What does Hezbollah leader Nasrallah’s death mean for some Lebanese Armenians in Lebanon?

The death of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in Israel’s airstrikes late last month raises uncertainties for the Lebanese Armenian community amid a potential power vacuum.

People walk past a billboard with a picture of the late Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah are displayed on a Beirut airport highway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

By Araz Madatian USCAnnenbergmedia.com

Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist group by the United States, but some in Lebanon’s Armenian community saw Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed late last month in an Israeli airstrike, as something more. His death has raised concerns about what lies ahead for Lebanese Armenians amid a potential power vacuum.

It’s important to understand the Armenian community’s history in Lebanon, said Steve Swerdlow, an associate professor in the in the department of political and international relations at USC Dornsife.

“What we know about the Armenian community of Lebanon … is that this is a community, in many ways, steeped in a history of genocide itself,” Swerdlow said. “Large numbers of whom — if not the majority of whom — the whole neighborhood of Bourj Hammoud is that was formed as a result of the exodus of Armenians from the Ottoman genocide of 1915.”

Armenians by now have deep roots in Lebanon, but they’ve struggled along with the rest of the population, he said.

“The Armenian community suffered greatly during the civil war that began in 1975 and (they account) for a big portion of the Armenian Americans that live in places like Los Angeles,” Swerdlow said.

A 2023 report from the American University of Beirut examined Armenian political parties in Lebanon, citing that at least one party maintained a relationship with both Hezbollah and the West. Armenians have relied on protection from Hezbollah at times — for example, the Armenia-based magazine EVN Report cited how during armed confrontations in Syria, a Lebanese Armenian village on Lebanon’s border with Syria was protected against ISIS because of Hezbollah.

Sheila Paylan, a human rights lawyer based in Armenia who consults for the United Nations, shared her thoughts on what Nasrallah’s death means for the Lebanese Armenian community.

″I think the bigger question is, what does this mean for Lebanon? And there are very mixed feelings about Hezbollah … Lebanon lacks a functional government and this is — this is a situation where I think we really need to support Lebanon in getting back up on its feet … That’s the only way to protect Lebanese Armenians,” Paylan said.

Paylan emphasized the importance of structure in Lebanon and how it’s critical to restoring the country’s foundation.

″Lebanon will not survive much longer, I think, without a structure that will be representative of all its citizens in a way that that is strong and peaceful and sovereign,” Paylan said.

Paylan said this includes free and fair democratic elections, in a country that has not had a president for almost two years.