Just announced, Avigdor Lieberman is appointing Ismail Khaldi as new diplomat Mideast advisor on regional issues.
Ismail, known as Ish to friends, was part of our Israel journey last April when we traveled and blogged our way through the country. He was the first Bedouin to join Israel’s Foreign Service and will be leaving his post as deputy consul in San Francisco for this new assignment.
His appointment is said to stem from Lieberman’s’ desire to appoint someone familiar with the complexities of the region who is also fluent in Arabic.
I had an opportunity to visit Ish’ Bedouin village in upper Galilee, which apparently has no electricity or running water, but that was not my experience. An interview done on-site with his father; an interesting tale.
Other appointments in the Foreign Ministry include Hagit Ben-Yaakov as Lieberman’s European advisor, Zeev Gur-Aryeh as his Russia and former USSR bloc advisor and Omer Caspi as his US advisor; all of whom will report to Naor Gilon, Lieberman’s chief of staff.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
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Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
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