His suspicious behavior reportedly led to his arrest in the Dahieh district of Beirut.
An Israeli citizen who holds a British passport was arrested in Lebanon after entering the country as “an investigative journalist” and subsequently deported to the United States following American pressure, according to reports.
Joshua (Shoki) Tartakovsky, “a former ultra-Orthodox resident of Jerusalem”, the Israeli YNet News reported, was arrested in Beirut on Tuesday “after entering Lebanon recently saying he is an investigative journalist.”
Lebanese media reported that Joshua Tartakovsky, a 42-year-old Israeli citizen who also holds a British passport, was arrested on Tuesday in Beiruthttps://t.co/5ctGlsX7oJ
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) October 9, 2024
“His behavior aroused suspicion among the Lebanese authorities, and when he was caught, they discovered he had an Israeli passport,” the report stated, adding that according to his social media accounts, it was not his first visit to Beirut.
Citing the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar and Israeli officials, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported that the 42-year-old “is also listed as American on several websites that he has contributed work to.”
YNet cited Al-Akhbar as reporting that he was an Israeli “born in the United States who works for a weekly publication.”
The report further said that he had been arrested in the Dahieh district, two weeks after his arrival in Beirut and that he had entered the country with other journalists, “but his suspicious behavior led to his arrest.”
Illegal Entry
It is illegal for Israelis to enter Lebanon under both Israeli and Lebanese law.
🛑| 🇱🇧🇮🇱🇺🇸 NEW: Yehoshua Tartakovsky, the Israeli spy who was arrested yesterday in the southern suburb of Beirut, was released today and sent back to the United States after American officials intervened.
They shouldn’t have handed him over… https://t.co/UCpws3kb6z pic.twitter.com/l7rgBrE4iS
— Arya – آریا (@AryJeay) October 10, 2024
Haaretz said Tartakovsky, “who describes himself as an independent journalist, is a graduate of Brown University in Rhode Island and the London School of Economics, according to his author page on the Vision Magazine website.”
His former places of employment include the International Defense and Security Team at Transparency International in London, the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin and the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs in Israel.
Served in Israeli Army
Haaretz said that in an article Tartakovsky “wrote for his student newspaper in 2014, he identified himself as a ‘Brown alum who also served in the Israeli Occupation Forces’” But at the same time also a “supporter of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel.”
YNet said his friends described him as a “peculiar character” often shifting his political stances.
“One noted his frequent shifts in political stance, characterizing him as someone who could be far-right one day and far-left the next,” the report said.
Another reportedly said “I’d be surprised if he has a journalist’s credentials; he was writing blogs and giving interviews on TV in various countries. He’s a polyglot.”
There are at least four profiles listed under Tartakovsky’s name on X.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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