In Lebanon, A Quest for Rabbi, Community
August 5th, 2007 at 12:33 amIn Lebanon, A Quest for Rabbi, Community
From Sun-Sentinel Ft. Lauderdale - 11/10/1996
RODEINA KENAAN The Associated Press
Joseph Mizrahi, temporal leader of Lebanon’s Jews, sips Turkish coffee in the garden of his elegant house in this mountain resort town and talks about his dreams.
“I want a rabbi for our shrunken community. That will help it grow anew,” he says. “And I long for a definite word about seven kidnapped Lebanese Jews whose fate still is in doubt. These are the two things I want most.” The kidnapping spree in the mid-1980s was the ultimate terror that decimated Lebanon’s once-flourishing Jewish community. It numbered 8,000 before the 15-year civil war broke out in 1975. Now there are about 80. The Jews’ gradual exodus, prompted initially by the downturn in commerce from the war, sped into headlong flight when Jews suddenly were targeted by Shiite Muslim extremists.
Mizrahi, a prosperous electrical engineer, was the first Jew to be abducted - on March 26, 1984. He was quickly released, but three months later his elder brother, Raoul, was grabbed from his Beirut office. His body was dumped on a street in the city’s Muslim sector a few days later. “There were ugly scars of torture all over his body, and we could not even give him a decent burial,” Mizrahi said. There was no rabbi to conduct the funeral. The last one fled after the civil war started. And Beirut’s Jewish cemetery was right on the Green Line that split Beirut into warring Muslim and Christian sectors. “We had to brave shell fire and drive all the way to Sidon. We buried him in the Jewish cemetery there,” said Mizrahi.
The port city of Sidon, 25 miles south of Beirut, was one of several Lebanese cities and towns where Jews once lived among Muslims and Christians. Now they live only in the Christian heartland north of Beirut, Mizrahi said. In all, 11 Lebanese Jews were kidnapped and apparently killed during the hostage-taking spate. The bodies of only four, including Raoul Mizrahi, were recovered. All had been tortured. The Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, an extremist Shiite faction, claimed it abducted and killed most of them. It accused them of spying for Israel, an allegation that Mizrahi vehemently denies.
“Those Lebanese victims - and I insist that they are Lebanese - are mostly aged, highly respected, learned and valued citizens of this country. Kidnapping them because they are Jews is unpardonable,” he said.
He distances himself and his community from Israel, which occupies 10 percent of Lebanon in an enclave north of the Israeli border. “When a Jew lives among Arabs in a country as near to Israel as Lebanon, this is a strong indicator that he doesn’t want to have anything to do with Israel,” Mizrahi said.
The seven missing Jews are among at least 3,000 Lebanese of all faiths whose fates remain unknown, years after they were kidnapped by various factions.
“In the absence of corpses, we still consider them missing and want to appeal to the kidnappers, be they the Oppressed on Earth Organization or others, to deliver them dead or alive,” Mizrahi said. At least 92 foreigners were taken hostage during the 1980s. Eleven of them are known or presumed to have died or been killed in captivity. The rest were set free after imprisonments ranging from a few days to seven years. Shiite guerrillas have proved they can keep the remains of captives for a long time. On July 21, they released the remains of two Israeli soldiers who were ambushed a decade ago. But that was part of a complicated exchange of live and dead prisoners held by both sides.
Mizrahi, 56, and his Portuguese-born wife, Aida, have two daughters - Sarah, 11, and Lara, 5. Nearly all the other Jews are elderly, with neither the means nor desire to build new lives abroad. Many survive on donations from the Jewish Council, headed by Mizrahi.
Mizrahi says his tiny community observes the basic rituals of Judaism, but it is difficult without a rabbi.
“I can lead the community only on civil matters such as matrimonial law, birth certificates and burial services.”he said. “Religious affairs need a rabbi”.
“We eat only kosher meat. But since we don’t have a rabbi to oversee the slaughter, we import kosher meat from Syria and Europe.”
Sandrinou Said,
August 7, 2007 @ 12:31 pm
When I first started visiting this website, I read articles that said Jews lived very well in Lebanon, which jewish community was the only one in the arab world that kept on growing after the creation of Israel.
I also read at several occasions that Israel bombarded the synagogue of Beirut, and that was the initial reason for the exodus towards Europe or the US.
Now, I read it’s shiite extremism…
Where are we going exactly with this ?
Administration Said,
August 7, 2007 @ 5:31 pm
Jews lived very well in Lebanon, they were the only constitutionally protected Jewish community in the Arab world and they were the only community to retain their jobs, whether in the civil service or otherwise, after the establishment of Israel where we witnessed much harsher circumstances in other countries. They were integrated politically, socially, and economically and this isn’t based on heresy but on fact. Please refer to the history section of this website where you will find statements by Jewish leaders only reaffirming this.
