'Boycott them or they will come': Hezbollah supporters dress as Orthodox Jews in anti-Semitic stunt

A group of Hezbollah supporters dressed as Orthodox Jews staged a demonstration in Beirut on Wednesday calling for the boycott of US products in response to Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan.

In a video shared online by supporters of the powerful Shia group, participants can be seen holding signs reading "Your money can boycott the deal of the century" and "Thank you IDF [Israeli Defence Force] for your support".

The demonstrators, dressed all in black with fake sidelocks  - traditionally grown by Orthodox Jewish men - walk through the streets of Beirut to a dramatic soundtrack as onlookers observe the protest.

Other signs read "Boycott US products until they are gone", while the protesters also carried slogans written in Hebrew.

The video was widely decried online as anti-semitic and ridiculed for its poor production value.

Members of the group were reportedly assaulted following the demonstration after being mistaken for Orthodox Jews, social media users said.

The demonstration was thought to be in response to a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday, in which he called on Lebanese citizens to boycott US goods and products as a part of a "battle" against Trump's pro-Israel peace plan.

"The Israeli is afraid of death while the American's weakness is his security and economy," Nasrallah said.

Hezbollah social media accounts published lists of US products to boycott following the speech.

Nasrallah's call for a boycott quickly backfired. Lebanese social media users posted sarcastic and scathing memes mocking the campaign.

One user shared a photo of Nasrallah's son Jawad wearing a Timberland USA.73 sweatshirt with a caption reading: "before suggesting to your audience boycotting the US, please remove your son's sweatshirt and dress him in Iranian [clothing]".

Another Twitter user wrote: "If I see any Hezbollah member carrying an iPhone, I will complain about him to Nasrallah."

The call for a boycott of US goods comes as Lebanon faces the worst economic and financial crisis since the civil war.

Lebanon has been suffering from slow growth, high unemployment and decades of widespread corruption and mismanagement that have triggered nationwide protests against the political elite, including Hezbollah, since mid-October.

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