, about 4,062 Mizrahis from Lebanon moving to Israel, is the opposite of the puzzle pieces we were able to find, and which Leila was talking about. Maybe a public, misleading note, but not one’s "fantasy"; you just painted this kid as a naive human being.
I’m bring you back to my first comment, a part of it, though. Yes, everyone did suffer similarly, and I’m talking about the time from 1975; forget 1967. My grandmother almosted died during the civil war, as I forgot to add in my previous comments. That’s one example. They shelled the building my dad once lived in before moving; she was in a bunker, needing my grandfather to get her out from the rubble. It even made it to the newspapers. (Oh, 1967? Have you forgotten what had happened that year, my dear? Maybe that’s why the Lebanese Jewish community started shrinking.)
When my entire family moved to Lebanon, from 1986 to 89, we couldn’t even dare leave our neighborhood. Downtown, which is a favorite spot presently, and where my big sis works… and we went to just last year, was, according to my dad, a major "killing field". Eventually, we returned to Africa at 89.
And yes, lack of medication, poverty and schools did create a state within a state, especially from the 1990′s and the civil war times, including results from all that happened during the civil war itself. However, very often, despite Solidere and others trying to go in, the Shi’as deliberately prevent development(s) in their areas. The government also doesn’t like to help, since they purchased properties illegally since civil war times… Dahi’yah, to start with. Many don’t have CFO’s, and my old man had told me not to look for an apartment at that area, because of this, despite my aunts living there.
And if you are bothered with the accuracy of how many Lebanese Jews remained in Lebanon, I suggest you take your time and contact the LJCC or go edit the articles on Wikipedia. But, make sure to add liable references; it’s a Wikipedia/Wikimedia policy.
Good night, and happy Hanukkah in advance, w haShannah tow’bah.
It is your fantasy that the Jews of Lebanon were victims of the civil war like every body else. In fact very few remained after 1967. You will be shocked to learn that 4,062 Lebanese Jews moved to Israel – that’s just under half the Jewish population. I don’t think lack of medication poverty and schools are definable as states within states, I’m talking about armed militia accountable to no government but themselves.
I AGREE WITH ISAAC… IT IS A MARVELOUS THING TO SEE MAGEN AVRAHAM coming back to life… it’s my grandma’s dream who was young when the SYNG was in its prime.. she tells me stories of the wonderful decoration and golden chandelier and wooden benches and garden there.. she grew up, got married to a lebanese muslim,.. she was never treated differently by any of the neighbours. my direct cousins are christians… this is the lebanon i know..
this is the lebanon you guys should know about..
it is not that the lebanese want to rebuild the SYNG because they want to say hey look at us we also have jews..
they truly want to rebuild it. the inter-ultra religious ties among the various families in lebanon supersedes all the fights which some ignorant people do while following politicians.. that doesnt mean all lebanese want to fight.. Â
now to the commentaries that came before this one i want to say that Lebanon isnt a failed state my dear. You may wish that. but the fact that no matter how many wars passed on this country. no matter how much its own vulture politicians did to it. no matter how much its neighnours massacared of its people and occupied of its land, the lebanese always found a way to survive along with their country. true there are tens of millions of lebanese abroad, from all sects i may add, but the fact of the growth of the number of lebanese living in lebanon is another example that it is not a failed country..
true it has many problems. true some of the problems are internal. but most of lebanon’s troubles come from abroad. be it its own neighbours or other countries, sparing no one.. from israel to syria, from france to iran, from USA to saudi from egypt to lybia, everyone tried to control lebanon through money, terrorism, arms, religion, and yet no one manages to do so successfuly. regardless of what you think.
the fact that lebanon is the only democracy surviving in a sea of dectatorships and monarchies in this region proves to you that it has successfully survived anything and everything..
the lebanese jews lived the best and safest life a jew can ever find in the region and globally. almost all of the lebanese jews refused to leave to israel when the israeli entity was pre-conditionally accepted by the UN in 1948 (im a alaw graduate so basically this is a legal statement. until the two conditions are fullfilled, and it has specified written borders, israel’s acceptance as a full state within the UN continues to place it as an entity, legal wise).
