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There have been ties between Lebanon and Jews dating back to Biblical times. Solomon preferred Lebanon's cedars for building the great temple. Jews in what is now Lebanon experienced relative toleration under Ottoman rule. The same continued to be the case under thecFrench mandate (1922-43), except during the Vichy period. After World War II the relative toleration continued, in part because of the importance of Christians in the Lebanese government. At the time that the first Israeli-Palestinian War (1948-49), there were about 6,000 Jews in Beirut. (WE have noted higher numbers in various sources.) Lebanese Jews at the time did not feel endangered. Many led propsperous lives in Lebanon. They enjoyed full legal rights under the Lebanese Constitution. There were anti-Zionist demonstrations, but the country's Jews were not targetted (1947-48). Public attitudes gradually began to change, partivularly among Muslim Lebanese. Muslims began to associate Lebanese Jews with Israeli policies. The main synagogue was bombed (early 1950s). The Lebanese Chamber of Deputies conducted debates on the status of Lebanese Jewish army officers. The Deputies decided unanimously to expel Jews from the Lebanese Army. As a result of the rising anti-Semitism in the Arab world, Lebanese Jews began leaving the country. The Lebanese Government assigned guards to Beirut's Jewish quarter to protect them from therising hostility. Many left after the Six Days War (1967). Lebanese Jews, unlike Jews in many Arab countries, were allowed to freely leave the country with their possessions until 1972.
Civil war broke out between Christians and Muslims (1975). There was a great deal of fighting around the Jewish Quarter in Beirut. Homes, businesses, and synagogues were damaged. Most of the relatively few remainging Jews (about 1,800 people) fled Lebanon and the Syrian presence (1976). Most Lebanese Jews went to Europe (largely France), the United States and Canada. Relatively few went to Israel. Hizballah gunmen kidnapped several prominent Beirut Jews. They were mostly leaders of the small Jewish community. Four were subsequently found murdered. The Khaybar Brigades and the Organization of the Oppressed of the Earth claimed responsibility for actins against Lebanese Jews (1984-87). A few elderly Jews remain in Beirut, but are unable to practice their religion.
There have been ties between Lebanon and Jews dating back to Biblical times. Understsnding the relations of the early Hebrews and Lebanon is complicated, in part because the names of Biblical people are often not the same as the modern terms. The very word Bible has Phonecian roots. It is derived from the Phoenician city Byblos which had nearby papyrus growing area, Byblos was the source of thev the Greek word for book and asa result the name of the Bible. Presumably the Philistines describes in the Bible are the Phonecians. Lebanese cedars were prized by the Egyptians and Solomon preferred them for building the great temple.
Jews in what is now Lebanon experienced relative toleration under Ottoman rule.
The same toleration continued to be the case under the French mandate (1922-43), except during the Vichy period. Lebanese Jews made considerable economic progress under French rule. The French introduced secular law to Lebanon in which there were no religious restrictions. Lebanese Jews developed special relations with Pierre Gemayel’s Phalangist Party (Kataib). They played a role in organizing the Young Phoenicians. [Schulze, pp. 48, 52.] The exception to thec tolerance of French officials occurred was during the Vichy era (1940-41). Officials began to implement Vichy restrictions on Jews. I do not believe there were any roundups, howver, before the Free French and British drove out Vichy authorities (1941). Lebanese Jews during the Mandate period seem to have developed an affinity for France. The Jewish Alliance schools taught in the French language and promoted French culture culture among Jews . [Schulze]
After World War II Lebanese independence the relative toleration continued, in part because of the importance of Christians in the Lebanese government. At the time that the first Israeli-Palestinian War (1948-49), there were about 6,000 Jews in Beirut. (We have noted higher numbers in various sources.) Lebanese Jews at the time did not feel endangered. Many led propsperous lives in Lebanon. They enjoyed full legal rights under the Lebanese Constitution. Wadi Abu Jamil, or "the Jewish Street," was the center of Jewish lifev in Beirut. There were comparable neighborhoods for Sunnis, Shiites, Orthodox Greeks, Syriacs, etc. This was the basic demographic arrangement of Leventine cities. There was little attraction to the Zionist effort in Palestine. Records of the Jewish Agency in Palestine conform this. Few Jews left Lebanon fpr Palestine. There were 14 synagogues in Beirut. Jews on the kibbutzim in Palestine had few amenities. There were Arab attacks on Jews in Palestine. Basic services such as electricity, water and telephone were poor compared to prosperous Lebanon. Lebanese Jews spoke Arabic and French. Their Hebrew was usually weak. Lebanese Jews included famous doctors, like neurologist and Community Council President Joseph Attieh, who represented Lebanon in international medical conferences during the 1950s and 1960s. Jews included many prominant physcians, journalists, bankers and merchants. [Schulze]
There were anti-Zionist demonstrations in Lebanon , but the country's Jews were not targetted (1947-48). Lebanese Jews were different from Jews in most other Arab countries. They identified with Lebanon and were to a substantial degree Arabized and Leventine. They saw their future in Lebanon. There was relarively little interest in Zionism and Israel. They saw Lebanon as a multi-cultural, pluralistic society committed to religious tolerance. [Schulze] Lebanese Jews published a newspaper in Arabic, a sign of the degree to which they had become Arabized. The numbers of Jews in Arab countries began decreasing in the 1940s, especially after the First Israeli-Palestinian War (1948-49). This was not the case in Lebanon. The number of Jews appears to have actually doubled in Lebanon to about 14,000. This occurred because many Syrian and Iraqi Jews sought refugein Lebanon. Lebanese authorities allowed them to enter without restrictions. [Schulze]
Public attitudes gradually began to change, particularly among Muslim Lebanese. Muslims began to associate Lebanese Jews with Israeli policies. The main synagogue was bombed (early 1950s). The Lebanese Chamber of Deputies conducted debates on the status of Lebanese Jewish army officers. The Deputies decided unanimously to expel Jews from the Lebanese Army. As a result of the rising anti-Semitism in the Arab world, Lebanese Jews began leaving the country.
The Lebanese Government assigned guards to Beirut's Jewish quarter to protect them from therising hostility. Many left after the Six Days War (1967). Lebanese Jews, unlike Jews in many Arab countries, were allowed to freely leave the country with their possessions until 1972.
Leftist MP Najah Wakim attacked Prime Minister Rafik Hariri for permitting Jews to buy shares in Solidere, the company in charge of the rebuilding process following the Civil War. Hizballah gunmen kidnapped several prominent Beirut Jews. They were mostly leaders of the small Jewish community. Four were subsequently found murdered. The Khaybar Brigades and the Organization of the Oppressed of the Earth claimed responsibility for actins against Lebanese Jews (1984-87). A few elderly Jews remain in Beirut, but are unable to practice their religion.
Schulze, Kirsten E. The Jews of Lebanon: Between Coexistance and Conflict
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