Ishmael Khaldi: Difference between revisions
| Line 52: | Line 52: | ||
== Edinburgh University Incident == |
== Edinburgh University Incident == |
||
On 2 February 2011, Mr. Khaldi began to give a talk hosted by the [[University of Edinburgh]]'s Jewish Society<ref>http://thejc.com/bedouin-arabs/44724/anti-israel-protesters-clash-israels-top-muslim-politician</ref>. |
On 2 February 2011, Mr. Khaldi began to give a talk hosted by the [[University of Edinburgh]]'s Jewish Society<ref>http://thejc.com/bedouin-arabs/44724/anti-israel-protesters-clash-israels-top-muslim-politician</ref>. As the audience was overwhelmingly made up of members of [[Students for Justice in Palestine]], they refused to let Mr. Khaldi speak. There was no intervention from University security or Khaldi's armed guards to ensure the talk could go ahead while security did not have to intervene.<ref>http://news.scotsman.com/news/Israeli-minister-sparks-demo-by.6710007.jp</ref> The president of the International Relations Society at the university, which had been contacted first to host the event, stated that after long discussions, the society had decided not to provide a platform for a representative of the Israeli state as it would be at the expense of the millions of Palestinians who live under Apartheid<ref>http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburgh/Israeli-minister-sparks-demo-by.6710007.jp</ref>. |
||
==References== |
==References== |
||
Revision as of 09:33, 8 February 2011
Ismail Khaldi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Deputy Consul in San Francisco | |
| In office December 2006 – August 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Omer Caspi |
| Personal details | |
| Born |  Khawalid, Israel |
| Website | http://www.ishmaelkhaldi.com |
Ismail Khaldi is the first Bedouin deputy consul of the State of Israel and the nation's first high ranking Muslim diplomat in the Israeli foreign service. In June 2006, he was appointed to serve in San Francisco.[1][2][3] In August 2009 Khaldi was appointed advisor to the minister of foreign affairs Avigdor Lieberman.
Ishmael Khaldi lived in a Bedouin tent until he was 8 years old, walked 4 miles round trip to school each day and tended flocks of sheep. He said his family's ties with its Jewish neighbors go back to the days of the early Zionist pioneers from Eastern Europe who settled in the Galilee region in the 1920s.[3]
Khaldi says there is still a long way to go before the Bedouin minority achieves full equality in Israel, but reported that the situation is improving, and more Bedouins are graduating from high school, entering universities and getting better jobs than ever before.[3]
Ismail Khaldi holds a Masters Degree in Political Science from Tel Aviv University. He served in Israeli Ministry of Defense, Israel Police, and in the Israel Defense Forces as a political analyst.
Khaldi initiated a project called "Hike and Learn with Bedouins in the Galilee" that has brought thousands of young Jews to the village of Khawalid to learn about Bedouin culture and history. He said these encounters inspired him to become a diplomat.[3]
Edinburgh University Incident
On 2 February 2011, Mr. Khaldi began to give a talk hosted by the University of Edinburgh's Jewish Society[4]. As the audience was overwhelmingly made up of members of Students for Justice in Palestine, they refused to let Mr. Khaldi speak. There was no intervention from University security or Khaldi's armed guards to ensure the talk could go ahead while security did not have to intervene.[5] The president of the International Relations Society at the university, which had been contacted first to host the event, stated that after long discussions, the society had decided not to provide a platform for a representative of the Israeli state as it would be at the expense of the millions of Palestinians who live under Apartheid[6].
References
- ^ Asafa Peled (June 22, 2006). "Israel's first Bedouin envoy". Ynetnews.
- ^ Alexandra J. Wall (July 2, 2006). "From shepherd to diplomat: Bedouin named deputy consul". j. the Jewish News Weekly of Northern California.
- ^ a b c d Kalman, Matthew (2006-11-24). "S.F.'s newest consul enjoys being Bedouin, proud to be Israeli / Ishmael Khaldi, who began life as a nomad, is first Muslim envoy to rise through ranks". SF Gate. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ http://thejc.com/bedouin-arabs/44724/anti-israel-protesters-clash-israels-top-muslim-politician
- ^ http://news.scotsman.com/news/Israeli-minister-sparks-demo-by.6710007.jp
- ^ http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburgh/Israeli-minister-sparks-demo-by.6710007.jp
Publications
- 2010: A Shepherd's Journey: the story of Israel's first Bedouin diplomat. ISBN 978-9655554731.
External links
- Ishmael Khaldi's blog: bio, interviews, links