Hizbullah: Between Israel and a Hard(er) Place (AUDIO INTERVIEW)

Israeli analyst Orna Mizrahi tells The Media Line that the Lebanese Shi’ite group has tougher issues to address than the Jewish state – at least for now

Lebanon has long been reeling from a crashing economy and from crushing cronyism and corruption, issues viewed as existential by masses of disgruntled citizens who have been demonstrating in the streets since last fall. Now, the deadly and devastating explosion in Beirut, resulting in the government’s resignation, has plunged the country into an even deeper crisis.

For Israel, the elephant in the room is Hizbullah, the politically powerful Lebanese Shi’ite group that is generally averse to change. It has long staked its reputation on being the sole organization allowed to bear arms outside the framework of the armed forces and, as such, the country’s sole resistance against the Jewish state.

To learn more about Hizbullah in what might now be a changing Lebanon, The Media Line spoke with Orna Mizrahi, a former member of Israel’s National Security Council and currently a senior research fellow at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies.