Ron Ben-Zeev

Founder @WHSolution - Entrepreneur - Connector - Speaker - Mentor - TEDx Orlando Organizer - #GuppyTank - Views are mine #Obassador

[Ron Ben-Zeev @Rbenzeev]

#Entrepeneurial #Depression is real. Here’s why #entrepreneurs have so many mental breakdowns https://t.co/emLIdsFK1O

[Sana Ebrahimi Ledene @__Injaneb96]

Hmm, let me think. I actually lived in Iran for the first 23 years of my life. We were chanting “death to Israel” starting at age seven. I clearly remember growing up with giant countdown banners on highways showing how many days were left until Israel’s annihilation, very wholesome stuff for kids.

Our school textbooks were full of quotes from the Supreme Leader about wiping Israel off the map. And of course, every year, like clockwork, they dragged us out for marches to “liberate Al-Aqsa” and “destroy Israel.” Super educational field trips, really.

Iran’s support for Hamas started with the Islamic Republic. On October 7th, they backed attacks on civilians, then fired at Israel through Hezbollah and the Houthis. They’ve been screaming about nukes and Israel’s destruction since I was a kid and surprise, they’ve been acting on it for years through their little proxy groups.

But now here comes Johnny from suburban America, telling me my lived experience is a lie?

The audacity is truly next level.

[Habeeb Habeeb @habeebhabeeb]

I was born in Lebanon and was displaced by the terrorists. I have been an American citizen for a long time now.

I realize that when I speak my mind as a free human being, there will be responses. I can handle that.

However, people who are of the opposite conviction (mostly from the medieval Middle East) always respond with the same modus operandi... Every single time someone disagrees with them, they answer by calling us names like Donkey, Pig, or Dog (حمار، خنزير، كلب hmar, khanzeer, or kaleb) which they intend as big insults. They also call us either 'Zionists' or 'traitors' or 'agents'.

They simply have no logical answer, and they are so pathetically childish.

My feelings are not hurt. Far from it. But seeing so many here in the US chanting "I am Hamas" causes me to see the need to enlighten those who don't know the detailed history of the past 50 years.

Why do we oppose terrorist and don’t agree with their terrorism and savagery?

Here is the long history recap, told from my personal perspective.

I grew up in Lebanon with friends from all faiths: Druze, Muslim, and various Christians. We laughed and played and got along. Lebanon was generally peaceful and safe.

We welcomed the Palestinians as refugees to Lebanon.

The border between Lebanon and Israel was generally quiet compared with other Arab nations. Many Lebanese did not want war. Instead, we desired to live in peace and tranquility. We wanted prosperity, trade, tourism, and banking. The Lebanese used to be known as having joie de vie and some of the most fun people to be around.

Lebanon was referred to as “the Switzerland of the Middle East” for its beauty and its desire to remain peaceful and neutral and a bridge between the east and west.

Lebanon was also called “the Riviera of the Middle East”, "California on the Eastern Mediterranean", and “Green Lebanon” because trees covered the hills and mountains and there was no desert.

Beirut was known as "the Paris of the Middle East". Lebanon's Golden Age was a period characterized by its natural beauty, including snow-capped mountains, warm beaches, and a pristine coastline. Beirut was a glamorous city with luxury hotels, nightclubs, and a vibrant cultural and intellectual life. It was a popular destination for movie stars.

Tourists flocked to Lebanon. They went snow skiing in the morning then drove 2 hours to Beirut to water ski in the Mediterranean the afternoon of the same day. It was on everyone’s bucket list.

Tourists were safe and they had so much fun that they did not want to leave. Many came back year after year.

Over time, the Palestinians created a state-within-a-state and there were areas where they prevented even the Lebanese army from entering. Which country would accept that? Knowing the trouble it will eventually cause, the Lebanese started to become bitter about the situation.

Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser wanted to make Lebanon part of the United Arab Republic, causing a civil war in 1958.

I was in Middle School when the six-day war erupted in June of 1967. School was nearing summer break. We went out for our lunch break and heard that war has started. I saw Israeli fighter jets dog fighting with Syrian jets overhead. the Syrian jets lost.

Because Lebanon is very small, we could catch AM radio stations from the surrounding countries. All the Arab stations repeated the same lie: "Our forces have destroyed the enemy's air force, and we have reached the outskirts of Jerusalem." All lies and propaganda from Radio Egypt, Radio Damascus, and Radio Amman. Same garbage from each station. Propaganda in the news continues to this day. If a radio station does not toe the line, the regime will shut it down.

To hear the truth, we turned to Radio Israel, Voice of America, and the BBC.

Three years later, the PLO started fighting against the King of Jordan. Their headquarters were in Amman, Jordan and even though they were refugees in Jordan, they tried to overthrow King Hussein. The king's forces surrounded them and almost killed every single fighter. The world called for a cease fire and forced King Hussein to relent. That was a major mistake. The same mistake is being repeated these days when the world asks Israel to stop firing. When the world does that, the problem never ends. It only becomes a bigger problem. The world had repeatedly made that mistake in the Middle East.

The PLO relocated to Beirut. They started firing at Israel from Lebanese territory, causing Israel to retaliate against Lebanese territory. Who would blame them for retaliating?

Again, we did not want war. We wanted peace.

Knowing that civil unrest was on the horizon, I went to America to study medicine hoping that by the time I completed my studies, the situation would have calmed down. Little did I know what the future held.

In 1975, the PLO caused the devastating civil war that engulfed Lebanon for 15 years. My parents were displaced and lost everything. So did many families. The toll was horrendous.

The town where I was born was located in the mountains outside Beirut, only about 30 minutes by car. My family could not go there because of the civil war and lost access to our house for over 10 years. Because it was a house owned by Christians, it was hit on more than one occasion while other homes nearby were OK. The roof had a hole in it from artillery shells. It was repaired, yet more shells hit it, sending the message not to return to town.

Our orchards used to have apple trees, peach trees, cherry trees, olive trees, sumac, artichoke, pine trees, mulberry trees, fig trees, and other trees. Not being tended to nor watered, they all died. Even the stones used for terracing our orchard were looted. Thus, our neatly terraced land became a worthless desolate wasteland.

My brother was kidnapped, other friends died. We had an apartment in Christian East Beirut. The area was besieged for a while and there were times when there was no bread. Artillery fired from Muslim west Beirut was so intense at times that even crossing the narrow street to the bomb shelter was incredibly dangerous. My mother developed heart disease and Parkinson's from the stress and fear.

My family were on the run from Beirut to the Metn district, then to the Bekaa, then to Cyprus, then back to various areas in Lebanon. The war had made them nomads.

There were so many other stories that my family endured, but I will omit them for brevity's sake.

The Syrian army entered Lebanon as ‘peacekeepers’ and destroyed Lebanon. For many years, the Syrian army occupied our house in the mountains and used it as their headquarters in the town. To remain warm and acting like uncivilized primitives, they lit fires inside the house on our ornate ceramic-tiled floor in the living room.

In the 1980's, Hezbollah came to existence and wanted Lebanon to be part of the Iranian Islamic caliphate.

Syria occupied Lebanon ruthlessly. Many Lebanese were taken to Syrian jails and tortured. Many never returned.

The war "ended", and all factions were disarmed except Hezbollah. Syria and the Shiites were in control and dictated that. Hezbollah kept getting stronger due to intense backing from Iran. For years, Lebanon remained an occupied country. Syria plundered Lebanon and became rich.

Syria and Iran, using Hezbollah and their own agents, began assassinating any leader who opposed them. They killed Christians and Sunnis alike. In 2005, Bashar Al Assad 'summoned' Prime Minister Rafik Hariri (a Sunni Muslim) to Damascus and 'ordered' him to do something, threatening that if he did not toe the line, Assad would 'break his head'. Hariri did not toe the line and was assassinated in February 2005. Hezbollah were the ones who committed the act.

The cowardly Iranian regime had established Hezbollah as a proxy to fight Israel. In essence, cowardly Iran used Lebanon to fight Israel, causing the destruction of Lebanon while Iranian territory remained safe.

So back to my first thought. The opposition cannot handle the truth. The only thing they can do is call us names.

I have thick skin. We have gone through a lot of trials and tribulations and adversity wreaked upon us by these savage terroristic animals.

Thank you, Israel, for Nasrallah's demise. It may create an opportunity for peace, but only if Lebanese leaders have the courage to seize the moment.

I will repeat what the terrorists and their supporters don’t want to hear: The Iranian Regime, The Syrian Regime, all proxies of Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, ISIS, Al Qaeda, The PLO, Islamic Jihad, PJ, PFLP, Syrian Baathist Party, all the Communist parties, all of these and more have been CANCERS in the World. They oppress their own people and us alike. They are savage animals who are stuck in the seventh century with the mentality of brutal conquests and war.

Call me what you like. I was born a Phoenician, not an Arab. The terrorists took away my county, but God gave me America. I am grateful and I am blessed.

I'm going to have an awesome day, and the terrorists are going to get their rears kicked. Have a good night.

[Ron Ben-Zeev @Rbenzeev]

In 2017, 150k people paid Cards Against Humanity to protect a pristine plot of border land from Trump’s racist wall. But then an even richer, more racist billionaire—@ElonMusk—stole their land and dumped his shit all over it. Fuck that! https://t.co/7RchWn292p #ElonOwesMe100Bucks

[Ron Ben-Zeev @Rbenzeev]

@MarriottBonvoy still no answers.

[Ron Ben-Zeev @Rbenzeev]

@MarriottBonvoy - why can’t I get a simple issue resolved after multiple emails and phone calls? #CustomerServiceFail

[Khalifa @khalifa_Halabi]

On this platform I’ll tell you the untold story of the Middle East from my Israeli Druze perspective and try to explain why we the Druze love the Jewish state of Israel.
🇮🇱
🤍💙💛💚❤️
Help me bring the Druze flag to the emoji section in social media!

[Ron Ben-Zeev @Rbenzeev]

"Today, as never before, the fates of men are so intimately linked to one another that a disaster for one is a disaster for everybody"
- Natalia Ginzburg, Italy #quoteoftheday #humanity

[Liza Rosen @LizaRosen0000]

Meet Elham, a female Hamas terrorist who recruited Palestinian suicide bombers and planned terror attacks against civilians in Israel. During an interview from prison (link below), she explained that the goal of Hamas is not only to "free Palestine" from Jews, but also to spread Islam throughout the world through Jihad (Islam's holy war).

This rare film shows a number of Palestinian suicide terrorists who were caught and imprisoned by Israeli security forces, moments before they massacred innocent Jews. Please follow the filmmaker @rehoov who interviewed the suicide bombers in order to expose the true agenda and ideology of the Palestinians' Jihad.

Link to the full film ״PALESTINIAN JIHAD״: https://t.co/1tXLCtfkoU

It seems that Twitter is limiting the reach of my posts, so please if you see this post, hit the like button, retweet and share your thoughts in the comments below about the video.

[Ron Ben-Zeev @Rbenzeev]

@TMobileHelp - congratulations on providing the most useless customer service by far. Account hacked. Hours wasted and still no solutions. #badcustomerservice

[Richard Hanania @RichardHanania]

Salman Rushdie, who has been chased to the ends of the earth by Islamists, sees things clearly. A Palestinian state would reflect Palestinian culture, and therefore be a menace to the world. People who think all you need is the right peace deal are crazy.

[Ron Ben-Zeev @Rbenzeev]

I guess they decided against the "72 virgins" and surrendered themselves like the cowards we know them to be. #HamasIsISIS - Great 1st night of Hannukah gift.

[Dr. Sheila Nazarian @sheilanazarian]

*🙌🏽 BREAKING:* Members of the Hamas Shejaiya Battalion have been arrested en-mass after the IDF effectively broke their defensive lines. They are responsible for numerous attacks against Israel.

