The Jews of Lebanon Project

Speech by JOL.org Founder:

Location: Invitation at Concordia University. Montréal , Canada.
Date: February 9, 2007.

Good evening. I want to thank you for bestowing me with the opportunity to speak to you about my cause. A cause initiated, upheld, and sustained through the steadfastness of my beliefs and resoluteness in my principles. Unwavering, undeniable, and fundamental are our most sacred rights, our human rights, our right to live a life of dignity and equality. The rights I demand for myself are the rights I solicit for others. I’m resolute in this understanding because I speak to you this evening, not as Aaron-Micael Beydoun, not as an American, not as a Lebanese, not even as a Muslim, but as a human being. So I ask those of you who have honored and privileged me in your attendance, to please join me around the table of humanity, here in the celebrated city of Montréal.

I’m not typically disposed to emotional exhibitionism but I can not help but feel the distressed seclusion of our Jewish brethren in Lebanon. My endeavor was inaugurated from my personal sense of obligation, my refusal to accept that another brother and partner in the modus operandi , the message we call Lebanon was misplaced from the delicate equation. I will not believe that we have become so blinded as to forget our own people at the expense of the hollow political and ideological slogans paraded in the name of the so-called causes in the capitals of the region and around the world. I ask the purported leaders of the world, what is nobler than this cause? What is more honorable than the cause of humanity? The cause we subscribe to is universally applicable, and the formula we are trying to replenish and renovate in Lebanon is example for the world. That living together as one people IS a possibility, that the children of our great Patriarch Abraham can live together and not in seclusion scattered in segregated countries around the world. It’s very straightforward, I respect and honor all nations and peoples of the world, and I believe all nations and all peoples deserve to live a life of security and prosperity within their own respective borders. But it is Lebanon who has the role to play, situated geographically, culturally, religiously, and ideologically, at a crossroads. Some classify this as the problem in Lebanon, yet I see them as the problem. A history of over 6000 years, our ancestors gave the world its alphabet, continents were named after our princesses, the first law school in the world was established in Beirut and yet what do we have to show for it today? Our Phoenician ancestors were leaders in the world and today we excel in political prostitution, cultural bankruptcy, and most deplorable, sectarian fanaticism. How long will we wait before it’s too late? We’ve practically expelled an entire community and today they are tucked away in the suburbs and villages of Lebanon. Fact is, if we fail to recognize the misdemeanor we have created, we have shamed our ancestors, disgraced our history, and have only set a precedent surely to be followed by future generations. Yesterday the Jew, who will it be tomorrow?

The earliest mention of the community is in and around 1000 BC, in the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre. According to the Bible, Solomon and Hiram, king of Tyre, shared the same language, if not the same beliefs. In 132 AD, following the Bar Kokhba revolt, several Jewish communities moved to geographical Lebanon. The Beirut synagogue was destroyed in 502 AD in the famous earthquake that demolished the town. Caliph Muawiya established a Jewish community in Tripoli, and another existed in Sidon in 922. A synagogue was built in Bhamdoun in 1915, and together with the Aley synagogue built in 1890 (which still stands practically destroyed today, it catered to the middle classes who took to the mountains in summer. Jewish communities flourished in Lebanon- in Beirut, in the mountain villages of Deir Al Qamar, Barouk, Hasbaya, etc. Jews carried typical Lebanese family names, names that Christians and Muslims also carry another subtle yet symbolic marker of the solitary resemblance between the various communities. Jews welcomed the proclamation of Greater Lebanon in 1920, and six years later, when a new Constitution came into force, they were the only Middle Eastern Jewish community to be constitutionally protected. Jewish holidays were official state holidays. Two Jewish newspapers were created during this period, Al-Alam al-Israili (the Israelite World) and Le Commerce du Levant, an economic periodical still publishing today. Those were also the years when the main Maghen Abraham synagogue that week to renovate today was built in Beirut, as were at least 10 additional synagogues. During the French mandate Jews excelled into becoming considerable economic forces contributing to the country. They established cultural, educational, and religious institutions, and at the turn of the century they strengthened their relations with non-Jews. The Jewish community was one of the first to endorse the idea that Lebanon carries a unique identity amongst its Arab surroundings. They were an essential factor, part of the common denominator that brought together the religiously diverse Lebanese people. No surprise, Beirut continuously welcomed an influx of Jews, particularly from other Arab states where Jews were harshly expelled after 1948, and even Jews from Eastern Europe, Greece, and Iran made their way to Lebanon. Lebanon was certainly a key refuge because of its liberal and tolerant attitude towards its own Jews and those seeking asylum in the country. They were and still are officially recognized by the state, and included merchants, physicians, soldiers, civil servants, bankers and craftsmen, and were once fully integrated into Lebanese economic, social, cultural and political life. Government, political, religious, and social figures used to attend all religious and formal ceremonies the community held, or would send a representative which is still customary in Lebanon. I’m very fond of an event in 1952, when Jewish celebrations still prompted multi-denominational gatherings. In 1952, 3,000 people attended a Passover ceremony in Beirut. In attendance were officials from all religious groups, including Prime Minister Sami al-Solh, Abdullah al-Yafi, MP Rashid Beydoun, Joseph Chader, one-time President Charles Helou, major independence icon, Pierre Gemayel and the Maronite-Catholic archbishop of Beirut. The broadminded atmosphere in the country allowed the community to grow to a reportedly 14,000, and Lebanon was the only Arab country who witnessed an increase in its Jewish population after 1948.

