BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities detained a US-Israeli national in Beirut last week and later deported him, Lebanese security and judicial officials said on Thursday.
“Joshua Samuel Tartakovsky, a journalist with Israeli, US and British passports, was detained on October 5 and deported the following day,” a judicial official said, requesting to remain anonymous.
Israel intensified air strikes in Lebanon over two weeks ago, targeting the Hezbollah armed group.
Lebanese law prohibits any contact with Israel, punishable by imprisonment, and Lebanese citizens are barred from traveling to its southern neighbor.
A security official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Hezbollah members detained Tartakovsky and handed him over to the military intelligence, but said he was not a journalist.
He had gone to the southern suburbs, where Israel has pounded what they say are Hezbollah sites in recent weeks, presenting himself as a “supporter of Gaza and Hezbollah,” the security source said.
He claimed he wanted to tell Hezbollah about “Israeli army tactics,” the source said.
A spokeswoman at the US embassy told AFP: “We are aware of the arrest and due to privacy reasons have no further information to provide.”
The escalation of Israeli strikes in Lebanon since September 23 has killed more than 1,200 people and displaced over a million more from their homes, according to official figures.
Before that, Hezbollah had traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces in support of ally Hamas since the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered war in Gaza.
Lebanon deports detained US-Israeli national: officials
https://arab.news/r5syz
Lebanon deports detained US-Israeli national: officials
- A security official said Hezbollah members detained Tartakovsky and handed him over to the military intelligence, but said he was not a journalist
BBC backs Israel’s participation in Eurovision Song Contest amid expanding boycott
- Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia withdraw, citing concerns about the war in Gaza, after organizers clear Israel to compete
- Critics accuse organizers of double standards, given that Russia was banned from Eurovision in 2022 after invasion of Ukraine
LONDON: The BBC has backed the European Broadcasting Union’s decision to allow Israel to participate in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, despite mounting opposition and an expanding boycott by European countries and public broadcasters.
National broadcasters in Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia have formally withdrawn from next year’s event, citing what they described as Israel’s violations of international law during its ongoing war on Gaza, which has killed more than 70,000 people, left much of the territory in ruins and prompted accusations of war crimes.
The BBC, however, said it backed the decision to allow Israel to take part in the contest.
“We support the collective decision made by members of the EBU,” a BBC spokesperson said. “This is about enforcing the rules of the EBU and being inclusive.”
Israel’s participation in the 2026 event, set to take place in the Austrian capital Vienna in May, was confirmed during the EBU’s general assembly in Geneva on Thursday.
However, pressure continued to build in opposition to the decision, with broadcasters from four countries pulling out and critics accusing organizers of double standards, given that Russia was banned from Eurovision in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine.
Following the EBU decision, Irish public broadcaster RTE said it would neither participate in nor screen the contest. It said Ireland’s participation “remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there.” It also condemned the killing of journalists in Gaza and the denial of access to the international media. More than 200 Palestinian journalists have reportedly been killed since the start of the war.
Slovenian broadcaster RTV said it was withdrawing from the competition “on behalf of the 20,000 children who died in Gaza.” Chairperson Natalija Gorscak said the decision reflected growing public demand to uphold European values of peace and press freedoms, noting that the international media are still banned from Gaza.
She added that Israel’s 2025 Eurovision performance had been overtly political, and contrasted the decision about Israel with the ban on Russia’s participation following the invasion of Ukraine.
Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS also withdrew from the contest, describing the decision of the EBU as “incompatible with the public values that are essential to us.”
CEO Taco Zimmerman said: “Culture unites, but not at all costs. What happened last year touches our boundaries … Universal values like humanity and a free press have been seriously violated.”
The EBU did not hold a vote on Israel’s participation in the contest. Instead, member broadcasters voted in favor of new rules for contest voting to prevent governments or other groups from unfairly promoting songs to manipulate the result.
Austria, which is set to host the competition after Viennese singer JJ won this year with “Wasted Love,” supports Israel’s participation. Germany, too, was said to back Israel.
