Lebanon’s Jews recall a lost era of the community as new talks with Israel stir hope

An AP report examines Lebanon's dwindling Jewish community, once numbering up to 20,000, as new Israel-Lebanon talks bring attention to their history and the fate of at least seven Jews among the country's 17,000 missing from the civil war. Rabbi Elie Abadie, who left at age 10, recalls a lost era. Israel recently released five Lebanese civilians after Lebanon helped locate remains of abducted Jewish leaders.

A new AP report highlights the nearly forgotten Jewish community of Lebanon as recent Israel-Hezbollah negotiations bring renewed attention. Rabbi Elie Abadie, who left Lebanon at age 10 and now serves in Dubai, recalls a vibrant community of up to 20,000 Jews in the 1960s, centered in Beirut's Wadi Abu Jmil district. The community declined sharply after the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1975 civil war, with kidnappings by armed groups, including one linked to Hezbollah, targeting prominent Jews. At least seven Jews remain among Lebanon's 17,000 missing persons from the civil war. Last month, Israel released five Lebanese civilians as part of US-brokered talks, after Lebanon assisted in locating the remains of abducted Jewish community leaders. Today, only about 20 Jews are estimated to remain in Lebanon, with five shuttered synagogues. The article quotes diaspora members who maintain Lebanese cultural ties but express complicated identities, and notes that while Judaism is still an officially recognized sect, most registered Jews live abroad.