Local Family

For a family of Pacific Palisades residents, the Lebanon conflict is hitting close to home. Mark Tabit, his wife Jill, and their three sons were on the last commercial airplane out of Lebanon ‘ Lufthansa flight 3517 ‘ just hours before Israeli bombs struck Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport on July 13. ‘We didn’t even know that the airport had been bombed until we landed in Chicago,’ said Jill, who has written several feature stories for the Palisadian Post. ‘They didn’t tell us why our plane was delayed.’ The Tabits’ plane, scheduled to leave Beirut at 3 a.m., was delayed a half-hour. Israeli bombs struck the airport at 5 a.m. According to Jill, leaving the airport, the family’s biggest concern was for their daughter Christy, scheduled to leave on a separate flight at approximately the same time. ‘Christy was traveling to Tanzania, where she was going to begin a program to teach young adults English, computer skills, math, and business,’ said Jill. ‘We had general concerns for her, but nothing related to the violence.’ The family had originally traveled to Lebanon on June 24 to vacation and sell property owned by Mark’s father. Mark, a financial advisor for Wachovia Securities, is half Lebanese but was raised in the U.S.; under Lebanese law, only citizens can inherit land, and thus Mark was forced to sell his father’s property. It was the family’s first trip to Lebanon and Mark’s second. While the Tabits’ sons had some initial misgivings about traveling to the Middle East as opposed to a more conventional vacation destination, they were ‘pleasantly surprised’ by what they found. Overall, the family said, they had felt safe, both as Americans and as Christians. ‘Everyone was really friendly to us when they found out we were Americans,’ said Luke, 20, who will be a junior at Notre Dame University. ‘We were out looking for a club to go to one night and we asked these two guys in a car. Once they found out we were Americans, they offered to take us around.’ ‘People wanted to take pictures with us,’ added Tyler, 18. ‘I think they were fascinated with us [as Americans]. ‘We never felt threatened while we were there,’ Jill said, a sentiment echoed by the entire family. ‘We’re upset and sad for Lebanon and its people. Ten percent of the Lebanese people support Hezbollah ‘ the rest don’t. It’s a shame that everybody has to suffer.’ Israel’s bombing began the day before the Tabits left, but ‘we didn’t think it would ever come to Beirut,’ Jill said. ‘We knew there had been bombing 20 or 30 minutes south of the city, but nothing closer.’ The Tabits have several relatives currently living in the central Lebanese town of Bhamdoun; however, they have not directly seen any of the violence that has rocked the south of the country. ‘They’ve told us they feel completely safe,’ Mark said. But still, he added, they’ve been affected by thousands of refugees fleeing the fighting. ‘There have been shortages of food, medicine, and gas,’ Jill said. ‘Power has also been interrupted. They’ve been effected.’ Still, when asked if they would consider visiting Lebanon again, all seemed enthusiastic. ‘I would and will go back after this is all over,’ Mark said. ‘Most of the problems aren’t necessarily coming from the Lebanese people themselves ‘ they are coming from outside interests.’