Lebanon History Web Sites

GlobalSecurity.Org – Lebanon
GlobalSecurity.org, maintained by John Pike, has both historical background on Lebanon as well as frequent updates on the current situation. Subsections include an Overview, History of Lebanon, Religious Sects, Climate and Economy.

BBC News: Middle East Crisis
The BBC provides plentiful helpful contextual and current information on the Middle East crisis. Offers Top Stories on Middle East, In Depth coverage of issues, profiles of key players, BBC audio and video, maps, country profiles, stories of ordinary citizens, key documents, timelines, profiles, web links, and more.

BBC News – Country Profile: Lebanon
Offers an Overview, Facts, Leaders, Media, Timeline of key events, links to Lebanese media sites, and links to the latest news on the Middle East Crisis.

BBC News – Lebanon: Key Facts
Five excellent graphics illustrating the Summer 2006 clash between Israel and Lebanon looking at the Crisis, History, Population, Politics and Economy

BBC News: Israeli and Lebanese Debate
A frank discussion between two citizens on either side of the Israel/Lebanon border. An incredible war-time primary source.

Lebanese Global Information Center
The Lebanese Global Information Center has extensive information on the country of Lebanon and on the population of Lebanese Americans. The History section provides an excellent, article length background on the countries history and the section on the Phoenicians is particularly good. Be sure to also look at the Archeology photos in the Photos section for additional information on Lebanese Ancient History.

Middle East Web Gateway
Middle East Web Gateway is produced by a non-government organization in Israel and offers much in the way of news and views on the Middle East. The web log and Mewzine are currently full of good commentary on the conflict in Lebanon, with debate in the comments from moderates from both sides.

Library of Congress Country Study: Lebanon
An eBook published in 1987 by the Library of Congress with chapters on “Historical Setting,” “The Society and Its Envrionment,” “The Economy,” “Government and Politics,” and “National Security.” It also contains an extensive Bibliography. When inside pages, use the Forward and Back buttons at the top and bottom of the browser window to “turn the pages.” The book is concise and easy to read, but dated.

U.S. Department of State – Background Note: Lebanon
The State Department’s country overview for Lebanon including sections on People, History, Government, Political Conditions, Economy, Foerign Relations, U.S. Relations, Travel/Business. Click on “Lebanese Republic” for more links to the U.S. Embassey in Lebanon and the Ambassador.

CIA World Factbook: Lebanon
The CIA World Factbook provides limited commentary and a wealth of statistics on Geography, People, Government, Economy, Communication, Transportation, Military, and Transnational Issues.

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Terrorism from Lebanon
Provides links to daily briefings on IDF activities in Lebanon. Excellent primary source.

Human Rights Watch: Lebanon
Information about Human Rights Watch’s advocacy for obeying the laws of war and protecting human rights. Another good primary source.

Political Resources: Lebanon
Political Resources site on Lebanon has links to the Lebanese Constitution, Lebanon Search Directories, and all of the political parties in the Lebanese government, including Hezbollah.

Al Mashriq: Lebanon
A Search Directory about Lebanon (and the Levant more broadly) produced by Proffesor Borre Ludvigsen of Ostfold University College in Norway. Catagories include Archaeology, Constitution and Law, Geography, History, Peace and War, Religion, Social Welfare Issues and many other.

Columbia University Middle East Studies Internet Resources: Lebanon
A Search Directory about Lebanon produced by the Columbia University Middle East and Jewish Studies Department.

Lebanese Media and Blogs

Database for Arab World News and Media: Lebanon
A database with links to Lebanese media, organized by publication schedule and media (daily, weekly, radio etc.).

Lebanese Blogger Forum
The Lebanese Blogger Forum has an extensive collection of blogs from inside Lebanon, providing timely “citizen journalism” from Lebanon.

Hezbollah Web Sites

BBC News: Who are Hezbollah
An article summarizing the origins and aims of Hezbollah, the political party, aid organization, and militia with significant influence over Southern Lebanon and listed as a terrorist group by the United States and Israel.

Frontline World: The Party of God
A 2003 Frontline Episode and companion website detailing the rise of Hezbollah from the 1970s. The site contains links to streaming viedo of the program, an interactive timeline, and a basic overview of the country’s geography and history.

Hizbullah – The Party of God
A collection of primary source documents published by Hizbullah and other essays about the group. While the overall tone of the site supports Hizbullah, links are to publications by organizations like Middle East Quarterly and Human Rights Watch.

Lesson Plans, Teacher Guides, Activities and more

Global Citizens 2000: Civil War in Lebanon
This two period lesson plan comes from Rutgers University GC2000 project. According to the site: “The lessons for the Lebanon case include select journal entries of a leather tannery owner, Daud Khouri, from southern Lebanon, whose sons become deeply involved in the 1975 Lebanese civil war and the establishment of the Lebanese Front.”

New York Times Daily Lesson Plans: Somewhere in the Middle
This one hour lesson plan comes from the New York Times Learning Network, dated August 16, 2006. According to the site: “In this lesson, students learn about the August, 2006, cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon. They then discuss the general geographic region known as “the Middle East,” create maps of countries included under this regional designation, and annotate them with information on border and territory disputes.”

New York Times Daily Lesson Plans: Muddle East
This one hour lesson plan comes from the New York Times Learning Network, dated July 19, 2006. According to the site: “In this lesson, students will explore the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. They will then research various perspectives, discuss the events in context, and write statements from the perspective of a country or organization involved.”

New York Times Daily Lesson Plans: Signs of Withdrawl?
This one hour lesson plan comes from the New York Times Learning Network from March 9, 2005. According to the site: “In this lesson, students research Lebanon’s recent history, from the 1975 civil war to the protest of occupying Syrian troops in 2005, and create a visual timeline for classroom display.”

A Bash in Baalbeck: Creating a Lebanese Festival
This full week long unit explores the cultural of Lebanon and culminates in a traditional festival. The unit has basic background information on the country, an excellent section on Lebanese culture, lesson plans for a week of class, recipes for traditional Lebanese food, and a bibliography.

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