Racist Lieberman Appoints Bedouin Arab, Ismail Al-Khalidi, as Middle East Advisor

Lieberman appoints Bedouin as Middle East Advisor

Tuesday April 21, 2009 08:35 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli Foreign Minister, former member of the outlawed Kach terrorist group, Avigdor Lieberman, appointed a Bedouin man, Ismail Al-Khalidi, as his Middle East advisor. Khalidi is from a Bedouin village, one of dozens of villages not recognized by Israel and which do not even receive basic services from Israel.

Israeli Ynet News reported that Lieberman made his decision as he wanted to appoint someone familiar with the area and its complex conditions and who is also fluent in Arabic.

Khalidi is Israeli deputy consul to San Francisco, California. He is believed to be the first Bedouin to hold a position in Israel’s foreign departments.

He is 38-years old and one of 11 siblings. He comes from a family which lives in a village that has no running water, no electricity, and no hospital or clinic because of Israel's discriminatory policies against the Bedouin and its refusal to recognise their villages.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry, said that Khalidi, who holds a masters degree in Political Science from the Tel Aviv University, previously served in the army, and was appointed political advisor to the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Israeli Police.

The move comes as Lieberman, who considers the Arab population as a demographic threat to Israel and call for the deportation of Arabs and Palestinians from the country, is trying to improve his image by naming an Arab as his close advisor.

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