A rabbi born in Beirut on Lebanon's lost Jewish community

Rabbi Elie Abadie, who was born in Lebanon and left more than fifty years ago, told AFP that his Lebanese roots remain part of who he is, as diplomatic contacts between Lebanon and Israel have revived interest in the country's once-thriving Jewish community.

Lebanon's Jews lived for generations alongside Christians and Muslims, especially in Beirut's Wadi Abu Jamil, where the Maghen Abraham synagogue still stands. Almost all emigrated during and after the civil war.

Their story is part of the pluralist Lebanon that our mission defends: a country whose diversity is a message to the world.