Nadene Goldfoot
"There are no official statistics for the number of Christians in Lebanon today, but it's estimated that there are around 2.24 million, approximately 33% of the population. The Catholic
Major Hadad was a Christian who worked with Israel in guarding the border in the 1980-85 era. Haddad was born to a Greek Catholic family in Marjayoun. He received part of his training at Fort Benning in the United States. Born in 1936 – 14 January 1984) was a Lebanese military officer who was the founder and head of the South Lebanon Army (SLA) during the Lebanese Civil War. Originally a Major in the Lebanese Army, he defected and formed the SLA and created the separatist State of Free Lebanon backed by Israel. For years Haddad closely collaborated with and received arms and political support from Israel against Lebanese government forces, Hezbollah, and the Syrian Army. Haddad died of cancer in his house in Marjayoun.
Today, Hezbollah, the terrorist arm of Iran, has taken over Lebanon. The recent dramatic rise in cross-border exchange of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah has also had a significant impact on both Muslims and Christian civilians. There are several Christian villages near the southern border and many families have fled their homes, fearing rocket attacks, just like the Jews who have had to do the same on their side.
Originally, Politics in Lebanon was based on a sectarian power-sharing structure created on independence from France in 1943. The constitution guaranteed that all 18 religious sects in the country were ensured representation in government, the military, and the civil service.
Reflecting this, the three key government positions of president, prime minister, and speaker had to be split between a Maronite Christian, a Sunni Muslim, and a Shia Muslim.
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Hezbollah was founded partly because of Israel’s 1982 invasion and is largely a Shia Muslim group drawn from Lebanon’s south. Lebanon’s southern regions, already neglected by the Beirut government, bore the brunt of Israel’s 1982 invasion with Israeli forces remaining in parts of that region until 2000. Southern Lebanon turned into a useful recruitment base for a group such as Hezbollah which defined itself as a resistance movement. But it is inaccurate to claim Hezbollah’s support is restricted to a region or religion.
Hezbollah was established by Lebanese clerics primarily to fight the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. It adopted the model set out by Ayatollah Khomeini after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and the party's founders adopted the name "Hezbollah" as chosen by Khomeini. Since then, close ties have developed between Iran and Hezbollah. The organization was created with the support of 1,500 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) instructors,
While it is the dominant Shia force in Lebanon’s politics, it also enjoys support from other Lebanese who perceive it as the only force providing effective opposition to the Israeli incursion.
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Is Hezbollah part of the Lebanese government? Hezbollah has risen to become the most influential political organization in Lebanon but operates largely without accountability. It probably could take over the Lebanese state by force, but it is far more effective to exercise power in Lebanon’s weak state without taking on responsibilities of office.
3) Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps pledges ‘Israel would pay for the bloodshed’ of an IRGC Adviser who was killed in an alleged Israeli strike in Syria, earlier this week.
https://embraceme.org/christians-in-lebanon#:~:text=There%20are%20no%20official%20statistics,country%20(about%201%20million).
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/08/lebanons-politics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj1wp9ZSueA
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