Ishmael Khaldi, the first Bedouin Deputy Consul for the State of Israel and the nation’s first high-ranking Muslim in the Israeli Foreign Service, will be speaking at UF on Monday night.
Khaldi will discuss the democratic government of Israel and give insight into the diversity of Israel, said Claire Miller, co-director of Israel Week 2010.
As a Bedouin, Khaldi will discuss the struggle for the Bedouin minority to achieve full equality in Israel and the efforts Bedouins have been making to graduate high school, attend universities and obtain jobs.
The event is co-sponsored by Accent and the Jewish Student Union and will take place in Pugh Hall’s Ocora at 7 p.m. — free and public.
Khaldi was paid $1,000 to speak, said Zack Goldstein, Accent chairman.
Following the event, the Jewish Student Union will be holding a Bedouin-themed event at UF Hillel from 9 to 11 p.m. There will be free food, hookah, a band and henna artists at the event.
