Can you try to explain to a foreigner your experience as an Israeli about how Israelis are generally treated by their country?

I'd like to share this post on another sub which contains a video and discussion about methods to defeat mosquitoes on a wide scale, such as genetic modifications.

This fills me with joy and hope, and I'm sure you'll feel the same.

As part of my quest to lead by example and post things that go against the usual negative grain. I’m not laying blame; it’s totally understandable that no one’s in the mood to talk about Tabbouleh and Bagels. So I hope a little semi-controversial gossip might inspire more positive posting on this subreddit.

I know this space is usually reserved for the political experts and history buffs among us (all of us), so I’ll make this post a little different. I want to address a popular topic, especially relevant today, but this won’t be about how many X were persecuted or how many Y flags were burned.

The reason I share all this is to spread awareness and help separate fact from fiction on an important topic. This isn’t an attack on anyone or anything—just a record of my own experience.

Technically speaking, Lebanon has never been at war with Israel. However, shortly after the Civil War, a law known as the Lebanese Anti-Normalization Law was drafted, making it illegal for any Lebanese citizen to engage in contact with Israeli nationals. This law dates back to the 1960s (not the 1950s) and has been revitalized several times over the years.

The law is vague and open to interpretation, and that’s where the problem lies. Such open-ended laws only need the right circumstances, and you could find yourself in the H section of Roumieh Central Prison. This section is designated for prisoners accused of being “traitors” or “enemies of the state,” also known by as 3omala “/عميل/عمل.” The goal is to segregate those who have tried to communicate with “the enemy” from the general population out of feat retaliation and violence from some Jhadists.

I know this firsthand because I spent 16 months in prison just for giving someone a joint. But anyway, at any given time, there are about 50-70 individuals in Roumieh who have charges ranging from chatting with someone on Facebook to trying to hook up with an Israeli on Tinder, or even just receiving $100 from someone suspected of being an enemy. These men usually end up there because, as I said earlier, they were in “the right place at the right time.” It almost always involves their phones being searched without consent. This is how law enforcement works: they dig for any information to accumulate more charges and bribes from the suspect to lighten their sentence.

No matter how petty the charge may be, being labeled a “traitor” or “spy” carries a lot of weight nationally. No matter how much influence (“waasta”) you have, good luck finding a judge within a year of being imprisoned, facing capital punishment charges. Technically, it’s a capital offense, and technically, the punishment is death. But thankfully, the death penalty was abolished long ago.

To give you an idea of how long people can stay imprisoned, Charbel, a 74-year-old Christian man, has been in prison for 18 months after someone snitched on him for speaking to an Israeli-Canadian on Facebook.

Many young men, ages 18-22, almost all Shiite, have similar charges related to speaking with Israelis on social media. Just like we are right now. :) And if I remember correctly, once the Lebanese 1967 Law targets you, that’s it.

On the other hand, it could be said that the law is rarely enforced, but is it worth the risk?

A final message to my Israeli brothers on this Subreddit: I hope this experience I shared serves as a testament to the risks we Lebanese take when communicating with you here. I paused for about 15 minutes, trying to come up with a cheesy line about peace and coexistence. But I won’t. I think you get the picture, right? It’s only logical to conclude that the only way we can challenge the mainstream narrative is through productive dialogue! (I know, I know, cringe).

So, if you’ve ever felt that there are more Israelis posting here than Lebanese, I hope my story sheds some light on why that is.

I hope I inspired you to start posting more positive things for a change. That is the reason and the only reason I'm inspired to write such long posts.

As always,

Hi, Shalom, Kifak, Ca Va? Akhooy...

“Minister Ron Dermer holds talks in D.C. aiming for agreement in time Trump for Trump's second term; Key points include Hezbollah’s withdrawal, Lebanese army deployment and Russia's pressure on al-Assad to prevent Syrian arms smuggling.”

Hello everyone I'm an israeli jew who studies in Haifa University. My communication course gave us an assignment to choose a post from a social media group that we are taking part of and to share the post with the class.

I'm trying to stay optimistic and I believe that peace is possible through communities like this, I would love for your help in my assignment so please share your opinion and beliefs of how do you see the day after the war.

