One Christian joins 36 diplomats in Israel's new Foreign Ministry cohort

Jonathan Elkhoury is one of 36 new cadets enrolled in the Israeli Foreign Ministry's training program. He is the first Lebanese-born Christian to participate in this specific cohort, marking a shift in the demographic makeup of the diplomatic corps. The other 35 participants were selected from a pool of nearly 2,000 applicants who sought to enter the civil service.

The course began on Sunday and will run for six months. Graduates will be prepared for careers at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem and in Israeli diplomatic missions around the globe. Elkhoury, who has become a visible voice in pro-Israel advocacy, said the role is a continuation of his family's long-standing connection to the state.

Elkhoury arrived in Israel in 2001 at age 9. His family was part of the South Lebanon Army, a Christian-led force that fought alongside the Israel Defense Forces in southern Lebanon between 1985 and 2000. After the IDF withdrew in 2000, thousands of SLA members settled in Israel. Elkhoury described his entry into the program on social media as a "natural step" and a direct link to the agreement his parents made with Israel during the 1970s and 1980s.

"For me, this was the most natural step in my life story, a direct continuation of the covenant that my parents signed with Israel in the 70s and 80s with the establishment of the SLA in South Lebanon," Elkhoury wrote on X. He added that he considers Israel his home and that his fate is intertwined with the nation's.

At the opening ceremony, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar addressed the new class. He stated that Israel is engaged in a conflict that extends beyond military borders into the realm of public opinion, where it faces "powerful forces." The minister emphasized the need for diplomats to represent the country's interests in this wider arena.

The start of the course coincided with an incident in the city of Nahariya. On Sunday evening, community leader Father Rudy Noura discovered that a prayer hall serving Lebanese Maronite Christians had been vandalized. The site, known as the Saints Peter and Paul prayer hall, houses religious icons and serves former SLA members and their families. Noura found religious icons, including one of Jesus on the cross, had been slashed, and statues were shattered.

An apology note was left on the altar in English. It read, "To a deeply valued community, I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me to make me do that. Please forgive me," followed by a drawing of a heart and a cross. Noura said he arrived at 6:10 p.m. after the discovery and expressed compassion for the perpetrator, saying he felt called to forgive and love the person responsible. The Nahariya municipality, police, and Foreign Ministry offered immediate assistance.

Ambassador George Deek, the Foreign Ministry's special envoy to the Christian world, called the vandalism "disgraceful." He noted that the community attacked had stood alongside Israel and found a home there. "Any attack on a place of worship, of any faith, is an attack on the freedom and dignity we must protect," Deek said. The Maronite Archeparchy of Haifa released a statement calling the attack grave and unacceptable, emphasizing the right of the faithful to practice their religion with dignity.