BEIRUT (AFP) — Lebanon marked 65 years of independence on Saturday with an official ceremony staged in downtown Beirut amid strict security for the first time in three years.

In a country with no tradition of publicly celebrating independence since the 1975-1990 civil war, the day was marked by a military ceremony for an audience of ministers, lawmakers, ambassadors and other dignitaries.

Streets leading to Martyrs Square were cordoned off for the ceremony which was attended by President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Sleiman laid a wreath at the Martyrs Statue before the hour-long ceremony began.

Hundreds of red and white balloons were launched skywards before military helicopters flying the Lebanese flag overflew marching troops and a drive-past by tanks.

Lebanese Independence Day commemorates the tiny country’s liberation in 1943 after 23 years of governance by French Mandate that succeeded Ottoman rule.

Saturday’s event marked a relative return of calm as Lebanon struggles to put three years of unrest behind it.

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One of Lebanon’s sole remaining synagogues was set to get a restoration that has the rare blessing of all the factions in this divided country — even that of Hizbullah. But the global financial crisis has scuttled the effort for now, leaving the Magen Abraham chained, padlocked, badly damaged and rife with weeds.

The synagogue, like the country’s once-thriving Jewish community, fell prey to the savage 1975-90 civil war. Once the fighting ended, the few dozen Jews who remained could not maintain the proud old structure.

A $1 million project set to begin in November had been organized by the Lebanese Jewish community to restore the two-story ramshackle building which is now surrounded by the gleaming new skyscrapers of Beirut’s downtown building boom.

But potential overseas Jewish donors who were to provide the bulk of the funds said the reconstruction would have to wait because of the hard times brought on by the global financial crisis, said Isaac Arazi, leader of the country’s tiny Jewish community.

“I’ll wait for two or three months. If no money is forthcoming, I’ll launch a fundraising campaign in America and Europe for the rebuilding project,” he told The Associated Press.

The building’s need is acute.

Garbage, empty bottles, broken glass and shattered roof bricks are scattered on the synagogue’s floor. Wide cracks cover the walls and stairways leading to the second floor.

But the Stars of David inscribed on walls have been left untouched, as have the Hebrew writings even though Muslim militiamen had apparently used some of the building’s rooms as offices during the sectarian fighting.

The synagogue sat on the battlelines dividing the city during the civil war.

In addition to Magen Abraham, there are two other synagogues in mountain towns east of Beirut which were damaged by the fighting and then closed, Arazi said.

The 65-year-old Arazi pointed out that as many as 22,000 Jews lived in Lebanon in the mid-1960s. The number dropped to 15,000 at the outbreak of the civil war in 1975 and by its end, a mere 100 were left.

During the conflict in which 150,000 people out of a population of 4 million were killed, Beirut’s main Jewish neighborhood, Wadi Abou Jmil, fell under the control of Muslim militias battling their Christian counterparts.

Jews did not take part in the fighting. But the violence forced many to emigrate. The trickle turned into a flood when the community became a target of Muslim militants two years after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 and occupied parts of the country and briefly Beirut.

Eleven Jews were kidnapped and apparently killed during the hostage-taking spree of the 1980s that targeted foreigners and Lebanese alike in Beirut. The bodies of only four were recovered, bearing the marks of torture.

Muslims displaced from other parts of the country gradually moved into the shattered old streets of the neighborhood that had once been filled with Jewish shops selling clothes, perfume and kosher meat, until much of the area was razed in the rebuilding projects of the 1990s.

Liza Srour is the last Jew living in the old neighborhood, in a small flat in one of the few old buildings remaining.

“We had Christian, Sunni, Shiite and Druze neighbors with whom we had an excellent relationship,” the red-haired and light-eyed woman in her 60s said, as she pulled on an ever-present cigarette.

Srour, who is unemployed, ekes out a living on the monthly stipend of $200 provided by the Lebanese Jewish Council.

There was rare consensus among Lebanon’s fractious factions that the synagogue should be restored, although none has offered up any cash.

The Lebanese government, which includes Hizbullah representatives, welcomed the restoration of the synagogue “because it is a place of worship,” said an official in the prime minister’s office, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations.

Even Hizbullah, the Shiite group which refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist and has fought the Jewish state for decades, backs restoration.

“We respect divine religions, including the Jewish religion,” said Hussein Rahhal, Hizbullah’s media chief. “The problem is with Israel’s occupation (of Arab lands), not with the Jews.”

Solidere, the giant company that has taken the lead in flattening and then rebuilding much of downtown, said preservation of the synagogue fits within its plans to “conserve” the places of worship, as well as heritage buildings and archaeological sites.

