The Assyrians in Australia do the same thing here; they say they're Lebanese when they get caught by the police.

Historically the Assyrians had integrated the Levant as part of their ever-growing empire and I read that the transformation & eventual expansion of Yahwism and its later ascension as a strict monolithic religion was in truth affected by anti-Assyrian mentality and the hope to seek independence.
Apparently the rivalry persists.
I wonder, can you tell an Assyrian from a Lebanese? Except for Yemenites, Socotris, Israelite settlers, and Iranians everyone in the Near East (excluding N.Africa) look

similar.