Lebanese Australians reminded of past wars as Israel attacks Lebanon again

Melbourne, Australia – Israel’s devastating bombing of Lebanon has reverberated astir the world, reaching arsenic acold arsenic the suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne.

In Sydney’s Bankstown neighbourhood and Coburg successful Melbourne, wherever Australia’s vibrant Lebanese assemblage is disposable successful the section shops, restaurants and places of worship, Israel’s latest warfare connected Lebanon has ignited a caller question of trauma.

“I deliberation 99 percent of the Lebanese successful Australia inactive person household successful Lebanon,” Michael Kheirallah, laminitis and president of the Victorian Lebanese Community Council, told Al Jazeera.

“That’s wherefore the assemblage are watching the quality astir 24 hours,” helium said.

“Some of them mentioned to maine that they haven’t had slumber for astir 2 nights, particularly erstwhile the bombing started happening successful Beirut.”

Kheirallah said the images being transmitted from Lebanon by some quality and societal media were traumatising, arsenic galore assemblage members had experienced civilian warfare successful their location state and the unit of erstwhile Israeli invasions.

“I’m definite [the existent attacks are] going to bring immoderate atrocious memories. It’s precise traumatising, particularly present we’re surviving successful a societal media world,” helium said.

Michael Kheirallah, laminitis and president of the Victorian Lebanese Community Council [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]

While Lebanese radical person been migrating to Australia since the 1800s, the Lebanese Civil War from 1975-1990 saw an influx, with galore escaping the warring which near astir 150,000 dormant and led a cardinal radical to permission the country.

Amid the turmoil, Israeli forces invaded and occupied confederate Lebanon, archetypal successful 1978 and again successful 1982, reaching arsenic acold arsenic Beirut successful the 2nd invasion. That concern would past until 2000 and is remembered for the Sabra and Shatila massacres successful 1982, erstwhile the Israeli-allied Lebanese Forces – a Christian equipped radical – murdered much than 3,000 Palestinian civilians surviving successful exile camps successful confederate Beirut.

In 2006, Israel attacked again successful effect to the Hezbollah capturing of 2 Israeli soldiers and the sidesplitting of 8 others, bombing Beirut and conducting a monthlong crushed incursion which near much than 1,100 Lebanese civilians and Hezbollah fighters dead, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

While not the largest migrant colonisation – according to Australia’s 2021 census, astir 250,000 Australians are of Lebanese heritage, with astir 90,000 calved successful Lebanon – the assemblage has planted heavy roots successful this federation of 26 million.

Lebanese cuisine is simply a fashionable diagnostic successful Australian cities, specified arsenic this edifice successful the trendy Melbourne country of Brunswick [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]

Lebanese who settled successful Australia nether exile and humanitarian assistance programmes brought their civilization and cuisine with them; freshly baked khobz (bread), deep-fried kibbie and saccharine baklava person go mainstream Australian favourites.

Lebanese Australians person made their mark, too, including Bachar Houli – a prima of the nationalist sport, Australian rules football.

Both mosques and churches bespeak the diverseness of the Australian Lebanese community, and contempt humanities conflicts, Kheirallah told Al Jazeera “the assemblage are united” arsenic their homeland comes nether onslaught erstwhile again.

“Just precocious we had a large gathering present successful Melbourne, which brought each sectors of the assemblage together,” helium said.

“We lit a candle for Lebanon, and for the Lebanese radical who are present facing a precise assertive warfare towards their country.”

The Lebanese assemblage successful Australia is diverse, with astir 40 percent identifying arsenic Muslim and 48 percent arsenic Christian [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]

Evacuation flights

Israel’s latest warfare has forced much than 3,400 Australian citizens successful Lebanon, imperishable residents and household members to beryllium evacuated from the state by the Australian government.

Ahmed* is simply a 23-year-old Australian national whose parents were calved successful Lebanon. His household returned to Beirut successful 2013 to re-establish their roots; however, the caller struggle forced them to instrumentality to Melbourne connected an evacuation flight.

“We got a telephone from the [Australian] government,” Ahmed recalled. “We packed ourselves up arsenic rapidly arsenic imaginable and arsenic lightly arsenic possible, due to the fact that we weren’t allowed a batch of luggage. And past we conscionable headed to the airdrome adjacent happening successful the morning.”

Ahmed had precocious completed a grade astatine the American University of Beirut and was readying to commencement a caller occupation – past Israel started bombing. He soon recovered himself volunteering successful Beirut to assistance the much than 1 cardinal radical who person been internally displaced arsenic Israel intensified its attacks successful caller months.

Ahmed told Al Jazeera that radical had fled “their homes successful a heartbeat” and helium wanted to assistance “provide immoderate alleviation to the displaced families”. He recalled the time erstwhile Israel detonated explosives hidden wrong thousands of pagers utilized by Hezbollah members crossed the country.

“I conscionable saw a feline autumn down connected the crushed with humor covered each implicit his hip. People thought helium was getting changeable from a sniper above. And past aft that, I started seeing ambulances coming,” Ahmed said.

“There was truthful overmuch confusion, determination was truthful overmuch chaos. It was a precise pugnacious situation. That was the turning point. This was real,” helium said.

With the unit escalating, his household were forced to marque the hard determination to permission their homeland and hastily instrumentality to Australia.

“Lebanese radical are precise resilient,” Ahmed said. “We’ve seen this again and again. We person determination to go, but others don’t, and truthful we’re precise thankful.”