In 2002, I came across my first reference of a Jewish community in Lebanon. It was an oxymoron to me, it didn’t make sense, and I didn’t understand. I never knew what Sephardic, Mizrahi, Ashkenazi, etc even meant. Naturally, I asked questions, and they were insufficiently answered. I felt as if I had discovered a secret, a magic carpet locked away in an attic somewhere. The more I asked, the more I learned, the more I learned, the more curious I became, the more curious became, the more fascinated I became. I was only 17 years-old, trading my time from indulging in adolescence, I researched and paved the road to where I am today. 9 months of formal work with the website, and a lifetime of ignorance, I speak to you this evening with a deep sense of nostalgia for a community I never knew, and lessons in compassion I never thought comprehensible. I’m not an authority on the demographics of morality, I’m 21 years-old, but I do believe, that this is an issue that must be engaged and resolved and I refuse to succumb to forged clichés which are loosely attributed to Lebanon, the Jewish community, or even myself personally. We should never trust our intuition. Most of the generalizations and political clichés don’t show any evidence of methodical inquiry. There is the classical philosophical distinction between propositions (which can be true or false) and pseudo -propositions which have no meaning whatsoever, no truth value. Aristotle said these are forfeited ideas, things we can’t even make sense of. These are used in metaphors and figures of speech, and every day life- we say them but they don’t really make sense if we analyzed them literally or meticulously. Concern is; these “beliefs” are entertained into being truth when in reality they are fallacies, built on pure speculation and weak evaluation. I have heard offensive estimates as to how many Jews really remain in Lebanon. The most common estimate places the marker at 50, 100 by the most liberal estimate. Who are these 50 Jews? What are their names? Where do they live? Reality is, there are much more than 100 Jews living in Lebanon, some Jewish sources place the marker between 1000-1500, just this past Tuesday, I received word from the President of the Jewish community in Beirut also insinuating such a reality. I am presently working to consolidate a working relationship with the officially recognized leaders of the community so as to help as effectively and efficiently as possible. Within the next two weeks I will open a fund to help an impoverished middle-aged women named Liza Srour who lives in Beirut. She needs our help, and I ask you all to visit the site once we have established the fund. Moreover, I am personally aware of some Lebanese carry fake identities today which were easily accommodated during the civil war; fake names, religions, etc. Most disappointing are the stories of some their youth, told lies that they are of different faiths. They are told these lies by their parents to protect them, and to protect their families. These measures were mostly adopted during the 1970’s and 1980’s at the height of the chaos in Lebanon and most despicable, the sectarian killing which spared no community, no neighborhood, and no family. The Lebanese slaughtered ordinarily based on the on the premise of a person’s religion, which used to be conveniently advertised on every identification card. Local attitudes became increasingly politicized; no Lebanese was safe, whether Jew or non-Jew it was irrelevant. Today they live very quietly, and scattered mostly across Beirut and the Mount Lebanon region. We get a steady flow of messages on the site of people who are either Jewish or have Jewish neighbors and friends, or messages from people who talk about their once privileged lives in pre-war Beirut and the relations they had with Jews. Ultimately, I ask those who flaunt these premature estimates of there only being 50 Jews in Lebanon to realize that in effect, they are only hindering any attempt to help this silenced community. Frankly, a caricature of the reality is being delivered, collectively. They say there is no possibility of a Jewish renaissance in Lebanon, I think they are mistaken, and in due time, we pray this can be realized.