Regarding “Shiite extremism” true this article makes this insinuation, but nonetheless it’s imperative people don’t get confused or mislead. According to many accounts, including interviews on this website, Jews and Shiites were exceptionally close, and again, this is undisputed.
However, during the civil war in Lebanon extremism was rampant, and crimes were committed against all Lebanese, no community was immune to killings, bombings, and kidnappings. Regretfully, extremists found refuge in practically every large community in Lebanon.
I just want to make notice that we’re not “going anywhere with this”, we’re not propagating any assumptions. And I thank you for raising this issue because today, when propaganda is afire in Lebanon and the media, and where we are witnessing once again the demonizing of religious communities, we need to reaffirm that we hold the Lebanese citizenship very close, and this includes all Lebanese- Jews, Christians, and Muslims- regardless of the denomination.
Sandrinou Said,
August 9, 2007 @ 2:51 pm
Thx for the clarification. And as you said, better to raise issues like this than to let people wonder what kind of media with what kind of motivation. It may be a good idea, if I may suggest it, to add footnotes to articles you post here, with your own comments or “moderation”.
Anyways, keep up the good work.
Cheers.
Sandrine
Sandrinou Said,
August 9, 2007 @ 3:08 pm
Another question.
Is there a realistic horizon for the renovation of the Synagogue ? And some kind of celebration to put all this on track, are there serious discussions or steps being taken in Lebanon right now?
Do we expect something soon or is it better to wait for all the turmoil in Lebanon end - if ever ?
Thx again.
Ramzi Said,
August 10, 2007 @ 7:23 am
Great article? such articles are probably the only way of tracking the history of the community. Where are you finding them? Is J. Mizrahi still the leader of the communityd? is he still in Lebanon?
Tara Said,
August 12, 2007 @ 9:27 pm
Israel “occupies 10 percent of Lebanon?” What kind of yellow journalism is this?
Sandrinou Said,
August 13, 2007 @ 1:02 am
Hey Tara,
sorry to break the news for you but at the time Israel did occupy that much of Lebanon, and still occupies some parts of it. That’s just a fact.
Leila Hatoum Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 11:36 am
yo Tara,
as Sandrine said, the 10 % was then.. today, israel, according to the israeli government’s own words, continues to occupy the lebaense northern part of the town of Ghajar, South Lebanon. as for other territories like Shebaa Farms and Kfarshouba Hills, israel claims they belong to syria, syria says these are not syrian territories and lebanon is saying the (Shebaa Farms& Kfarshouba Hills) are Lebanese.. now we are waiting for the UN cartographer to resolve the issue.. hopefully soon.
either way, and back to the original topic, I used to see Mr. youssef Mizrahi on my way to work between 2002 and 2004, and every morning he used to burn nice inscents infront of his shop.. lovely smell in the morning… after that he sold his shop and disappeared. If any of you know anything about him, I would love to know that he is ok
bahour Ez-Zein Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 7:30 pm
hello Rabbi its first time in my life know in lebanon you can see jewish
i want to meet to any body jew im live in lebanon
mcshabetai Said,
August 30, 2007 @ 12:19 am
Nice to hear about your Jewish community. I was born in England and now live in Israel. You mentioned that u wanted no connection with israel. I have no problem with that.I think that what u said about gods greatest creation being mankind is correct and thus instead of looking for differences we should embrace each other. The press can misguide as it looks for sensation but I can tell u that I have druse, muslim ,christian and Bedouin frends and oh yes I also have jewish friends. I have been told that yours is a most beautiful country .
I have a blog site http://hereinisrael.blogspot.com/ and wanted to know if I could advertise and quote your website there as I think it would be of interesting reading for my viewers. either way good luck to your community.
By the way there was a very interesting spot every night on the news here during the war. A young woman from Beruit wrote about her life and views during the war via the internet. Strange as it may sound most Israelis were sypathetic to what happened to fellow civilians in Lebonon.
Omar Said,
September 26, 2007 @ 11:38 am
Hello Mcshabetai. Nice of you to drop by. Yes, Lebanon is a beautiful country. Even during the summer war, I was there. Since you live in Israel, you have an idea how the look and feel of Lebanon might be to you. They almost have the same way of housing and vegetation. The only bummer, though, is the current security and political affairs within the country, especially with the presidential election coming up.
It is a good idea to publicize the Jews of Lebanon, but that’s only for the administration to judge. Hopefully, you’ll get a response soon.
HaShan’nah tow’vah wa Ramado’an kari’ym to all.
Omar Said,
September 26, 2007 @ 11:40 am
And interesting know that we still have Jews in Lebanon. If only we could practically rebuild the communities and assigning Rabbis or Rebbes for them.