Thousands joined the movement to prevent the Israelis from entering Beirut. Many paid a heavy price with their lives. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah)
Thirty-one years ago today, young men emerged to stand in the face of the Israeli occupation, insisting that resistance was their duty and fate. On 16 September 1982, the day Israeli troops entered West Beirut, an alliance of nationalist and leftist parties formed the Lebanese National Resistance Front, referred to as “Jammoul” in Arabic.
Thousands joined the movement to prevent the Israelis from entering Beirut. Many paid a heavy price with their lives, others spent years of their youth in one of Israel’s many detention camps – not to mention those that to this day still live with the scars of that war.
It is the occasion when we ask that annoying question: If Jammoul were around today, how would it have dealt with the situation we find ourselves in? And I am not talking to the left, but to all those who consider the Zionist state and its Western imperialist backers the greatest danger to the well-being of their land and people.
Thousands joined the movement to prevent the Israelis from entering Beirut. Many paid a heavy price with their lives, others spent years of their youth in one of Israel’s many detention camps – not to mention those that to this day still live with the scars of that war.
It is the occasion when we ask that annoying question: If Jammoul were around today, how would it have dealt with the situation we find ourselves in? And I am not talking to the left, but to all those who consider the Zionist state and its Western imperialist backers the greatest danger to the well-being of their land and people.
The same question could be posed in a far more provocative way by asking what have we done since our project stumbled and other forces came to take our place, or – as some suggest – pushed us forcibly aside. What have we done to persist in our struggle and solidarity with the Palestinian people?
Have we completely lost the initiative? Unfortunately, yes. That is what explains the demoralization that haunts a generation or more. It explains why we differ on just about everything today from theory, analysis, priorities, and even our collective interest. What was once a vibrant, broad left with deep popular roots has become little more than a collection of individuals with no one to represent but themselves.
Any kind of effort to revive the left takes us back to the necessity of some kind of review, otherwise there is no way to move forward. But any real revision means that a whole generation must submit its resignation and stand aside, giving a younger generation the opportunity to recast our project as it sees fit.
They should be free to start from scratch and dispense with whatever they deem necessary in order to breath life back into those old ideals, which would at least prompt people to take notice and believe again that they could lead to something better.
Those who are genuinely celebrating the birth of Jammoul today and have remained committed to the idea of resistance all these years are but a small indication that a review is past due and a new choice must be built.
Ibrahim al-Amin is editor-in-chief of Al-Akhbar.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.