Hazem Saghieh

We should hope that the leaders of Hezbollah, its spokesmen, and those who promote its discourse do not believe in their discourse. Indeed, soundness of mind and common sense demand as much. True, proponents are not absolved of other flaws in the event that they are not convinced of the case…

This is not an op-ed about “the shifts of sects” but the shifts ‘’within’’ sects that emerged in recent days or that had previously been latent, already present beneath the surface before they recently rose to the fore. Of course, every discussion of “the sects” and their positions necessarily…

If we set UN Resolution 1701 aside, its various interpretations, and all the texts around it, we could discuss a divergence in conceptions around the outcome of the “Support War” and the Israeli counter war. In the Lebanese state’s reading, there are “mutual obligations” and “reciprocal steps.” If…

Since the baleful October 7 operation and the war it summoned, Israel and the Iranianophile militias have been waging another war on politics in tandem- the politics of today and the future. All of these parties are broadly pursuing an extreme form of what has, in some civil wars, been referred to…

On September 15, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an op-ed by Neta Riskin and Magi Otsri “on behalf of many Israeli filmmakers, writers, poets, musicians, actors and intellectuals.” I will quote their words at length, and ask the reader’s patience as I explain my reasons in the final…

Between 1618 and 1648, Europe, especially its central regions, lived through the Thirty Years’ War: a combination of religious conflicts, dynastic ambitions, and territorial disputes. This war, which splintered into several wars that resulted in the deaths of millions, either in conflict or because…

At the turn of the twentieth century, the French philosopher Henri Bergson published three essays that were later compiled into a book, "Le Rire" (Laughter). This small book is perhaps his most significant legacy; indeed, some consider it a philosophical treatise on comedy that parallels Aristotle…

Going over Lebanon’s modern history, one cannot fail to notice that every watershed moment was dovetailed with lots of debate and controversy that put countless ideas up for public discussion. In 1946, three years after Lebanon’s independence, for example, Michel Asmar established the "Lebanese…

A campaign was launched against Deputy Paula Yacoubian after she criticized the "ideological indoctrination" she considers more dangerous than weapons. The keyboard warriors' smear campaign released a flood of racist and misogynistic slurs: Yacoubian’s gender and Armenian heritage, to Hezbollah’s…

The Israeli strike that killed the Houthis’ prime minister and most of his ministers affirmed what had previously been affirmed by the assassinations of Iranian military leaders and scientists, and before them, of Hezbollah and Hamas’s leaders and senior security and military cadres. These weapons,…