Statement on Israel’s Recent Attacks on Lebanon
The Arab American Studies Association unequivocally condemns Israel’s recent attacks on Lebanon, which are expanding and escalating violence in the region. Israel has weaponized the use of everyday objects, as seen in the recent explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies in homes and public spaces, and its recent bombardment of Lebanon has resulted in the death of more than one thousand people, including at least 87 children in the span of just a few days, while forcing the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. The pursuit of so-called targeted killings through the bombardment of civilian areas demonstrates a callous disregard for innocent civilian lives and flies in the face of international requests for a ceasefire and efforts at political diplomacy.
We mourn the loss and suffering of civilians everywhere, and we recognize that many of our association members have family and loved ones in Lebanon and Palestine who are directly impacted by Israel’s recent attacks in Lebanon and its ongoing genocidal war in Gaza, which has now persisted for nearly a year and has wiped out whole families, neighborhoods, schools, health facilities, and farmlands, all while contributing to a growing humanitarian catastrophe and ecological devastation.
Our commitment to peace and justice is unwavering, and we demand a ceasefire in Lebanon and Palestine, an end to US weapons sales to Israel, a commitment to diplomatic solutions, and the equal implementation of international laws of justice in the region. We echo the voices of those searching for hope in the midst of despair and close with the words of the inimitable Lebanese American poet Etel Adnan:
It was Beirut all over again
that day, and today, and
every day
[…]
It was Beirut, all over again,
because the sea rose on its feet
and unleashed a litany
of words,
it is Beirut, all over again,
because poets die
rather than surrender,
because they speak of hope,
and do not wear
their words like a necklace
of pearls,
because poets refuse to die,
and carry hope on their
backs, and go from door
to door, like bees do
from flower to flower,
to leave messages of defiance
in the
people’s hearts.
And it is Beirut all over again
with water on the horizon
cemeteries outcrowding hotels
airplanes bringing the worst
of news
and infinite processions of sorrow
And it is Beirut all over again
because people are running
to keep their belly and their brain
in line,
carrying their honor as their sole
piece of luggage
and counting the dead
among themselves
the way we count pennies
in the cities of Power
– Excerpt from Etel Adnan – “It Was Beirut, All Over Again” – Middle East Report 162 (January/February 1990).
September 28, 2024
