Outwardly, he was a Hezbollah member, rising in their ranks and gaining access to sensitive operations.
By Hezy Laing
Avraham Sinai’s life story is one of the most remarkable transformations in modern Middle Eastern history.
Born Ibrahim Yassin in Lebanon to a Shiite Muslim family, he grew up in a village dominated by Arab militants and later Hezbollah.
Initially, he admired Israel’s order and prosperity compared to the chaos around him, and when the IDF entered Lebanon in 1982, he began quietly helping them with information.
His decision to spy was not ideological at first but born of desperation: Hezbollah’s brutality had touched his family directly, including the horrific murder of his infant son during captivity.
Tortured and imprisoned in underground bunkers, he realized that Hezbollah’s teachings were political distortions of Islam, and he resolved to fight them from within.
Over the next fourteen years, Sinai lived a double life.
Outwardly, he was a Hezbollah member, rising in their ranks and gaining access to sensitive operations.
Secretly, he was one of Israel’s most valuable informants, passing intelligence that thwarted attacks and saved lives.
He foiled a planned assault by 150 terrorists on an Israeli base, and his reports helped the IDF dismantle cells and prevent ambushes.
His work was perilous; Hezbollah suspected leaks, and he knew discovery meant certain death.
Israeli officers warned him repeatedly of the risks, but his hatred for Hezbollah and desire for revenge kept him committed.
He lived constantly under suspicion, enduring interrogations and maintaining a façade of loyalty while feeding Israel crucial details.
In 1997, his cover was nearly blown, and with Israeli help he fled across the border with his wife and children.
Settling in Tzfat, he continued to assist Israeli intelligence, now openly, and began a new chapter.
On Yom Kippur in 2000, he attended synagogue for the first time and felt a profound spiritual awakening.
Over time, he and his wife converted to Judaism under Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, and his children grew up as Jews, no longer speaking Arabic.
Today, Avraham Sinai reflects on his journey as divinely guided, believing God saved him to live as a Jew in Israel.
His story is not only about espionage and survival but about redemption: a man who endured torture, infiltrated one of the world’s most dangerous terror groups, saved countless lives through his intelligence work, and ultimately found peace and faith in Judaism.