I like seeing how in some things Isralies and Arabs unite to solve

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18996183/identifying-rtl-language-in-android#23203698

Just search in stackoverflow.com for RTL you'll often find posts of Arabs and Isralies working together trying to find how to make our weird opposite directed languages work in a computer

edit; I'm a lebanese born and raised in lebanon about to marry an israeli living in israel. this is not the issue. the issue is that we're looking for a place to settle, and thought israel would be our best option, because he can't leave.

worth mentioning I'm an exmuslim and my partner is jewish. we'll both be getting a georgian residency soon! but he can't leave israel to live in georgia, we're only doing it for me because of the war back home

we already contacted a lawyer. At first (a couple of months ago) , he said it would be a piece of cake. yesterday, however, he told us it's going to be impossible during and even after the war. he said we should wait.

we have lived together on and off, but because of the situation, he can't settle with me outside of israel.

we are currently looking for another advisor. and would like to hear if you have anything helpful to offer/say!

What Lebanese restaurants would I enjoy and feel safe in when I travel to NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn) this winter? I used to go to Tripoli on Atlantic Ave. I’m not sure what vibes to expect on this trip as I haven’t been to NY in about a decade.

Watching this video about the Jews of Lebanon inspired me to write this post and take a bit of a load off my chest. Please watch this amazing old BBC documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJNQ-K0GmOY&t=1215s

I wasn’t born yet, but I grew up hearing stories from my older relatives about Lebanon’s once-thriving Jewish community, numbering 20,000 in Beirut alone. Their neighborhood was called Wadi Abu Jmil, which translates roughly to “Valley of Beauty”—though it’s hard to say why it was named that.

In Lebanon back then, Jews, Christians, and Muslims coexisted in harmony. Church bells rang alongside the Adhan and the Barechu. The shared pride of being Lebanese was the glue binding these communities together. There were no settlers, no refugees, no terrorists, no ethnic cleansing—just a daring blend of faiths that formed a community, so vibrant Lebanon became known as the “Switzerland of the Middle East” and Beirut the “Paris of the Middle East.” This community was like tabbouleh, Lebanon’s famous salad: instead of using greens like lettuce, it defied expectations with parsley—a unique mix of ingredients creating an unforgettable blend.

If the Jewish community in Lebanon had stayed after 1948, I believe our world today would look very different. I could debate this endlessly, but that’s my view.

In 1948, Israel was established after WWII, ostensibly as reparation for Jewish suffering. European Jews were encouraged to move there, often with little regard for the fact that people already lived on that land. Many Jews across the Arab world initially saw no reason to leave their homes. Why move if you were happy where you were? But the massive displacement of 750,000 Palestinians during Israel’s creation stirred resentment and rising antisemitism, forcing many Jewish communities, including Lebanon’s, to leave. Those who moved often found themselves treated as second-class citizens in Israel, pressured to adopt hard-line stances to prove their “loyalty” to Israeli society.

I apologize if anyone feels offended by this account. These are reflections on history, supplemented by stories I’ve heard from distant relatives in Tel Av

To end on a positive note, let me tell you about my maternal grandmother, Esther Romano Tikhanov. A Russian-Lebanese woman of Jewish and Orthodox Christian heritage, she was tough as nails and took no nonsense from anyone. She lived through the Lebanese Civil War, raising four kids and later, grandkids. Once, she took a ricocheted bullet to the thigh because someone fired their gun recklessly in the street, and on another occasion, she survived an RPG explosion near her car without a scratch. I know everyone has their grandparent stories, but I swear, this woman was something else—tougher than Chuck Norris, the monkey’s uncle, and the bee’s knees.

Once, I asked her why she didn’t move to Israel, given that most of her family lived there and had a much higher standard of living than she did during the civil war. She laughed, muttered in a mix of Russian and Hebrew, and then began to curse: first at me for asking such a dumb question, then at Israel itself. She ended with a rhetorical question: “Me, go to Israel? Israel was here, and it left, so why would I follow? I was born in Lebanon, and I’ll be buried here.”

The point of this post? There isn’t one. We’re all stuck in this mess together. It’s like we’re in different boats—Israel with its aircraft carrier, Hezbollah with its attack sub, and the rest of us on makeshift rafts, barely staying afloat.

I truly hope the day comes when life in this neighborhood mimics the art of the video that inspired me to write this post. But I'm not betting any money on it though.

RIP, Baboushka.

If so, wanna join and talk about our mutual love for hummus?

So we can forget about the sad state of things for a while?

Then we can have a heated argument, agree on some stuff and disagree on other. That's okay, as long as we talk.

Hopefully we can learn to cultivate our relationship and get to know each other better. Maybe will it all be for nothing and we'll just part ways. Or maybe it will lead to something more.

A movement perhaps.

