Chabad Lubavitch of Lebanon

Chabad-Lubavitch and Lebanon: no resident emissary or centre; a 1982 mikvah restoration in Bhamdoun by Chabad hasidim from Safed during the Israeli invasion, and ARIS matzah contacts

Chabad-Lubavitch in Lebanon
Type	No resident Chabad emissary or centre (visits and one-off activity only)
Headquarters	None in the country
Location	Lebanon (no base)
Area served	Bhamdoun (1982); Beirut
Key people	None resident. 1982: Levi Bistritzky (Safed)
Remarks	One-off activity only

Chabad-Lubavitch in Lebanon has no resident emissary, Chabad house or registered local body. No Lebanese centre appears in the movement's own directory. Two episodes are documented: work by Chabad hasidim from Israel during the 1982 Israeli invasion, and contacts by the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States (ARIS) in 2021.

Visits and one-off activity

There is no resident emissary or centre.

• 1982, Bhamdoun. During the Israeli invasion, Chabad hasidim from Safed led by Rabbi Levi Bistritzky restored the mikvah in Bhamdoun for local Jews, with the Rebbe's approval and funding. This account comes from Beis Moshiach magazine (2012), which says it was first reported in Maariv.
• March 2021, ARIS matzah contacts. Under the headline "Matzah in Beirut or a Seder in Samarkand?", The Forward quoted ARIS chairman Mendy Chitrik: "We have been in touch with individuals from Afghanistan, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt and many countries in between, to support them with their religious needs – including matzah for Passover."

Relations with the state and Israel

The 1982 work took place in an area under Israeli military control during the invasion. No contact between Chabad and the Lebanese state was found.

Funding and controversies

None found.

Editor's note: The 1982 account is Chabad-side only. The original Maariv report was not located.

See also

• Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Lebanon
• Chabad-Lubavitch in West Asia
• Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States
• Chabad Lubavitch of Syria