They were heavily involved in the October 7th attacks in Israel.

[Luai Ahmed @JustLuai]

”When Hamas attacked Israel, people went out to celebrate. When Israel started attacking Gaza, the entire Arab and Muslim communities went out on the streets everywhere to say "We need a ceasefire." I immediately thought, ”Why do you care about Arabs getting killed now? When you were completely silent and did not say a single word when hundreds of thousands of Yemenis were getting killed?"
The main reason is the perpetrators being Jewish. Because in the Arab and Muslim world, there is absolutely nothing more disgusting than to be Jewish or homosexual. The only thing I ever learned about Jews and Israelis is to hate them.
In mosques, I heard that Jews and Israelis need to be murdered. This is the consensus recitation by the Imams. We normalize the language of hatred and violence towards Jews and Israelis. I remember as a child questioning this and thinking to myself, ”But why?”
So, I wanted to come here and listen to the Jews and the people. It is such a beautiful country, and the people are so kind and loving.
As I see it, the reason for this Arabic hypocrisy of silence when Arabs are killed by other Arabs, and loud revolutions when Gaza is attacked, is anti-semitism.
A hatred towards Jews that we learn since birth.
Blame the Jews. Blame the others – and direct your anger and resentment towards the Jews and the Westerners, instead of looking internally and trying to better yourselves."

[Visegrád 24 @visegrad24]

BREAKING:

The Israeli Army took control of the Rantisi children’s hospital in Gaza & found a secret tunnel leading 20 m below ground to a Hamas command & control center.

Weapons, baby bottles & motorcycles in the tunnel indicate hostages were held there

[Ron Ben-Zeev @Rbenzeev]

All the computers are down and the @Schiphol airport in #Amsterdam is now shut down!

[Harris Sultan @TheHarrisSultan]

My dad, who is a moderate Muslim, finally expressed his concern and asked me, 'Why are you supporting this genocide?'

He mentioned that he's stopped looking at his phone because he can no longer bear to watch videos of Palestinian children being bombed by Israel.

I replied, 'I empathize with the suffering, and it's not easy for me either.'

Then I showed him a photo, and we both agreed on the gravity of the situation in Palestine.

I then informed him that the photo was actually of a Yemeni child pulled from the rubble resulting from a Saudi bombing in Yemen.

I pointed out that Israel has allegedly killed 7,000 Palestinians, while the Saudis have killed at least 150,000 Yemeni Muslims. Some estimates suggest upto 300,000.

How can we call the current conflict a 'genocide' when what the Saudis did is hardly even discussed by Muslims? Don’t get me started on 200,000 Muslims killed by Bashar Al Asad in Syria.

He responded that if that's the case, he also disagrees with what the Saudis did. I replied, 'How convenient. Nearly half a MILLION fellow Muslims have been killed by other Muslims, and you didn't even know about it. Yet when Israel retaliates against a terrorist organization that has killed, raped, and maimed 1,500 of its citizens, the whole Muslim world reacts?'

It seems to have less to do with preserving Muslim lives and more to do with a religious fantasy of hostility toward Jews.

[האם ראית את האופק לאחרונה? @Horizon_lately]

Out of the horrible darkness of the #Oct7 massacre, there are shreds of light in the form of heroic stories of rescue and humanity.
Watch this inspiring story that was just now revealed.

[Avi Mayer אבי מאיר @AviMayer]

Everyone should watch this. Now.

Thank you, @DonnyDeutsch.

[Hillel Neuer @HillelNeuer]

I asked the UN: “Why did you name the Islamic Republic of Iran as Chair of the UN Human Rights Council Social Forum, starting on Nov. 2nd? How can you elevate a regime that beats, blinds, tortures & rapes women who demand their rights? Where is the logic? Where is the morality?”

[Ron Ben-Zeev @Rbenzeev]

See this Instagram post by @idf https://t.co/Ok9xSccru2