"So what is Hezbollah?" they ask, posing the question to anyone who will confirm the Zionists' claim it is a terrorist organisation, and dragging reluctant Lebanese into a war against Israel on Iran's behalf. Such people are two-a-penny amongst the Western commentariat, but now as rare as hen's teeth in Beirut, except perhaps in the American University of Beirut. In asking this question on September 24th, and immediately following Israel's 'shock and awe' targeting and killing hundreds of citizens in South Lebanon, SBS News chose Makram Rabah from the AUB, recording the interview below: (Also on his X account here)
A little investigation quickly reveals that Makram Rabat has become notorious in Lebanon for his virulent attacks on Hezbollah, and accused of being an Israeli agent. That article from Al Monitor, itself a suspect and partial source, is posted by the Samir Kassir Foundation, which monitors the rights and abuses of journalists in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. Rabat also has an association with the notorious Washington Institute for Near East Policy - WINEP. So we must ask - why would any news agency select a notoriously anti-Hezbollah academic and 'political activist' to interview on the most critical question at this moment? It should be explained that since Israel turned its cyber war machine on Lebanon with the unprecedented mass terrorist attack of exploding pagers, there has been significant interest in establishing whether such an attack could be justified as a selective attack on 'Hezbollah' fighters and agents. With an underlying realisation that one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter, the enquiries from Western media have focused on discovering local opinion on Hezbollah. It must be acknowledged that if Hezbollah is found to be very well supported by the local population, and without any sign that they are under duress to say so, then we must accept their viewpoint as valid - a 'vox pop' so to speak. In fact there should be no need to even ask such a question, at least for sensible informed observers; respect for Hezbollah is deep and widespread, thanks to its community services and principled pursuit of fair treatment, along with dedication to fight to protect Lebanon from aggressive foreign entities and exploitation. There may be a problem for those who have supported the foreign war on Syria - including Lebanese from Tripoli in the North, but recent events have helped them forget their differences, and particularly the savage exploding pager and walkie talkie attacks, which injured thousands of mostly 'civilian' people. It was widely noted that people from all sects and areas volunteered to give blood following the shockingly barbaric attack - as is the case with most conflicts, opposition draws them closer together. While there are numerous examples of Western journalists asking how much support Hezbollah has in the country, and increasingly treated with contempt as thousands of innocent people are wounded in Israel's attacks, there is one new case of such offensive questioning that breaks all bounds for its sheer criminality - an interview conducted by one of Australia's greatest friends of 'Israel', Sharri Markson. Reminding us that it is just two months since the missile attack on Majdal Shams which killed twelve Druze children, Markson found the mother of one murdered little girl to speak about her personal "Unnecessary tragedy" following "Hezbollah's terror strike":
I have of course written about this before, verifying beyond any reasonable doubt that the missile responsible for the atrocity did not come from Hezbollah, but also asserting that circumstantial evidence - timing and benefits ensuing for Israel - suggested very strongly that it was an intentional attack by the IOF, apparently using a missile similar to the Iron Dome missiles which Israel was firing off in the area. The most significant point in this horrific interview - which violently abuses the victim without her knowledge - is just that; almost everyone in the village of Majdal Shams believes their children were killed by a misfired Iron Dome rocket, while none would think to blame Hezbollah, even for an accidental strike. Hezbollah even avoids killing Israeli civilians, and has an impressive record for successful targeting of military assets. It could be seen from the townspeople's reaction to the visit of Ben Gvir and Netanyahu that they hold Israel fully responsible, yet few seem to appreciate that the attack was intentional.
DM 26th September 2024