A Lebanese man has reportedly been arrested after showing his love for Israel in a video he posted to TikTok.
In the video, which has since been removed from the social media platform, Ali Attieh could be seen with images of various flags of Arab countries next to the flag of Israel. He was playing a game where he answered questions by tilting his head in the direction of his answer. The question was, “[What is] your favourite Arab country”, he tilted his head in the direction of the Israeli flag, which is highlighted and stamped with a purple heart emoji. Attieh kept his head tilted and chose it over every Arab nation that was displayed, including his own country of Lebanon. Attieh even placed his hand over his heart in what appeared to be a sign of genuine appreciation for the Jewish state.
After the video was shared online, Attieh was reportedly arrested.
نشر #فيديو مع العلم الاسرائيلي… وتحرّك #لأمن_الدولة! (#فيديو)https://t.co/MdAL5vgU8I@lbstatesecurity pic.twitter.com/v9wPDuFfNr
— Lebanon Debate (@lebanondebate) September 18, 2023
The Jerusalem Post quoted Lebanon’s general directorate of state security as saying on Monday: “Legal action was carried out against him under the supervision of the competent judiciary.”
Lebanese law bans contact between its citizens and Israelis, as well as the conducting of any form of business, although there are some exemptions for Christian clerics and people with relatives in Israel. However, this story suggests that even expressing an opinion in support for Israel is being criminalised.
There is little in the way of freedom of expression in Lebanon, a country heavily controlled by Hezbollah, a terrorist organisation under the direct control of the Iranian regime. And we have to question the fairness of the judiciary when the Lebanese government describes it as “the competent judiciary”. They are almost certainly projecting what they want us to believe it to be when it is likely anything but competent or fair.
We need to pray for the people of Lebanon who are oppressed by Hezbollah. The terror group is restricting their freedoms, strangling their economy and causing misery for all the citizens of Lebanon simply because they hate Israel and the Jewish people.
