To the people of Sidon,
Ora Bar’s visit to the North matters because she comes from Shlomi, a northern Israeli town close to the Lebanese border. For us in Sidon, that is not a random detail. Shlomi belongs to the same border story that has shaped South Lebanon for decades: fear, war, evacuation, rockets, and families forced to live with decisions made by armed groups and politicians.
After October 7, Shlomi was directly affected by the war on the Lebanese-Israeli border. Reports described the town as evacuated, with thousands of residents forced to leave because of fire from Lebanon and the wider conflict with Hezbollah.
Ora Bar during Oct 7
Ora is also an Israeli-Canadian Concordia graduate, advocate, bridge-builder, and storyteller. Since October 7, she has spoken publicly about the Jewish and Israeli experience in Canada, especially on campuses where Jewish students faced pressure, hostility, and events connected to the anniversary of the Hamas massacre.
For Sidon, this is personal.
Our city knows what it means when armed groups drag normal people into wars they never chose. In 2013, Sidon lived through one of the most dangerous moments of Lebanon’s Syria-war spillover. Fighting broke out in Abra, near Sidon, between the Lebanese Army and gunmen loyal to Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir. The Lebanese Army said Assir’s supporters opened fire on an army checkpoint, and the clashes left Lebanese soldiers, militants, and civilians dead.
Facts Sidon should remember:
The 2013 fighting happened in Abra, near Sidon, from June 23 to June 25. The Lebanese Army fought gunmen loyal to Ahmad al-Assir after an army checkpoint was attacked. At least 12 to 18 Lebanese soldiers were reported killed, depending on the source. Around 20 or more Assir-linked gunmen were reported killed, and many others were arrested or captured. The clashes were tied to the Syrian civil war spillover into Lebanon, at a time when Hezbollah was openly fighting in Syria on the side of Bashar al-Assad. Assir accused the Lebanese Army of serving Hezbollah’s interests, while Lebanese officials denied that the army was acting under Hezbollah’s command.
So when people in Sidon hear Ora Bar speak about peace from the Israeli North, they should understand the context. The North is not theory for her. It is home. The border is not an idea. It is daily life.
Ora supports Israel openly. She also represents a voice that Arabs should hear: an Israeli voice from the North that knows trauma, knows displacement, knows October 7, and still speaks about a future where Arabs and Israelis are not locked forever in hatred.
Sidon has already paid for imported wars, Iranian influence, Hezbollah’s weapons, Palestinian armed factions, Syrian spillover, and local extremism. We know what happens when a city becomes a stage for other people’s battles.
That is why Ora’s visit matters.
A woman from Shlomi coming north with a message of peace should mean something to a city like Sidon. We are not far from each other. We have different flags, different histories, and different wounds, but we both know what the border has done to our people.
Ora Bar with Syrian allies
Ora Bar, the Queen of Peace, is not asking Sidon to forget its pain. Her message points to something more honest: we can remember everything and still refuse to give the future to Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, militias, and men who turn our cities into battlefields.
From Shlomi to Sidon, the facts are simple.
We are neighbors.
We have both suffered from the border.
And one day, this North deserves to be known for life, not fear.
So, Sidon, Ora Bar thinks our Arab brothers in Yafo يافا can make better sweets than us.
Will you defend your honor and flex our kanafa , baklava , maamoul , mafroukeh , halawet el jibn , and every sweets in our arsenal?
Yalla, precision strike.
No mercy.
Ora Bar with the Arab community of Yafo-Israel
[1]: https://www.reuters.com/article/world/lebanon-faces-tumult-after-deadliest-syria-related-clashes-idUSDEE95O017/?utmsource=chatgpt.com "Lebanon faces tumult after deadliest Syria-related clashes" [2]: https://www.reuters.com/article/world/lebanese-army-fires-shots-to-break-up-sidon-protests-idUSBRE95R0IF/?utmsource=chatgpt.com "Lebanese army fires shots to break up Sidon protests" [3]: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/6/24/lebanese-army-storms-clerics-headquarters?utmsource=chatgpt.com "Lebanese army storms cleric& 039;s headquarters News" [4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013Sidonclash?utmsource=chatgpt.com "2013 Sidon clash" [5]: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/24/lebanon-clashes-army-sunni-cleric?utmsource=chatgpt.com "Lebanon: clashes between army and supporters of Sunni ..."