From Beirut to Jerusalem

Also known as the Kataeb, the Phalanges are a Lebanese political party historically focused on advancing the interests of its Christian Maronite community and restricting the political power of Muslims and Druse (members of an esoteric religious sect prevalent in the Levant). The party was founded in 1936 by Pierre Gameyel, the name intentionally borrowed from the Spanish Falange Party of Francisco Franco, a party with both fascist and traditional Catholic elements. Under Pierre’s sons, Bashir and Amin, the Phalanges held on to the formal institutions of state power through much of the Lebanese Civil War but struggled to control the city of Beirut, with the army often relying on private militias for support. After Bashir’s assassination in 1982 and the ineffective rule of Amin, the party went into decline, although it continues to play a role in Lebanese politics and retains seats in its Parliament. It maintains some popularity among those who resent the increased role of the Shi’a militia Hezbollah, which not only holds positions in government but also retains a private militia. The party remains under the leadership of the Gemayel family.

Meaning “the Party of God,” Hezbollah is a Shi’a militant group based in southern Lebanon. They make a handful of appearances throughout Friedman’s book as severe religious fanatics who impose a strict version of Islamic law on the sections of Beirut under their control. They claimed to be fighting for the welfare of Lebanon’s traditionally marginalized Shi’a community, but since their formation in 1982 they have had close ties with the Shi’a theocratic government in Iran and were largely understood to have represented Iran’s interests in the Lebanese Civil War. While this was not clear at the time of Friedman’s writing, it is now generally accepted that they bore at least partial responsibility for the attack on the US Marines barracks in October 1983. After the end of the civil war in 1990, Hezbollah refused to disarm, citing the continued presence of Israel in southern Lebanon. Ever since, they have continued to pose a military threat to Israel, while so sponsoring and conducting many terrorist attacks against Jews around the world. Hezbollah also operates as a political party in Lebanon, providing a host of social services and sending delegates to its national parliament.

Meaning “Bloc of the Faithful,” this was an ultra-Orthodox movement within Judaism that took shape in the aftermath of the Six-Day War. Israeli forces occupied the Arab-majority territories of the West Bank and Gaza, and Gush Emunim argued that, as part of the biblical Israel, that land belonged to the Jews, and only when Jews came to populate the entire area would the Messiah return. Gush Emunim sponsored waves of settlers to seize portions of Palestinian land, and a movement known as the Jewish Underground was motivated by Gush Emunim ideology when it attempted to bomb the Al-Aqsa Mosque (also known as the Dome of the Rock) in Jerusalem. The movement itself fell apart in the wake of the failed plot, but its ideology continues to exercise enormous influence in Israeli society, and the settler movement has continued to expand.