Lebanese Banker Antoun Sehnaoui Faces Backlash After Praise for Supporting Israel at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Lebanese banker Antoun Sehnaoui became the focus of a backlash in Lebanon after he was publicly praised for supporting Israel while attending an event at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

“Even as Israel was attacking his home country of Lebanon, killing hundreds, and occupying territory within the country’s south, Antoun Sehnaoui was being publicly praised for his support for Israel, and his family’s history of being “Lebanese Christian Zionists””

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera reported that Sehnaoui, described as “one of Lebanon’s leading bankers” and the chairman of Societe Generale de Banque au Liban (SGBL), was praised by his reported romantic partner, Morgan Ortagus, even as Israel was attacking Lebanon and occupying territory in the country’s south.

Al Jazeera

The event took place at the museum’s Days of Remembrance ceremony in Washington, where Ortagus addressed attendees and framed Sehnaoui’s support for Israel as requiring “moral clarity”.

The Jerusalem Post said Sehnaoui was lambasted on social media on Wednesday after he was named as a donor to the museum at the ceremony in Washington on Tuesday, and it identified Sehnaoui as chairman of the board of the SGBL Group.

In a post on X/Twitter, Sehnaoui wrote: “Today is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day,” and he added that “Morgan and I had the honor of attending the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Days of Remembrance ceremony in Washington, DC, where our inscription on the Donors Wall was unveiled.”

The National said the pair’s inscriptions on the Donor’s Wall were unveiled and that in Sehnaoui’s case it was the first time a Lebanese donor’s name had appeared there, while also noting that Ortagus had previously handled the Lebanon file as deputy special envoy to the Middle East under the Trump administration.

Across the reporting, the central controversy hinged on Ortagus’s remarks and the timing of Sehnaoui’s appearance alongside her during Lebanon-Israel talks.

Morgan Ortagus’s praise of Sehnaoui at the Holocaust museum event became the immediate trigger for the controversy described across outlets.

Al Jazeera reported that Ortagus told the audience that supporting Israel requires “moral clarity”, “even when it involves personal risk,” and it said she praised Sehnaoui’s “pro-Israel bona fides” while referencing his family’s history as “Lebanese Christian Zionists”.

Daijiworld

The Jerusalem Post quoted Ortagus saying, “What makes it a little bit different – I’m going to brag about him because I love him – what Antoun is doing today is technically illegal in Lebanon,” and it added that she said, “I’m so proud of him today for doing something illegal in Lebanon.”

The National similarly quoted Ortagus describing Sehnaoui’s actions as “technically illegal in Lebanon,” and it tied that claim to Ortagus’s account of his funding of a US-Israeli opera initiative.

In Al Jazeera’s account, Ortagus also described Sehnaoui as coming from generations of “committed Lebanese Christian Zionists” and said he had been “trained to be a supporter of the State of Israel and the Jewish people” by his family.

Al Jazeera further reported that Ortagus referred to Sehnaoui’s father, Nabil, as “one of the primary funders of the Christian militia, the Lebanese Forces (LF),” which allied with Israel during its 1982 invasion and was credited with participating in massacres at Shatila and Sabra in Beirut in 1982.

Daijiworld said Ortagus described Sehnaoui’s actions as requiring “moral clarity” and referred to his family background as “Lebanese Christian Zionists,” while also saying she cited his involvement in funding a US-Israeli cultural project that she claimed would be illegal under Lebanese law.

After the event, social media backlash in Lebanon targeted both Sehnaoui’s presence at the museum and his relationship with Ortagus, with multiple outlets quoting posts that accused him of betrayal and conversion.

“Lebanese banker Antoun Sehnaoui was lambasted on social media on Wednesday after he was named as a donor to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at its Days of Remembrance ceremony in Washington on Tuesday”

The Jerusalem Post

The Jerusalem Post said Arab social-media accounts condemned Sehnaoui for both his presence at the event and for his romantic relationship with a Jewess, and it quoted one post saying Sehnaoui belonged “behind bars,” while another accused him of converting to Judaism and “betraying his country.”

It also quoted another post: “Donate to our kllers so they can do something worst than holocaust to us [sic],” and it included the line “You are a disgusting despicable person with no sense of respect to your own people,” another post claimed.

Al Jazeera described condemnation across Lebanon’s social media sphere and said one post quoted by Israeli media said Sehnaoui belonged “behind bars”, while another accused him of converting to Judaism and “betraying his country”.

Al Jazeera also reported that Ortagus’s appearance and words about Sehnaoui’s support drew criticism because Ortagus had been widely criticised in Lebanon for her perceived pro-Israel bias during her time in the Trump administration.

Beyond the social-media attacks, the reporting also placed Sehnaoui under legal scrutiny in both Lebanon and the United States.

Al Jazeera said prosecutors filed charges against Sehnaoui and his bank over alleged money laundering linked to currency trading operations during the financial crisis that began in 2019, and it said the bank denies any wrongdoing.

Several outlets connected the controversy to the broader moment of Lebanon-Israel negotiations and the immediate impact of the conflict on Lebanese civilians.

Al Jazeera said the praise came at a “particularly difficult moment for many in Lebanon,” with people “still waiting to feel the benefits of a US-imposed ceasefire,” and it described Israel as having launched ground operations in Lebanon in mid-March.

The National

It also said Israel has been accused of multiple war crimes since those ground operations began, including that it used a “quadruple tap” method intended to maximise civilian harm from any single strike.

Al Jazeera reported that Israeli action displaced more than a million people—about 20 percent of the population—from southern Lebanon, destabilising the country and heightening sectarian tensions.

The National said Sehnaoui appeared alongside Ortagus at a ceremony at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington “as Lebanon and Israel were holding direct talks elsewhere in the US capital,” and it described the pair’s video appearance as drawing attention because it came during those talks.

Daijiworld said the controversy came as a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon remains fragile and thousands of displaced residents begin returning to southern Lebanon to assess damage and losses following weeks of violence.

In Al Jazeera’s account, Lebanese academic and political commentator Makram Rabah said the timing of the appearance was “more problematic than the actual appearance itself,” and he added that “a visit to a holocaust museum in itself should never be a source of controversy.”

The reporting also focused on Morgan Ortagus’s role in Lebanon and how her past conduct shaped the reception of her praise for Sehnaoui.

“Even as Israel was attacking his home country of Lebanon, killing hundreds, and occupying territory within the country’s south, Antoun Sehnaoui was being publicly praised for his support for Israel, and his family’s history of being “Lebanese Christian Zionists””

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera said Ortagus had been widely criticised in Lebanon for her perceived pro-Israel bias during her time in the Trump administration, and it described her as having done little to disguise her support for Israel and strident opposition to Hezbollah since her appointment.

Al Jazeera

It said Ortagus’s appointment by the Trump administration came in April 2025, and it described her as drawing criticism of her role as a supposedly neutral broker in her dealings with Middle Eastern states.

The Jerusalem Post said US President Donald Trump appointed Ortagus as deputy special presidential envoy to the Middle East in January 2025, and it added that she has since left the role.

The National said Ortagus previously handled the Lebanon file as part of her role as deputy special envoy to the Middle East under the Trump administration, and it described her as a strong supporter of Israel and a vocal critic of Iran and Hezbollah, repeatedly calling for Lebanon to disarm the group.

Al Jazeera quoted Michael Young saying, “I think to a certain extent, it highlighted what many people thought: Was Ortagus really the best envoy the United States could send to Lebanon, given her very clear leaning towards the Israeli side?”

Daijiworld said analysts questioned Ortagus’s role as a neutral envoy in the region, and it described the backlash as renewing scrutiny of her.