In a February 16, 2020 speech, Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah stated that the U.S. economy and the dollar are America’' Achilles heel, and therefore called to boycott American products as part of the struggle against the U.S.
Nasrallah's call drew mocking responses from Lebanese media figures and social media users. Taking to Twitter, they accused Hizbullah of hypocrisy, because its members and leaders openly use the dollar, American social media platforms and various American products. They posted many photos showing prominent Hizbullah members using such products, and similar photos of officials from Iran, which is Hizbullah’s patron. For example, photos were posted of Nasrallah's son Jawad and of the late Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani wearing the Timberland brand, as well as a photo showing the car that carried Soleimani's coffin during his funeral: a U.S.-manufactured Chevrolet.
The following is a sampling of the reactions in Lebanon to Nasrallah's call for a boycott on American products.
Poster of Hizbullah's campaign to boycott U.S. goods: "Boycott Is Resistance" (Source: Twitter.com/MhmdMahdiNasr9, February 19, 2020)
Hizbullah, Iranian Officials Use American Products
Nasrallah's Son And Qassem Soleimani Wearing The Timberland Brand
One of the pictures that went viral as part of the mocking response to Nasrallah's call was a photo of his son, Jawad, wearing a shirt bearing the logo of the American Timberland brand. Twitter activist Fatima Eid posted it with the comment: "Nasrallah: Boycott American Goods. [His son] Jawad Nasrallah: No way."[1]
Photo of Jawad Nasrallah in a shirt saying "Timberland USA.73"
User Abu Awadi tweeted two versions of this photo, one titled "before the boycott" and showing Jawad wearing the shirt, and another titled "after the boycott," showing him without it.
The comment above the photos says "Boycott American products, says Sayyed [Hassan Nasrallah]."[2]
It should be mentioned that Jawad Nasrallah replied to these tweets with a sarcastic tweet of his own, saying: "They are responding to the logo on my shirt. I can't reply, because I am boycotting American products, and I'm about to sell my iPhone," followed by kiss and wink emojis.[3]
Another picture circulated widely in response to Nasrallah's call showed Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of Iran's Qods Force, who was recently killed in a U.S. airstrike and is greatly revered by Nasrallah, wearing a Timberland jacket. Shi'ite Lebanese media figure Dima Sadek tweeted the photo with the word "Timberland".[4]
Dima Sadek's tweet
Soleimani's Coffin Was Carried In A Chevy; Hizbullah Uses Envoy Vans And Other GMC Vehicles
Twitter user Charlotte Halby wrote, "Nasrallah [says], 'why not boycott American goods? It's part of the struggle." Below this she posted a picture of Nasrallah giving the speech, along with a picture of the car that carried Soleimani's coffin during his funeral: a Chevrolet.[5]
Charlotte Halby's tweet
User HAKIMEXX tweeted "boycott American goods," with a photo of a GMC van used by Hizbullah. [6]
User Fadi Nasrallah tweeted: "I swear I can't see the boys from Hizbullah trading in their [American] Envoy [vans] for [French] Renault Meganes…"[7]
User Gino Raidy from Lebanon tweeted a photo of Nasrallah giving his February 16, 2020 speech, along with a picture of the chair he was sitting on, manufactured by the American Herman Miller company, and commented in English: "Teb [ok] if the Sayyed [Nasrallah] sits on an American-made chair worth 1,300-1,500USD while he is demanding we boycott US products, shu mna3mel [what are we supposed to do]?"[8]
Gino Raidy's tweet
Another Lebanese user tweeted: "Death to America and long live its products."[9]
Hizbullah Officials Use Twitter, American Currency
Many users noted that Hizbullah uses American websites and technology. User Hussein Nasrallah wrote: "The three Hizbullah MPs and the Hizbullah minister [all] use Twitter, an American website. They also use that icon of American technology, the iPhone, and a long list [of other products]…"[10]
Hussein Nasrallah's tweet
In another tweet, he alluded to the fact that Hizbullah conducts transactions in U.S. dollars, commenting: "First boycott the dollars you receive via Latin America. Lebanon will not boycott any American goods, and whoever has a problem with that can emigrate. Bless Donald Trump." Below this he posted an image of imported products sold in Lebanon, many of which are American.[11]
Another user tweeted: "Boycott American goods – sure thing, Nasrallah. Yeah, you genius. Yeah, [you are really] scaring [the Americans]. Yeah, it took you years to come up with this big idea. Yeah, you conqueror of American social media. Yeah, you bury your dead with American Envoy [vans]. Yeah, you import American dollars [provided by] the Iranians. Yeah, you idiot."[12]
Lebanese Journalist: Hizbullah Is Two-Faced
Lebanese journalist Nasrin 'Ajab reacted to Nasrallah's call to boycott American goods in an article on the Elaph news website titled "Hizbullah and the U.S. – The Devil and the Compass". She accused Hizbullah of hypocrisy because it curses the U.S., while some figures close to it "rush into America's arms." She added that the American dollar is not responsible for the dire situation in Lebanon, and neither is Lebanon itself; rather, the ones responsible are the politicians, including Nasrallah's allies, who are robbing the country.
She wrote: "'Why not boycott American goods,' wondered Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, in his [February 16] speech, in which he brutally attacked the U.S. Yes, that is a legitimate question… But wait a minute, is it the dollar that turned [Lebanon] into a plundered state? No, it is the politicians, including Sayyed Nasrallah's closest allies, who have been diligently looting the country for 30 years and concoct [shady] deals instead of taking care of its electricity, water and even garbage[-collection infrastructures]. So before flooding us with declarations against the U.S. and its economy, let him stop backing his corrupt allies, and then maybe this small country will regain some of its stolen funds, start paying some of its mounting debt and find a way out of its economic hell…
"Yes, [the call to boycott American goods] would have been legitimate coming from someone who has severed all his ties with the one he calls 'the Great Satan.' But the problem with Hizbullah's handling of this issue is its double standard: On the one hand, [it treats] America as the Great Satan, who must be fought, but at the same time, figures close to Hizbullah rush into America's arms and brag about it…"
The Lebanese Al-Jumhouriya daily, known for its opposition to Hizbullah, published a cartoon captioned "Nasrallah calls to boycott American goods," in which a Hizbullah supporter shouts “No, no, no [to American goods], except dollars, Cherokees and Jeans!!"[13]
The Al-Jumhouriya cartoon
[1] Twitter.com/Fatima_Eid9, February 16, 2020.
[2] Twitter.com/Firasg72, February 17, 2020.
[3] Twitter.com/mohammadjdns, February 16, 2020.
[4] Twitter.com/DimaSadek, February 17, 2020.
[5] Twitter.com/HalbyCharlotte, February 17, 2020.
[6] Twitter.com/HAKIMEXX, February 16, 2020.
[7] Twitter.com/Fidodido901, February 16, 2020.
[8] Twitter.com/GinoRaidy, February 17, 2020.
[9] Twitter.com/GrFr39267907, February 17, 2020.
[10] Twitter.com/Hussein_nasrlah, February 17, 2020.
[11] Twitter.com/Hussein_nasrlah, February 16, 2020.
[12] Twitter.com/icomefromrivia, February 16, 2020.
[13] Al-Jumhouriya (Lebanon), February 17, 2020.
