The Case for Designating All of Hezbollah a Terrorist Organization

In advance of the opening of the 2019 UN General Assembly, AJC renewed its call for the international community, and especially the EU, to label the entirety of Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The effort included the release of a series of materials, linked to below, that highlight the need and rationale for the designation.

AJC, together with the Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) produced a fact-based analysis that makes the case for full designation. The report, Setting the Record Straight on Hezbollah, powerfully demonstrating how full designation strengthens Lebanon, protects the West, and promotes stability across the Middle East.

To take action and ask your member of Congress to urge the EU to label all of Hezbollah a terrorist organization, go to AJC.org/DesignateHezbollah.

Setting the Record Straight on Hezbollah: Full Report
Setting the Record Straight on Hezbollah: Full Report
AJC, together with the Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) produced a fact-based analysis that makes the case for full designation.
Read AJC's Analysis
Lebanese Shiite Muslims celebrate Ashura Day in southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon
Hezbollah Attacks and Conspires Against the EU: Watch the 2019 cable television ad
How much more havoc must Hezbollah wreak before the EU stands on the right side of history?  
Watch the Video
See our full-page ad in The New York Times: AJC calls on the EU to take action on Hezbollah
See our Full-Page Ad in The New York Times - Take Action: Stop Hezbollah
See AJC's full-page ad in The New York Times on September 24, 2019 calling on the EU to take action on Hezbollah.
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Photo of Hezbollah flags
Hezbollah Destabilizes Lebanon - Factsheet 1
Despite claims to the contrary, shutting out Hezbollah in its entirety will not destabilize the Lebanese government, and does nothing to combat ISIS.
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Photo of AMIA destruction
Contradictory to the Interests of the Lebanese Government - Factsheet 2
Full designation of the complex group is possible and beneficial to Lebanon. Hezbollah has dragged Lebanon into violent maelstroms that led to the destruction of infrastructure, damage to the Lebanese economy and the loss of human life, in complete contradiction to the interests of the Lebanese government.
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Photo of a wall
Hezbollah Weakens Democratic Forces in Lebanon - Factsheet 3
Hezbollah, which is part of the Lebanese government but operates primarily above the law, is involved in corruption on a particularly large scale. Full designation would enable the Lebanese government to contain the Hezbollah's corruption, reclaim control of the country, and implement Lebanese sovereignty.
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Mountain landscape
Diplomatic and Political Ties with Lebanon - Factsheet 4
Unlike the EU's approach to the ETA and IRA, full designation will not close off diplomatic and political engagement with Lebanon. The United States, the Netherlands, and Canada all designated Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization while simultaneously supporting the strengthening of government institutions, maintaining trade relations, and providing humanitarian aid for the refugee problem in Lebanon.
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Destroyed city
Hezbollah is the Long Arm of Iran - Factsheet 5
Although Hezbollah has tried to obscure its real relationship with Iran over the years, many statements by its leaders alongside other publications have attested to the depth of the ties between the organization and Iran.
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Blurred photo of a Hezbollah flag
A Direct Terrorist Threat to Europe - Factsheet 6
What happens in the Middle East doesn't stay in the Middle East. Hezbollah has established a terrorist infrastructure in Europe and executes terrorist attacks against non-European targets on European soil.
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Blurry photo of candles
Hezbollah Nefarious Activities in the EU - Factsheet 7
Despite banning the organization's military wing, Hezbollah has continued its involvement in criminal activities, gathering intelligence, and building an infrastructure to carry out terror attacks.
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City on a coast from a hilltop
Hezbollah Incites Antisemitism - Factsheet 8
Hezbollah has adopted the anti-Zionist rhetoric of modern-day antisemitism. Antisemitism in and of itself constitutes a violation of human rights that Europe has committed to combat under the European Convention on Human Rights.
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Blurry photo of Hezbollah militants
Hezbollah: More Dangerous Today than Ever Before - Factsheet 9
Hezbollah's evolution to a hybrid organization makes it more dangerous today than the terrorist revolutionary organization it was during the 1980s.
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The Number of Hezbollah Operatives in Europe is Increasing - Factsheet 10
Hezbollah has well-established infrastructure in several European countries that could include hundreds or thousands of operatives.
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Hezbollah's Military and Political Strength - Factsheet 11
A review of the organization’s increasing military and political strength and the consequences for the region and Europe.
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Blurry photo of Hezbollah militants
Key Points on AJC's Advocacy Designating Hezbollah a Terrorist Organization- Factsheet 12
AJC urges the European Union, and other responsible state and non-State actors, to designate the Iranian-sponsored terrorist group Hezbollah, in its entirety, as a terrorist entity.
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Lebanese Shiite Muslims celebrate Ashura Day in southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon
Top Ten Takeaways from AJC/ICT's Hezbollah Report
For years, the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, and other countries have called all of Hezbollah what it really is: a terrorist organization. The group’s self-portrayal as a legitimate Lebanese political party notwithstanding, no amount of spin or reorganization can overshadow Hezbollah’s destructive and lethal organized crime operation around the world.
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AMIA rally
Argentina Designates Hezbollah as Terror Organization
A quarter-century after the bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, the president of Argentina has added Hezbollah to a registry of terrorist organizations and has frozen its assets.
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A truck carries the bus damaged by the suicide bomb blast which targeted a group of Israeli tourists at the airport in Bourgas, Bulgaria, on July 19, 2012.
Hezbollah Is a Terrorist Organization and a Threat to Europe
The deadly 2012 attack in Burgas, killing five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian Muslim bus driver, was a clear case that should have moved the EU to designate Hezbollah, in its entirety, a terrorist organization. To this day, it hasn’t happened.
Read AJC's Analysis
photo of Hezbollah militants marching with flags
Germany, Do Not Give Into Fanaticism
Recent investigations and trials in EU countries have confirmed what has long been a consensus amongst terrorism experts: Hezbollah is using Europe to secure its financing.
Read AJC's Analysis
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