At a launch event for his book, The Arab Case for Israel, on Tuesday, writer and researcher Hussain Abdul-Hussain argued that the path to peace in the Middle East begins with Arabs reexamining long-held assumptions about Israel, drawing on his own transformation from believing anti-Israel propaganda to an advocate for the Jewish state. 

Speaking days after Israel and Lebanon signed a U.S.-brokered framework agreement, Abdul-Hussain said the Lebanese people can follow in his footsteps, as the country remains divided between a faction that promotes the Iranian narrative that Israel “only understands the language of war and force,” and those seeking to reclaim the country’s sovereignty. 

“The Lebanese have had their share of sacrifices for big powers. This started back in the 1960s. The Lebanese will stand up for sovereignty and independence. They’ve been thrown under the bus time and time again and this makes them always wary and they try not to stick their neck out… this is what’s keeping them back,” Abdul-Hussain said. 

The invitation-only event for the book, published in February, was hosted by Morgan Ortagus, former deputy U.S. special envoy to the Middle East; Hagar Hajjar Chemali, co-founder of the Lebanon-Israel Peace Alliance; and Antoun Sehnaouiat, businessman and philanthropist, at the Mark Hotel on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. 

Abdul-Hussain, a Shia Muslim raised in Iraq and Lebanon where he said he was taught to hate Israel and the West, is now a Washington-based research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The Arab Case for Israel chronicles his unusual journey away from holding anti-Israel views, detailing his argument for why all Arabs should do the same.

“My story is the story of an average person who was told something and when he dug up the story it turned out to be something else,” Abdul-Hussain told some 50 attendees — a mix of Jews, Christians and Muslims —  at the event. “I was taught, like every other kid was taught, that Israel must disappear. And I believed it.” 

“Over the course of my life, events pushed me to try to learn about Israel.” The biggest turning point, he recalled, was in 2000 while he was working as a reporter in Lebanon. “We covered the Israeli military pulling out of the south and that day I drove my car to the border, which at the time was just a flimsy wire so I could see Israelis,” said Abdul-Hussain. “I became really curious. At the time, I could get on the FM radio of the Israeli channels. If you were in Lebanon at the time, your sources on Israel were [staunch Israel critics] Edward Said, [Noam] Chomsky and [Norman] Finkelstein.” 

After learning Hebrew, Abdul-Hussain said he “discovered everything they taught us about Jews — that they were scheming to kill every Arab Lebanese kid —  was not true. 

“It was a long journey and I decided this journey must be told for other Lebanese, Syrians and Moroccans to understand what they are being fed is not true. I make the case that even if you think Israel has caused you injustice, moving on is much better for your future and the future of your children and grandchildren,” he said.  

As Hezbollah continues to oppose the framework agreement aimed at restoring sovereignty and establishing lasting peace, Abdul-Hussain called on Americans to support the efforts of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to resist the terror group. 

“One of the main criticisms against President Aoun and his government is that he’s talking the talk and not walking the walk,” said Abdul-Hussain. “I understand that. But the guy is going all the way against Hezbollah. He’s being vilified and taking a lot of heat. The last thing he needs is for someone like me to try to push him down. Even if he’s not walking the walk, talking the talk is good enough.”  

He also called on the U.S. to implement a long-term policy of protecting religious minorities in the Middle East “to make sure that non-Muslim minorities do not vanish.” 

“The pattern of minority shrinking is happening all over the place, except for one place, and that’s Israel,” he said. He pointed to Lebanon where lists of registered voters show that Christians are 35% of the population, whereas 20 years ago they made up about half of the population.  

“The trends are not lying. This is bad for everyone. It’s bad for diversity,” Abdul-Hussain continued.   

“We in the U.S. should send the message to minorities that we are with you, that we will not let [adversaries] come after you and that Israel is something to be proud of.”