Several guards accosted Khaldi, Israel’s first-ever Bedouin diplomat, in Jerusalem’s Central Bus Station, tackling him and knocking him to the ground.
By LAHAV HARKOVIsraeli Beduin diplomat Ismail Khaldi speaks at Rutgers(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Ishmael Khaldi, Israel's most senior Bedouin diplomat, was attacked by security guards in Jerusalem on Thursday.Several guards allegedly accosted Khaldi, Israel’s first-ever Bedouin diplomat, in Jerusalem’s Central Bus Station, tackling him and knocking him to the ground. One of the guards allegedly knelt on him and kept his knee on his neck until Khaldi yelled that he could not breath. Khaldi was not seriously injured. He reported the incident to the police, with help from his Foreign Ministry colleagues.Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lior Haiat called Khaldi “an esteemed, experienced diplomat who represented Israel in the most difficult places in the world.”“This was a shocking event and we expect the police to investigate who is responsible,” Haiat stated.Police Spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld confirmed that the Jerusalem Police District was investigating the matter.Rosenfeld said the bus station guards and the diplomat were called in to give their version of the events and the investigation was ongoing.Khaldi was Israel’s vice-consul to San Francisco and a senior adviser to former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman.