Yoseph Haddad and his family were attacked while boarding a Tel Aviv-bound plane in Dubai, the prominent pro-Israel activist posted to social media on Saturday.
“My family and I were subjected to violence at the time of boarding the plane from Dubai to Israel by a number of people from my community who knew me and attacked us only because they knew me and knew what I was doing in the State of Israel,” wrote Hadad, an Israeli Arab who served in the Israel Defense Forces’ Golani Brigade.
عيلتي وانا تعرضنا للعُنف بوقت الطلعه على الطياره من دبي لاسرائيل من قِبَل كم شخص من مجتمعي الي عرفوني وتهجموا علينا بس لانهن عرفوني، وبعرفوا شو عملي بدولة اسرائيل . التهجم كان كلامي وجسدي وامي تصاوبت بايدها (الصوره مرفقه).
— יוסף חדאד - Yoseph Haddad (@YosephHaddad) August 26, 2023
شخصياً بدي اشكر السلطات بدبي على الاهتمام بالامر وعلى… pic.twitter.com/LDQYWEfIOz
Haddad claimed that his mother was injured in the attack, and posted a picture of her bandaged hand.
He thanked the Dubai authorities for addressing the incident, as well as personally thanking “Israeli ambassador to the Emirates Amir Hayek, the consuls Liron Zaslansky and Danny Gadot, the Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Hait and my dear friend Ido Daniel for the interest and follow-up of the late night hours from afar.”
Haddad said that they were back in Israel, “and we are free.”
He also had a message to “all the attackers and the rest of the people who are thinking of stopping me through violence and intimidation—against you, I continue with all my might, you will not stop me ... [I will] continue and be stronger more and more.”
And to my dear family—thank you for being strong and enduring and making sacrifices for the sake of the road that I walk on. I love you.”
He told Channel 12 that his family was traumatized by the incident.
“The difficulty was seeing my mother crying and seeing her in pain, understanding that she was injured. Seeing my 70-year-old father who had to stand up and protect me, my nephews crying. We were in a storm of emotions,” he said.
Haddad makes frequent appearances on Israeli media and at global speaking events as the CEO of Together–Vouch For Each Other, an organization he founded in 2018 that works to bridge the gap between Israel’s Arab sector and wider Israeli society. He also is active on social media, posting sometimes harsh encounters with anti-Israel activists at events around the world.
Born in Haifa, Haddad moved with his family to Nazareth at the age of 3. During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, he was severely wounded by a Hezbollah missile. After a lengthy recovery process, he decided to advocate on behalf of Israel, including fighting the BDS movement and working to improve relations between Jews and Arabs.
