Everyone has probably seen the images from Lebanon this week.
A blast, reportedly caused by the unintentional combustion of some 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate (a chemical used to make agricultural fertilizer and explosives) that had been stored and neglected in Beirut port since 2013, ripped through the Lebanese capital. As of the completion of this newsletter, over 150 people are dead and thousands more injured. Lebanon’s hospitals, already at maximum capacity due to Covid-19, are now overwhelmed.
But what else do we know about the events in Beirut? We know the blast’s impact registered between a 3.3 and 4.5-magnitude earthquake, shattering glass throughout the city and rendering whole neighborhoods unlivable. Some 300,000 people — more than 12% of Beirut’s population — are unable to return to their homes. Making the situation even more dire, Lebanon’s primary grain silo was located at the blast’s epicenter. Beirut port, where 60% of imports enter the country, has been flattened. Lebanon has less than a month’s worth of grain in storage. Estimated losses range between $10 billion to $15 billion.
Before the blast, Lebanon was already on the brink of economic collapse. Government corruption and mishandling of the economy has brought the middle class to its knees. The World Bank projects that 45% of the Lebanese population is living near or below the poverty line. Since October 2019, tens of thousands have taken to the streets to protest the government’s austerity measures but it has brought about little to no change.
Lebanon’s situation is tragic. In 2005, when Syria finally ended its occupation of Lebanon, there was optimism for the future. For the first time in decades, Lebanon was neither occupied nor at war with itself. However, the honeymoon was brief. Syria’s departure from Lebanon opened the door for Hezbollah to strengthen its position as the dominant political and military force in the country. A war with Israel in 2006 destroyed Lebanon’s critical infrastructure, setting back the economy once again and entrenching Hezbollah’s position. So long as Hezbollah is free to act with impunity, the country’s citizens will remain captives to a terror organization that prioritizes its interests over those of the public and the state.
There are cries for accountability. But unless an independent investigation is commissioned, the truth about the blast - and who is responsible - will likely remain subject to dispute.
The articles I chose for this week are by Lebanese authors. But before I share them, I wanted to touch upon a secondary discussion that came up in response to the Beirut blast.
Many international actors reached out to the Lebanese people to show their support and offer humanitarian aid. Israel was one of them. I am proud that my government - the same government that in recent weeks has been assessing military options against Hezbollah in response to a series of border incidents - made a gesture that was intended to distinguish between the tragedy of the moment and the decades of distrust between the two sides. Israel’s hospitals are closer to Beirut than anyone else in the region (Beirut and Haifa are separated by some 130 kilometers/80 miles), and can provide medical care to those who’ve been turned away by Lebanon’s overwhelmed health care institutions. Similarly, Israeli medical equipment could arrive sooner than most other countries. There are talks with the United Nations to transfer Israeli material to Lebanon.
But it is important to remember that Israel and Lebanon do not have a peace treaty. Just as many Israelis will never forget the brutal acts of terror that Hezbollah has committed against Israel - as well as Jews outside of Israel - many Lebanese won’t forget Israel’s wars against the PLO and Hezbollah, or Israel’s occupation of Southern Lebanon from 1982 until 2000. The trauma of that experience has not passed, and it may take several generations until it does. It may sound illogical for Lebanon to turn down Israel’s offer (as of the completion of this article Lebanon has yet to respond), but I think it speaks to the deeply embedded distrust that many Lebanese still carry towards Israel and to the pain and suffering that the Israeli government’s decisions caused during its many decades occupying its northern neighbor.
Some have argued that Israel’s offer was a cynical ploy, a form of self-congratulation so that Israelis could feel good about demonstrating their morality. I disagree. I believe that in the moment, both the Israeli government and the Israeli people genuinely separated their attitudes towards Hezbollah and the dysfunctional Lebanese government from their feelings about the Lebanese people. They identified the blast as an accident, something detached from the decades of conflict between the two sides. They wanted to help a neighbor in distress.
Still, even a moment of earnestness can sometimes ring hollow. Like so many conflicts in the Middle East, Israel and Lebanon are stuck in a cycle of conflict, grievance, and distrust. Gestures of goodwill are dismissed out of suspicion of the other’s intentions. Maybe this week’s events provided a window of opportunity to break this cycle. But I think it is too early and, dare I say, narcissistic, to suggest that your rival’s loss will be the event that alters your relationship. This is a Lebanese story, not an Israeli one. Here is hoping for a better future for Beirut and the Lebanese people, regardless of whether or not Israel is a part of the equation.
Here are the three links I recommend on the events in Beirut:
Award-winning journalist Kim Ghattas addresses the Lebanese people’s resilience in the face of decades of abuse, and wonders whether the incident at Beirut port will change the public’s relationship with its elected officials - and with Hezbollah.
“The Lebanese ruling classes have bled the country dry with near total impunity for generations,” writes Oz Katerji in Foreign Policy magazine. One public crisis was dumped upon another until it exploded in Beirut port. But will anyone be held responsible?
“Li Beirut,” a song written by Fairuz (arguably Lebanon’s most famous artist) in 1984, embodies a popular sentiment that the Lebanese people pay the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the government. The song remains a classic today, and this rendition was released in October 2019 when anti-austerity protests were at their height.
Hope you enjoy reading. I look forward to hearing from you.
-Gabi
P.S. If you are curious about ways to donate to relief funds in Lebanon, this is a reliable site with several options: https://lebanoncrisis.carrd.co/#donate