A resident of Nazareth and a disabled IDF veteran, Yoseph Haddad travels the world battling BDS and winning over the hearts and minds of college students in America.
By Yakir Benzion, United With Israel
Yoseph Haddad is a powerhouse. Engaging, suave and eloquent, he hides the scars of his war wounds well as he passionately argues on behalf of his country, Israel.
The 35-year-old Christian from Nazareth turned into a social activist after being severely wounded while serving as an IDF combat officer in the 2006 Lebanon war.
Haddad founded a non-profit organization called “Together Vouch For Each Other” for Israeli-Arabs, which works to bring the Arab sector closer to Israeli society and encourages the involvement of young Israeli-Arabs in their country.
He also travels the world representing Israel to counter BDS propaganda and talks about reality from an Israeli-Arab perspective.
“That doesn’t happen very much, and we in our organization are trying to change that because we have a Christian, a Muslim, a Druze, a Bedouin – men and women – who tell the story and answer questions,” Haddad told United With Israel.
Just before the coronavirus crisis erupted he made a whirlwind tour of American college campuses from New York to California, empowering college students to support Israel and counter BDS supporters face-to-face.
Haddad says he puts college students in three categories: pro-Israelis, pro-Palestinians, and those in the middle who simply don’t have enough information.
“We want to shake them up, to make them ask questions so they will not be blind,” he said.
He is also a business and marketing consultant and uses his social media networks to influence people from Israel and all over the world. In honor of Israel’s 72 anniversary he was selected as one of the top 50 pro-Israeli influencers in the world in a list that includes the likes of Gal Gadot and former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.
Haddad, remaining positive about the future, is itching for the coronavirus crisis to end so his organization can get back to work fighting BDS.
“I see that Israel will be the one to find the answer to the coronavirus. I get the feeling that we will be the ones who are going to bring the vaccine to everybody.”