Hezbollah indoctrination for the younger generation: book and coloring books captured in the second Lebanon war designed to inculcate children and adolescents with the organization ideology. The themes are Hezbollah as Lebanon’s defender, justification for Hezbollah’s military actions against Israel, the importance of “resistance” (i.e., terrorism) and nurturing hatred for Israel and the Jewish people and identification with the Palestinians.¹

A coloring book called “I will use my weapons to defend my homeland”

The message is that Hezbollah has defeated Israel for the sake of the Lebanese homeland.

Overview

• During the second Lebanon war Hezbollah publications were found whose objective was to indoctrinate the young generation with the organization’s ideology.
• This Bulletin will deal with four publications:
• A coloring book called “I will use my weapons to defend my homeland”
• A children’s book called “Sharon the Evil One”
• A coloring book called “We are all [pledged] to the homeland, we are all the resistance” [i.e., Hezbollah]
• An anti-Semitic booklet called “Jerusalem, Capital of Earth and Sky”

A. The coloring book called “I will use my weapons to defend my homeland”

• During the second Lebanon war the IDF found a coloring book published and distributed by Hezbollah whose title was “ I will use my weapons to defend my homeland .” As a coloring book it was clearly intended for children, but it also contains text with the ideology Hezbollah is interested in disseminating to the younger generation.

• The coloring book was published in 2006 by a body called The Chief of the Martyrs² Center for Information – Cultural Department . The inside of the front cover states that it is the third edition in the past three years, and that this is the first of 2006. Thus it can be assumed that it is one in a series of such propaganda books and coloring books .

• The main motifs of the coloring book are:
• Since 1982 Hezbollah has functioned as the defender of the Lebanese homeland and has achieved a great deal during its years of fighting the IDF. Its most important achievement was the IDF withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000 .
• The best way to “liberate” Lebanese land and protect Lebanon’s interests is through “ resistance ,” i.e., violence and terrorism, and jihad .
• The military actions conducted by Hezbollah since the IDF withdrawal are justified because their objective is to defend Lebanese interests: the release of prisoners, defending water sources, “liberating” the Sheba’a Farms and preventing Israeli “aggression” against Lebanese civilians.
• Fostering hatred for Israel , referred to as “the enemy” and the “plundering occupier,” using the terminology of radical Islam.
• To keep the image of Hezbollah as Lebanon’s defender pure and uncomplicated, the book makes no mention or either Iran or Syria , or of the support Hezbollah provides for the Palestinian terrorist organizations . That is done out of the fear that Hezbollah might be perceived as a proxy for extra-Lebanese countries and interests.

The main themes

• The coloring book’s central theme is that Hezbollah is Lebanon’s defender . A corollary of that theme is that Hezbollah therefore has the right to bear arms and to continue its attacks against Israel .

• Children are indoctrinated by coloring the pictures and reading the text, including the story of the formation of Hezbollah and the “battle legacy” of its years of activity against the IDF. The main points are:
• Hezbollah’s “battle legacy:”
• The book describes various aspects of Hezbollah’s activities against the IDF since its formation in 1982 during the first Lebanese war: suicide bombing attacks, ambushes, planting charges and attacking IDF posts. Special mention is made of the first suicide bombing attack against the Israeli military government building in Tyre. Hezbollah boasts that its activities caused “the enemy to leave Lebanon covered in shame.”
• Inconvenient chapters in Hezbollah’s history and “battle legacy,” such as the suicide bombing attack it carried out against American and French forces, are not mentioned . The central role played by Iran and Syria in founding Hezbollah and their support are also not mentioned so that it may represent itself as a Lebanese “resistance” organization and not as the proxy of foreign nations.
• Hezbollah as the defender of Lebanon : The organization boasts that since the IDF left the security zone its military activity has continued to defend Lebanon and serve the country’s interests . The book lists a series of examples: the abduction of three Israeli soldiers which led to the release of Lebanese prisoners, Hezbollah’s “response to Israeli attacks on Lebanese civilians” consisting of launching Katyushas into Israeli territory, Hezbollah’s defense of the pumping station at the Wazzani spring and its continued work for the “liberation” of the Sheba’a Farms.
• Terminology as an important component of indoctrination : The coloring book uses Islamic terminology to describe Hezbollah terrorist-operatives as “jihad warriors” ( mujahideen ) waging a holy war for the sake of Islam. The suicide bombers are revered as istishhadiyyun , that is, those who willingly sacrifice themselves for the sake of Allah. Israel is referred to as “the enemy” and “the plundering occupier.”

