Conflict on Mount Lebanon: The Druze, the Maronites and Collective Memory

336 Pages·2020·9.322 MB·English

by  Makram Rabah

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ALTERNATIVE HISTORIES: NARRATIVES FROM
o
THE MIDDLE EAST AND MEDITERRANEAN n Conf lict on Mount
Series editor: Sargon Donabed f
l
i
‘This is an original and revealing look at the people and events surrounding the c Lebanon
Lebanese Civil War and the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Makram Rabah has t

collected a staggering amount of evidence to lay bare the connections between the o
Druze and Maronites, and has produced unrivalled character studies of the two n
leading figures, Bashir Gemeyal and Walid Junblat, their fathers, families and M
followers. Readers will thank Rabah for conducting hundreds of interviews with The Druze, the Maronites and
individuals who experienced the period and its upheavals first hand.’ o
Michael Provence, University of California u Collective Memory
n
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Explores the underlying reasons for the conflict between
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the Druze and the Maronites of Lebanon e MAKRAM RABAH
b
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The Druze and the Maronites – arguably the two founding communities of modern
n
Lebanon – have the reputation of being primordial enemies. Makram Rabah
o
attempts to gauge the impact of collective memory on determining the course and
n
the nature of the conflict between these communities in Mount Lebanon. He takes
as his focus the ‘War of the Mountain’ in 1982, reconstructing the events of this
war through the framework of collective remembrance and oral history and he
challenges the idea that these group identities were constructed by their respective
centres of power within the Maronite and Druze community, providing an
alternative to the prevailing meta-narrative.
Telling the stories of the many people who took part in these events, or who simply
suffered as a consequence, helps to expose the intrinsic motives which led to this
conflict and makes a valuable contribution to the field of Lebanese historical
scholarship. M
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Key Features K
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• Introduces an innovative lens and framework (collective memory) for A
understanding sectarian and communal hostilities: equally applicable to other M
disputes including the current Sunni–Shiite conflict in the region R
• Employs new methodologies as well as interdisciplinary approaches to the A
B
Lebanese conflict, from memory studies, anthropology and oral history A
• Uses untapped primary and secondary sources, paving the way for further H
research on collective memory and conflict
• Draws on extensive interviews with many of those involved in or affected by
the conflict
• Presents collective memory as a reason for conflict, challenging the view that
equates Lebanese civil strife with sectarianism or foreign intervention
Makram Rabahis a Lecturer of History at the American University of Beirut.
He is also the author of A Campus at War: Student Politics at the American
University of Beirut 1967–1975(2009).
Cover image: Sheikh Abu Hani Melhem Khaddaj, Kfarmatta Mount Lebanon, February 1984
(Progressive Socialist Party Archive) 
ISBN 978-1-4744-7417-7
edinburghuniversitypress.com ALTERNATIVEHISTORIES:NARRATIVESFROMTHEMIDDLEEASTANDMEDITERRANEAN
CONFLICT ON
MOUNT LEBANON
Alternative Histories: Narratives from the Middle East and Mediterranean
Series Editor: Sargon Donabed
This series provides a forum for exchange on a myriad of alternative histories
of marginalised communities and individuals in the Near and Middle East and
Mediterranean, and those of Middle Eastern or Mediterranean heritage. It also high­
lights thematic issues relating to various native peoples and their narratives and – with
particular contemporary relevance – explore encounters with the notion of ‘other’
within societies. Often moving beyond the conventional state­centred and dominant
monolithic approach, or reinterpreting previously accepted stories, books in the
series examine and explain themes from inter­communal relations, environment,
health and society, and explore ethnic, communal, racial, linguistic and religious
developments, in addition to geopolitics.