you know why they refused to leave then,,, it is because they thought and continue to think of lebanon as their home. true home.
the civil war spared no one.. jews were not targeted alone.. shiite citizens were kidnapped and massacred along crossings and greenlines. sunnis were gunned down.. christians were assassinated… all religions in lebanon suffered during the civil war.
it wasnt until 1982 when israeli military bombarded the syn. Magen Avraham that many jews decided to flee lebanon (ps, the palestinian militias said that they were never livin in magen avraham, but in an area near it).
they went to france, south africa (where my grandma’s cousins went) USA, europe.. and very very very FEW of them left to israel. because they dont believe in the israeli entity as a homeland, regardless. and because lebanese jews, at least the ones i grew around and up with, continue to believe in multi-religious societies and not a constricted one-religion entity like israel, or saudi etc.
as for the internal situation in lebanon, i tend to agree that the situation on the ground doesnt help much in handling any of the parites found there.. be it hizbullah, or the lebanese forces, or the phalanges, or others. when the government starts filling the social and civil gaps on the ground, people will walk with the government.. but as long as poverty, lack of schools, proper roads and medication exist in rural areas around the country, you will be bound to find states within the state… when a party comes to fill in those gaps instead of the government doing so, then the people will fel the gratitude to those who help them..
but then again, these troubles are found everywhere… not only lebanon. it just shows in lebanon more because it is always in the spotlight, and because it is very small compared to the number of torubles in it.
the USA contuinues to ignore plack people’s slums in its southern states… there are neighbourhoods in france and britain where the police doesnt dare enter… in israel, the falasha (african jews) live in a miserable condition.. Yediot Aharonot and Ha’aretz wrote several times of the unjust practices against black and arab jews,… and the discrimination against black jews.. the fact that the number of israelis leaving israel every year is higher than the number of jews going to live in israel shows how much of a failed entity it is… the fact that right wing groups, who have the right to carry arms, shoot first, negotiate later, assassinate prime ministers and be considered heros doesnt make it a better quasi state than that of hizbullah or the lebanese forces.
i do hate to go into all of these details. but truth be told. never argue something u were never a part of.Â
fingers crossed on the renovation. shalom, salam ,peace :)
A link to an article from the English version of Der Spiegel online: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,660675,00.html
 It neglects a few important details, but is pretty interesting. I copy-and-pasted it below:
—————————————————————————–
Beirut Synagogue Gets a New Lease On Life
By Daniel Steinvorth
The Jewish community in Beirut keeps
shrinking due to emigration and mortality. But the few Jews who remain
hope to strengthen their ties by renovating a historic synagogue in the
city center.
The old French residency on Shari al-Jahudi, or Street of the Jews,
has seen better days. Feral cats roam the ground floor and the floors
are covered with rubble and debris. A yellowed poster from the civil
war hangs in the stairwell. Noth that this is an unusual building by
Beirut standards. There are near-derelict structures on every street
corner, buildings riddled with bullet holes that look as if they had
just been the scene of house-to-house combat. The homeless live in many
of them, often alongside refugees from Iraq. But the only residents of
this particular building are cats — and Lisa Srour.
"Welcome," says a heavily made-up woman with red hair, as she opens the
door. "Please excuse the mess, but this is my home. I have no other
place to live."
Madame Srour, a rather quaint woman in her mid-60s, is the last
remaining Jewish woman in her neighborhood in downtown Beirut. A
genuine left over. Previously several hundred Jewish families lived
around here. There were synagogues and a Talmud Torah school, a
traditional Jewish primary school, the families were part of a
multicultural Lebanon. That was until the State of Israel was
established only 100 kilometers (63 miles) to the south and Lebanon’s
Jews were increasingly seen as part of that state. Those who did not
flee after the Six-Day War in 1967 left in the mid-1980s, when 11 Jews
were murdered during the course of the Lebanese civil war.
Urban Vision: ‘A Hong Kong On The Mediterranean’
Today most of the houses on Shari al-Jahudi, a street abandoned by
its residents and destroyed by war, have been bulldozed and replaced
with a string of sandstone-colored luxury apartment buildings, complete
with cafés and shops. They have become part of the "Solidere" as Beirut
residents call their refurbished downtown; It is named after the
multi-billion dollar real estate development company founded by former
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005.
