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    • Michael Freund on the history of Jewish belonging in South Lebanon
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    Michael Freund on the history of Jewish belonging in South Lebanon

    Umito Posted on

    As the IDF fights to rid southern Lebanon of Hezbollah terroristsit is worth highlighting a fascinating historical fact, which many seem to have forgotten.

    Having grown up with an international border between the Jewish state and our northern neighbors, we take it for granted that it has always been and should be this way.

    But the truth is that the current border between Israel and Lebanon is little more than a century old and entirely artificial, a relic of a time when European colonialists fancifully drew lines on maps above ‘a bottle of cognac in smoky rooms.

    Historically speaking, southern Lebanon is actually northern Israel, and the roots of the Jewish people in this region run deep. Whether or not this can now be translated into political reality is a much more complex question, but we simply cannot deny our connection to the land.

    Indeed, in biblical times, southern Lebanon was clearly part of the Land of Israel. In the book of Genesis (10:19) it says: “And the borders of Canaan were from Sidon to Gerar to Gaza, and to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zevoyim to Lasha. » Sidon, a city in Lebanon, lies halfway between the current Israeli border and Beirut.

    Tourists walk at the marine castle in the port city of Sidon, southern Lebanon, October 3, 2011. (credit: REUTERS/ALI HASHISHO)

    Just before his death, our biblical patriarch Jacob blessed his 12 sons, and the blessing he gave to Zevulun was: “Zevulun will live by the sea and become a refuge for ships; its border will extend towards Sidon” (Genesis 49:13).

    The Book of Joshua (13:6) explicitly mentions Sidon as promised to the Jewish people, and it also says (19:28) that the border of the tribe of Asher extended as far as Sidon.

    INTERESTINGLY, THE midrash of Bereishit Rabbah (39:8) says that it was in Tyre, a city located today 12 miles north of the Israeli border, that God promised the Land of Israel to Abraham.

    The midrash quotes Rabbi Levi, who said: “When Abraham was passing through Aram Naharayim and Aram Nahor, he saw them eating and drinking and rejoicing. He said, “Would not my part be in this land? » When he reached the promontory of Tyre, he saw them weeding at the time of weeding, hoeing at the time of hoeing. He said, “Let my portion be in this land.” “The Creator said to him: ‘I will give this land to your descendants'” (Genesis 12:7).

    Further evidence of the Jewish connection to the region can be found in the various holy sites and tombs of the righteous in southern Lebanon.

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    The best known is the Tomb of Zevulun in Sidon, which for centuries was a place of pilgrimage for Jews from throughout the region and beyond.

    In the 16th century, the Italian Rabbi Moshe Basola visited the tomb and wrote about it, and in the mid-18th century, Rabbi Yosef Sofer said that families would gather and have festive meals next to the tomb. Rabbi Natan of Breslov described having an uplifting spiritual experience at the Tomb of Zevulun; and when Sir Moses Montefiore visited Israel in the 19th century, he also traveled to see it.

    THE GRAVE of another biblical character, Oholiav ben Ahisamakh, who helped Bezalel build the Tabernacle in the desert, is located in the village of Sojoud in southern Lebanon.

    According to Israeli archaeologist Zvi Ilan, the Oholiav burial site was an important Jewish pilgrimage site during the Ottoman period. Local Arabs also revered the site and said it was the tomb of a “Jewish prophet.” Even at the beginning of the 20th century, the Jews of Safed went to the tomb to perform the custom of Upsherina boy’s first haircut, which is common in Meron today.

    Another Jewish holy site in southern Lebanon is the tomb of the biblical prophet Zephaniah, located in the Lebanese village of Jabal Safi. Some have speculated that the name of the village comes from the prophet who was buried there.

    It is perhaps not surprising that one of the oldest synagogues in the world is located in the Harat-Al-Yahud, or Jewish quarter of Sidon. Built almost 1,200 years ago in 833, it is believed to have been built on the site of an ancient Jewish place of worship dating from shortly after the destruction of the Second Temple.

    Although no longer in use due to the emigration of most Lebanese Jews during the civil war between 1975 and 1990, it serves as a silent testimony to the long-standing Jewish presence in the region.

    How was southern Lebanon cut off from Israel?

    SO how was southern Lebanon essentially cut off from northern Israel? The origin of this division occurred a century ago.

    After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Britain and France concluded a secret agreement in 1916 called the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which effectively divided much of the Middle East into spheres of influence between London and Paris.

    Basically, a line was drawn on a map, and it was this scribble that essentially became the border between Israel and Lebanon as we know it today.

    Earlier this year, an Israeli organization called Uri Tsafon (Awake, O North) was founded with the aim of encouraging Jewish settlement in southern Lebanon, and it called on the government to act.

    While some may consider this idea far-fetched, it is worth remembering that just a century ago so was the notion of a sovereign Jewish state.

    After all, today’s dreams tend to portend tomorrow’s reality. Especially in the Middle East.

    The writer served as deputy communications director under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.



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