Pretexts to continue military operations against Israel

• After the IDF left the security zone, Hezbollah devised a series of pretexts to keep its weapons and continue its attacks against Israel. Hezbollah wants to inculcate children and adolescents with those pretexts as part of the effort it invests in convincing the Lebanese that its activities are justified, thus preserving its right to wage a long-term “struggle” against Israel . The following three appear in the book:
• The abduction of IDF soldiers to release Lebanese prisoners in Israel.
• The continued attacks at Har Dov to “liberate” the Sheba’a Farms “occupied” by Israel.
• Attacking Israeli towns and villages (“settlements,” according to Hezbollah) with Katyusha rockets as a way of preserving a balance of terror that will prevent Israel from attacking Lebanese civilians.

Releasing prisoners by abducting hostages

The message

• “On the day of Aashura,³ 2000, before the Israelis withdrew from our land, the secretary general [Hassan Nasrallah] announced that ‘we are a people that does not abandon its prisoners in [foreign] jails, and we will do everything in our power to release them.’ In October 2000, jihad warriors of the Islamic Resistance [i.e., Hezbollah] surprised [the enemy] with a well-planned action at the occupied Lebanese Sheba’a Farms and captured three soldiers. The next week, Sayyid Nasrallah surprised the world by announcing he had captured a member of the Israeli Mossad [Elhanan Tanenbaum, who was represented as a member of the Mossad⁴]… That led the Israeli enemy to fold before pressure from the resistance and agree to an exchange of prisoners in Israeli jails. The exchange took place and the [Lebanese] prisoners returned home, despite the anger of the Zionists.”

“Liberating” the Sheba’a Farms by military actions [“resistance”]

The message

• “[Even] after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, the [enemy] soldiers continued occupying the Lebanese Sheba’a Farms . Thus there was no way of avoiding the continuation of jihad actions, [which must be conducted] until what remains of Lebanese land [under Israeli control] is liberated. The resistance has not forgotten its duty and continues its actions against the enemy soldiers at the [Sheba’a] Farms. [The resistance] has attacked and destroyed fortified posts and trapped vehicles carrying soldiers and has not allowed the thief of [Lebanese land] to enjoy his spoils. All these activities were responses to Israeli violations of the sovereignty of the Lebanese state .”

Katyusha rockets as deterrent weapons defending Lebanese civilians

The message

• “The increasing intensity of the confrontation with the occupier did not leave the enemy an option, and therefore he could do nothing but attack civilians to exert pressure on Lebanon. The resistance dealt with the Zionist equation by using Katyushas against its settlements [i.e., Israeli towns and villages] . The resistance officially began using them in 1992. The enemy tried to respond in various ways, beginning with his air wars. [A description follows of the IDF’s military activities, including Operations Accountability and Grapes of Wrath.]…”

"The resistance continues to exist, its jihad will continue as will its defense of civilians. In addition, the Katyushas will continue as deterrent weapons in the equation of the balance of terror.”

B. A children’s book called “Sharon the Evil One:” Fostering hatred for Israel and the Jewish people by demonizing former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon

Overview

• “Sharon the Evil One” was published in 2002 by the Imam al-Mahdi Scouts, Hezbollah’s youth movement, which customarily issues propaganda publications to inculcate children and adolescents with the organization’s ideology. “Sharon the Evil One” was found in the villages of Yarun and Rab al-Thalathin during the second Lebanon war on August 15, 2006. The glossy paper it is printed on is an indication of its publishers’ financial resources. According to the next-to-last-page, the book is “ dedicated to our shaheeds, prisoners, wounded and children. You are surrounded by an enemy who has stolen the purity of your childhood. The enemy’s name is Israel. ”

• The story of “Sharon the Evil One” deals with a little kingdom called “ the Garden of Eden ,” symbolic of Palestine, whose citizens lived in happiness until an evil king named Sharon came to the throne. Through manipulation, murder, torture and abuse, King Sharon took over the country. He didn’t enjoy any sound except for “the groans of the wounded and the moans of the tortured,” and the only color he liked was “blood red.” Sharon issued an order forcing all pregnant women to drink an elixir which would make them give birth to short children. Salvation came to the kingdom at the hands of the children [i.e., Palestinian children] who decided to retaliate against evil King Sharon and received aid and support from the good king of a neighboring country [i.e., Hezbollah]. In the end, the children threw stones at King Sharon and his wife and the good king sentenced King Sharon and his retinue to life imprisonment, and the inhabitants of the kingdom of “the Garden of Eden” lived happily ever after.

