Israeli man spotted walking in Beirut’s Zaitunay Bay — investigation reveals he entered Lebanon using a Canadian passport

Report by Toni Mrad, English adaptation by Mariella Succar

A video circulating on social media shows a man speaking Hebrew and introducing himself as Avi Gold on TikTok and Instagram while walking around Beirut’s Zaitunay Bay. His TikTok page also shows footage of him in Syria.

According to information obtained by LBCI, the man speaking Hebrew holds Canadian citizenship under the name Avraham Dov Goldstein, born in 1991. 

He entered Lebanon on September 17 through the Masnaa border crossing, stayed at a hotel in Hamra, and left the country the next day from Beirut airport.

Goldstein was not the only Israeli national to enter Lebanon under another nationality. Another individual, Berel Indig, who holds a U.S. passport, also entered through the Masnaa crossing and departed from Beirut airport on September 18.

Such incidents could happen again, as Lebanon’s General Security Directorate cannot determine whether a person entering the country with a foreign passport also holds Israeli nationality.

For years, Israel has refrained from stamping its citizens’ passports to protect those who hold dual nationality. 

Instead, it records entry and exit data electronically or on a separate slip of paper to facilitate travel to countries that do not recognize Israel.

Regardless of the technical details, the infiltration of Israeli nationals into Lebanon comes within a broader political and psychological context that allows Israel to engage in provocative acts and psychological warfare aimed at stirring public sentiment against it.