Yoseph Haddad

Yoseph Haddad is an Arab-Israeli, Catholic Christian, who was born in Haifa to a teacher mother and a priest, businessman and civil aviator father.[6] Later the family moved to Nazareth, where he studied at the Don Bosco Technological High School named after Giovanni Bosco. In 2003, he volunteered for the IDF and served in the Golani Brigade. He completed the squad commanders course with honors and served as a platoon commander and sergeant.[6]

Towards his discharge, in July 2006, the Second Lebanon War broke out.[7] During the war his battalion fought in the Battle of Bint Jbeil, in which eight soldiers were killed including the battalion commander Roi Klein, and as a result the battalion was awarded a citation. Towards the end of the war, on August 10, a 9M133 Kornet missile fired by Hezbollah forces hit a wall near him.[7][3] As a result of the blast and shrapnel he was seriously wounded, his right foot was amputated and he was injured in several other places.[8] Haddad was evacuated under fire, and underwent treatment and rehabilitation for about a year, his foot was reattached and he was defined as an IDF disabled veteran.[6] As a result, he struggles with post-traumatic stress.[9]

Haddad began his undergraduate studies in political science at Bar-Ilan University but turned to advocacy and did not complete his studies. He is a graduate of the LEAD20 program for young leaders from around the world at MIT and served as project manager and operations manager at a market research company.[10]

He lectures around the world, and in the past also lectured at an official TED event. In early 2021 he joined the i24NEWS channel where he broadcasts in Arabic and English.[11][12][13] He also writes columns on other sites such as Israel Hayom[1] and TheMarker.[2][14]

As part of the "Together – Vouch for Each Other" association, he promotes educational, social activities and integration of Arab-Israeli citizens from all Arab communities in Israeli society, such as by encouraging and supporting volunteers for national-civilian service. With the goal of influencing young people in the Arab sector, and helping shape their Israeli identity and lead them to feel a sense of belonging to the state.[12][7]

Haddad and activists from the "Together – Arabs for Each Other" association at a living room memorial event in Kisra-Sumei, April 2019

Haddad began his advocacy activities as part of Reservists on Duty Line and works on behalf of Israeli advocacy across America and Europe and South Africa against the BDS movement's boycott campaign against Israel and against new manifestations of antisemitism on university campuses. In May 2018 he established the "Together – Arabs for Each Other" association with the aim of working for the integration and connection of the Arab sector with Israeli society, and since then he has headed it and serves as the CEO of the association.[15][12]

From time to time, he appears at colleges across the world and presents the Israeli side. During Apartheid Week in South Africa he confronted the leader of the BDS organization in a prime time program there.[16]

Haddad is occasionally interviewed on English-language media channels, and sometimes also on Arab media channels in Arabic. For example, he was interviewed on the Al Arabiya network. During Operation Guardian of the Walls he was interviewed by various media outlets around the world and spread content that reached millions.[16][14]

In March 2021 at a discussion in the UN Human Rights Council, Iran, Qatar and Palestine attacked Israel and accused it of running a racist vaccination program. After them, Haddad was given the floor on behalf of UN Watch and responded against their accusations.[17]

Haddad is interviewed on Israeli media channels, where he sometimes confronts various representatives of the Arab sector. For example, he criticized the nature of a protest against crime in the Arab sector and the authorities' helplessness, where protesters waved Palestinian flags, while as Israeli citizens complaining about important Israeli problems, they should have waved the state flags. Haddad also criticizes the media in Israel, for example on Channel 13, when they presented a category that classifies attacks as being perpetrated for "personal motives".[18]

Haddad participates in committee and conference discussions in the Knesset.[19][20] Alongside his participation in issues related to the Arab society, he also participates in the lobby to prevent the BDS movement, and in the struggle to preserve freedom of expression on social media on the one hand, and the expected protection from companies, against enabling support for terror and incitement through them as well as the fight against antisemitism and hate speech online. Among his messages in the committee discussions, Haddad also repeats the need for the Jewish society to know the Arabic language better.

Haddad is considered a social media influencer,[21] and his activity on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Telegram has many followers. Among other things, he also creates explanatory videos in Arabic, English and Hebrew, which help advocacy through social media and YouTube and embedding them online as explanatory materials that are relevant over time. Ahead of the 2021 Israeli presidential elections he published his support for Miriam Peretz.[22]

Haddad is active in rapprochement initiatives between Palestinian and Jewish societies. Among other things, as part of the "Together – Arabs for Each Other" association he initiated the first living room memorial event in the Arab-Israeli society in 2019,[23] the first Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony in an Arab state,[24] and the first ceremony on Memorial Day for IDF fallen in the Arab society, at a memorial site dedicated to Arab society members who died while serving in the IDF.[25] Haddad himself is invited to appear and represent at various official ceremonies and conferences such as the 2019 Yom Hashoah event in Florida the 2020 ceremony on the Day of Appreciation for Israel's Wounded Soldiers and Victims of Hostilities[26] and at the annual IAC Israeli-American community conference in December 2021. This is in order to make the memory of the Holocaust accessible to the Arab society in Israel and worldwide.[25]

Haddad is a member of the "Journey to the Common Valley" forum, an initiative for joint dialogue on disputes and gaps in Israeli society.[27][28]

In April 2020 Yousef Haddad was selected to the list of 50 pro-Israel influencers, by SOCIAL LITE CREATIVE,[29] and in November he was selected to the list of 40 online influencers for Israel, by the Jewish-American media company JNS.[30]

In December 2021, Haddad, alongside other figures, was awarded the "Light of Israel" prize at a ceremony by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The winners at the ceremony came from various fields, where they represented Israel in the world by excelling in their professional arena alongside activity for Israel's image in the media and on social networks.[31]

On December 20, 2022, he was awarded the Begin Prize for the year 5783 (2022) alongside David Averny and the Or LaMishpachot association.[32]

On August 26, 2023, Haddad and his family members were attacked on a plane in Dubai by Israeli Arabs. The attack included curses, insults and physical violence.[14]

Palestinian activists regard Haddad's pro-Zionist advocacy as one sided and biased. They compared it to 'propaganda', and labelled Haddad a 'traitor' to the Arab cause.[33] Palestinian media outlets frequently condemn Haddad him for his attacks on Palestinian Human rights activism, and for ignoring the suffering inflicted on Palestinians due to the ongoing Israeli occupation of the West Bank, which they regard as an Israeli apartheid regime.[34][35] [36][37][38]

In July 2023, Haddad was physically and verbally assaulted by Arab Israelis who identified him at Dubai Airport. He sustained minor injuries to his hand, and so did his mother who accompanied him on the trip.[39][40][41]