The Lebanese editor at CNN is getting all sorts of criticism, from Israel sympathizers (and from Lebanese kiss-asses) for posting the following on twitter:
“Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.. One of Hezbollah’s giants I respect a lot..#Lebanon”
The critics are using Ms. Nasr to kick CNN, but CNN would be making a terrible mistake if they fired her. Octavia not only knows Lebanon and the region very well, she is very popular with the Lebanese and Arabs on Twitter and the Blogosphere. She has painstakingly built personal relationships with the region’s online activists and she’s the go-to person whenever someone thinks they have a scoop. In fact, one can argue that her offending tweet is something all savvy networkers do all the time: Mirror her audience.
Whether the pro-Israelis in America like it or not, there is a general consensus in Lebanon of “respecting” Ayatollah Fadlallah, and Octavia Nasr, an excellent journalist, did what any professional would have done.
Update: Octavia explains what she meant in her own words. The good news it seems, is that no one is getting fired (for now).
Hello, my name is Mustapha and I've been blogging about Lebanese society, business and politics since February 2005.
It’s Israeli sympathizers… but make no mistake, it’s also friends of the US Marines who hate Hezbollah.
it’s great ur showing support, we should learn to put people under the heat just like the jews do by all this boycott and pointing and boycott manners
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Mustapha,
I understand her reasons perfectly well, and predicted what she would say before she said it. But Undertoad is right here. Israel isn’t the center of the universe. She’s also catching flak from Americans who aren’t too happy about those truck bombings and hostages in Beirut in the 80s.
Octavia Nasr is Lebanese, but she’s also American. I trust that I don’t have to explain to you why Americans don’t care too much for the likes of Fadlallah.
Mustapha,
I am Lebanese, not American. I am also shocked by her Tweet, but I am no “Kiss-ass”. I was standing less than two meters away from Malcom Kerr when he was shot. Three of our family friends in Ras Beirut were kidnapped by Fadlallah’s gang – one of them never returned.
Fadlallah’s modest defence of women’s rights is great, but far from enough to atone for the fact that he was a criminal. His crimes were not all about liberating Lebanon from the Israeli occupation, they were also directed against innocent Lebanese and foreigners who loved and lived in our country.
“Saddened” and “respect” are not the first words that came to my mind when I heard of his death. Good riddance is more appropriate. To use Octavia’s own words, her Tweet was an error of judgement – and a pretty serious one – and I am happy she apologised for that.
O
Dear all,
Your points are well taken, as Octavia herself acknowledges.
Maybe this simply should be classified as a wrong tweet at the wrong time..
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It’s SAD when ANY human dies whether we like him or not &whether we decide he’s good or bad
Lebanese must understand that as you cannot praise Israel oder Israelis in Lebanon, you cannot praise in the West groups or people who are considered as terrorists without facing consequences. I think loosing a job and being critizied is far better than facing the Lebanese sort of punishment, once you praised Israel.
Sorry, but there is a difference. If one says I respect him for something special, even if I do not respect him for other things, than this statement is restricted to one special point, but when I say ,,… one of Hisbollah’s giants I respect a lot”, than this statement is unrestricted and it leave the readers believe that the respect extends to many deeds and speeches without any distinction. That statement could come from any Hezbollah supporter.
By the way who deleted the two posts in question (from Lebanonlist.com and my comment to it) and why? Why this censorship?
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