The SGBL bank denied the claim, and associates described Sehanoui as an “outspoken Zionist.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Accusations that a major Lebanese bank helped Hezbollah finance attacks on Americans are drawing renewed attention after diplomat Morgan Ortagus entered a relationship with the bank’s chairman, Anton Sehnaoui, Ynet reports.

The 2019 U.S. lawsuit—filed against SGBL and several other Lebanese institutions—claimed the banks facilitated financial channels that aided Hezbollah operations in Iraq between 2004 and 2011. SGBL rejected the allegations at the time, and people close to Sehnaoui described him as an “outspoken Zionist.”

The scrutiny comes only weeks after Ortagus finalized her divorce in November. Those familiar with the matter said her new relationship began after the split and was reported through the proper government procedures.

Ortagus, 43, has been a prominent figure in Republican foreign policy circles for more than a decade.

After early postings with the U.S. Agency for International Development in the Middle East, she developed an interest in Judaism, eventually converting.

In 2013, she married businessman Jonathan Weinstein in a ceremony performed by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was a longtime neighbor. The couple has a daughter, Adina.

Her public profile rose sharply during President Donald Trump’s first term, when she served as State Department spokesperson.

She later worked as deputy to Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, and this summer she joined the U.S. mission to the United Nations as an adviser. She also appeared frequently on Fox News before returning to government service.

Sehnaoui, 53, leads a banking network with branches in Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan and Monaco. He took control of SGBL in 2007 and expanded its operations to Abu Dhabi, France and Colorado, building an institution that now holds assets estimated at roughly $26 billion.

His background includes film production and publishing, along with a family lineage tracing back to Emir Bashir Shihab II, a ruler of early-19th-century Lebanon. Raised in Beirut, he later moved to the United States and studied business and banking at the University of Southern California.

While associates insist the allegations in the U.S. lawsuit misrepresent Sehnaoui’s views, the attention surrounding the case—and his new relationship with a senior Trump-aligned diplomat—has pushed the issue back into public view.

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The move to recall the ambassador comes after an Israeli official berated the Brazilian diplomat in public, while media recorded the incident.

By World Israel News Staff

Brazil recalled its ambassador to Israel on Monday, following a major diplomatic incident between the two countries sparked by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva comparing the ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip to the Holocaust.

According to inside sources, as reported by Israel Hayom, Brazil stands by the president’s remarks comparing the IDF war on Gaza to the Nazis Hitler’s treatment of the Jews.

The diplomatic tensions began on Sunday when the Brazilian president, known as Lula, equated the Israeli military operation to the Nazi Holocaust of the Jewish people during World War II.

“What is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people has no parallel in other historical moments,” Lula said, then added, “in fact, it did exist when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.”

The comments sparked widespread outrage in Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling them “shameful” and saying that the Brazilian leader had “crossed a red line.”

Later on Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz publicly berated Brazilian Ambassador to Israel Frederico Meyer for the Brazilian president’s comments, in a highly unusual setting – the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, as numerous media outlets recorded the incident.

Typically, diplomats are summoned for private conversations at the Foreign Ministry, and such dressing downs are not held in front of the media.

“We will not forget nor forgive. It is a serious antisemitic attack,” Katz told Meyer, referencing Lula’s comments.

“In my name and the name of the citizens of Israel – tell President Lula that he is persona non grata in Israel until he takes it back,” he continued.

“I brought you to a place that testifies more than anything else to what the Nazis and Hitler did to the Jews, including members of my family,” he added.

“The comparison between Israel’s just war against Hamas, and the atrocities of Hitler and the Nazis, is a shame.”

After confirming that it had officially recalled Meyer on Monday, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Israeli Ambassador to Brazil Daniel Zonshine for a “harsh” conversation, in what appeared to be a tit-for-tat move.

It’s unclear how long Meyer will stay in Brazil.

The post Brazil recalls ambassador to Israel, stands by shameful IDF-Nazi comparison appeared first on World Israel News.

He will replace Eli Cohen who will take over as energy and infrastructure minister.

By JNS

The Knesset approved on Monday evening the appointment of Israel Katz as foreign minister.

Under a rotation agreement, the Likud Party member replaces, effective immediately, Eli Cohen as Jerusalem’s top diplomat.

Cohen, also a Likud member, will replace Katz as energy and infrastructure minister and continue to serve in the high-level Security Cabinet.

Katz, 68, the son of Romanian Holocaust survivors, first ran for Knesset in 1996 and previously served as foreign minister from February 2019 to May 2020. He has also held the Agriculture, Transport, Finance, and Intelligence portfolios.

Katz has served as energy and infrastructure minister since the Netanyahu-led government came to power in December of last year.

The post Israel Katz becomes Israel’s new foreign minister appeared first on World Israel News.