Ishmael, Khaldi — Israeli Diplomacy
Contrary to what people might assume, not all diplomats representing the State of Israel are Jewish. In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with Ishmael Khaldi the Deputy Consul General from the State of Israel and based in San Francisco, California. Ishmael Khaldi is a Muslim who was born and raised in a migrant Bedouin community in Galilee in Northern Israel. Ishmael Khaldi is the first Bedouin diplomat and the first Muslim in the Israeli Foreign Service. In this interview he shares his journey from his migratory tribal roots to Northern California as the deputy consul general, and some of the Israeli proposals for resolving the present day internal conflicts. Ishmael Khaldi visited the studios of Radio Curious, in Ukiah, California on February, 12th 2009. Our Conversation began when I asked him how he defines his identity, being both a Bedouin Muslim and deputy consul general for the State of Israel.
The book he recommends is “The Secret War With Iran; The 30 Year Clandestine Struggle Against The World’s Most Dangerous Terrorist Power” by Ronen Bergman Ph.D.