On the Street: Global Responses to the Crisis in Lebanon

Since fighting began between Israel and Hezbollah guerillas nearly a month ago, the world has seen a powerful tide of demonstrations across numerous countries. The overwhelming majority of protests have rejected the Israeli offensive within Lebanon as disproportionate and many have focused on American foreign policy, which critics see as complicit in Israel's military tactics. Yet as protesters marched under similar banners and shouted similar rally cries in a medley of languages, the scope and purpose of their demonstrations has varied greatly from region to region.

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Demonstrations across Europe have been, for the most part, large but restrained. In Brussels, nearly 8,000 people marched from the Gare du Nord to the Gare Centrale while demanding an immediate cease-fire and, in some cases, shouting support for Hezbollah while burning Israeli and American flags. Demonstrators in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate shouted 'Death to Zionists' and 'Death to Israel,' according to a Reuters witness. In London, nearly 20,000 people marched to Parliament Square to hand Prime Minister Tony Blair a petition calling for a cease-fire with 30,000 signatures. An antiwar coalition requested that participants lay children's shoes at the Cenotaph war memorial to represent the deaths of innocents, but protesters also threw shoes at the gate of Blair's Downing Street residence. In Athens, nearly 20,000 protestors marched toward the Israeli embassy, where they threw rocks and Molotov cocktails, and destroyed cars and stores after clashing with riot police. Jewish shops, synagogues, and graveyards have been vandalized in Rome and Berlin, but there have been no reports of attacks on Jews themselves in these cities.

In other parts of the world, particularly in Arab states, demonstrations have carried a much more violent message; security forces have resorted to rubber bullets and tear gas to control crowds in some instances. In Pontianak, Indonesia, more than 100 members of the Asian Muslim Youth Movement donned ski masks and stood in military formation as their leader issued an ultimatum, vowing to declare jihad on any country that supports Israel if the aggressions did not cease within 48 hours. In Iraq, Shiite cleric and militia leader Muqtada Al Sadr organized a 'million Shiite march' in Sadr City, in solidarity with Hezbollah. There have also been violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces in several Arab countries, including Algeria and Bahrain, as protestors have attempted to march to areas such as Tahrir Square in Cairo, Manama in Bahrain, and Rabat in Morocco - all of which contain United States or British embassies. The one place unlikely to see any unruly mob activity is Syria, where the majority of pro-Hezbollah demonstrations have been regime-sponsored and attended by government loyalists. Such protests have been widely interpreted as attempts to garner support for the Shiite Syrian government, which has been instrumental in funding Hezbollah and supplying the group with weapons.

The Shiite connection has been a salient feature in the Arab world's response to the conflict. Sadr's Mahdi army is rumored to have received an increase in terrorist recruiting since the Lebanon conflict began. Moreoever, the most vehement of demonstrations have involved large collections of Shiites. No country profits more off of a boost in Shiite solidarity than Iran, which is rumored to have provided financial and organizational support for Sadr's march.

Though less numerous, there have been several pro-Israel rallies as well. Thousands of people have demonstrated their support for Israel's military offensive in Lebanon, claiming that Israel can only effectively defend itself by destroying Hezbollah's infrastructure that has deliberately been developed amidst apartment buildings, schools, and mosques. In London, a reported 7,500 people formed a counter-protest and smaller numbers were seen in Kiev, Warsaw, and Berlin. Many of the pro-Israel rallies have taken place within American cities, including outside the United Nations building in New York.

With rally cries ringing in their ears, national leaders have been forced to reexamine diplomatic strategies as they confront popular demonstrations. Recent events have underscored the disconnect between many governments and the sentiments of their people. The leaderships of Saudi Arabia and Egypt - both Sunni - have been critical of Hezbollah?s instigation of violence and are presently seen as the most capable agents in brokering a deal between the Lebanese and Israeli governments and Hezbollah. However, the Saudi and Egyptian people are vehemently opposed to the alignments of their governments, and demonstrations have ignited almost daily, climaxing each week after Friday communal prayers. Normally, protests are outlawed in these countries. But as the Arab world has increasingly rejected Israel's expanding actions, leaders have had no choice but to tolerate these demonstrations to some degree, even when they are organized by normally suppressed Shiite minorities.

Hezbollah's military stamina over the past month will continue to be seen as a victory for the organization and in turn will continue to boost an allegiance to Iran among Shiites all over the Arab world. That network of support is a dangerous and frightening force facing Sunni leaders, such as King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. As the war in Lebanon continues, it remains to be seen how Sunni governments will manage to retain control over their people, since anger undoubtedly will continue to grow. Almost surely, however, the object of public ire will change when the conflict eventually resolves, after people all over the world are once again left to face their own domestic issues, and when Lebanon will have to confront the prospect of civil war.

Bianca Sarah Gersten '07 is an Ethics, Politics & Economics major in Saybrook College.