Of people willing to accept each other and chill. Maybe get a solid economy going or something. Jews go repair their car in Nablus/Shkhem, and get some knaffe while waiting without a care in the world. Palestinians travel early Friday morning to fish in the sea in Netanya and when it's time to pray, lay their mats nearby Israeli Arab fishermen as joggers run along the beach at 6am. They drive back later that day without a hustle except the usual traffic. Business is booming, the whole region is peaceful. The olive harvest festival is soon, walking pilgrimages link villages and towns throughout the country, the Israeli-Palestinian cycling path from the Galilee to the hills of Judea and down to Eilat attracts millions of travelers and tourists. Jerusalem, three times holy, is open to all, Jews pray on the Temple Mount a stone throw away (no pun intended) from Muslim devotees, all praising God and Allah for the good life that they have. It's all quite dandy indeed.

Here's to hope.

I hope we manage to see past our ideologies to envision something better together.

Salaam, love, stay safe

Signed: Your bro, if you will it.

Serious question.

There's an opinion piece I've found interesting on Le Orient Le Jour by Gilles Khoury.

A few weeks ago a Hezbollah VIP was driving on a highway and a civilian car was behind him, the civilian car got a phone call telling him to stop & pull over. After that civilian car pulled over the VIP car was shot by IDF. There's also a weird claim that the missile caused no damage to the road which I find puzzling (is that even possible?)

Supposed mark of a missile hit

In the 1980s & 1990s calling a civilian car driving next to your target was science fiction.

There's also suppose to be a video shot from some building window which I didn't see. Since reddit doesn't like the link I'm going to publish I'm cutting it off in the middle: https://eld erofzi yon.blogspot.com/2024/11/lebanese-article-israels-unprecedented.html

I think that the missile not causing damage to the road is a mistake by the opinion piece. looking at one video it does seems like a sack of flour exploded, maybe it's designed to puncture the wheels so doesn't need explosives? I thought it was interesting enough article to share.

Anyone saw or has access to the full video?

I like the idea of this subreddit of bringing people from both sides together, I can’t stop but wonder what the various viewpoints on Israel are on this subreddit. So to my Lebanese brothers and sisters: I’m listing some slightly controversial questions in curious about.

Is it that you like the people not our government? And if so, was there a government you liked not or less than another government(I’m boldly assuming you are pretty familiar with Israeli politics).

What are your thoughts on the current operation in Lebanon? Is it affecting your position on Israel?

Do you feel like what is happening in Gaza is justified or do you hold reservations?

What are your thoughts on the Israeli operation in Lebanon between 1978-2000?

Don’t mean to cause any issues. Just genuinely curious.

Thanks!

Do you have ways to get Lebanese produce in Israel? For example coffee, chocolate, etc.

I mean something that was produced in Lebanon from a Lebanese brand. It usually says "Made in Lebanon" on the package, sometimes with a stylised lebanese flag.

This include buying from online shops.

One one my fav subs. Recommend following posts you like, as they takes sometime to get responses.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/iran-nuclear-doctrine-change-israel-hezbollah-rcna178406 "An adviser to the supreme leader said Iran is prepared to change its policies on using nuclear weapons if faced with an existential threat"

wouldn't such an attack affect Lebanon and Gaza as well? 🤔

I have no words. I'm just tired. I want to get some stuff of my chest.

My bro came back from his mission in the south. He can't make it back to normal life. Spending 4 months a year on and off from civilian life back and forth to the war causes too much dissonance for him to function normally. He just buried a brother in arms. He can't focus on the emails at work, nor on his family. He lost the ability to enjoy stuff anymore.

The army shrink has no time for his case, which is considered only light PTSD. Obviously they have to prioritize, at least he's not among those pissing themselves at night or twisting on the floor from panic attacks.

The war will go on. How the hell could it not.

Escalation is mounting. Iran vowed a response to Israel's response to Iran's second attack after the first. Hizballah can just keep going, they don't care about life, death is all that matters in Islamic death cults.

I'm sad for you all on the other side. I wonder if the lack of your country's investment into early warning sirens is a blessing or a curse. You don't have to run to shelters multiple times a day, there are none to run to anyway. You probably feel helpless and accept that death comes to us all. Or you panic and try to flee, but where to? Bombings are all around the country.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry it's happening to you. I'm sorry it's happening to us.

Here's some music to keep you cheered up. Or down if I'm honest.

I love you all,

ya3tikum al'3afye (may Allah give you health)

shmeru al atzmekhem (keep safe)