But the company would not assist in restoration costs, saying it was up to religious sects to fix their own properties.(AP)

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20 Oct. 2008

صرح رئيس الطائفة اليهودية في لبنان اسحق ارازي لقناة “العربية” الفضائية ليل امس بأن هناك مشروعا جديا لترميم الكنيس القائم في منطقة وادي ابو جميل، والتي كانت تعرف سابقا بوادي اليهود. وقال ان “الجالية اليهودية في لبنان ليست في حاجة الى اي دعاية وهي طائفة من الطوائف التي تشكل نسيج المجتمع اللبناني ويحق لها كغيرها ان يكون لها مكان للعبادة”. واوضح ان كلفة اعادة اعمار الكنيس ستبلغ مليون دولار، متوقعا ان يبدأ التنفيذ خلال سنة. اضاف ان المشروع التالي الذي يتطلع اليه هو ترميم مقبرة اليهود القائمة في منطقة السوديكو وليس في وسط بيروت كما تحدث البعض.
ونسبت “العربية” الى مسؤول في شركة”سوليدير” طلب عدم ذكر اسمه ان الكنيس اليهودي في وادي ابو جميل سيرمم على ايدي القيمين على الطائفة اليهودية من اللبنانيين المقيمين في لبنان اسوة بتبعية المباني الدينية في وسط بيروت وان هذا المشروع هو مشروع خاص، نافيا ان تكون “سوليدير” قد تكفلت بتمويل عملية الترميم المزمع القيام بها او وعدت به.
واكد المسؤول الاعلامي في “حزب الله” حسين رحال ان احدا لم يتصل بالحزب للسؤال عن موضوع ترميم الكنيس اليهودي في وادي ابو جميل، مشيرا الى ان “حزب الله” لا علاقة له بهذا الامر وليس الجهة المعنية للتنسيق معه وان الجهة الوحيدة المعنية هي الدولة اللبنانية. وقال انه اذا رغبت الجالية اليهودية في الاتصال بـ”حزب الله” للوقوف على رأيه، عندئذ سيعبر الحزب عن موقفه.

النهار

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President Michel Suleiman stressed the importance of “more effective participation” of Francophone countries in peacekeeping missions.

In his address to the summit, Suleiman supported efforts to consolidate a fair and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

“Our people expect us to continue to work for peace and dialogue, a task that corresponds to Lebanon’s message – to become an internationally-recognized center for religious and cultural dialogue,” Suleiman said.

He expressed confidence that Francophone countries would not “slacken” in supporting an independent, sovereign, stable and prosperous Lebanon.

Suleiman stressed Lebanon’s commitment, giving full play to the role of regional and global institutions, particularly the Francophone.

The president took part in the 12th Francophone summit held in Quebec City.

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It’s with great pleasure to welcome you to our new website, please click here for a direct link

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The Jewish Yom Kippur (Eid Al-Ghofran] or the day of forgiveness that comes after Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) is one of the most valuable human message-invitation-act ever i.e. Welcoming a New Year with a forgiven and loving heart!

In a world of hatred, selfishness, interests and rejections, please accept my genuine invitation, on the Yom Kippur day, to start loving each others by knowing about each others. Those each others are all Lebanese.

In one of the only remaining multicultural country amid its environment, we are all invited first to forget about who we are and focus about what we do for the sake of our beautiful land of Cedars.

We are called to save the diversity of Lebanon before it’s too late. Otherwise, Lebanon that our grandparents and Ancestors have known won’t be Lebanon anymore…it would be something else. Less beautiful…Awful for sure.

A mission is a commitment. And the Jews Of Lebanon project is a mission of goodness.

Do we love the land of Gibran Khalil Gebran, Fairuz, Elia Abu Madi, May Arida, Edmond Safra, Maroun Naccash…Do we love the land of Cedars?

So we, the love-and-peace people of Lebanon love Lebanon. Period.

With an open -heart-soul-mind- vision, knowledge and understanding can, with no doubt, guarantee respect. Respect guarantees love. Love guarantees peace.

This is Lebanon. And it’s this Lebanon that we have to fight for: Lebanon with its diverse religions and sects.

The Jews of Lebanon, the forgotten-missing people of Lebanon, must be on the top of our concern so that the painting of Lebanon won’t remain uncompleted.

Fadi, thank you so much for your great effort. I do not know what to say. I know what I feel. Your posted photos and comments brought tears to my eyes, my cousin-Lebanese-citizen.

God’s Blessings to all.

Norma with love:)

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A blessed Rosh Hashanah and Eid al Fitr to Lebanon and the world. Dreams do become reality, for our salvation rests in our unity and wisdom.

2 years and going…

The Official Jews of Lebanon Website will be opened very soon.

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Maintenant que le gouvernement a donné son accord, que le Hezbollah a fait part de son soutien et qu’un début de financement existe, le projet de restauration de la synagogue Maghen Abraham de Beyrouth se met en branle – les travaux pouvant même être lancés au mois d’octobre.
Isaac Arazi, l’un des leaders de la communauté juive au Liban, pense que le coût de ces travaux s’élèvera à un million de dollars. Il a déjà réussi à lever 40 000 dollars, et l’on sait déjà, selon le site Bloomberg, que Solidere va payer 10 % des travaux de restauration – la compagnie ayant fait don de 150 000 dollars à chacune des 14 communautés qui souhaitaient restaurer des lieux de culte au Liban.
Et toujours selon Isaac Arazi, la famille Safra, au cœur de la communauté juive du Liban depuis les années 40, a accepté de lever les fonds une fois que les travaux seront entamés. Joseph Safra, le neveu d’Edmond Safra, interrogé par Bloomberg, a refusé de commenter ce qu’il a appelé « une affaire privée ». Enfin, deux banques suisses, dont les fondateurs ont des racines libano-juives, ont décidé d’octroyer 100 000 dollars au projet.
Prochain projet pour Isaac Arazi : la restauration du cimetière juif, où reposent près de 4 500 personnes.

