Jana Abumeri

🕊🇱🇧

[Jana Abumeri @jabumeri]

my friends call me jen, but my really good friends call me rachel #friends

[oatmeal influencer @acechhh]

have fun, New York

[Eric Levitz @EricLevitz]

I’ve been a Knicks fan for 14 long days, so tonight was very special for me personally

[NEW YORK KNICKS @nyknicks]

KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN. KNICKS WIN.

[Hicham Bou Nassif @Hbounassif]

This appeared in today's WSJ. It reflects the familiar bias that characterizes much of Western reporting on the Middle East in general, and Lebanon in particular.

Interestingly, in an article about Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon, the shaming epithet "gang" is used to describe and stigmatize Hezbollah's opponents. The journalists write: "In an area of Christian East Beirut known for its right-wing gangs, groups of black-clad men hung out near a building that displayed a four-story portrait of a rifle-wielding Bachir Gemayel."

I live in Christian East Beirut. I grew up here, and I am writing these very words from East Beirut. There are no "gangs" here, let alone Christian "right-wing gangs." A handful of young men—some unemployed, others doing odd jobs—hardly constitutes a gang.

The real super-gang in Lebanon is Hezbollah itself: an organization guilty of political assassinations, of dragging the country into war with Israel on behalf of Iran, and, according to numerous reports, of involvement in narcotics trafficking. Yet the article carefully avoids using any negative terminology to describe Hezbollah while casually applying pejorative labels to its opponents.

In fact, Christians are mentioned three times in the piece: first in connection with these alleged "gangs"; then as collaborators with Israel; and finally as armed men flashing pistols at a funeral. Reading the article, one might conclude that Lebanon's Christians are little more than a collection of hooligans who somehow manage to be both neo-Nazis and pro-Israeli at the same time. The portrayal is absurd.

The article also gives space to pro-Hezbollah narratives lamenting the Lebanese state's indifference to displaced Shiites: "The state? Where is the state?" What it fails to mention is that: (1) Hezbollah and Amal are among the most powerful actors within the Lebanese state; (2) decades of corruption by Amal weakened state institutions, while Hezbollah subordinated much of the country to Iranian interests. If the remnants of the Lebanese state are unable to adequately assist the Shiite population today, the responsibility lies, to a significant extent, with the very political forces that have dominated Shiite politics for decades.

Had this article appeared in The New York Times or The Washington Post, it would not have seemed out of place. It is disappointing to see it published in the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ is a serious newspaper and should demand better reporting on Lebanon.

@omarabdelb: If your knowledge of Lebanon is this limited, why write about it?

@ElliotKaufman6

[m @pumptinis]

fuck amanda’s happiness she ruined my happiness by blowing up my guilty pleasure #summerhouse

[S ⚾️ @yankee_babee]

How it feels to not be in New York City right now

[Jana Abumeri @jabumeri]

ahmed

[jay @JaysRealityBlog]

Andy with a message on threads about #SummerHouse Reunion Part 1.

[Queens of Bravo @queensofbravo]

Dara ❤️ KJ #SummerHouse

[🌹 @LaiciteStan]

Lebanese legend Melhem Barakat performing in Tunisia in 2001. The Orthodox Christian musician was too stunned by the beauty of a woman dancing in the audience that he screamed "Allahu Akbar"

[T. Kyle @tkylemac]

I've already said "ruLALA" 4 times this morning

[jane’s fonda @jonesingforwhat]

so there’s this holy trinity #SummerHouse

[The Ginger Swindler @lilydsmith]

WE RIDE AT DAWN

[kendall jenner archive @archivekend]

kendall jenner wearing gap studio by zac posen inspired by the winged victory #metgala

[hunter harris @hunteryharris]

kyle is like princess diana to me

[Americana at Brand Memes @americanamemes]

Me at Din Tai Fung calling the rest of my party to hurry up because they won't seat us without everyone being here:

[Bravo @BravoTV]

ru la la hallelujah
but it is ma hallelujah
crackers and a fig hallelujah
ill ruin your life hallelujah
is rose wine hallelujah
ashley crying hallelujah
nosy rosie hallelujah
#RHORI hallelujah

[Lil Samsquanch @lilsamsquanch66]

Been drinking pretty much only Diet Coke to save water for Claude

[Queens of Bravo @queensofbravo]

Summer House Stans redrawing their timeline now that Mia from Southern Hospitality says Amanda & West were hanging out at his apartment in September 😭

[Film Crave @_filmcrave]

Meryl Streep stuns for ‘THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2’ press in New York. 📷