Bedouin named consul general to Alexandria

A first in the Israeli Foreign Service: Hassan Ka'bia, a Muslim-Bedouin, was named consul general of the Israeli consulate in Alexandria, Egypt, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Thursday.

Ka'bia, a former Lieutenant Colonel in the IDF, began his service in the Foreign Ministry in the Middle East Division and was later stationed in Cairo.

The Israeli consul general has been stationed in Egypt's Cairo for the past several years, not in Alexandria, for security reasons. Ka'bia, the Foreign Ministry told Ynet, insists on relocating back to Alexandria.

Deputy Foreign Minister MK Majalli Whbee (Kadima) prompted a revolution of sorts in the Israeli Foreign Service, as 30% of the participants in the Foreign Ministry's prestigious cadets' program are now members of the various minorities in Israel – Arabs, Druze, Bedouin and Circassian.