Australian officials basal by arsenic Australian nationals, evacuated from Lebanon, get astatine Larnaca planetary airport, successful Larnaca, Cyprus, successful October 2024 [Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters]

Spike successful Islamophobia

While the Lebanese Australian assemblage is divers – with astir 40 percent identifying arsenic Muslim and 48 percent arsenic Christian – determination has been a reported emergence successful Islamophobic incidents since the Hamas onslaught against Israel connected October 7, 2023.

In the weeks pursuing the raid, Islamophobia Register Australia reported that incidents of Islamophobia astatine Australian universities had accrued 10-fold, and since past lone continued to rise.

More than 3 percent of Australia’s colonisation identifies arsenic Muslim, from countries arsenic divers arsenic Lebanon, Somalia, Turkey and Indonesia.

While Australia has a agelong past of Muslim migration, Islamophobia has accrued since October 7, 2023. This mosque is situated successful Melbourne’s bluish suburbs [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]

Adel Salman, seat of the Islamic Council of Victoria, told Al Jazeera that overmuch of the Islamophobia “has immoderate of the communal tropes that are utilized successful anti-Muslim hate”.

In particular, helium told Al Jazeera a communal taxable was that Muslim Australians “are uncivilised and don’t stock [Australian] values”.

Australia has a agelong past of Muslim migration and trade, including commercialized betwixt Indigenous Australians and Indonesian Macassan radical agelong earlier the accomplishment of Europeans, and the migration of Afghan radical successful the 1860s, who arrived arsenic cameleers to assistance the exploration of Australia’s godforsaken interior.

Yet contempt a lengthy past successful Australia, Islam is often considered to beryllium contrary to Australian values.

Australian Federal Minister Pauline Hanson, from the right-wing governmental enactment One Nation, called for a prohibition connected Muslim migration successful 2017, publically stating radical request to “vaccinate ourselves against” Islam.

Australia is besides location to a tiny Jewish colonisation of astir 90,000, who person reported a emergence successful anti-Semitic attacks.

To combat some Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, the Australian authorities has appointed “special envoys” to negociate the issue.

Despite these measures, Adel Salman told Al Jazeera the government’s predominantly pro-Israel stance has proved “alienating” to Australia’s Muslim community. Currently, the Australian authorities does not recognise a Palestinian authorities and says it is “strongly opposed to unfair targeting of Israel successful the United Nations and different multilateral institutions”.

In 2018, then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison adjacent considered moving the Australian embassy to Jerusalem, signalling a pro-Israel displacement akin to that made by the United States nether the Trump administration. And dissimilar countries specified arsenic the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, which person ceased immoderate weapons commercialized with Israel, Australia continues to export weapons components to Israel specified arsenic those utilized successful the operation of F-35 jets presently bombing some Gaza and Beirut.

“I deliberation the authorities has mislaid a batch of enactment from the Muslim assemblage due to the fact that of their stance,” Salman told Al Jazeera.

“This whitethorn really usher their voting preferences erstwhile it comes to the upcoming elections. The authorities truly should instrumentality announcement of this,” helium said.

‘Lebanon cannot go the adjacent Gaza’

The streets of Sydney and Melbourne person besides played big to ample pro-Palestinian protests. While the protests person centred connected the ongoing genocide successful Gaza, the attacks connected Lebanon person besides travel to the forefront of assemblage action.

Those protests person been successful the main peaceful and orderly, but the beingness of Hezbollah flags and photographs of the organisation’s precocious person – Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated successful an Israeli bombing onslaught successful September – has caused controversy.

In Sydney, a 19-year-old pistillate was arrested and charged for carrying a Hezbollah flag, and portion it was an isolated instance, it drew wide media attraction and condemnation from immoderate sides of the Australian government.

Similar to the US, the Australian authorities has registered Hezbollah arsenic a “proscribed violent organisation”; arsenic such, nationalist show of the Hezbollah emblem oregon a photograph of Hassan Nasrallah whitethorn beryllium considered a transgression offence nether Australian law.

While protests successful Australia person centred connected the ongoing genocide successful Gaza, Israel ‘s attacks connected Lebanon person besides travel to the forefront of assemblage action, specified arsenic this vigil held successful Melbourne’s St Kilda Road connected October 7, 2024 [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]

Michael Kheirallah of the Victorian Lebanese Community Council told Al Jazeera that portion immoderate whitethorn enactment Hezbollah, Australian instrumentality should inactive beryllium followed.

“I deliberation the authorities person dealt with this issue. I don’t deliberation it volition hap again. People successful Australia person been protesting implicit 1 year, and we haven’t had immoderate superior incidents,” helium said.

Along with the evacuation flights from Lebanon, the Australian authorities has committed $94.5m successful humanitarian assistance to enactment civilians affected by conflicts successful Gaza and Lebanon.

Most recently, Australia besides joined the US and 10 different countries successful calling for an contiguous 21-day ceasefire connected the Israel-Lebanon border. A spokesperson from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Al Jazeera the Australian authorities would proceed to enactment the Lebanese assemblage and supply assistance to some Lebanon and Gaza.

“Lebanese civilians cannot beryllium made to wage the terms of defeating” Hezbollah, the section said successful a statement.

“As the Foreign Minister [Penny Wong] has said, Lebanon cannot go the adjacent Gaza,” the section added.

Yet for Lebanese Australians – and their families backmost location – a ceasefire cannot travel accelerated enough.

*Ahmed is simply a pseudonym arsenic the interviewee did not privation their sanction revealed due to the fact that of information concerns for household that stay successful Lebanon.