This project is of concern to all Jews, particularly non-Lebanese, because today, more than ever, the world needs hope. Hope that it is possible to live together, that citizens of different religious faiths and persuasions can live together in the context of their citizenship but most importantly, their values. If we fail in Lebanon we fail throughout the world, the unfortunate Jewish experience in Lebanon is not peculiar to the Jewish community as opposed to non-Jewish communities in the country or parallel to the fate of other Jews from Arab countries. The cheapest and most abundant weapons are love, let the Jews in Lebanon live and prove once again, that we can live together, that our world’s problems may be political but not communal. Likewise, I am not promoting and I’m not naïve into believing that those who left Lebanon will likely return permanently, the very basic lessons in sociological and anthropological reason is affirmative, this isn’t reason built on conjecture, but on reality. I’m not advocating a mass exodus of the Jewish people out of Montreal and back to Beirut; I’m saying we have a duty to support this initiative. For the past 3 or 4 years of my life I’ve remained steadfast in the face of paranoia, insults, skepticism and doubt, and yet I kept working and I will continue to work until we once again see the Jews of Lebanon living openly and securely. I do not believe in the nonsense of a “clash of civilizations”; religious conversion has been consistent throughout the history of the world and in Lebanon, many Christians and Muslims were likely to have been Jews at one point, we don’t have a religious problem in Lebanon we have a feudal political arrangement built on tribalism, not necessarily sectarianism. I refuse to believe that a Jewish community will not thrive again in Lebanon. They are there, they are more than a couple hundred souls like some publicize, they’re not likely to be leaving anywhere, and though it’s premature to conclude or declare anything, but the community is said to be preparing the work to repair the main Synagogue in Beirut. My role is to prepare society through awareness and education, through a grassroots mechanism.

I cannot assess local attitudes towards the idea of a Jewish community, and bluntly, I do not believe society is ready to accept a Jewish community. However, and it’s public for anyone to see, feedback to our project and site from non-Jewish Lebanese has been overwhelmingly supportive and sympathetic. From all religions and denominations, people are now asking questions, the youth are curious because they were neglected of 15 years of their youth due to civil war. It’s not a coincidence that media is now regularly reporting stories on Lebanon’s once vibrant Jewish community. Just in the last few weeks alone, over 4 articles have been published in various press, including one by the ever public and lovely, Ms. Liza Srour. I regularly receive emails of people asking how they can help, what can they do, and people around the world asking to offer financial assistance. I’ve had students in Beirut writing their doctoral theses on the community, and even filmed documentaries. Most recently, the Lebanese Government, in particular the Ministry of Culture has offered us assistance though it’s still premature to declare anything formal at this point, they are nonetheless helping me. The trends in Beirut are promising, at least within the social context, secularism and fighting sectarianism is more openly discussed and there are more and more NGO’s being established in that regard.

So where are we going? In the tangible sense, we want to see the renovation, not just the preservation, of the Maghen Abraham Synagogue in Beirut. We want to clean and maintain the Jewish cemeteries scattered across the country. We want to promote awareness since most of the youth are unaware a Jewish community ever existed, let alone, still exists. Awareness through promoting the site, promoting the project, and advertising the project will require financial assistance and we hope to soon be able to accommodate donations securely through the website.

I want to declare my intent and the intent of those in Lebanon that we plan to launch an NGO, an organization that will have the capabilities to engage and carry out this ambitious responsibility. We will compel society to listen and to learn and we are steadily penetrating the public with our message of love, tolerance, and coexistence. Undoubtedly, Lebanon is the most diverse and pluralistic country in the region, we must utilize this diversity and most importantly its liberal thinking to our advantage. We plan to engage the university campuses where the diversity and liberality is overtly manifested. Working under the umbrella of an NGO, we raise the standard of professionalism, express more determination, and provide any certification and documentation to those who seek to discredit and mislead our campaign, and they are many.

Through my modest undertaking, I hope that I can help set a precedent for more of our world’s youth and young thinkers, don’t ever compromise on your beliefs, even if the weight of the entire world is against you. No matter what your background is, no matter what you believe in, if you don’t have faith in yourself foremost, don’t expect others to have faith in you either. The world has become so polarized along trivial lines we have lost sight of who we are, where we come from, and where we are leading our lives. We are joined together this evening not by our ethnicities, cultures, or religions, but by our values and I hope that we learn to embrace and unite around common values and a common vision for our lives rather than subscribe to division and hatred which almost always, is prescribed ignorantly and adhered to blindly.

When was the last time anyone in this room was admonished to respect another person’s beliefs? We don’t respect beliefs we evaluate reasons- this is a fundamental problem. A problem with religion is it stops discussion; I’m not in any way advocating atheism, just acknowledging the importance of humility and recognizing the equal value of the other, friend or foe, and the importance of an individual regarding him or herself as a human being. Ideology has imprisoned our minds and segregated our societies but I ask: Are we morally and intellectually equipped to deal with the growing and changing human knowledge in the context of unchanging human needs? I think no. But I believe that this endeavor is a strand within the fabric that will soon wipe away the ambiguous iniquity that has stained our world.

Our most valued possession as human beings are our rights; inalienable, undeniable, and unconditionally permissible. By no coincidence one of the authors of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is from Lebanon, Dr. Charles Malek.

Partnership is the essence of good citizenship. What we seek is a Jewish community that is an active participant in public life, with a promising future enriched by participation, a future that holds hope for peace and love for all.

I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here this evening, I’m truthfully humbled.

God Bless and Thank you.