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

Archives – From Syria with Love: The Children of Ghabey

From Syria with Love The Children of Ghabey
Foreword: The piece below (From Syria with Love: The Children of Ghabey ) was written as Syrian occupation forces were ...
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Sabra-Shatila, Gaza and Damour: The Immoral of the Story

Sabra-Shatila, Gaza and Damour: The Immoral of the Story
Foreword: As Israeli Jews carry out their “self-defense” genocide against Muslim Palestinians in Gaza, it may be worthwhile to look ...
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Consensual Democracy Keeps Lebanon in Bronze Age

Consensual Democracy Keeps Lebanon in Bronze Age
Lebanon is ruled by a religious Mafia that either is itself involved directly in politics or operates like a puppeteer ...
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Hochstein is Negotiating with Hezbollah’s Lebanese Hostages

Hochstein is Negotiating with Hezbollah’s Lebanese Hostages
His Plan has Built-in Obsolescence. US envoy Amos Hochstein, the former Israeli soldier who succeeded in clinching a deal between ...
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The Escalation of Tensions

The Escalation of Tensions: Israeli Official Calls for First Strike in a Second Country's Conflict
Israeli Official Calls for First Strike in a Second Country’s Conflict According to a recent report in The Daily Beast, ...
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Israel Warns Time for Diplomacy with Hezbollah Is Running Out

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(Bloomberg) — Israel’s foreign minister warned time’s running short to find adiplomatic solution to the presence of Hezbollah fighters along ...
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Amos Hochstein’s Objectives in Lebanon

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He Wants More of Kissinger’s Deadly US Band-aid for Lebanon In the interview below, the US envoy to Lebanon Amos ...
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The Hitti Newspapers Join the Archives Collection of the Holy Spirit University in Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon

The Hitti newspapers join the Archives Collection of the Holy Spirit University in Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon
In a noteworthy initiative by the Samir Youssef Hitti family, the archives of the ARZIT LEBNEN [أرزة لبنان] newspaper, founded ...
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Tongue-Tied “Arab World” – Part II: Arabic and Evolution

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(Note: At the time of this posting, in 2024, the invasion of communications by the social media has somewhat altered ...
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Tongue-Tied “Arab World” – Part I: What’s in a Union?

Arab world map
Amidst all the talk about democratization in the Middle East, one salient argument is that the economic development of otherwise ...
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