Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Even as Israel is attacking his native Lebanon, kill hundreds of peopleAntoun Sehnaoui seized territory in the country’s south and was publicly praised for his support for Israel and his family’s history as “Lebanese Christian Zionists”.
Al-Senawi, one of Lebanon’s leading bankers and chairman of Société Générale de Lebanon (SGBL), attended an event on Tuesday at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which he donated. One person who praised his pro-Israel sincerity was his romantic partner, Morgan Ortagus, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East.
Recommended Stories
4 item listend of list
Ortagus, who was widely criticized in Lebanon for her pro-Israel bias during her tenure in the Trump administration, told the audience that supporting Israel is an act that requires “moral clarity” even if it involves personal risk.
Ortagus praised Al-Senawi, claiming that his funding of the U.S.-Israeli opera project was “technically illegal in Lebanon,” which bans dealings with Israeli individuals or institutions. Ortagus went on to say that Senawi comes from generations of “committed Lebanese Christian Zionists” and said his family “trained him to be a supporter of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.”
She also pointed to what she described as long-standing family ties to Israel, including that his father, Nabil, was one of the main financiers of the Christian militia Lebanese Forces (LF), which allied with Israel during its 1982 invasion and was considered a Participate in massacre In the same year, in the Palestinian refugee camp Shatila and in the neighborhood of Sabra in Beirut.
However, Al-Senawi’s latest support for Israel comes at a particularly difficult time for many in Lebanon, who are still awaiting the benefits of a U.S.-imposed ceasefire.
Israel has been accused of numerous war crimes since launching a ground operation in Lebanon last year. mid marchincluding its use of a “four-click” approach designed to minimize harm to civilians from a single strike. Israel’s actions have also displaced more than 1 million people (about 20% of the total population) from southern Lebanon. This chaotic flight has destabilized the country and exacerbated the situation in southern Lebanon. sectarian tensions.
The response to a video of one of the country’s most prominent figures appearing to align himself with Israel drew condemnation from much of the country’s social media sphere. One article cited in Israeli media said Senawi should be “jailed,” while another accused him of converting to Judaism and “betraying his country.” Another post read: “You are a disgusting, despicable person who has no respect for your own people.”
Ortagus tie
“I think the timing of the appearance is more problematic than the actual appearance itself,” said Lebanese academic and political commentator Makram Rabah, adding that visiting the Holocaust museum itself should not be a source of controversy. However, this is unlike supporters of Israel and many of the Lebanese factions that previously supported Israel.
Further evidence of a rumored romantic relationship between Ortagus and Senawi will also be controversial. Since being appointed by the Trump administration in April 2025, Ortagus has made little secret of her support for Israel and strong opposition to Hezbollah, which has drawn criticism over her role as a so-called neutral middleman in dealings with Middle Eastern countries.
Michael Young, a Lebanese expert at the Carnegie Middle East Center, said video evidence of her outspoken support for Israel and her comments supporting al-Senawi should not surprise anyone.
“I think in a way it highlights what a lot of people are thinking: Is Ortagus really the best envoy the United States could send to Lebanon, given her very clear leanings toward Israel?” Yang said.
Bad guy
Critics say that regardless of Ortagouz’s role, Senawi’s position among Lebanon’s financial elite, including his role as chairman of SGBL, one of the country’s largest banks, allows him to influence the political process at all levels of the Lebanese state and along religious divides.
However, despite this influence, Al-Senawi still faces legal problems at home and abroad. In Lebanon, prosecutors have charged him and his bank with money laundering related to currency trading operations during the financial crisis that began in 2019 and is still severely affecting daily life across Lebanon. The bank denies any wrongdoing.
In the United States, SGBL is also subject to a civil lawsuit filed in 2020 by the families of victims of Hezbollah attacks in Iraq. They claimed that the bank provided material support to the group, but SGBL also denied this.
“He (Senawi) can buy or sell anyone,” Lebanese lawmaker Paula Yacoubian told Al Jazeera. “He is ready to work with everyone, from (Christian militia) Jnoud el-Rab to Hezbollah. He doesn’t care,” she said, referring to the far-right militia. The International Center for the Study of Radicalization said the militia was funded by Al-Senawi and carried out a series of violent attacks against Lebanon’s LGBTQ community.
“These latest moves are just an attempt to buy him an extra layer of immunity, presumably in return for helping normalize relations with Israel, but that’s not how normalization works,” Yacoubian said. “The way normalization works is for the government to play cards, such as negotiating the return of millions of people in the south, rather than bypassing the government entirely.”
For now, while outrage over the footage continues to spread across Lebanon, many more are still dealing with the fallout from Israel’s relentless attacks on the country since then. March 2.
Tens of thousands of people are report Within hours of the ceasefire being announced, they were returning to the devastated south, some to retrieve the bodies of the dead, others simply to search for the remnants of their homes and lives.
