Israeli Arab activist Yoseph Haddad was attacked Friday as he and his family were boarding a flight to Israel from Dubai.
Haddad, 37, wrote in a tweet following the incident that he was attacked by Arabs who oppose his activities on behalf of the Jewish State, and who recognized him on the plane prior to departure.
“My family and I were violently attacked on the way to the flight from Dubai to Israel by several people from my community who recognized me and attacked us just because of who I am, because of my views and my actions for the State of Israel. [It was] a verbal and physical attack, as a result of which my mother’s hand was injured (see photo),” Haddad wrote in Arabic and Hebrew language tweets.
אני ומשפחתי הותקפנו בעלייה לטיסה מדובאי לישראל על ידי מספר אנשים מהחברה שלי שזיהו אותי ותקפו אותנו רק בגלל מי שאני, בגלל הדעות שלי והעשייה שלי למען מדינת ישראל. התקפה מילולית ופיזית שבעקבותיה אמא שלי נפצעה בכף ידה (בתמונה המצורפת).
אני רוצה להודות לרשויות בדובאי על הטיפול בעניין… pic.twitter.com/y3CSEn2NOt
— יוסף חדאד – Yoseph Haddad (@YosephHaddad) August 26, 2023
“I would like to thank the authorities in Dubai for the way they handled the incident and for the warm treatment I received all the way.
“A personal thank you also to the Ambassador of Israel to the Emirates Amir Hayek, to the Consul General Liron Zaslansky, to Consul Danny Gadot, to the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lior Hait and to my dear friend Ido Daniel for all the concern and accompaniment late at night from afar.
“We have already returned to Israel, and we are fine,” he wrote.
“And I want to tell all the attackers and the other people who think that they will stop me through violence and intimidation – I will continue with all my might, you will not stop me, and you are only making me continue and get stronger and stronger!
“To my dear family – thank you for being strong and absorbing and sacrificing for my path, I just love you.”
Yoseph Haddad is a popular international lecturer about Israel and the relations between Arabs and Jews.
Born in Haifa, Haddad served in the Israel Defense Forces’ elite Golani Brigade. During his service, he was severely injured at Bint Jebeil during the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
Following his long rehabilitation process, Haddad dedicated his life to explaining the truth about Israel abroad and working to improve relations between Arabs and Jews in Israel. He is a strong digital influencer and speaks often on Israeli TV networks in English, Hebrew and Arabic.
