Lebanon's Al Jadeed TV shot at amid calls to close station down over skit

A television station in the Lebanese capital was shot at in the early hours of Friday, the third time in four days, as an online campaign has called for its closure over an "offensive" skit.

Heavy gunfire was reportedly heard in the vicinity of Al Jadeed TV offices in Beirut’s Wata Msaitbeh area at around 2 am (12 am GMT). It came after a previous shooting and a failed Molotov attack on the building earlier this week.

No casualties were recorded and the channel said material damage was minimal.

"We have taken measures to carry out more patrols around Al Jadeed TV, but the shooting that happened last night came from the [nearby] Cola intersection," Interior Minister Bassam al-Mawlawi told a press conference.

#بسام_مولوي : الاعتداء على مبنى #قناة_الجديد قيد التحقيق الجدي والقوى الأمنية تأخذ إجراءاتها ونريد الوصول للحقيقة@MawlawiBassam https://t.co/EF6dmi8VDB

— Al Jadeed News (@ALJADEEDNEWS) December 30, 2022

He said security agencies were investigating the incidents and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The attacks come after a skit on a satire show that caused uproar among people from south Lebanon, sparking calls from the country’s Shia community in particular to shut down Al Jadeed.

In the skit, actress Joana Karaki impersonates a Shia Muslim woman and claims most people in the south have green and blue eyes and blonde hair because of intermarrying with Europeans such as Britons and Italians.

She used a term many people considered vulgar and offensive to women in the south, and critics argued that Karaki was implying something sexual.

فاتوا فيكي الانكليز والطليان ؟ او صابغة شعرك ؟ مش مهم المهم انك عم تطبلي عشان حدا يلكشك ويطلعك ع الهوا لانك expired من الطائفة مرة بتطبلي لسعد مرة بتطبلي للجديد #جوانا_كركي #دكانة_الجديد #داليا_أحمد pic.twitter.com/bvRdqvNjwa

— روضة (@rawdahajj) December 24, 2022

Karaki, herself from south Lebanon, said in self-defence that the video was trimmed, and what she was actually saying was southern Lebanese women marry European men, just like Lebanese men marry European women.

She refused to apologise, saying the attacks on her were "tarnishing the image of Shias."

ملاحظة مهمة جوانا كركي قالت جبناهم لعنا وزوجناهم من بناتنا وتلات ارباع ولاد الجنوب عيون زرق وخضر
معناها الجملة مجتزأة وجوانا ما اخطأت ونحنا مدينون لها بالاعتذار
ما حدا يزت كلمة غلط قبل ما يشاهد الفيديو @MariamAlbassam @ALJADEEDNEWS
انا اقدم اعتذاري علنا من جوانا وقناة الجديد pic.twitter.com/sgdBNpLm17

— Nancy Lakiss🇱🇧 نانسي اللقيس 🇱🇧 (@lakiss_nancy) December 27, 2022

Despite her clarifications, some people insisted that Karaki’s "Batoul" character was purposely targeting Shia women in Lebanon on the show.

More videos from other episodes of the show were shared showing Karaki in positions deemed highly offensive to women who wear the hijab, as she talks about going to nightclubs, beaches, and "making money" amid Lebanon’s dire economic crisis.

جوانا كركي بريئة ما قصدا والجديد ملائكة والناس فهمانين كل هالإيحاءات غلط🤡

برنامج وسخ لا يمت للكوميديا بصلة اصلاً هدفه وسخ متل المحطة لي عمتعرضو!

رأيي وحرة❤️

صباحو
pic.twitter.com/2oTvOcLEH7

— ＬＡＲＡ (@lara_klayte) December 29, 2022

While investigations are yet to reveal who has been behind the attacks on Al Jadeed, there is speculation that they could be threats to the TV station carried out by those calling for its closure.

The channel has apologised for any harm it caused with its skit, saying it did not mean to offend anyone, especially "the brave women of southern Lebanon who resisted Israeli occupation."

Several Lebanese officials have condemned the attacks, saying freedom of speech was a constitutional right and "sacred" in Lebanon, refusing calls to silence the channel over a comedy show.

Al Jadeed has previously been subject to campaigns by Shia supporters of the Hezbollah and Amal Movement parties and militias over political stances taken by the channel, and satellite providers have previously blocked it in mainly-Shia regions.