Israel’s Escalating Attacks Endanger Lebanon’s Ancient Cultural Heritage
**Title: The Dire Consequences of Cultural Heritage Destruction in Conflict Zones: The Case of Baalbek**
In the midsts of escalating conflict between Israel and Lebanon, cultural heritage sites such as Baalbek are increasingly at risk. Baalbek, located in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, is home to renowned Roman-era temples and has earned its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, ongoing military operations have endangered not only the lives of civilians but also the preservation of this irreplaceable cultural treasure.
### Baalbek’s Rich Heritage: A Testament to Ancient Times
Baalbek is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Middle East. Its monumental Roman temples, including the Temple of Jupiter and the Temple of Bacchus, are some of the most significant remaining examples of Greco-Roman architecture. During the Roman Empire, the complex was a center for religious activity. The temples, with their intricate details and staggering scale, symbolize how local beliefs intertwined with the Roman pantheon, creating a unique fusion representative of the region’s historical complexity.
Lebanon’s Deputy Mayor, Bachir Khodr, recently shared on social media that while civilians sought refuge in Baalbek’s ancient structures, these locations are no longer safe from Israeli military fire. The risk of losing this ancient site — a jewel of both Lebanese and global history — looms large, leaving experts concerned about the irreversible damage such loss could cause to historical and cultural scholarship.
### Why Baalbek Has Become a Military Target
Baalbek’s connection to Hezbollah, a powerful political and military group in Lebanon, is central to understanding why the area has become such a strategic location in the Israel-Lebanon conflict. The Bekaa Valley, near the Syrian border, has long been a stronghold of Hezbollah-affiliated forces. Thus, Israeli military forces have justified their assaults on Baalbek and surrounding areas as part of their efforts to eliminate Hezbollah’s regional influence and military capabilities.
However, the human cost is too great to dismiss. Official reports from Lebanese authorities indicate that over 60 civilians, including children, have lost their lives in recent years due to airstrikes. The bombardment threatens not only the lives of civilians but also part of the world’s shared cultural heritage. As collateral damage accumulates, experts are raising the question of whether the destruction of these sites is an inadvertent consequence of military activity or something more insidious.
### Cultural Genocide or Collateral Damage?
As war wages on, questions about the destruction of historic sites and cultural heritage have led academic and political discussions to take on a darker tone. Lebanese-American scholar Laura Nasrallah, a professor expert in Mediterranean antiquity from Yale University, warns that the destruction of Baalbek could erase critical traces of the region’s complex ethnic and religious legacies.
The term “cultural genocide” is increasingly being used to describe the deliberate destruction of a people’s cultural symbols. In Gaza, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has reported devastating losses to cultural sites, with 69 heritage sites severely damaged in one recent strike. These include mosques, historical buildings, artistic landmarks, and archaeological deposits, leading some to suggest that this destruction could be part of a systematic attack — a means to erase not only civilian lives but also a people’s identity and history.
### Historical Precedents: The Case of Raphael Lemkin and the Concept of Cultural Genocide
The idea that cultural destruction can be a tool of genocide is not new. Polish Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term “genocide,” posited that the eradication of a group’s physical or cultural existence went hand in hand. His studies emerged after witnessing the atrocities committed during World War II, where European Jewish culture was not only decimated through human loss but through efforts to erase historical record and cultural landmarks integral to Jewish identity.
Today, the parallels cannot be ignored. Pilar Montero Vilar, an art historian at the University of Madrid, recently published a piece in *The Conversation* highlighting that systematic attacks aimed at obliterating Palestinian heritage, combined with rising civilian deaths, signify an intentional effort to erase the contested region’s past. In Lebanon, scholars worry that these practices may soon spill into Baalbek and other heritage sites across the region.
### Lebanon’s Efforts for Preservation Amid Conflict
While the Lebanese government denounces the destruction brought by Israeli strikes, many argue there have been decades of internal mismanagement when it comes to conserving Lebanon’s historic monuments. Nelly P. Abboud, a Lebanese archaeologist and cultural preservation activist, points out that Lebanon’s heritage infrastructure has been in a “total state of disintegration” for years due to chronic governmental neglect, coupled with corruption.
Unfortunately, Lebanon’s local militias also contribute to the problem. Abboud notes that Hezbollah’s control over parts of the Baalbek area, along with a lack of state intervention, has left the site defens