Lebanese Shi'ite Politician And Religious Scholar Sheikh Abbas Al-Jawhari: There Is No Longer Any Real Resistance Against Israel; A Hungry Person Is More Important Than Jerusalem

Lebanese politician and Shi'ite religious scholar Sheikh Abbas Al-Jawhari said in a May 1, 2022 interview on MTV (Lebanon) that there is no longer a real Lebanese resistance against Israel since there has been no Israeli presence in Lebanon since 2006. He pointed out, however, that the Lebanese have failed in the project of building the state during this time. He also emphasized that feeding hungry people is more important than Jerusalem or than building a new mosque.

Abbas Al-Jawhari: "Hizbullah's weapons, which led to the liberation of 2000, had the support of the majority of the Lebanese."

Interviewer: "Right."

Al-Jawhari: "But in the 22 years that have passed since we liberated our land in 2000, we failed in the project of building our state. We went to another war in 2006 in order to liberate our prisoners. Fine. Seventeen years have passed since. The rules of engagement that have developed in these 17 years resemble the rules of engagement in the Golan Heights following the 1967 war. The two sides show significant restraint, and do not violate the rules of engagement with reciprocal attacks.

"Therefore, we must agree that there is no longer any resistance. In physics, resistance occurs when one thing mechanically resists another. Since there is no occupation, there is no resistance."

Interviewer: "What about the Shebaa Farms? Are they Lebanese or Syrian?"

Al-Jawhari: "It is not for me to say, but even if they are Lebanese, they are no bigger than a quarter of a village in the Al-Bukamal area, where you went [to fight]. Go [to the Shebaa Farms] and relieve us of this. All the Lebanese will join you. We do not want to continue pinning the building of our country and the future of our children on an abandoned cause. For 20 years, you have been fighting for the Shebaa Farms. What do these farms even mean to you? Is it such a strategic cause that...

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"For me, the honor of a hungry person is more important than Jerusalem and all the mosques. Feeding a hungry person is more important than building a mosque."

Interviewer: "Are there hungry people in your [constituency] of Baalbek-Hermel?"

Al-Jawhari: "Yes, there are people who are starving to death. There are people whose face is covered with dust. It brings you to tears."