Benny Wexler, Israeli citizen, photographed in the southern suburbs of Beirut at the site of the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, former Hezbollah leader. (Credit: Photo rleased by the Lebanese media outlet al-Janoubia.)
BEIRUT — An Israeli national, holding a second — unspecified — nationality, traveled to Lebanon and visited various iconic locations in the country, Israeli media outlet Yediot Aharonot revealed Thursday.
The report, picked up by multiple Israeli and Lebanese publications, was accompanied by photos and videos taken by the young man during his visit, showing him in front of the Raouche Rocks in Beirut, as well as in the hall of Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport (AIB) and in front of the Maghen Abraham Synagogue, also located in the capital.
According to Lebanese law, Israeli citizens are strictly banned from entering Lebanon, even if they hold dual nationality, as the two countries are still officially in a state of war, with no armistice ever signed following repeated conflicts.
Lebanese authorities consider any contact with Israel a serious offense. Anyone whose passport bears an Israeli stamp or visa may be denied entry or detained. Some Israelis with a second passport have nevertheless managed to enter Lebanon by concealing their Israeli citizenship, but this remains illegal and exposes them to risks of arrest, detention, or expulsion.
In April, a young Spanish TikToker of Israeli origin visited Lebanon and extensively documented his stay on social media.
Born in Beersheba
According to Yediot Aharonot, Benny Wexler is ultra-Orthodox and has previously traveled to more than one hundred countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sudan. In an interview with the outlet, Wexler said he took precautions to enter Lebanon without revealing his Israeli nationality.
This included booking his airline ticket through an American travel agency so his Israeli IP address would not be detected, changing his phone, hiding his bank cards in his shoes, and storing his tefillin — small boxes containing biblical passages worn during prayer by some Jews — inside a bag.
Wexler told Yediot Aharonot that immigration officers at the airport seemed suspicious since his passport listed Beersheba, an Israeli city in the south of the country, as his place of birth.
Once in Lebanon, he said he was surprised by the dollar-to-Lebanese-pound exchange rate and stayed at a hotel near the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold.
He then reportedly arranged with a driver to visit Jewish sites such as the Maghen Abraham Synagogue and the Jewish cemetery, both in Beirut. “I have nothing against Jews,” said the driver, Mohammad, who accompanied him for $70 per day.
At the cemetery, Wexler said he met a “prominent member of the small Jewish community of Beirut,” who was frightened by his visit and told him to flee the area immediately. Wexler later said he obtained police permission to enter the Maghen Abraham Synagogue.
Various Lebanese tourist sites visited
Besides Jewish religious sites, Wexler also told the Israeli media he visited the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut and the port. He reportedly visited Jeita Grotto and the city of Byblos.
Photos and videos shared by the young man with Yediot Aharonot also showed him in front of the Raouche Rocks in Beirut or on a street in Gemmayzeh.
“No taxi driver” wanted to take him to Beirut's southern suburbs, Wexler told the media, saying that “everyone” advised him not to go there.
He still managed to make it, saying he saw “destroyed buildings and countless posters of Hassan Nasrallah on the walls.” His Lebanese taxi driver, Wexler added, surprised him by “expressing admiration” for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him “[Winston] Churchill of our era, who saved the Middle East from terrorism.”
Lebanese outlet al-Janoubia reported that Israeli Channel 7 claimed that after his stay in Lebanon, Benny Wexler went to Syria. At the time of this article's publication, the Lebanese General Security, responsible for border controls, had not responded to our requests for comment.
Not a first
In October 2024, as war raged between Israel and Hezbollah, an Israeli national was arrested in Beirut’s southern suburbs. According to Israeli outlet Ynet News, he was Joshua Tartakovsky, a former ultra-Orthodox from Jerusalem, who entered Lebanon as an “investigative journalist,” using a British passport. In 2021, Alyne Tamir, an American-Israeli video blogger with millions of followers, took part in the Beirut marathon. After leaving Lebanon, she posted a photo on her Instagram announcing she had made a “secret trip” to Beirut.
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