Beirut synagogue restored to glory, despite tensions with Israel

Restoring an ancient building for a community which no longer exists does not show tolerance. It shows an ulterior motive. The same as Ahmedinajad saying that he's not against Jews, just against Jewish self-determination... and looking to prove it by wheeling out a few token Jews who are kept in Iran like zoo animals to pretend that there is a viable of their community. The Lebanese Jews who remain are only a handful and are not having Lebanese Jewish children. Jews thrived under a Christian Lebanon. But Hezbollah abducted and murdered 4 prominent community leaders in the 80's . That tells you their levels of tolerance.

Hezbollah is now officially more tolerant and reasonable than the ADL and American conservatives.

Lebanese Jews were the only community in the Arabic-speaking countries which actually GREW after Israel's establishment in 1948. They left as a result of civil war which affected all of us Lebanese, Christian, Muslim and Jew alike. The Lebanese stance against Israel is not a stance against Jews. Zionists love to deliberately confuse the two because if they can equate Israel with Jews, then they can attack legitimate criticism of Israel as anti-Semitism. Lebanese are not against Jews! We are against Zionism. Jew, you are in fact our brothers, in blood. We are northern Canaanites (ie. Phoenicians), you Jews are southern Cannanites (ie Hebrews). The only people closer to you than us are the Palestinians, who are in fact Arabized Hebrews of the Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Samaritan faiths. Palestinians are Hebrews nonetheless, and are thus the same population as you. So we Lebanese are your brothers, but Palestinians are not your brothers. Palestinians are part and parcel of you. Don't let the ethnic identity, language and current religions (Islam, Christianity, Samaritanism) veneer of the Palestinians deceive you. They are you! We Lebanese are also Arabized in culture and language, and Christianized and Islamized in religion. That doesnt change our genes. We are your brothers. The languages and identities of nationalities in the Middle East today are merely veneers of the latest foreign rulers. We stopped speaking Phoenician (our sister language to Hebrew) when we adopted Aramaic. Then we stopped speaking Aramaic when we adopted Arabic. Remember that always. We are your brothers The next closest people to you after Palestinians, then us Lebanese, are the Jordanian Jordanians (as opposed to Jordanians of Palestinian descent). These are your cousins. Iraqis are your second cousins. Egyptians are still of the genes of their ancient Egyptian ancestors, and they are your neighbour. We all are Arabic-speaking now, that means zilch in terms of where we came from, and who we are genetically. Linguistically, culturally, and in pan-Arab identity, we are one, but in genes we are all different peoples. In genes, we are still who our ancestors were.

I really hope that one day we'll start seeing Lebanese Jews back to their land ... Lebanese people are great. tolerant and hold a "special" love for Lebanon, and the Jews (like any other confession) are more than welcome 2 come back, they all love Lebanon and were obliged to leave for one reason or another... however, we'll keep hoping for peace... it's about time!

While Americans debate the sensitivity of a proposed Manhattan community center, Lebanese are restoring a synagogue. No one is questioning the sensitivity of the project. The Israeli assault on Lebanon killed more than 1000 Lebanese and destroyed parts of Beirut back in 2006. A spokesman for Hezbollah, Hussain Rahal, said his group supported the restoration of Maghen Abraham: “We respect the Jewish religion just like we do Christianity. The Jews have always lived among us. We have an issue with Israel's occupation of land.” Hezbollah is sounding more moderate than elements in the far right in the US.

My father and dozen of his cousens and friends studied in the American Univercity in Berut during the early 4os. They have nice memories about the city and its people. I think that these amazing picture are the direct call for peace agriment!

Why does anyone bother answering Durston is beyond me. It only encourages her.

I hope that one day I shall see this synagogue, in the city of the mother's birth. I am practicing my Arabic, hopefully not in vain. (Both for lack of political restraint and from the recent reports of the dearth of Arabic speaking children in Lebanon)

I wonder what kind of artefacts will be placed there?

Seems to me that there is more religious tolerance in lebanon then there is in the city of New York.

if there are no Jews?

Like the beautiful restoration of the mosque (Abu Hasan) between Tel Aviv-Jaffa

I don't "appear to believe". I grew up Jewish in Eastern Europe. The reality of my neighborhood then, as well as Israel's neighborhood today is the same - you die today so that I may live until tomorrow. It's the "averbotl" Western Jews that can afford a leisurely contemplation of the difference between belief and reality/

Hopefully, one of these days, if there's a peace treaty between Israel and Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, we could see cross-border visits where Mizrahi Israelis could come and see the places where their ancesstors lived for centuries, and Plaestinian refugees could go see (but not necessarily live) their ancestral land as well. I, for one, dream and hope to be able to one day be able to drive along the coast from Lebanon all the to Alexandria.

You see what we can do. Why can't you try too!

There are Jews in Lebanon????? Sometimes I refuse to understand my own people. With Israel next door, why would I wanna live amongst people who hate me implicitly, biologically, at the DNA level?

What an amazing synagogue, I wish I could go there