I have been to Bar-Am where he was born, and to nearby Gush Halav. The Maronite community has been petitioning for years to have their land restored to them, and they have the support and help of any number of Jewish Israelis. I'm not sure where the case stands today.
He writes that they have support from the Jewish community. He makes a big distinction in his book between Jewish Israelis who had been his neighbors and the Zionists who came in to destroy the villages. The area as he describes it sounds beautiful. I didn't know that any of this occurred before I read this book. I haven't finished it yet, but I want to try and understand what the situation is and was there. Very complex, it seems. Is the Maronite the same as or similar to the Melkites? There's a lot I don't understand. He says that his family had been there since the time of Christ.