The Untold Aid: How Jews Helped Save Lebanese Christians

The term "Christian Arab" might sound unusual today, given the historical tensions between Islamic and European Christian communities. However, Christian Arabs do exist, including in Israel. Many have positive relations with Israel and Jews, distancing themselves from the hostility often shown by Muslim Arabs.

During the period when southern Lebanon was under Israeli occupation, Lebanese Christian Arabs collaborated with Israel against Muslim aggressors, aligning themselves with what was then known as the South Lebanon Army.

But the connection between Jews and Christian Arabs dates back much further.

One notable Christian Arab group is the Maronites, who have lived in Lebanon since the 4th century CE, over 1,500 years ago. While most Arabs embraced Islam, some followed Christianity, specifically the teachings of a monk named Maron. The Maronites speak Aramaic, the language of the Jews when Christianity diverged from Judaism.

During the Crusades, the Maronites allied with Christian crusaders. However, under successive Muslim and Ottoman rule, they suffered discrimination and oppression. In 1860, the Maronites rose in revolt led by Tanyus Shahin, a formidable blacksmith who wielded his hammer leading a peasant uprising. They stormed estates, expelled the Muslim elites, and declared Mount Lebanon as belonging to the peasant Maronites, refusing Muslim dictates or taxes. The expelled sheikhs' estates revealed massive grain stores, which were redistributed among the starving peasants.

Meanwhile, Muslims and Druze amassed their forces from all Lebanese villages, sweeping through Maronite peasant villages and devastating one after another. Christians in Syria also faced attacks, giving the impression of a Druze victory and eradication campaign.

This is where the Jews intervened. But what could they do for the endangered Christians, and why were they involved?

Two decades earlier, the Damascus Affair occurred, where Muslims falsely accused Jews of Damascus of ritual murder. The Jews suffered immensely until the libel was eventually dismissed through pressure from various Christian entities. Key figures in this were wealthy Jews like Adolphe Cremieux from France and Sir Moses Montefiore from England.

Both now championed the persecuted Christians in Lebanon and Syria. The Jewish press of the time published appeals for support, arguing that Jews, as a persecuted minority, should aid their "brother" Christians.

International support spurred Western powers to intervene. The massacres ceased. Although militarily defeated, a politically imposed settlement by the powers granted Christians equal rights. The Ottoman Empire was forced to accept terms it disliked. Tanyus Shahin, a cruel figure, was deposed, and a new Christian leader assumed his role. A council was established with proportional Christian representation, including in judicial and administrative appointments. Jewish intervention was part of the broader effort that transformed the region.