How Hezbollah ally learned to love Jewish state

Rawan Osman says she grew up believing Jews were the enemy.

Born in Damascus to a Syrian father and Lebanese mother and raised in Lebanon, Osman described an upbringing shaped by what she called deeply entrenched antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment.

Speaking on a “Touro Talks” podcast hosted by Touro Law Center professor Sam Levine, she recounted how those beliefs were reinforced through education, media and the absence of Jewish communities in her surroundings.

“We were told a consistent story,” Osman said. “Why would we doubt what we were told about the Jews?”

Osman said that as a child and teenager, she viewed Hezbollah as heroic and accepted a simplified narrative of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict taught in schools. She also described exposure to religious and cultural messaging that portrayed Jews negatively.

That worldview began to change in her mid-20s, when she moved to Strasbourg, France.

There, she said, she had her first direct encounter with Jewish people — an experience she described as both frightening and transformative. Walking into a kosher grocery store in a Jewish neighborhood, Osman said she panicked upon hearing Hebrew spoken and seeing visibly Orthodox Jewish men.

“I had my first and last panic attack,” she said.

She left abruptly, then returned to retrieve her belongings. The storekeeper, she recalled, treated her kindly and without judgment, despite sensing her distress.

“That simple act of kindness allowed me to return to that space,” Osman said. “Without intending to, that gentleman on that afternoon converted me from an enemy to an ally.”

The encounter prompted her to question long-held assumptions. Osman said she began researching Jewish history and the history of the Middle East, describing the process as a years-long reevaluation of what she had been taught.

“I realized that everything I knew about the Jews and about Israel … I learned from one narrative,” she said.

Over time, she said, she came to identify as a Zionist and began speaking publicly about antisemitism in Arab societies and the need for dialogue. Her views, she acknowledged, have strained relationships with family and friends.

After the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Osman said she felt compelled to become more vocal. She described watching footage of the attacks and speaking out on social media and in public forums in support of Israel.

“I refuse to live in a world where what took place on October 7 is tolerated,” she said.

Osman has since traveled to Israel multiple times and spoken at international venues, including the European Parliament and the United Nations, she said. She described receiving messages from people who say her story has influenced their perspectives.

Her commentary extends beyond personal narrative into broader geopolitical analysis. Osman has argued that antisemitism remains widespread globally and that education about the Holocaust alone is insufficient to combat it. She has also framed the Oct. 7 attacks as part of a larger ideological conflict involving Iran and allied groups.

Those views are strongly held and, in some cases, controversial, particularly her characterization of global political alignments and conflicts. Throughout the conversation, Osman emphasized what she sees as the stakes of ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

Still, she returned repeatedly to the importance of personal interactions.

“I always thought I’m a single person — how can I bring change about?” she said. “And I remembered that that man … changed my life through a simple act of kindness.”

Osman said she remains optimistic about the future, despite ongoing conflict.

“I truly believe … that those who support Israel will prevail,” she said.

Her story, she suggested, illustrates how deeply ingrained beliefs can be challenged — not through policy or politics alone, but through human connection.

Correction: "Touro Talks" is the name of the Touro University podcast series on which Rawan Osman was featured.