Osman, who grew up in Lebanon, was raised on a state-sanctioned narrative that demonized Israel. “I was a fan of Hezbollah. I believed the narrative the state wanted us to learn about Israel and the Jews,” she said. “I’d never spoken to a Jew until I moved to France in my twenties and lived in the Jewish quarter. That was my first encounter with Jews, and that opened my eyes.”
Her shift in perspective was not immediate but developed over years of reading about Israel and Jewish history. “It sounds as if it happened overnight, but that was a long journey,” she explained. “Slowly, after years of reading about Israel and Jewish history, I became a proud Zionist activist. And after October 7, that event changed my life.”
Osman has traveled to Auschwitz and visited Israeli communities near Gaza, deepening her understanding of Jewish suffering. She is baffled by the continued global support for Hamas despite the October 7 massacre. “I don’t understand how anyone can buy their narrative,” she said. “I just read this morning—like many around the world, we don’t want to believe the Bibas family was killed. They are monsters, and learning that the aggressor is your own side, not Israel, is a harsh realization. I’m trying desperately to get Arabs to understand that they are intensely brainwashed.”
She is outspoken about what she sees as the real threat in the region. “Every day, it becomes clearer that the enemy of the people in the region is not Israel, but the so-called ‘Axis of Resistance’ led by Iran or by the Iranian regime. The Iranian people are awesome and they deserve better.”
Osman’s outspoken stance has come at a price. “I still have many family members and friends in Lebanon and Syria. Most of them blocked me right after October 7 when I made a public statement condemning Hamas and supporting Israel,” she said. “Many out of fear, but many just because they are antisemites, as I was until my mid-twenties.”
She has also faced threats, particularly from Palestinian communities. “I did receive many death threats in Germany. There is a criminal investigator I report some of them to, but as they say, ‘A dog that barks rarely bites.’ Those who want to kill me won’t inform me in advance,” she said. “I have to be careful where I’m invited to speak publicly. We have heavy security, but I truly believe I’m doing the right thing, so it doesn’t bother me at all.”
Osman confirmed that she is in the process of converting to Judaism, a decision she chose to share publicly despite warnings that doing so might weaken her impact as an Arab ally. “I’m not considering converting to Judaism—I am converting to Judaism,” she stated. “Many people told me that I shouldn’t share that I’m converting. Being an Arab Muslim ally is more valuable. However, converting to Judaism is not my dirty secret, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s something I’m proud of and I’d like the Jews to understand that it is something you should be proud of. There’s nothing wrong with you and everything wrong with the world.”
Osman believes that the suppression of Israel’s narrative in the Arab world is a major obstacle to peace. “Many Arab countries have anti-normalization laws and policies forbidding people-to-people contact,” she explained. “Arab citizens, including Lebanese, are afraid of communicating with Israelis because of these laws, even abroad when they are on holiday. But thanks to social media, the Jews can reclaim their space, reclaim their voices and communicate their narrative, exposing the lies told for very long in the Arab world.”
Despite the challenges and threats she faces, Osman remains steadfast in her advocacy. “I truly believe I’m doing the right thing,” she said. “And that gives me all the strength I need.”