Even as Israel attacked his homeland of Lebanon, killing hundreds and occupying territory in the country’s south, Antun Senaoui was publicly praised for his support for Israel and his family’s history as “Lebanese Christian Zionists.”
Senaoui, one of Lebanon’s leading bankers and chairman of the Société Générale des Banques au Libans (SGBL), was attending an event on Tuesday at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which he donated. And it was his alleged romantic partner, Morgan Ortagus, the US special envoy to the Middle East, who praised his pro-Israel sincerity.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Speaking to the audience, Ortagus, who was widely criticized in Lebanon for his pro-Israel bias during the Trump administration, said supporting Israel is an act that requires “moral clarity,” even if it involves personal risk.
Mr. Ortagus praised Senaoui and argued that his actions in funding opera projects in the United States and Israel were “technically illegal in Lebanon,” which prohibits doing business with Israeli individuals or entities. Ortagus went on to say that Senaoui comes from generations of “dedicated Lebanese Christian Zionists” and has been “trained by his family to be a supporter of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.”
She also mentioned her long-standing family ties to Israel, including that of her father, Nabil, who is one of the main financiers of the Lebanese Forces (LF), a Christian militia. The LF allied with Israel during its 1982 invasion and is said to have participated in massacres in the Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila and the neighboring Sabra district of Beirut in the same year.
But Senaoui’s latest support for Israel comes at a particularly difficult time for many in Lebanon, who are still waiting to realize the benefits of the U.S.-imposed ceasefire.
Israel has been accused of multiple war crimes since it began ground operations in Lebanon in mid-March, including using a “quadruple tap” method aimed at maximizing civilian damage in a single attack. Israel’s actions have also plunged more than 1 million people from southern Lebanon, about 20 percent of the population, into chaos, destabilizing the country and increasing sectarian tensions.
The reaction to the footage of one of the country’s most prominent figures appearing to be aligned with Israel prompted condemnation in much of the country’s social media sphere. One post cited by Israeli media said Senaoui was “in prison,” while another accused him of converting to Judaism and “betraying his country.” Another posted: “You are a disgusting, despicable human being with 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 a visit to a Holocaust museum should not in itself be a source of controversy. But that was different from being a supporter of Israel and the many Lebanese factions that had previously supported Israel.
Further evidence of a rumored romantic relationship between Ortagus and Senaoui would also be controversial. Since being appointed by the Trump administration in April 2025, Ortagus has done little to hide his support for Israel and fierce opposition to Hezbollah, inviting criticism for his role as a supposedly neutral intermediary in dealings with Middle Eastern countries.
Michael Young, a Lebanon expert at the Carnegie Middle East Center, said the video evidence showing both her outspoken support for Israel and her words about supporting Senaoui should surprise no one.
“I think this highlights to some extent what many people were thinking: Was Mr. Ortagus really the best envoy the United States could send to Lebanon, given his obvious leanings toward Israel?” Young said.
bad eggs
Regardless of Mr. Ortagus’ role, critics say Mr. Senaoui’s position within the Lebanese financial elite, including his chairmanship of SGBL, one of Lebanon’s largest banks, has enabled him to influence the course of Lebanese politics at all levels of the state and across the country’s religious divides.
But despite his influence, Senaoui faces legal problems at home and abroad. In Lebanon, prosecutors have indicted him and his bank for money laundering related to currency trading operations during the financial crisis that began in 2019 and continues to disrupt daily life across the country. The bank denies wrongdoing.
In the United States, SGBL is also the subject of a 2020 civil lawsuit filed by the families of victims of Hezbollah attacks in Iraq. They claim the bank provided material support to the group, which SGBL also denies.
“He (Senaoui) can be bought and sold by anyone,” Lebanese parliamentarian Paula Yacoubian told Al Jazeera. “He is willing to work with anyone from (Christian militia) Junoud el-Rab to Hezbollah. He doesn’t care,” she said, referring to the far-right militia that the International Center for the Study of Radicalization says is funded by Senaoui and has carried out a series of violent attacks on Lebanon’s LGBTQ community.
“These latest moves are probably just to buy him an additional layer of immunity in return for his cooperation in normalizing relations with Israel, but normalization is not like that,” Jacobian said. “Normalization works not by bypassing the government entirely, but by giving it cards, such as negotiating for the return of millions of people in the South.”
For now, while outrage over the video continues to swirl across Lebanon, more remains to be done to address the fallout from the relentless attacks Israel has launched against the country since March 2nd.
Tens of thousands of people are reported to have returned to the devastated south in the hours after the ceasefire was announced, some to collect the bodies of the dead, others simply to discover what was left of their homes and lives.