Editorial Advisory Board
Professor Ali Banuazizi
Dr Aryo Makko
Professor Laura Robson
Professor Paul Rowe
Professor Hannibal Travis
Books in the Series (Published and Forthcoming)
Sayfo: An Account of the Assyrian Genocide
‘Abd al­Masih Nu‘man of Qarabash
translated and annotated by Michael Abdalla and Łukasz Kiczko
Tunisia’s Andalusians: The Cultural Identity of a North African Minority
Marta Dominguez Diaz
Palestinian Citizens of Israel: A History Through Fiction, 1948–2010
Manar Makhoul
Armenians Beyond Diaspora: Making Lebanon their Own
Tsolin Nalbantian
Conflict on Mount Lebanon: The Druze, the Maronites and Collective Memory
Makram Rabah
The Art of Minorities: Cultural Representation in Museums of the Middle East and
North Africa
Edited by Virginie Rey
Shi‘a Minorities in the Contemporary World: Migration, Transnationalism and
Multilocality
Edited by Oliver Scharbrodt and Yafa Shanneik
Protestants, Gender and the Arab Renaissance in Late Ottoman Syria
Deanna Ferree Womack
www.edinburghuniversitypress.com/series/ahnme
CONFLICT ON
MOUNT LEBANON
THE DRUZE, THE MARONITES AND
COLLECTIVE MEMORY
Makram Rabah
Edinburgh University Press is one of the leading university presses in the UK. We publish
academic books and journals in our selected subject areas across the humanities and social
sciences, combining cutting­edge scholarship with high editorial and production values to
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© Makram Rabah, 2020
Edinburgh University Press Ltd
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Edinburgh EH8 8PJ
Typeset in 11/15 Adobe Garamond by
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and printed and bound in Great Britain
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 4744 7417 7 (hardback)
ISBN 978 1 4744 7419 1 (webready PDF)
ISBN 978 1 4744 7420 7 (epub)
The right of the contributors to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Copyright and
Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No. 2498).
CONTENTS
List of Figures viii
Note on Transliteration and Style xi
Acknowledgements xii
Map: Operation Peace for Gallilee xviii
Introduction 1
1 Studying the Druze–Maronite Conflict through the Prism of
Collective Memory and Oral History 7
History vs Memory 9
Sources and Methodology of Oral History 11
Paul Andary Shot Twice 13
The Curious Case of Ghanam Tarabay 16
The Trope of Oral History 20
The Shah of Ba‘abda Meets Salazar 21
Bashir: The Series 24
The Progressive Socalist Party’s Oral History Project 25
The Council for Druze Studies and Development 27
The Permanent Bureau for Druze Associations 28
vi | conflict on mount lebanon
2 The Druze and the Maronites: Perceptions of the Other 35
The Druze: Frontier Warriors and Feudal Lords 36
Unity in Variety 43
A Recipe for Disaster 45
Emir Bashir vs Sheikh Bashir 47
The Maronites: Lebanon, a Refuge 51
The Maronites Go West 55
The Maronites and the Eastern Question 58
The Birth of the Lebanese Nation 63
3 The Communal Centres of Power and Elements of Collective
Identity 77
The Custodians of Identity 79
The Warrior Monks 82
The Kaslik Research Committee 86
The Kataeb: In the Service of Lebanon 91
The Druze Way 94
Lost Druze History 96
Druze: Blood Brothers across Generations 98
O Brother, Where Art Thou? 101
Wise vs Ignorant 102
Druze Oneness through Time and Space 106
Progressive Socialism Meets the Druze 108
The ‘1958 Generation’ 114
The Slaying of Na‘im Moghabghab 119
4 The Road to Conflict 130
Harb al-Jabal: 1982–3 130
The Rise of Bashir Gemayel 136
Unity at Gunpoint 139
Zahle: Victory in Defeat 143
The Alliance of Minorities Resurrected 147
The Likud Party and Bashir 149
