The Christians of Lebanon Are Begging the West to Listen

JUNE 25, 2026

I TRIED TO CROSS INTO HEZBOLLAH TERRITORY. HERE'S WHAT I LEARNED.
I used to bring Christians to a town in the far north of Israel called Metula. From this town you could walk right up to the fence dividing Israel from Lebanon. On the Lebanese side you would see UN peacekeepers supposedly preventing Hezbollah from positioning rockets and weapons. You would also see a billboard. On one half of the billboard was the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. On the other half was a picture of the Ayatollah Khomeini. Above the picture of the Dome and the Ayatollah was written in Hebrew, "We are Coming."

The only time I visited Lebanon, I attempted to visit that billboard. My purpose was two-fold, first to see Israel from the Lebanese side, and second to do some small act of desecration at the billboard to show my distaste for it. Perhaps, God was watching out for me because I never made it to the sign. The closest I got was Beaufort Castle which is perched on a high mountain overlooking the whole of the Northern Galilee, but a long 3 miles from the sign. A few weeks ago, Israel retook Beaufort Castle and discovered a huge underground tunnel system used by Hezbollah as a command-and-control center.

To even get to the Castle we went through a good number of Hezbollah checkpoints. After the third one, my driver wasn't willing to continue. But in the winding drive through the mountains, I learned a great deal about the Christians of Southern Lebanon and their
displacement by Hezbollah. Southern Lebanon wasn't always controlled by Hezbollah and the Christian leaders are becoming increasingly vocal about their disgust for the terrorist organization that thinks, foolishly, that it can destroy Israel.

The President of the largest Christian political party in Lebanon, Samir Geagea, wrote a letter to Vice President JD Vance appealing to him not to allow Hezbollah to ruin Lebanon any further. He wrote in part,

"Lebanese Christians have, throughout modern Lebanese history, and will continue to constitute, an element of stability, openness, moderation, and cultural and civilizational prosperity in this region. Lebanon has distinguished itself, thanks to its pluralism, public freedoms, open system, and cultural and economic role, with a unique status that has made it a space of radiance in a turbulent environment. It is true that the past four decades have been among the most difficult stages experienced by the Lebanese in general, and Christians in particular, as a result of the establishment of "Hezbollah," as a military and security organization, which has usurped national decision-making, weakened legitimate institutions, prevented the establishment of an effective and capable state, and
furthermore, embroiled Lebanon in conflicts and wars linked to Iranian agendas that do not represent the interests or aspirations of the Lebanese. This has had a negative impact on the Lebanese economy, reduced job opportunities, and driven large numbers of Lebanese, including a significant percentage of Christians, to emigrate in search of safety, stability, and opportunities for a dignified life." Read the full letter here. 





Samy Gemayel, who leads the Lebanese Christian Kataeb Party, wrote on X, "We will not coexist with Hezbollah's weapon, no matter what the outcomes of the external negotiations may be. They must place themselves under the roof of the state and the law and adhere to the state's conditions. But most Lebanese are not prepared to live as hostages to Hezbollah. We will live in peace on our land, in safety, freedom, and dignity, and we will not go back—and this will be the end of the sorrows."

You can sense the frustration from these Lebanese Christian leaders who are concerned that the US is going to allow Hezbollah to stay because it is a major sticking point in negotiations with Iran. You have the Christians in Lebanon saying, please let Hezbollah be
destroyed. And at the same time the narrative that has seemingly taken hold in the US, especially among Catholics, is that Israel is attacking and killing Christians and civilians. It's this very line of thinking that shaped Rachel Campos-Duffy's question to JD Vance on Fox & Friends. Rachel, who is a devout Catholic, opened the question by claiming Israel had displaced tens of thousands of Christians and killed thousands. That is not even remotely true. We have the names of 9 Christians who have been killed in Southern Lebanon. Certainly, none were targeted by Israel.

So how is it that Rachel and other Catholics I speak with are so confused? It's because Catholic media sources in the Holy Land when writing on Israel are about as reliable as the New York Times is on writing about Christianity or conservatism. Basically, the sources are all antagonistic towards Israel and live in fear of their Muslim neighbors. I've sat countless times with Catholic leaders in the region, and they will never say publicly what they tell me privately. I met last year with one high level Catholic leader who told me, when I offered to help get the last 200 Catholics out of Gaza, "if Israel was seen showing favoritism to Christians in Gaza, every church in the Middle East would burn."

So, who should you listen to about Christians in Lebanon and Israel? Shadi Khaloul is a trustworthy source from an Israeli Christian perspective. The leaders of the political parties I mentioned? There's a feisty group advocating for a Maronite Christian state within
Lebanon. Check out Hagar Hajjar Chemali on X. But please don't believe the reports of rampant abuse of Christians by Israel. There are incidents as there are everywhere, but it's not systemic and condoned by Israel.

CALLING ALL CONSERVATIVE, PRO-ISRAEL CAMPUS LEADERS!
Separately, if you have kids in college or know people who are, please have them sign up for the Generation Zion Summit. The purpose of the summit is to train college students to run for leadership positions in conservative clubs on campus. We have a great line-up of speakers and it's all expense paid too! Have them sign up here: