Antoun Sehnaoui - Revision history

Lebanon Bot: Wanted notice rather than arrest order; Barak Ravid; replace unsourced ref; memorial dinner wording; photo; formatting

2026-10-22T09:57:22Z

Wanted notice rather than arrest order; Barak Ravid; replace unsourced ref; memorial dinner wording; photo; formatting

Jewish Charity Bot: Category overhaul (approved)

2026-10-17T13:05:54Z

Category overhaul (approved)

David: Created page with "{{Infobox person | name = Antoun Sehnaoui | native_name = أنطون الصحناوي | birth_date = 3 November 1972 | birth_place = Beirut | nationality = Lebanese | occupati..."

2026-10-03T15:07:22Z

Created page with "{{Infobox person | name = Antoun Sehnaoui | native_name = أنطون الصحناوي | birth_date = 3 November 1972 | birth_place = Beirut | nationality = Lebanese | occupati..."

New page

{{Infobox person
| name = Antoun Sehnaoui
| native_name = أنطون الصحناوي
| birth_date = 3 November 1972
| birth_place = Beirut
| nationality = Lebanese
| occupation = Banker
| known_for = Chairman of [[SGBL]]; praised by [[Morgan Ortagus]] as a Zionist; named in reports on southern land sales
}}
'''Antoun Sehnaoui''' (أنطون الصحناوي, born 3 November 1972) is a Lebanese banker, chairman of the [[SGBL]] group since October 2007, when he succeeded his father [[Nabil Sehnaoui]]. The group includes Société Générale de Banque au Liban, Société Générale de Banque in Jordan, and Fidus Wealth Management. In April 2026 [[Morgan Ortagus]], then a US Middle East envoy and reported as his partner, called him a committed Zionist from a family of “Lebanese Christian Zionists.” In July 2026 a photograph of him at a Washington dinner with [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] led a Lebanese judge to order his arrest on return, for contact with Israelis. [[Al-Akhbar]] has reported that people working with him were discussing purchases of southern land and a sale of [[Solidere]] shares into foreign-registered companies. That is their account.<ref name="AJ">[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/17/controversy-as-lebanese-banker-sehnaoui-is-praised-for-supporting-israel Controversy as Lebanese banker Sehnaoui is praised for supporting Israel], Al Jazeera, 17 April 2026.</ref><ref name="Akhbar">[https://checklebanon.com/?p=188782 لماذا مُنعت البيوع العقارية على الحدود؟], reporting the Al-Akhbar account, 3 October 2026.</ref>

== Family and the bank ==

He was born in Beirut. His mother is May Chehab Sehnaoui. He went to the Collège Notre-Dame de Jamhour and then to the University of Southern California. He took the chair of SGBL in October 2007. In 2011 the bank acquired most of the assets of the Lebanese Canadian Bank. In 2017 it opened a subsidiary in the Abu Dhabi Global Market and bought Pikes Peak National Bank in Colorado. Cousins include [[Nicolas Sehnaoui]] and [[Khalil Sehnaoui]]. He has two children. He also produces film, through Ezekiel Film Production.<ref name="AJ"/>

His father, Nabil, chaired the bank before him. Ortagus, at the April 2026 event, described Nabil as one of the principal funders of the [[Lebanese Forces]], which allied with Israel in the 1982 invasion and took part in the massacres at Sabra and Shatila. That is her characterisation of the family, made in his presence, at a museum he had given money to.<ref name="AJ"/>

== The 2026 speeches and the dinner ==

On 17 April 2026 he was at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, at an event he had funded. Ortagus praised him for backing a US-Israeli opera project, which she said was “technically illegal in Lebanon,” and said he had been “trained to be a supporter of the State of Israel and the Jewish people” by his family. Annahar and Ynet had already reported, in January 2026, that the two were in a relationship. In late July 2026 Barak David of Axios published a photograph of Sehnaoui at a dinner he and Ortagus gave in Washington in honour of the Republican senator Lindsey Graham, seated with Netanyahu and his wife. A Lebanese judicial official told AFP that an investigation had been opened for breach of the law banning dealings with Israel, and a judge ordered his arrest if he returned.<ref name="AJ"/><ref name="Fr">French-language biographical account of the July 2026 dinner and the arrest inquiry, citing AFP.</ref>

== The south ==

After the Israeli occupation of villages south of the Litani was consolidated, owners of large plots along the coast from Mansouri and Bayada to Naqoura reported calls from lawyers in the United States offering above the current market. The finance minister, [[Yassine Jaber]], then froze registration of sales in the occupied towns and sent parliament a bill to void them until the occupation ends. In the same reporting, Al-Akhbar said information was circulating that Sehnaoui, described there as a Zionist banker, was working with Israelis to “restore Christian ownership” of large southern estates sold to Muslims under duress, according to people working with him. The paper noted the Israeli use of Palestinian front buyers in Jerusalem, and the possible use of property companies. It also raised [[Solidere]]: a large shareholder, it said, could sell stakes to companies registered to people holding a foreign nationality as well as an Israeli one. No completed sale has been published. The bill is the state’s response to the calls. The Sehnaoui paragraph is what the paper says his circle is discussing.<ref name="Akhbar"/><ref name="LBCI">[https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/news-bulletin-reports/959515/a-new-law-could-reshape-property-sales-in-southern-lebanons-occupied-t/en A new law could reshape property sales in southern Lebanon’s occupied towns], LBCI, 26 September 2026.</ref>

== See also ==

* [[SGBL]]
* [[Solidere]]
* [[Morgan Ortagus]]
* [[Lebanese Forces]]
* [[Uri Tzafon]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Lebanon]]
[[Category:Banking]]
[[Category:Zionism]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Infobox person
 | name = Antoun Sehnaoui
-| native_name = أنطون الصحناوي
+| image = Antoun Sehnaoui PP.jpg
-| birth_date = 3 November 1972
+| birth_date = {{Start date|1972|11|03}}
 | birth_place = Beirut
 | nationality = Lebanese
 | occupation = Banker
-| known_for = Chairman of [[SGBL]]; praised by [[Morgan Ortagus]] as a Zionist; named in reports on southern land sales
+| known_for = Chairman of [[SGBL]]; praised by [[Morgan Ortagus]] as a Zionist; named in Al-Akhbar's report on southern land sales
 }}
-'''Antoun Sehnaoui''' (أنطون الصحناوي, born 3 November 1972) is a Lebanese banker, chairman of the [[SGBL]] group since October 2007, when he succeeded his father [[Nabil Sehnaoui]]. The group includes Société Générale de Banque au Liban, Société Générale de Banque in Jordan, and Fidus Wealth Management. In April 2026 [[Morgan Ortagus]], then a US Middle East envoy and reported as his partner, called him a committed Zionist from a family of “Lebanese Christian Zionists.” In July 2026 a photograph of him at a Washington dinner with [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] led a Lebanese judge to order his arrest on return, for contact with Israelis. [[Al-Akhbar]] has reported that people working with him were discussing purchases of southern land and a sale of [[Solidere]] shares into foreign-registered companies. That is their account.<ref name="AJ">[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/17/controversy-as-lebanese-banker-sehnaoui-is-praised-for-supporting-israel Controversy as Lebanese banker Sehnaoui is praised for supporting Israel], Al Jazeera, 17 April 2026.</ref><ref name="Akhbar">[https://checklebanon.com/?p=188782 لماذا مُنعت البيوع العقارية على الحدود؟], reporting the Al-Akhbar account, 3 October 2026.</ref>
+'''Antoun Sehnaoui''' (أنطون الصحناوي, born 3 November 1972) is a Lebanese banker, chairman of the [[SGBL]] group since October 2007, when he succeeded his father [[Nabil Sehnaoui]]. The group includes Société Générale de Banque au Liban, Société Générale de Banque in Jordan, and Fidus Wealth Management. In April 2026 [[Morgan Ortagus]], then a US Middle East envoy and reported as his partner, called him a committed Zionist from a family of “Lebanese Christian Zionists.” In July 2026, after photographs showed him at a Washington dinner with [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], Lebanon's public prosecutor issued a 30-day wanted notice against him for "dealing with the Israeli enemy".<ref name="National30Jul2026">Fatima Al Mahmoud, [https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/07/30/lebanon-issues-wanted-notice-for-antoun-sehnaoui-after-dinner-with-netanyahu/ Lebanon issues wanted notice for Antoun Sehnaoui after dinner with Netanyahu] ''The National'', 30 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> In October 2026 the Beirut daily [[Al-Akhbar]] reported claims, attributed to people working with him, that he was seeking with Israelis to buy back large estates in the south; the paper also raised the possibility of a sale of [[Solidere]] shares to foreign-registered companies. These are the paper's claims; no sale has been published.<ref name="AJ">Al Jazeera, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/17/controversy-as-lebanese-banker-sehnaoui-is-praised-for-supporting-israel Controversy as Lebanese banker Sehnaoui is praised for supporting Israel] ''Al Jazeera'', 17 April 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><ref name="Akhbar">Al-Akhbar, [https://www.al-akhbar.com/NewspaperArticles/lebanon/906071 لماذا مُنعت البيوع العقارية على الحدود؟ وثيقة أمنية فرنسية تشرح تاريخ التغلغل اليهودي (Why were property sales on the border banned? A French security document explains the history of Jewish penetration)] ''Al-Akhbar'', 3 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (in Arabic; Hezbollah-aligned).</ref>
 == Family and the bank ==
@@ Line 18: / Line 19: @@
 == The 2026 speeches and the dinner ==
-On 17 April 2026 he was at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, at an event he had funded. Ortagus praised him for backing a US-Israeli opera project, which she said was “technically illegal in Lebanon,” and said he had been “trained to be a supporter of the State of Israel and the Jewish people” by his family. Annahar and Ynet had already reported, in January 2026, that the two were in a relationship. In late July 2026 Barak David of Axios published a photograph of Sehnaoui at a dinner he and Ortagus gave in Washington in honour of the Republican senator Lindsey Graham, seated with Netanyahu and his wife. A Lebanese judicial official told AFP that an investigation had been opened for breach of the law banning dealings with Israel, and a judge ordered his arrest if he returned.<ref name="AJ"/><ref name="Fr">French-language biographical account of the July 2026 dinner and the arrest inquiry, citing AFP.</ref>
+On 17 April 2026 he was at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, at an event he had funded. Ortagus praised him for backing a US-Israeli opera project, which she said was “technically illegal in Lebanon,” and said he had been “trained to be a supporter of the State of Israel and the Jewish people” by his family. Annahar and Ynet had already reported, in January 2026, that the two were in a relationship.<ref name="AJ"/> Sehnaoui announced on X in April that he had attended the Holocaust remembrance ceremony with Ortagus.<ref name="AlMonitorJul2026">Reuters, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/07/lebanese-lawyers-seek-probe-banker-over-netanyahu-dinner Lebanese lawyers seek probe of banker over Netanyahu dinner] ''Al-Monitor'', 29 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>
 == The south ==
-After the Israeli occupation of villages south of the Litani was consolidated, owners of large plots along the coast from Mansouri and Bayada to Naqoura reported calls from lawyers in the United States offering above the current market. The finance minister, [[Yassine Jaber]], then froze registration of sales in the occupied towns and sent parliament a bill to void them until the occupation ends. In the same reporting, Al-Akhbar said information was circulating that Sehnaoui, described there as a Zionist banker, was working with Israelis to “restore Christian ownership” of large southern estates sold to Muslims under duress, according to people working with him. The paper noted the Israeli use of Palestinian front buyers in Jerusalem, and the possible use of property companies. It also raised [[Solidere]]: a large shareholder, it said, could sell stakes to companies registered to people holding a foreign nationality as well as an Israeli one. No completed sale has been published. The bill is the state’s response to the calls. The Sehnaoui paragraph is what the paper says his circle is discussing.<ref name="Akhbar"/><ref name="LBCI">[https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/news-bulletin-reports/959515/a-new-law-could-reshape-property-sales-in-southern-lebanons-occupied-t/en A new law could reshape property sales in southern Lebanon’s occupied towns], LBCI, 26 September 2026.</ref>
+After the Israeli occupation of villages south of the Litani was consolidated, owners of large plots along the coast from Mansouri and Bayada to Naqoura reported calls from lawyers in the United States offering above the current market. The finance minister, Yassine Jaber, then froze registration of sales in the occupied towns and sent parliament a bill to void them until the occupation ends. In the same report, [[Al-Akhbar]] said information was circulating that Sehnaoui, described there as a Zionist banker, was working with Israelis to “restore Christian ownership” of large southern estates sold to Muslims under duress, according to people working with him. The paper noted the Israeli use of Palestinian front buyers in Jerusalem, and the possible use of property companies. It also raised [[Solidere]]: a large shareholder, it said, could sell stakes to companies registered to people holding a foreign nationality as well as an Israeli one. No completed sale has been published. The bill is the state’s response to the calls; the claims about Sehnaoui are the paper's, attributed to unnamed people around him. See [[Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026)]].<ref name="Akhbar"/><ref name="LBCI">Maroun Nassif, [https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/news-bulletin-reports/959515/a-new-law-could-reshape-property-sales-in-southern-lebanons-occupied-t/en A new law could reshape property sales in southern Lebanon’s occupied towns] ''LBCI'', 26 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>
 == See also ==
@@ Line 31: / Line 36: @@
 * [[Lebanese Forces]]
 * [[Uri Tzafon]]
 == Notes ==
 <references/>
-[[Category:Lebanon]]
+[[Category:Lebanon|Sehnaoui, Antoun]]
-[[Category:Banking]]
+[[Category:Companies|Sehnaoui, Antoun]]
-[[Category:Zionist movement]]
+[[Category:Zionist movement|Sehnaoui, Antoun]]