Eagle Hill Online and In-person (hybrid) Discussion Forum

Israel’s wars in Lebanon and Iran:

The regional war that no one wanted?

Stephen Hindy

Thursday, October 17th, 2024,

at 5 PM, US Eastern Time (ET)

Hezbollah didn’t arise out of thin air. To understand the current situation in the Middle East, you need to look at the roots -- in Iran -- of Hezbollah, and Iran’s nurturing and exploitation of oppressed Shiite Muslim populations in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Iran’s influence in the region has blossomed in the 45 years since the fall of the Shah, accelerated by the U.S. toppling of Saddam Hussein, and yielding the rise of the Islamic Republic amid regional chaos.

Although all parties in the current conflict have professed an aversion to a wider war, Israel’s leaders pledge to destroy Hezbollah and mount major attacks on Iran, perhaps hoping that a humiliation of Hezbollah and a strike on Iran will set back Iran’s influence and force the United States into a more active military role in the region.

President Biden has warned against an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear program, but so far Prime Minister Netanyahu has paid little attention to Biden’s advice and warnings.

Where are we headed?

STEVE HINDY was a Middle East Correspondent for The Associated Press from 1979 until 1984, stationed in Beirut and Cairo. He covered the US hostage crisis in Tehran, the Iran-Iraq War, the civil war in Lebanon, the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and massacre of Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Chatilla refugee camps and the civil war in Sudan. In Cairo, Hindy witnessed the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. He covered Israel’s evacuation of the Sinai Peninsula and visited the Camp Canada refugee camp in Rafah, Gaza. Returning to New York, he worked on the Foreign Desk at Newsday. While in the Middle East, Hindy learned home beer brewing from US diplomats stationed in Saudi Arabia, where alcoholic beverages were forbidden. He left his job at Newsday to start The Brooklyn Brewery, but has stayed connected to the Middle through friends there and through his daughter Lily, who has degrees from Smith College and Columbia and is pursuing a PhD in Middle East history at UCLA. Hindy and his wife Ellen Foote live in Brooklin, Maine.

Scheduling Details

This online and in-person discussion forum begins Thursday, October 17, 2024, at 5 PM ET. The link for the forum opens at 4:30 PM ET.

To register for this discussion forum email Joerg-Henner Lotze at joerg@eaglehill.us by 10:00 AM ET of the program date.

Optional Dinners After Lecture

Reservations need to be made by 10AM of the lecture day. Dinners are regularly $30, all inclusive, or $25 for Dinner Club members. Wine is available for purchase with dinners. Click here to make dinner reservations. To make dinner reservations, click here or email Joerg-Henner Lotze (joerg@eaglehill.us).

Green mixed house salad with a raspberry vinaigrette

Baguette with butter

Entrées: Haddock chowder ... or ... corn chowder

Dessert: Apple strudel

Coffee or tea

Online Discussion Forum participants have the opportunity to enjoy becoming more informed about such topics as international affairs, diplomacy, climate change, the sciences, the arts and humanities, economics, philosophy, etc. There is much to be learned from amiable frank discussions.

Online Discussion Forums generally run for about 1.5–2 hours and begin with a 15– to 30-minute introduction by a guest presenter, after which aspects of the topics that were presented are open for discussion. Participants need to have a free zoom.us account. The 30 minutes prior to the beginning of each Forum are for open discussion and technology checking.

General forum information, guidelines, and calendar.

Suggestions are welcome.

Do you know someone who is knowledgable about a timely and interesting topic and who may be willing to host an open and informal online discussion from the comfort of their own home?

Eagle Hill Institute

PO Box 9

Steuben, ME 04680

office@eaglehill.us ... for general questions

207-546-2821 Ext 4