After the country’s civil war ended, the former prime minister had
three-quarters of the devastated city center torn down and rebuilt.
Hariri’s vision: "a Hong Kong on the Mediterranean," a place,
unencumbered by the burden of history, which would attract tourists and
businesspeople alike. But his critics see the new Beirut as something
more nightmarish. One architect described the new city center as
"brochure Beirut," criticizing it as a characterless place with
absolutely no connection to the past.
It’s a little odd that Madame Srour’s apartment block has somehow
been spared from the urban renewal project. Even a construction worker
standing outside the building doesn’t know when the last few derelict
buildings on the street will be torn down.
As for Madame Srour, she says that she intends to wait and see what
happens. What else can she do? She says that she has spent most of her
life in this building, where her parents rented an apartment. The civil
war raged, her parents died and her brothers emigrated. But Srour was
unwilling to turn her back on her homeland — not even in 1982, when
the Israelis marched into Lebanon and the Prime Minister Menachem Begin
offered Israeli citizenship to the remaining Levantine Jews. "Why
should I have accepted that?" Srour asks. "I am a Lebanese woman, and
that’s what I’ll remain."
A Synagogue As Part Of An Open And Cosmopolitan City
It is thought that there are between 50 and 300 Jews still living in
Lebanon, where they are one of 18 recognized religious communities. But
their numbers are dwindling as the population ages. For this reason,
the local Jewish council has begun to address the question of how the
community can win this battle with time. Would the resurrection of a
synagogue in the area help?
Which is why at the beginning of 2008, the larger community of
Jewish expatriates revived an idea of Hariri’s: Why not renovate the
Maghen Abraham Synagogue in downtown Beirut — the city’s oldest and
most important synagogue — and make it usable once again? It would
also add a cultural component to the otherwise soulless Solidere. And
it would certainly fit with Hariri’s original concept. A synagogue
would only emphasize Beirut’s openness and enhance the cosmopolitan
image of a city where minarets and church towers already sit side by
side. However, the funding for the synagogue would need to come from
the Jewish community itself.
But How Does Hezbollah Feel About A New Synagogue?
Hariri’s successor, Fouad Siniora, had no objections to the plan.
But how would the radical Islamic group Hezbollah, and Israel’s sworn
enemy, feel about it all? For some time now, no political decisions
have been made in Lebanon without the approval of the influential
Shiite militia. In September 2008, a spokesman of the organization
said: "We respect Judaism, just as we respect Christianity. Our only
problem is with Israel." And so, in July 2009, the renovations began.
For more then 30 years, the Maghen Abraham Synagogue has been
allowed to decline into ruin. In 1976, the last rabbi practicing there
moved the Torah scrolls to a safe place and locked the building up.
Today the synagogue is surrounded by high rises and construction
cranes. A long prayer hall, flanked by two arched passageways, gives
some idea of what it must once have looked like. Meanwhile,
construction workers have built a tall fence to protect the building
from the curious and security guards have also been posted to watch
over the site.
Even though the synagogue is only a few minutes from her home,
Madame Srour hasn’t been there for a long time. She says she simply
cannot bear to look at the ruins. Somewhat ironically, Israeli pilots
bombed the house of worship because they believed that Palestinian
weapons were hidden there.
The newly renovated synagogue is expected to reopen soon but it
seems unlikely that Madame Srour will attend the opening ceremony. She
prefers to live with her own memories of the place, memories that she
can only share with her cats today.
Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan
Hey Bataween. I understand your points now. I don’t really know much about Beydoun but, with the likes of Hizballah and others already in charge of his people’s well-being in Lebanon, I can’t really see what’s much for him to do for them. Many, I understand, own illegal properties in Dahieh and onwards. I think what he’s doing, to be fair, is just pure generosity. It isn’t absurd, unless if existing trouble(s) around Beirut is/are really that serious.
Sadly, there isn’t much for anyone to do to save Lebanon as a nation. Most of its residents are appearently youths, mostly blinded by their monopolistic politicians and not concentrating in the development of the country’s economy. But… let’s give it some time. I’m not too hopeful, since I’m naturally skeptical, but let’s watch and see.
Hello Andalusio
I’ve been well aware that the idea of the synagogue reconstruction is Beydoun’s – I’ve been following him for some time. Beydoun’s agenda is to revive Lebanese pluralism. I read an article recently where Beydoun was actually quoted a spokesman for the LJCC. It must be a first for a Shi’a Muslim to represent a Jewish council.Â
What you have written about your own family’s experience only reinforces my point: Lebanon is a failed state, many of its citizens now live abroad – Muslims as well as Christians. They have had it tough. The government has no control. Â
In the circumstances it is even more absurd for Beydoun to get the synagogue rebuilt. Why doesn’t he worry about his own community? "Il faut cultiver son jardin," as Voltaire once said.Â
Bataween, concerning your initial response, you must understand that this project has nothing to do with the Lebanese government or SOLIDERE. In case you missed it, this idea was initialized by a Lebanese-American Shi’a Muslim, back in 2006, who motivated the Lebanese Jewish Diasporas to do something back home. He even went to as far as Spain to speak with some of the concerned audiences, with respect to preserving the history of the Jews in Lebanon. His name is Haroun "Aaron-Micael" Beydoun. (He initially owned the early version of thejewsoflebanonproject.org, before it was handed over to the LJCC.) Beyodun’s fans also added to the encouragement, some of who can be found on the Synagogue’s facebook fan page.
Â
After all, wasn’t the like of SOLIDERE we all feared might destroy what was left of the Synagogue, back in spring of 2008? SOLIDERE destroyed a Talmudic school back in 2004, just to make a sea view for its new neighboring buildings at that area.
Â
And if the Christians of Lebanon are so concerned of being expatriates, leaving those in Lebanon as "minority", they shouldn’t have taken our country for a ride, just because a couple of PLO gunmen took down a few Christian youths between SODECO and Sassine Sq. Apart from dragging all Muslims and Druzes to the relentless war, they even costed the likes of my Sunni Muslim father their polytechnic diploma forever, which also had a ripple effect on my own future. The likes of my father had to migrate to northern Nigeria, just to work and make a living for themselves and their families back in Lebanon. (My uncle’s education, in fact, was even funded by my father’s own salary, while working as a common construction site laborer in northern Nigeria.)
Â
But put Christians and Jews aside. Even Muslims, Druzes and Armenian Lebanese, like System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian (serjtankian.com), fled the country. For example, Sunni Muslims, along with Christians at times, can be found in the Americas, the Gulf and Australia. On the other hand, Shi’a Muslims, still living in more dire parts of Lebanon, emigrated to places like West Africa. (Most Lebanese here in Lagos, former capital of Nigeria, are Shi’a who fled from the Civil War, the 2006 war and Lebanon’s own domestic crises (economical, political etc).) You might also find others as well within West Africa; a Druze, Faisal al-Khalil, is owner of Seven-Up Bottling Company PLC here in Nigeria, and you’ll find varieties of Lebanese expatriates at the Lebanese Community School (LCS) as well, children of those who fled the previously listed problems of Lebanon – not all are Christians, I can assure you.
Â
And in case you have forgotten, from 1975 till the early 1990′s, the government almost had no control of the whole country, even leaving opened doors to the PLO and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to go as far as Beirut. It was both the natures of the Civil War and Islamist militants who attacked and chased Lebanese Jews out of the country indefinitely, while the war made the Lebanese government go blind, when it came to securing its people’s well-being. Talking about its pathetic measures to take care of the remaining 30 Jews of Lebanon.
Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but nowhere is there any hope for Jews. There was a time when I thought Jews in Turkey were OK, but the writing is on the wall for them now. With only about 4,500 left it’s over for Jews in the ‘Arab’ world. The most we can hope for is recognition for Israel as the expression of an authentically Middle Eastern people with deep roots in the region.
But it’s not too late to protect the rights of other minorities; pluralism may yet take root in Egypt, where something should be done for the 15 million Copts and community of Bahais; or Iraq, with its Kurds, Turkomans, Armendians, Yazidis, Mandaeans, Assyrians, Chaldeans; even Iran is often thought of as homogenous, but Persians in fact only comprise about 40 percent of the population. And I agree, Lebanon is a suitable case for treatment with its various sects.
