Israel-Lebanon agreement shines light on long-lost Jewish community

SIDON, Lebanon -- Rabbi Elie Abadie left his native Lebanon more than five decades ago and has not even visited since, but his Lebanese roots remain an integral part of his identity.He has 3,000 Arabic songs on his smart phone. His wife, an American, learned from his mother how to cook the Lebanese dishes he loves. When he speaks with his siblings, he uses a mixture of Arabic and French, like many citizens of Lebanon, a former French protectorate.The once-thriving Lebanese Jewish community has been largely forgotten in the decades since most of them left the country. But the latest Israel-Hezbollah war — which pushed Lebanon and Israel into direct negotiations — has brought them under the spotlight again.Last month, Israel agreed to release five civilians detained by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon in exchange for Lebanon's help in searching for the bodies of Lebanese Jewish leaders abducted and killed in the 1980s, during Lebanon’s civil war. The news stirred painful memories for Lebanese Jews like Abadie, 65, who was born and raised in Beirut to parents who moved to Lebanon from Syria. Abadie left his country of birth at 10 and settled for some years in Mexico. He is now based...