The End of the Affair: The Killing of Kamal Joumblatt 151
Preparing for War 153
The Missed Opportunity 155
Crossing the Rubicon: Operation Snowball 160
contents | vii
5 The Point of No Return 167
Reclaiming our Rightful Place 168
Bashir vs Walid 174
The Battle of Qoubbei‘ al­Krayeh: The First Spark 176
You’re Back? . . . We Have to Fight 178
The Assassination of Bashir 186
Long Live the King 190
6 The War of Others vs Druze–Maronite Collective Animosity 198
The Israeli Tide Shifts 198
The Druze Follow­up Commission 201
The Unification of the Druze 210
The Battle of Mtolleh 219
7 History Meets the Battlefield 230
The Maronite Via Dolorosa 230
General Beaufort Resurrected 232
The Faustian Deal Revoked 234
The Druze Canton 235
Israel Exits the Inferno 237
The Lebanese Army: One Last Try 240
The Battle of Bhamdoun 243
The Siege of Deir al­Qamar 252
The Maronite Exodus 254
8 Post­conflict Rehashing and the Preservation of Collective
Memory 262
Collecting the Collective 262
The Story of a Hero Called Charbel 263
Zajal Harb al-Jabal 276
Bashir . . . We have Returned 284
Conclusion 291
Post­war Lebanon: The Quest for Reconciliation 291
Appendix: Table of Interviews 301
Bibliography 303
Index 314
FIGURES
1.1 Paul Andary 14
1.2 Ghanem Tarabay holding the PSP banner at a local rally 17
1.3 PSP credential of Ghanem Tarabay 19
3.1 Jocelyn Khoueiry 85
3.2 Bashir Gemayel greeting Bulus Na‘aman 87
3.3 Pierre Gemayel, founder of al­Kataeb, surrounded by members
of his party 92
3.4 Al­Kataeb parade, 1937 93
3.5 Sheikh al­‘Aql Muhammad Abu­Shaqra of the Joumblatti
faction Kamal Joumblatt and Sheikh al­‘Aql Ali Abdul Latif of
the Yazbaki faction 104
3.6 PSP rally in Barouk, March 1951 109
3.7 Unveiling of the statue of Fakhr al­Din in Baakline 111
3.8 Kamal Joumblatt in his home in Moukhtara 114
3.9 Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO, with Kamal Joumblatt 115
3.10 Kamal Joumblatt with his rebel fighters in Moukhtara, 1958 118
3.11 Majid Arslan and Na‘im Moghabghab 121
3.12 Zalfa Chamoun, Camille Chamoun, Majid Arslan and Na‘im
Moghabghab 122
figures | ix
4.1 Kamal Joumblatt with his driver and bodyguard 133
4.2 Kamal Jumblatt’s car riddled with bullet holes 134
4.3 Walid Joumblatt at the funeral of his father 135
4.4 Kamal Joumblatt identity cards and a picture of his son,
damaged by bullets 135
4.5 Bashir Gemayel 138
4.6 Walid Joumblatt 140
4.7 Bashir Gemayel, Camille Chamoun and Pierre Gemayel 141
4.8 Returning from Zahle 146
4.9 Ariel Sharon, Bashir Gemayel and Lieutenant General Rafael
Eitan 150
4.10 Bashir Gemayel meeting with Lieutenant General Rafael Eitan 151
4.11 Assad to Joumblatt: ‘How much you resemble your father!’ 153
4.12 PSP cadets at the military academy, 1978 156
4.13 Sharon to Bashir: ‘We rearrange the northern border by
launching a major military operation . . .’ 162
5.1 Naji Butrus addressing his troops before their Shuf incursion 169
5.2 Bashir Gemayel, President Elias Sarkis and Walid Joumblatt 175
5.3 The first and only meeting between Bashir Gemayel and Walid
Joumblatt 175
5.4 Massoud ‘Poussy’ Achkar and Fadi Frem 180
5.5 The Beirut Defense Unit 180
5.6 Mir Majid welcoming Bashir Gemayel into his home in Aley 184
5.7 Faisal Arslan, Bashir’s Druze partner 184
5.8 Charles Malik, Bashir Gemayel and Faisal Arslan, following the
tallying of votes 185
5.9 Bashir Gemayel in his last photograph, at the Monastery of the
Holy Cross 188
5.10 Amin Gemayel, Pierre Gemayel and Bashir Gemayel 192
6.1 Farid Hamada 209
6.2 Akram Shehayab, Anwar al­Fatayri, Raja Harb, Sharif Fayyad
and Hisham Nasreddine 214
6.3 Fouad Abu­Nadir 220
6.4 The al­Saddam unit, fashioned after the elite Israeli unit Sayeret
Matkal 221