In 1914, with the onset of World War I, Ottoman Turks abrogated the Règlement Organique (1860-1864) that had freed the Mount Lebanon Mutassarifiyah (Governorate) from Ottoman rule. Turkish troops re-invaded the country and imposed a draconian military occupation.

A perfect storm of food and animal requisitions, forced conscription, and a locust epidemic caused a generalized famine. Resistance leaders were hanged in downtown Beirut. By the end of the war, one-third of Mount Lebanon’s population had perished, and one-third had emigrated.

Of the six siblings of my grandparents’ generation, four left the country for Latin America. My paternal grandfather, Youssef Ayoub Hitti, settled in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, founded the Arzit Lebnen newspaper in 1916, and assembled an armed company of volunteers to fight on the side of the Allied Powers and contribute to the liberation of Lebanon. Youssef returned in 1922 after Turkey's defeat and the Governorate's expansion to today’s Greater Lebanon. This site is dedicated to preserving and continuing his life’s work, the Arzit Lebnen newspaper. Learn more

Back to the Future

Back to the Future
Some 20 years ago, at the height of the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, I wrote the piece below. ...
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Testimony Before the Anglo-American Committee on Palestine

Testimony Before the Anglo-American Committee on Palestine
By Phillip K. Hitti, 1946
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The Road to Jerusalem Doesn’t Go Through Kesrouan and Byblos

The Road to Jerusalem Doesn’t Go Through Kesrouan and Byblos
Let Hassan Nasrallah and his resistance associates understand that the road to Jerusalem is in a south easterly direction, while ...
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Lebanon’s Top Export: Corruption – A Case Study

Lebanon’s Top Export Corruption – A Case Study
You think that southern Italy is where the Mafia runs supreme. You be wrong. InLebanon, corruption is in the DNA; ...
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US Reporters’ Naive but Harmful Coverage of Lebanon.

US Reporters' Naive but Harmful Coverage of Lebanon.
In 1992, I sent a letter to the magazine “The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (WRMEA), to which both ...
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“Dr.” Bouthaina Shaaban, the Damascus Butcher’s Jezebel

Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban, the Damascus Butcher's Jezebel
من هي السورية المقيتة ” بُشْعَنا ثعبان” المعروفة بـ “بثينة شعبان”؟ The piece below is from the archives. It tells ...
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France and US Continue Appeasing the Hezbollah Killer of their soldiers

France and US Continue Appeasing the Hezbollah Killer of their soldiers
On the dawn of Sunday October 23, 1983, Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist arm of thebarbarian theocracy of Iran, simultaneously blew ...
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Amos Hochstein Still Trying to Sell Junk to the Lebanese

Amos Hochstein Still Trying to Sell Junk to the Lebanese
After succeeding – at least on the surface – in clinching a deal between Lebanon and Israel over their maritime ...
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Chronicles of the Lebanese Christians Losing Patience

Chronicles of the Lebanese Christians Losing Patience
Another April 13 is coming up, the date in 1975 when the Lebanese Christians took up arms against the Syrians ...
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A Fresh Look at the Jewish Colony in Palestine

A Fresh Look at the Jewish Colony in Palestine
[From Lebanon Iznogood: https://lebanoniznogood.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-jewish-colony-in-palestine-under.html] – May 4, 2024 It is hard not to watch events unfolding in Palestine and not ...
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