Ismail Khaldi (, ; born 1971)"Israel’s Leaders: Religious and Ethnic Diversity in Action"
World Security Network, 29 April 2009.Hazan, Jenny

''Aish.com'', 31 July 2010. is the first

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

diplomat in the

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (; ) is one of the most important Cabinet of Israel, ministries in the Government of Israel, Israeli government. The ministry's role is to implement Israel's foreign policy, and promote economic, cultural ...

Early life

Ismail Khaldi was born in Khawaled,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

a village near

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. He is the third of eleven children. He lived in a

tent until the age of eight. He walked four miles (6 km) round trip to attend school and tended flocks of sheep. He said his family's ties with its

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish neighbors go back to the days of the early

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

pioneers from Eastern Europe who settled in the

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

region in the 1920s. Khaldi earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...

and a master's degree in political science and international relations from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

. He served in the Israeli Ministry of Defense,

Israel Police The Israel Police (; ) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction o ...

, and in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

as a political analyst.Israel’s First Bedouin Diplomat Visits Santa Barbara
/ref> Khaldi initiated a project called "Hike and Learn with Bedouins in the Galilee" that has brought thousands of young Jews to Khawaled to learn about

culture and history. He said these encounters inspired him to become a

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

Diplomatic career

Khaldi began working for the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 2004. In June 2006, he was appointed to serve in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In August 2009, Khaldi was appointed policy advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Avigdor Lieberman Avigdor Lieberman (, ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician who served as Ministry of Finance (Israel), Minister of Finance between 2021 and 2022, having previously served twice as Deputy Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to ...

. He describes Lieberman as "one of the most realistic, of course, but honest and direct politicians in Israel." On Sunday 5th Jul 2020, an internal committee appointed Ishmael Khaldi as Israel's first Bedouin Ambassador, to take up the post in

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

. In June, 2020, Khaldi filed a police complaint after he was stopped by security guards at Jerusalem’s central bus station and physically assaulted. The guards said he refused to cooperate when asked for identification. Khaldi claimed it was a case of

ethnic profiling Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the offender profiling, selective enforcement or selective prosecution based on Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity, rather than individual suspicion or evidence. This practice involves discrimina ...

Anti-Israel protests

In 2011, Khaldi was invited to give a talk at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

's Jewish Society. Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted the event, which was declared a blow to

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

on campuses. University security officers had to be brought in after 50 protesters claimed to have shut down a lecture. He was also disrupted by activists at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

and by Julio Pino, a former professor of history at Kent State, who shouted "Death to Israel" during his lecture.

Political views

Khaldi said there is still a long way to go before the

minority achieves full equality in

but the situation is improving, and more

Bedouins The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

are graduating from high school, entering universities and getting better jobs than ever before. "There are differences in tradition and religion between us, but at the end of the day we are all Israeli citizens". He considers himself a proud

and regards a

Jewish state In world politics, Jewish state is a characterization of Israel as the nation-state and sovereign homeland for the Jewish people. Overview Modern Israel came into existence on 14 May 1948 as a polity to serve as the homeland for the Jewi ...

as beneficial to his community. He says it is through the alliance with

that the

have begun to transcend the isolation created by their nomadic traditions.

Published works

* 2010: ''A Shepherd's Journey: the story of Israel's first Bedouin diplomat.''

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khaldi, Ismail Bedouin Israelis 21st-century Israeli civil servants Israeli Muslims Israeli civil servants Living people University of Haifa alumni 1971 births Arab citizens of Israel Muslim supporters of Israel Ambassadors of Israel to Eritrea Consuls for Israel People from Haifa District Tel Aviv University alumni Arab supporters of Israel