Joshua (Shuki) Tartakovsky, previously part of the ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem and an alumnus of Brown University and LSE, was detained in Beirut on Tuesday. He had recently entered Lebanon by presenting himself as an "investigative journalist." His conduct drew suspicion from the Lebanese authorities and, upon his detention by local police, an Israeli passport was discovered in his possession. Social media accounts suggest this wasn't his first visit to Beirut.
Tartakovsky entered Lebanon using a British passport but also carried an Israeli one. Al-Akhbar, a Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper, reported security forces apprehended him in Dahieh, two weeks after his arrival in the Lebanese capital. Although he entered Lebanon with other journalists, his behavior raised enough suspicion to lead to his arrest. Al-Akhbar described Tartakovsky as a 42-year-old Israeli born in the United States.
His acquaintances describe him as a "peculiar character." One noted his frequent shifts in political stance, characterizing him as someone who could be far-right one day and far-left the next, often leaving others confused. His arrest in Lebanon didn't surprise those who knew him. Previously, he posted content supporting Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit or Jewish Power party, yet his friends label him as a leftist "opposed to wars."
"He wrote articles against drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews and settlements, then suddenly supported drafting them," according to an aquaintance. Articles he contributed to certain sites were even removed.