Neil Bar

Shocking poll results of the Shia community in Lebanon. If the survey was not conducted by a reputable company, Statistics Lebanon, I would have dismissed it because the results show a truly stunning collapse of support for Hezbollah among the Shia community. This collapse is an undeniable fact based on my conversations with Shia friends in Lebanon, following social media production by Shia (including videos and thousands of comments on popular Facebook pages for Shia communities), and the testimonies of Shia journalists and scholars. Still, the numbers are surprising. The most shocking results: - 42% of Shia feel disappointed, angry or worried about the conduct of the leadership of Hezbollah - 37% trust in Hezbollah greatly, 22.4% trust to some extent, 23.6% do not trust Hezbollah much, 15% do not trust Hezbollah at all. Previously 85% expressed trust in Hezbollah - 52% do not trust Hezbollah's social & service institutions (likely due to favoritism in distribution) - 52.4% do not trust the media outlets affiliated with Hezbollah. - Only 2% would prefer to send their children to schools run by Hezbollah (Mehdi and Mustafa schools) - 42.3% believe Hezbollah has not achieved any of its goals and that the costs of the war were exceedingly high 25% believe Hezbollah achieved only part of its goals and the costs of the war were exceedingly high. A total of 67.4% put together. 14% say it's too early to tell - 63.3% support a deal with Israel (either direct talks, through mediation, or a total regional agreement) - 9% support a deal that will be sponsored by Iran - 66.4% support handing over Hezbollah's weapons to the state 29.6% support preserving Hezbollah's weapons - 51.1% see he Lebanese Army as the biggest contributor to guaranteeing security in the long run 16.5% see Hezbollah this way - 71% Believe war & peace decisions should only be made by Lebanon's leadership 12% Support Hezbollah making its own decisions on these matters - Only 5% believe using force is legitimate to express opposition to the government's position on disarming Hezbollah - 80% see their Lebanese identity as more important than their sectarian or partisan affiliation Source: al-Jadeed TV discussion with the CEO of Statistics Lebanon youtube.com/watch?v=Tb_e5rTC…