Lebanon's Leaders 'Out of Touch with Reality'
by Khaled Abu Toameh • August 1, 2022 at 5:00 am
The Lebanese authorities are accusing Bishop al-Hajj of treason for bringing money to the poor and the sick, at a time when Iran is delivering -- through Hezbollah -- money and weapons to be used in the next war against Israel.
The money and the weapons that the Iranians are sending to Lebanon are designed to strengthen the mullahs' control over the country. Iran, incidentally, is already occupying three other Arab countries: Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
"In our days, a bishop is being arrested and interrogated as if he was a foreign agent, while Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is received with full honor." — Joseph Abu Fadel, Lebanese political analyst, Twitter, July 19, 2022.
[T]he Lebanese people are being forced to seek aid from their families and relatives in Israel "because of the failure of the Lebanese states at all levels." — Alain Dargham, reporter for MTV Lebanon News, Twitter, July 21, 2022.
The Christians who fled to Israel did so out of fear for their lives and the lives of their families. They ran away from the terrorism and intimidation of Hezbollah and other terrorist groups.
If the Christian families living in Israel are able to send money and medicine to their relatives in Lebanon, it shows that those who moved to Israel are doing much better than the Christians they left behind in Lebanon.
Bishop al-Hajj is not a traitor. He is a hero to his community and the rest of the Lebanese people.
Iran and Hezbollah are afraid that such aid would open the eyes of the Lebanese people and make them realize that Israel is not their enemy. God forbid, they may even see that life in Israel is not so bad after all -- and that their Israeli neighbors are prepared to help them.
The leaders of Lebanon, who have to report to their masters in Tehran, are evidently seeking to keep their people living in misery and poverty. The leaders are worried that if the people lead good and comfortable lives, they will stop thinking about violence and jihad (holy war) against Israel because they would have a lot to lose. The leaders also want their people to continue living in misery and poverty so that they can shift the blame for it to Israel.
For the past few years, the failed state of Lebanon has been experiencing one of its worst economic, political and social crises in recent history due to years of political strife and economic downfall. Yet instead of focusing their efforts on finding ways to end the crisis, the Lebanese authorities and leaders are spending their time intimidating those who seek to alleviate the suffering of the Lebanese people.
That is what happened recently with a senior Christian figure from Lebanon who tried to help the Lebanese people by providing them with money and medicine.
Last week, the cleric, Maronite Archbishop Musa al-Hajj, was detained and interrogated for several hours by the Lebanese security forces on suspicion of attempting to deliver cash and medicine to families in Lebanon. In any other country, al-Hajj would have been praised and rewarded for his charitable work and good deeds.
