A Qatari taxi driver kicked KAN News journalist Dor Hoffman out of his cab after he discovered his Israeli nationality, the reporter claimed on Thursday.
The cab driver, who picked up the Israelis in the morning, stopped the vehicle mid-drive after finding out he picked up Israelis, something he "did not like at all," Hoffman shared on KAN's World Cup studio show.
Qatar, which hosts this year's FIFA World Cup, holds no official ties with Israel but had cooperated with Israeli officials on the hospitality of Israelis flying to Doha for soccer's biggest stage, accepting various Israeli requests on Kosher food and direct flights from Jerusalem.
Furthermore, the driver refused to accept the Israeli's money because "they kill his [Palestinian] brothers," Hoffman claimed. "He dropped at in the middle of nowhere, said he wouldn't take money because we kill his brothers and all that stuff...we were fine, we switched taxis."
Israelis escorted by guards from Qatari beach
The Israeli journalist further claimed that security guards were sent to remove him and his filming crew from a Qatari beach after he asked a local restaurant to film on its premises. "The owner asked to know where we're from...he called for security guards to escort us away after finding out we were Israeli," Hoffman said.
רגע של שיתוף: @dorhoffman חולק עם @talberman גם את הרגעים הפחות זוהרים של המונדיאל - להיות ישראלי בקטאר pic.twitter.com/F0jtkjOjqK
— כאן (@kann) November 24, 2022
The owner also took Hoffman's phone, demanding he deletes every photo taken in his restaurant, the reporter claimed. "I felt threatened."
"These are things that happen and should be discussed," Hoffman concluded. "We must learn to cope with these incidents, as Israelis in a hostile state. It can happen to anybody...we need to keep ourselves safe and understand this is part of the deal [of traveling to Qatar]. I don't have any interest in these stories, I want to talk about soccer."
אחרי תקרית מאוד לא נעימה עם נהג מונית ממליץ לכל ישראלי שמגיע לקטאר להגיד שהוא ממלטה.אין בעולם מדינה שאף אחד לא יודע עליה כלום כמו מלטה.
— dor hoffman (@dorhoffman) November 24, 2022
Later on Thursday, Hoffman joked on Twitter that "every Israeli traveling to Qatar must say they are from Malta...No one knows anything about Malta."