The Israeli government approved the appointments of 11 individuals to head missions around the world today.
About 30% of the appointees are women and for the first time, a Bedouin diplomat, Ismail Haladi, was approved to serve as Israeli ambassador to Eritrea.
Despite strong opposition from Likud ministers David Amsalem and Amir Ohana, who voted against his selection due to problematic statements made on social media networks, Haladi's appointment was confirmed.
In 2015, while heading Israel's efforts against the BDS movement in the UK, the Makor Rishon Hebrew-language periodical reported that Haladi attacked a Facebook post of one of his colleagues from the foreign office, stating, "Your hatred for Arabs and Muslims is worse than anti-Semitism targeting Jews."
Following the release of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, Haladi criticized Netanyahu, at the time also serving as Minister of Finance. In his post, Haladi attached a copy of the national budget, implying that the Prime Minister was misappropriating government funds.
"Let's see which ones gets top priority: A Jewish spy in America, settlement in the Jordan Valley, or a Bedouin village lacking proper access?" he questioned.
According to another media report that appeared in 2017 on the Mida news site, Haladi accused Israel of "destroying Bedouin culture," and called for an anti-Israel struggle aided by The Hague Criminal Tribunal. After reports of his accusations came to light, Haladi apologized to "anyone hurt by [his] statements."