Rival mass tributes were held in Beirut Feb. 14 despite bad weather to commemorate the third anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the Feb. 12 car-bomb slaying of senior Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressed his followers at the Mughniyeh funeral: “Zionists, if you want this kind of open war, then let the whole world listen: Let this war be open.” (Lebanon Daily Star, Feb. 15) CNN news anchor Jim Clancy theorizes that Mughniyeh, who was on the US “Most Wanted Terrorists” list, faked his own death. (CNN, Feb. 14)
See our last post on Lebanon.
populist anti-zionism
This will be an interesting one to follow. There’s a variety of possible sources behind his death, and it is also possible that it was faked.
One element that is interesting in this is the populist element in which Hezbollah uses to garner its support. By accusing “zionists,” that support stretches an extremely broad spectrum, from impoverished Lebanese to Iranian leaders, to al-Queada, to American Leftists. No matter who was behind it, “zionists” were certainly to be blamed. The desired explanation is quickly and simply believed. And it’s now only a matter of time, to wait and see which Jews are attacked in response.