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Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) — In 1983, Isaac Arazi and his wife were caught in sectarian fighting during Lebanon’s 15-year civil war. A Shiite Muslim militiaman helped the couple escape.

Arazi, a leader of Lebanon’s tiny Jewish community, sees the incident as a lesson in the Arab country’s tradition of tolerance. Now he is trying to make use of that tradition, along with the global diaspora of Lebanese Jews, in a drive to rebuild Beirut’s only synagogue, damaged during the war.

“Those who don’t have a past don’t have a future,” Arazi said to explain his push to rebuild the synagogue.

Beirut’s Maghen Abraham Synagogue opened in 1926 in Wadi Abou Jmil, the city’s Jewish quarter, located on the edge of west Beirut near the Grand Serai palace, where the government meets, and within walking distance of parliament.

Lebanon then was something of a haven for Jews, some of whom were the descendants of those who had fled the Spanish inquisition; it later served a similar role for refugees from Nazi Germany. With “no history of anti-Jewish tensions,” it was the only Arab country whose Jewish population rose after Israel’s creation in 1948, according to Kirsten Schulze, a lecturer at the London School of Economics and author of “The Jews of Lebanon.”

By the mid-1960s, there were as many as 22,000 Lebanese Jews, said Arazi, 65. In addition to heading the Jewish Community Council he owns a food-machinery business with 1,000 customers.

All Together

“Christians, Muslims and Jews were all living together when I was growing up,” said Liza Srour, 57. “Whenever there was a war with Israel, or tension, the government used to provide protection for us.”

That changed with the nation’s 1975-1990 civil war, as Jews fled the violence triggered by rivalries among the nation’s Christian, Muslim and Druze factions and emigrated to Europe, North and South America.

Now, Arazi said, only 100 Jews live permanently in the country, while another 1,900 go back and forth or have intermarried into other religions. Srour is the only Jew still residing in Wadi Abou Jmil.

In 1982, according to an Associated Press report at the time, Israeli shells tore through roof of Maghen Abraham as the Jewish state invaded southern Lebanon in an effort to crush Palestinian guerrillas. The synagogue has been closed ever since, its brittle entrance gate chained and padlocked. Plaster and rubble are scattered on the floor.

Political Calm

Arazi figures it will cost about $1 million to restore the synagogue. Making the effort possible is the end of an 18-month crisis between Lebanon’s political factions, the blessing of the Lebanese government, financial support from a downtown reconstruction project and acquiescence from the Shiite Hezbollah movement that fought a month-long war against Israel in 2006.

He so far has raised about $40,000 for the project, but has promises of more. Ten percent of the estimated cost will come from Solidere SAL, a company founded in 1994 by then-Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri — later assassinated in a bombing supporters blame on Syria — to rebuild the capital’s downtown.

The company has given $150,000 to each of 14 religious organizations that are restoring places of worship in Lebanon — about $2.1 million in all. “We help all the communities,” said Solidere chairman Nasser Chammaa.

The Safra family, whose Safra Group includes Brazil’s Banco Safra SA and Safra National Bank of New York and which was based in Lebanon in the 1940s as part of the Jewish community, has agreed to help fund the project once work begins, Arazi said.

Financial Help

Joseph R. Safra, nephew of Republic National Bank of New York founder Edmond Safra, said: “We do not comment on private matters.” Joseph Safra heads Arview Holdings, Inc., a New York financial-consulting and advisory firm.

Two banks in Switzerland whose founders have Lebanese- Jewish roots also agreed to provide financing, Arazi said. One of the banks has pledged $100,000 toward the synagogue’s restoration. Arazi declined to name the banks.

Even the warring factions in Lebanon’s government have blessed the project. “This is a religious place of worship and its restoration is welcome,” Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, 65, said in an interview. Hussain Rahal, a spokesman for Hezbollah, said his group — which refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist, and which the West considers a terrorist organization — also supports the restoration of Maghen Abraham.

“We respect the Jewish religion just like we do Christianity,” he said. “The Jews have always lived among us. We have an issue with Israel’s occupation of land.”

Arazi said work on the restoration is to begin next month. Meanwhile, his council is already working on plans for its next project: restoring Beirut’s Jewish cemetery, where about 4,500 people are buried.

Walking among the weeds overgrowing the cemetery’s tombstones, Arazi said: “I remember my father when I come here.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Massoud A. Derhally in Beirut at mderhally@bloomberg.net

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