Comments on: Trouble in Syrian New York

By: OrthodoxHistory.org » Blog Archive » St. Raphael and the Battle of Pacific Street

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:03:13 +0000

[...] As we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks, in September 1905, New York’s Syrian community was on the brink of war. On one side were the Orthodox, who rallied around their bishop, St. Raphael Hawaweeny. The saint himself opposed violence — both violent acts and violent words — but his attempts to intervene only exacerbated the problem. On the other side were the Maronites — the Roman Catholic Syrians. These were led by a group known as the “Champagne Glass Club,” which included the influential Arabic newspaper editor and Lebanese nationalist Naoum Mokarzel. [...]

By: OrthodoxHistory.org » Blog Archive » The Eve of the Battle of Pacific Street

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:21:46 +0000

[...] Last week, we left the two New York Syrian camps — Orthodox and Maronite — on the brink of war. Each side’s partisan newspaper attacked the other, and the Maronites took particular aim at St. Raphael, the Orthodox bishop of Brooklyn, accusing him of all sorts of outlandish offenses. Various parties received anonymous threats, and things came to a head in late August, when a Maronite group known as the Champagne Glass Club (CGC) told the police that St. Raphael had called on his followers to use violence against their Maronite enemies. [...]

By: Fr. Oliver Herbel

Fr. Oliver Herbel — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 23:07:34 +0000

I do believe you will be making use of actual court documents, though, correct?

By: Fr. Oliver Herbel

Fr. Oliver Herbel — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 23:06:30 +0000

As a footnote comment, if you will, this series will be preliminary in scope, as it will not be based on the Arabic newspapers in questions nor any letters that may be extant.

Is this correct, Matthew?

I offer this footnote simply to help people put things in perspective and to know that there is more work that should be done even while acknowledging that what you are just beginning to do has not yet been done before, either.