History of the Jews in Lebanon

Lebanese Jews

اليهود اللبنانيون יהודים לבנונים‎
Location of Lebanon in Asia
Total population
Lebanon: 29 (2020); 27 to 20 (2022) or 30–200[1] Diaspora: Several thousands[a]
Regions with significant populations
Beirut, Sidon, Tripoli and Aley
Languages
Hebrew, Lebanese Arabic, French
Religion
Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Mizrahi Jews, Sephardi Jews

The history of the Jews in Lebanon encompasses the presence of Jews in present-day Lebanon stretching back to biblical times. While Jews have been present in Lebanon since ancient times,^[2] their numbers had dwindled during the Muslim era.^[3] Through the medieval ages, Jewish people often faced persecution,^[4] but retained their religious and cultural identity.^[5]

In the early 20th century, for a brief period under the French Mandate of Lebanon and 1926 Constitution of Lebanon, the Jewish community was constitutionally protected. However, after 1948, the security of Jews remained fragile, and the main synagogue in Beirut was bombed in the early 1950s.^[6] In the wake of the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, there was mass emigration of around 6,000 Lebanese Jews from Lebanon to Israel and Western countries.^{[7][8][9][10]}

The Lebanese Civil War, which started in 1975, brought immense suffering for the remaining Lebanese Jewish community, and some 200 were killed in ensuing anti-Jewish pogroms, leading to a mass displacement of over 1,800 of the remaining Lebanese Jews.^[11][12][13] The final exodus of Lebanese Jews happened in August 1982, when Israeli forces invaded Lebanon and lay siege to Beirut. Over 100 Jewish families were displaced after Israeli forces bombarded the Jewish quarter, leaving it nearly abandoned and shelling its synagogue which suffered extensive damage.^[14] By 2005, the Jewish quarter of Beirut, Wadi Abu Jamil only held 40 to 200 Jews.^[15][16]

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