The prerequisite for pluralism is a healthy civil society and a constitution that protects minority rights. This is impossible as long as Islam exercises the influence it does.
Where in the Middle East other than Lebanon or Morrocco is there any hope at all for Jews and pluralism?
 Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt and Algeria seem even less open to their pluralistic communities. Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen are in a whole other category of problems. And that’s about it. So, if not focus our attention on Lebanon and Morocco, where shoud we focus?
Iran is a tough one for Jewish cooperation for pluralism. And Turkey is in some ways a much better place for Jews than elsewhere in the Middle East, but has some problems with Jews, Kurds, Armenians, Greeks and other non-Muslims or non-ethnic-Turks.
So, there are obviously problems, but Lebanon and Morocco (and Turkey) are our best bet, unless you’ve got something better.
I agree with you 100 percent that the way forward is to build alliances with the diverse, often repressed communities of the Middle East whose identity, language and culture are submerged in the so-called Arab world. The ‘Arab world’ does not represent them ( nor indeed noes it represent the great mass of the people)Â it represents only an unelected ruling elite.
The problem is that these diverse minority groups lack power, they are marginalised within the region and being driven out. The West is completely unaware of their ‘narrative’. Liberals in the US are ready to fight for the Palestinian cause, which is actually the epitomy of Sunni pan-Arabism, but they are completely unaware of a Berber’s struggle for autonomy, or a Syrian Kurd’s to speak his own language, or the Assyrian struggle to stay alive in Iraq. Â
Lebanon could have been a model, but let’s face it – it is another failed state controlled by Syria.  You are right that Israel must protect minority rights and there is always room for improvement, but far too little attention is paid to minority rights in the Arab world – let’s face it, they are in a parlous state. A new-found respect for pluralism in the Arab world could have a dramatic effect on transforming Arab attitudes to Israel.
I read some of the material on your website. I agree with much of
the material about how pan-Arabism is untenable for the Middle East,
which is a very diverse place, composed of many minorities. At present,
these groups have not been able to effectively collaborate to declare a
pluralistic Middle East for Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, Amazigh, Copts,
Assyrians/Chaldeans, Jews, Maronites, Baha’is, Druze, Bedouins,
Shi’ites, Sunnis, and the distinct national cultures of Egypt, Lebanon
and the other countries of the region.
In Israel’s region this is
a tough path to walk. But I think protecting Israel’s minorities,
Jewish and non-Jewish is important. And finding at least some other
allies or potentially sympathetic narrative in the region to work with is essential.
It might not be very feasible, but there is no better alternative.
Lebanon, though clearly struggling with its diversity, is still a far
more diverse and plural country than most Middle Eastern states. And
you are right, Lebanon will need to control its own land for there to
be progress. A strong Lebanese state is a key Israeli interest. Moving
forward with Jordan or Egypt is considerably harder at present in my view.
However, more distant Morocco, and its Amazigh movement, or Algeria’s
Kabyle movement could also work in tandem for a pluralistic Middle East. (There is a Amazigh-Israel Freindship group in Morocco even).
Most
Jews, other than those in English or Russian-speaking zones are in
Israel and France. In both cases it is the Middle Eastern and North
African populations that Jews have to find a way to live with. It isn’t a choice of all the people in the world with whom we think it would be easiest to live with, it is reality.
Sorry, Isaac, I cannot share your admiration for the reconstruction of this synagogue, which will never again be the heart of a thriving Jewish community. The reconstruction of the synagogue only serves as good PR for the Lebanese regime, so that it can boast how tolerant and pluralistic it is – "look ! we even have Jews!"
Lebanon is a pitiful advertisement for pluralism, having lost all but about 30 of its Jews, and its Christians, too, have been reduced to a minority. The government does not control the south of the country, a Hezbollah-ruled state-within-a state. Until it puts its own house in order, there will be no future for the Jews.
You can read more about Jews from Arab countries at Point of No Return blog
http://www.jewishrefugees.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beirut-Lebanon/Beirut-Maghen-Abraham-Synagogue/52472386024?ref=sgm
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