• According to the blurb on the back cover, “ the events [related in this book] are about an evil man whose name is Sharon, and he symbolizes the rulers of Israel , which was founded by expelling a people [i.e., the Palestinian people] from its land, [a people which had] its own civilization, values and human culture. [Palestine was settled by] refugees from all over the world among whom there is no connection except for their bloodthirstiness, acts of terrorism such as murder, destruction, ruination and the proliferation of corruption all over the globe. As for the heroes of the story, they are the children of Palestin e, from whom Zionism stole the dream of security and stability…”

C. A coloring book called “We are all [pledged] to the homeland, we are all the resistance…” praising suicide bombing attacks, representing Hezbollah as defending Jerusalem and emphasizing the aid and support Hezbollah gives the Palestinians

• On August 11, 2006, the IDF found a coloring book in the villages of Yarun and Rab al-Thalathin. It was published in 2003 by Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq Cultural Center.⁵

• On the inside front cover there is a picture of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah with the Dome of the Rock to his left, implying that Nasrallah is a defender of Jerusalem. Next to the picture there is a short version of his biography. There are similar biographies for the Ayatollah Khomeini, Iranian leader ‘Ali Khamenei and the previous Hezbollah secretary general (killed by Israel), ‘Abbas Musawi.

• The book contains 11 pictures of Hezbollah suicide bombers ( ‘amaliyyat istishhadiyya) . Each one appears on a different page and also includes basic information about the suicide bombing attack carried out against Israel. Some of the suicide bombers are shown on the background of the Dome of the Rock. The overall objective is to turn the suicide bomber into a role model for children and adolescents and to represent the act of suicide as supreme.
  

D. An anti-Semitic booklet called “Jerusalem, Capital of Earth and Sky,” preaches hatred for the Jewish people. Its message is that Jerusalem is Arab-Muslim and that the Jews and Christians have no right to it.

• On August 15 an illustrated children’s book called “Jerusalem, Capital of Earth and Sky” was found in the villages of Yarun and Rab al-Thalathin. Its text is anti-Semitic and anti-Christian. It was published by Dar Al-‘Ilm Liltiba’a wal-Nashr.⁶

• The book’s main theme is that Jerusalem is an Arab-Muslim city and that the Jews and Christians have no right to it . For example, it states that “Jerusalem has been Arab since at least 4,000 BC because the Phoenicians and Canaanites from the Arabian peninsula migrated there” (page 4). It describes Jerusalem’s glorious Muslim past (pp. 5-6) and asserts that in 1099 the Crusaders invaded and slaughtered 70,000 Muslims, who all became shaheeds.

• On page 7, under the heading “The Zionist Plot,” there is a diatribe against the Jews : “The Jews turned Jerusalem into a pagan city during the days of Nebi Samuel [i.e., King Samuel, viewed by Islam as a prophet], may he rest in peace, and as punishment Allah sent them Sennacherib the Assyrian, who captured thousands of them. The Jews did not cease their corruption and plotting , and Nebuchadnezzar [the king of Babylon] attacked them and advanced [with his army]. After that, 40,000 Jews were left.” The book goes on to recount that “the Jews began plotting against Jesus, may he rest in peace, and brought about a civil war, until 135 [AD], when the Roman Empire chased all the Jews out of Palestine.”

• Pages 15-18 relate to the period from after the First World War until the Al-Aqsa intifada: “ The Jews played an extremely important role in the outbreak of the First World War ,” and “ the Jews convinced the American government of the necessity to expand and intervene in the affairs of the world .”

• The last page, under the heading “The divine promise,” states that Allah promised Jerusalem to the Muslims . After Allah grants victory to the Muslims and they conquer Palestine from the Jews, the Muslims will “take revenge on the Zionists for their crimes against humanity, and with Allah’s permission, that victory will come soon.”