Jonathan Elkhoury, an Israeli public diplomacy advocate who fled Lebanon with his family as a child following threats from Hezbollah, has been accepted into the Foreign Ministry's diplomatic cadet training program.
Elkhoury announced Sunday that he had begun the program as a cadet on the political track, becoming the first member of the South Lebanon Army (SLA) community to enter the program in this capacity.
Born in Lebanon to a Christian family, Elkhoury is the son of a former SLA member. His father served in the force, which cooperated with Israel in southern Lebanon. When Elkhoury was nine, his family was forced to flee to Israel as refugees after Hezbollah threatened his father.
After nearly 13 years of international public diplomacy, media work and advocacy on behalf of former SLA families living in Israel, Elkhoury said joining the Foreign Ministry represented a natural continuation of his personal and family history.
"I am excited to share that this week I began the Foreign Ministry's cadet training program as a cadet on the political track, thereby also becoming the first person from the SLA community in this role," he wrote. "For me, this was the most natural step in my life story, a direct continuation of the alliance my parents forged with the State of Israel in the 1970s and 1980s with the establishment of the SLA in southern Lebanon."
"The bond of brotherhood forged for a shared goal of peace and good neighborly relations is becoming a reality today through the next generation, of which I am a part, in the country that has become my official and unquestioned home. A sense of belonging that came about thanks to Israeli society, and above all through the profound understanding that my fate and that of the State of Israel are one," he wrote.
Elkhoury said his decision to enter the diplomatic service followed nearly 13 years of public activity, including international advocacy for Israel, assistance to families of former SLA members living in Israel, and media work.
"I am taking this step with a genuine sense of mission and pride in officially representing my country as part of the Foreign Ministry's outstanding diplomatic team," he said.
According to Elkhoury, only 36 candidates were accepted into the cadet program from approximately 2,000 applicants who entered the selection process. Of those accepted, 26 will pursue the political track, while the remaining 10 will train on the administrative track.
The new class includes candidates from a wide range of professional backgrounds and regions across Israel, from Rosh Hanikra in the north to Eilat in the south. Among them are an architect, a script supervisor, a publisher, special forces veterans, media professionals, and senior civil servants.