Hezbollah attacks MBN. Guests, Ghosts, Gaza, and Music

Dear Colleagues,

 

You’re doing great work across departments. Thanks for driving such vital work forward. MBN journalism is getting attention.

 

Randa’s recent work exposes Hezbollah networks forging Lebanese passports for the IRGC. The Beirut Public Prosecutor’s Office has incorporated MBN reporting into an active criminal investigation.

 

Less than a week after Israel called for the targeting of the Port of Beirut — with claims the port is used as a supply route for Hezbollah drones — Lebanese media cited MBN reporting that supports the Israeli allegations.

 

It’s brave work from our team. MTV Lebanon turned MBN’s report into a visual news segment. Hezbollah-aligned media have attacked our correspondent Rami by name.

 

We’ll continue to report on Lebanon’s humanitarian crisis. Conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has forced more than one million people — some 20 percent of the population — to leave their homes.

 

We’ll continue to cover intense political debates. For the Magazine, Christian has for us a fascinating essay on the ominous side of federalization by Joumana Haddad.

 

Guests

 

There’s attention for our work Stateside. Sarah Arkin, who leads the State Department’s Advisory Commission for Public Diplomacy, visited MBN last Thursday.

 

On Friday, we hosted U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Michael Rigas. Mr. Rigas is serving concurrently as acting USAGM CEO.

 

This week is another full week (all times EDT) including:

 

Today at 11:15 am. Editor and book author Adam Garfinkle comes to MBN. He knows our region — and public policy. Adam served as speech writer to two U.S. Secretaries of State. Please join me for the discussion with Adam in my office.

 

Tuesday at 10 am. Martha Bayles of Boston College (and National Review) is at MBN for a conversation on America’s free speech debates. Feel encouraged to join in my office Tuesday morning.

 

Tuesday at 11 am. Matt Warshaw will visit MBN with students from American University. I’ll walk the group around and make introductions.

 

Wednesday at 2 pm. Washington Institute Executive Director Rob Satloff will be pay his first visit to the new MBN headquarters. I had the pleasure of attending the Washington Institute’s annual dinner last week. Here’s the lecture Martin Kramer delivered.

 

Thursday at 11 am. Former State Department official and Iran expert Alan Eyre will be with us at headquarters. Please join the discussion in my office. Alan was State’s first ever Persian language spokesperson.

 

Friday at 12 noon. Marc Rod, congressional correspondent for Jewish Insider, will visit MBN. Marc has a background in reporting for CNN and CNCB. I’ll walk Marc around and make introductions.

 

Ghosts and Gaza

 

He was known as the Ghost of al-Qassam for his low profile. He survived numerous Israeli assassination attempts. He helped plan the October 7 attacks and oversaw the captivity of Israeli hostages. He’s been helping Hamas rebuild military capacities. Despite the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, there are signs Hamas has been emboldened.

 

On Saturday, Israel Defense Forces confirmed the killing of Hamas military chief Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the terror group’s leader in Gaza, in a strike on Gaza City the previous day.

 

I’ve started an interview with our colleague Abed, a man with deep knowledge of Gaza and the West Bank. I’ll include our exchange in next week’s letter.

 

Abed was born in Salfeet in the West Bank, in a village called Deirballout, right on the Green Line — 25 miles from Tel Aviv, 26 miles from Ramallah. Abed has relatives in the West Bank, Gaza, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE (and the U.S.).

 

Israel acknowledged yesterday that it has been expanding the territory it controls in the Gaza Strip during the ceasefire, pushing past agreed upon lines in the U.S.-brokered ceasefire established last October.

 

May Music and Culture

 

There’s turmoil and upheaval. Our coverage can never be all conflict and war, however. There’s more to our work. I’m intrigued by the work Roya has started on history and culture. If you missed it, have a look at Lara’s Ramadan photo essay.

 

If you’re inclined to music change of pace, try these composers born in May — with Middle East associations.

 

Claudio Monteverdi was pure innovation and adaptation. He broke Renaissance rules and helped create a bridge to Baroque. The son of an apothecary found musical inspiration in different sources.

 

Living in northern Italy at the beginning of the 17th century, Monteverdi heard sounds of the Middle East everywhere. There was the music of synagogues in Jewish ghettos, and of Arab traders in town squares. What might that have sounded like? Try this.

 

The result in Monteverdi’s own music: exciting rhythms and exotic sounds. Here’s a sparkling dance.

 

Claudio Monteverdi was born in May 1567 — exact date unknown — in Cremona. Johannes Brahms was born on May 7, 1833 in Hamburg.

 

Brahms was pure romanticism. His music has been popular with orchestras across the Middle East. It’s not always been easy, though. In 2019, Hamas decided children in Gaza could no longer have co-ed performances, a ruling that led to cancelations of orchestra concerts for students and broader audiences.

 

Here’s Saleem Abboud Ashkar, the acclaimed Nazareth-born pianist and conductor, working magic with Brahms.

 

Erik Satie was first taken by Middle Eastern and North African music at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris. The fair featured musicians from Egypt, Algeria, and elsewhere.

 

Satie never visited the Middle East, but he absorbed a subtle feel for the region and for the harmonic structures of its music.

 

He loved history, quipping once, “I came into the world very young, in an age that was very old.”

 

Erik Satie was born in Honfleur, in Normandy in northwest France, on May 17, 1866.

 

Here’s reflective Satie.

 

My very best, Jeff