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A Lebanese Zionist’s longshot bid to reshape the Middle East

JL;DR SUMMARY Hagar Hajjar Chemali, a Lebanese-American with a diverse religious heritage, is pioneering an unofficial backchannel to foster peace between Lebanon and Israel, two nations with a long history of conflict. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

IdentityMiddle EastLebanonChristianityDiplomacyPeace TalksSectarianismHagar Hajjar Chemali

Places mentioned

Lebanon
"Her parents left their native Lebanon in 1981 as a civil war raged in the country."
Milan, Lombardy, Italy
"and the young couple quickly left the country once he was released, with plans to move to Milan."
Greenwich, Connecticut, United States
"While visiting friends in Greenwich, Conn., Chemalis mother, Mirella, began experiencing pregnancy complications and chose to wait out the final months of her pregnancy there."
United States
"She spent the first decade of her career helping steer U.S. foreign policy on the Middle East in the Bush and Obama administrations, ultimately becoming the spokesperson for former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power."
Israel
"creating an unofficial backchannel to boost the ongoing peace talks between Lebanon and Israel, the first time that officials from the two countries have sat for direct talks since 1983."
Iran
"The deal between the U.S. and Iran that was announced on Sunday may complicate Chemalis efforts."
Washington DC, United States
"The geopolitical time crunch of a fast-moving war spurred the group to come up with a name to formalize the informal diplomacy they had been pursuing for more than a year."
Washington, Washington DC, United States
"All this work actually helped bring the Israelis and the Lebanese governments to hold direct talks in Washington, said Hanin Ghaddar."

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Cairo Item ID 84920
Cairo Source ID 43
Retrieved 2026-06-16 05:30:48 UTC
Curated 2026-06-16 08:31:57 UTC