Twelfth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

This paper provides an analysis of the course of Israeli-Lebanese relations and its purpose is to shed light on the contacts between the Maronites in Lebanon and the State of Israel. The paper traces these contacts to the interwar period when the leaders of the Maronite community who regarded the Jews as the descendants of the Biblical Hebrews, sought to provide a Phoenician identity to Lebanon that could help them develop their unique culture. It demonstrates that despite the movement’s failure the contacts laid the background for cooperation between the two communities which survived the vicissitudes of the Lebanese civil wars and still plays a role in Israeli foreign policy. The paper explores the attempts of the founders of the state of Israel to continue these contacts. It shows how the Israeli government continued to search allies among the Lebanese Christians following the entry of the PLO and the subsequent War of Lebanon in 1982. It discusses the connection between Israel and the Lebanese army during that war and assess the advantages and disadvantages of this alliance to both sides. Moreover, it assesses the impact of this relationship on the massacre of Palestinians in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. And finally, it discusses the impact of the rise of Hezbollah on the Israeli-Maronite connection. The paper is based on government documents books and periodicals.