In first, son of South Lebanon Army veteran joins Israeli Foreign Ministry cadet program

Jonathan Elkhoury, the son of a former South Lebanon Army (SLA) soldier who fled to Israel with his family as a child, has been accepted into the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s diplomatic cadet program, becoming the first member of the former SLA community to enter the course.

Elkhoury was born into a Lebanese Christian family whose father served in the Israel-allied SLA. After Hezbollah threatened his father, the family relocated to Israel when Elkhoury was nine years old.

Since growing up in Israel, he has spent 13 years focusing on international public diplomacy, media work and advocacy for former SLA families living in the country.

"I am excited to share that this week I began the Foreign Ministry's cadet training program as a cadet on the political track, thereby also becoming the first person from the SLA community in this role," Elkhoury announced.

"For me, this was the most natural step in my life story, a direct continuation of the alliance my parents forged with the State of Israel in the 1970s and 1980s with the establishment of the SLA in southern Lebanon," he wrote.

Elkhoury described his admission to the program as a continuation of the longstanding relationship between Israel and the Christian Lebanese community that served alongside it.

"The bond of brotherhood forged for a shared goal of peace and good neighborly relations is becoming a reality today through the next generation, of which I am a part, in the country that has become my official and unquestioned home. A sense of belonging that came about thanks to Israeli society, and above all through the profound understanding that my fate and that of the State of Israel are one," Khoury said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar addressed the new Foreign Ministry cadets on Monday, emphasizing the importance of public diplomacy as Israel faces mounting international criticism.

"Represent Israel with a profound sense of justice. That is the essence of the mission. The better you are as spokespersons, the better diplomats you will be. Anyone who is not a good spokesperson will never be a good diplomat,” Sa’ar stated.

"We are fighting a war not only on the battlefield. We are fighting a battle over public perception against enormous forces, and if we do not know how to tell our story and present our narrative, no one else will do it for us," Sa'ar argued.

Israel has faced a diplomatic backlash following the Hamas-initiated war in Gaza and the Hezbollah-initiated war in Lebanon, making public diplomacy an increasingly important part of its efforts to communicate its position internationally.

The Israel-backed Maronite Christian SLA was founded in 1977 by Lebanese Army officer Major Saad Haddad. The pro-Israel militia operated until May 2000, when the Israel Defense Forces unilaterally withdrew from southern Lebanon.

Facing threats from the Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah, many SLA soldiers and their families fled to Israel, with many settling in the northern coastal city of Nahariya, near the Lebanese border.

The Maronite community in Israel has continued to maintain its ties to the country. Father Yosef Yaakov, spokesperson for the Maronite community in Israel, recently expressed both shock and forgiveness after unknown vandals targeted a historic church in Nahariya, which had been used by SLA veterans and their families. Israeli Police condemned the vandalism and vowed to bring those responsible to justice.

“The Israel Police views seriously any violation of holy places and freedom of worship, and will act decisively, exhausting all means at its disposal to locate those responsible for the act and bring them to justice,” Yaakov said.

The Maronite community in Israel numbers around 1,100 people and is concentrated in the northern part of the country.

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