In an unprecedented move, the government of Israel decided to appoint a Moslem Arab lawyer from the village of Kafr Kara near Haifa, as Israel’s new Consul General in Atlanta.
The decision to appoint Muhammad Masarwa as Israel’s first Arab diplomat was confirmed Wednesday in Jerusalem by Ehud Gol, the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, and in New York by Baruch Bina, a spokesman for the Israel Consulate.
Bina told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the 46-year-old Masarwa is expected to assume his new post this summer after being confirmed by the Israel Cabinet. He said that the young Arab lawyer, who was at one time the mayor of his village, will replace the present Israel Consul General in Atlanta, Yissaschar Katzir. Deputy Consul General Arthur Kol will continue his service under Masarwa, Bina said.
The new appointment was made by Foreign Minister Shimon Peres at the behest of Masarwa’s mentor, Minister-Without-Portfolio Ezer Weizman.
Peres and his advisors have been seeking for some time a qualified Arab Israeli, to join the Israeli foreign service, as part of Israel’s efforts to accord the Arab minority more rights and privileges and to improve Israel’s image abroad in regard to the treatment of its Arab citizens. There are about 750,000 Arabs living in Israel today.
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